Amalfi Coast is up there near the top on the list of destinations that we fell in love with and are overdue to come back to. It’s gorgeous, unique and inviting. It left memories worth recounting. And we simply spent too little time there. The UNESCO inscription recognizes the region’s…
This series of posts gives me an incentive to review our photographic archives with sometimes rather pleasing results. For instance, our visit to Pompei made in the pre-digital photo-era customarily left just a few photographs to choose from. Printed on glossy paper, those 4×6 shots have been languishing in a…
Senza commenti. The earlier favorite sights Venice essay. These and other pictures of Venice can be found in my Flickr photostream.
The World Heritage status of Vicenza is primarily due to Andrea Palladio, a 16th-century giant whose works dominate the town and serve as the origin of the now-classic architectural style that has spread all over Western world (for instance, the White House in Washington, DC, finds its roots in Palladian…
Padua (or Padova in Italian) is not recognized on the World Heritage list as a city in its entirety or for any of its architecture. Its entry on the list is the Botanical Gardens which, dating from mid-16th century, are considered to be the oldest in the world and the…
For reasons that lack straightforward explanation, Ferrara did not impress us as it probably should have. Our over-saturation with all things medieval or Renaissance on this trip probably played a part – but then a couple of destinations that came later left stronger imprints. And yet, there is plenty to…
We did not set aside significant time to get ourselves acquainted with the Republic of San Marino. With all due respect to the oldest continuous constitutional republic in the world, it can hardly contend for anything but a mere curiosity status on any tour itinerary. Unless you are a Russian…
Assisi easily vaulted towards the top of my personal list of the most impressive day-trip destinations after having hosted us for half of a day. The town’s World Heritage inscription is centered on its sacred architecture, but it is also incredibly picturesque and, pilgrimages aside, does not convey a feeling…
Although city of Ravenna is not without occasional highlights on its streets and squares, you are likely to come here for the mosaics of the early Christian monuments. There are 8 of them inscribed together as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Of those, 5 are within reasonable walking distance from…
Historic center of Urbino is recognized on UNESCO list for its homogeneous Renaissance appearance and architecture blended into original medieval structure. It is a town that is very easy on the eyes – and moderately challenging to navigate due to its hilly topography. Here is the view of the town…
The UNESCO World Heritage site in Modena is the main historic square, with major architectural masterpieces surrounding it. Here is a fragment of two named ones, the exquisite – and leaning (you will have to trust me on this) – Torre Civica and the Cathedral. Our visit to…
The incredibly picturesque area of Cinque Terre, along with Portovenere and a trio of islands to the immediate south, are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list for their historic and cultural value, to say nothing of their beauty. For nearly a millennium, the rugged and mountainous Ligurian coast made…
The towns of Mantua (Mantova in Italian) and Sabbioneta are paired into a single World Heritage site on the basis of representing two different facets of Renaissance city planning: the former an example of an existing city rebuilt and renewed, the latter a completely new town built according to the…
Verona is enshrined on the UNESCO list as the whole city, with a large number of buildings and monuments mentioned in the inscription. It was the first stop on our recent sojourn. The heart of the city is lively Piazza delle Erbe. It hosted a smaller version of the market…
Our summer trip to Italy finished in Milan, where we spent a single afternoon and night ahead of the flight back to the US. The Gothic cathedral of Milan is a must-see sight. Impressive on the outside, the cathedral’s interior is just okay, lacking in comparison with many…
Our last full day in Tuscany was spent on driving through the Chianti Country and degustazione di vino. Here are a few random shots.
On our last visit to Siena, my new-found focus on photography paid off in that I finally ended up with superior material to do justice to the city, something that was beyond my reach when I made this entry about a year ago in my “favorite sights” series. For instance,…
Volterra resides on the second tier of Tuscan sights hierarchy. It boasts an Etruscan archeological site and museum that the other locales do not have, but lacks the knockout punch of an attraction such as the leaning tower of Pisa or the many towers of San Gimignano. Nonetheless, it is…
Continuing with the theme of revisiting some of the best entries in “my favorite sights” series that I ran on the blog in the past, here are a few additional shots of San Gimignano – one of the all-time favorite stops on our travels that we certainly could not bypass…
Florence entry in the erstwhile series was one of the best ones. I always managed to come away from visits to Florence with good photographic material. As a result, on our recent day in the birthplace of Renaissance, quite a few of my shots were of sights I already photographed…