Milan is a city that evokes extreme feelings; the city lifestyle is extreme too. A frenetic, restless rhythm is an element of work and leisure, so much so that it is difficult to stay unmoved and not get overwhelmed by the entire cultural and social stimulus. Perhaps to this reason, Milan makes itself indispensable, because it is impossible to stay so alive and full of energy when you are away from the city.
Milan is always one step ahead: a laboratory of artistic experiments and a building site for social behavior that is continuously changing. City full of contradictions, ancient and modern trends and counter-trends, fashion and underground, middle class and working class, but always simply “cool”.
This city is whole about worldly pleasures. Theatre and cinema prosper in this fashionable milieu, as does a hopping club scene and a slew of tempting restaurants. Apart from a few gems, the city is not renowned for its looks; it's lifestyle that counts. Shopping is of quasi-religious significance.
Milan is one of the principal artistic centers of Italy of the north.
Some cultural centers of Milan:
The Duomo, the second largest cathedral of the world and the world's largest collection of marble statues.
The Castello Sforzesco
The Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio
The Palaeo-Christian Basilica of San Lorenzo
The Biblioteca Ambrosiana, containing drawings and notebooks by Leonardo da Vinci among its vast holdings of books, manuscripts, and drawings, and is one of the main repositories of European culture. The city is also the home of the Brera Academy of Fine Arts.
The church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, housing one of the most famous paintings of Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper
The Pinacoteca di Brera, Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Poldi Pezzoli, the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum and the Musei del Castello galleries, which host a great number of pictorial masterpieces.
Milan is also one of the most important centres in the world for Opera lirica, with its famous Teatro alla Scala (La Scala).
Showing posts with label Italy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Italy. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Florence Travel Guide
Florence is considered one of the most magnificent cities in Italy, as well as the world. Located in the heart of Tuscany, the tourist can find fields of sunflowers, miles of vineyards, rolling hills and mountaintop castles. This place is the Renaissance capital of the world, its famous sons are Leonardo Da Vinci, Dante Alighieri, Machiavelli, Fra Angelico and Michelangelo. It is a destination not to be missed.
Florence has an exceptional artistic patrimony, celebrated testimony to its secular civilization. Cimabue and Giotto were considered the fathers of Italian painting, they lived in this place, along with Arnolfo and Andrea Pisano, reformists of architecture and sculpture; Brunelleschi, Donatello and Masaccio, founders of the Renaissance. The Italian Renaissance, Europe's richest cultural period, began in Florence when the artist Brunelleschi finished the Duomo, with the huge dome. Ghiberti and the Della Robbia; Filippo Lippi and l'Angelico; Botticelli and Paolo Uccello; the universal geniuses Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Their works are exhibited in the city's many museums and known around of the world. Boccaccio wrote his 'Decameron' in Florence. From the 13th to the 16th century it was a seemingly endless source of creative masterpieces and Italian genius. During the Italian Renaissance Florence constructed its renaissance palaces and squares, turning it into a living museum. Many squares, such as Piazza della Signoria exhibit famous statues and fountains.
Probably Florence is a city of incomparable indoor pleasures. Its chapels, galleries and museums are an incomparable treasure, apprehending the complex, often elusive spirit of the Renaissance more fully than any other place in the country. The most famous museum in Florence is the Uffizi which houses works by Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Titian and Rubens. Other great art museums include the Pitti Palace, Galleria dell'Accademia and Palazzo Vecchio. Florence is also home to some of the biggest churches in Italy, including the famous Duomo of Florence, San Lorenzo, Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce.
The surroundings of Florence have many things to offer to the visitor. You can explore this region for weeks without being bored. For these day trips the city of Florence is the perfect starting point.
Florence has an exceptional artistic patrimony, celebrated testimony to its secular civilization. Cimabue and Giotto were considered the fathers of Italian painting, they lived in this place, along with Arnolfo and Andrea Pisano, reformists of architecture and sculpture; Brunelleschi, Donatello and Masaccio, founders of the Renaissance. The Italian Renaissance, Europe's richest cultural period, began in Florence when the artist Brunelleschi finished the Duomo, with the huge dome. Ghiberti and the Della Robbia; Filippo Lippi and l'Angelico; Botticelli and Paolo Uccello; the universal geniuses Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Their works are exhibited in the city's many museums and known around of the world. Boccaccio wrote his 'Decameron' in Florence. From the 13th to the 16th century it was a seemingly endless source of creative masterpieces and Italian genius. During the Italian Renaissance Florence constructed its renaissance palaces and squares, turning it into a living museum. Many squares, such as Piazza della Signoria exhibit famous statues and fountains.
Probably Florence is a city of incomparable indoor pleasures. Its chapels, galleries and museums are an incomparable treasure, apprehending the complex, often elusive spirit of the Renaissance more fully than any other place in the country. The most famous museum in Florence is the Uffizi which houses works by Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Titian and Rubens. Other great art museums include the Pitti Palace, Galleria dell'Accademia and Palazzo Vecchio. Florence is also home to some of the biggest churches in Italy, including the famous Duomo of Florence, San Lorenzo, Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce.
The surroundings of Florence have many things to offer to the visitor. You can explore this region for weeks without being bored. For these day trips the city of Florence is the perfect starting point.
Venice Travel Guide
Venice is a dream that shines on the waters, a city of painted palaces and serene churches. This unique urban masterpiece has canals instead of streets, boats instead of buses, and ornate bridges instead of subways. A trip to Venice provides an unforgettable glimpse of life's defining moments played out on watery avenues: weddings, funerals, carnivals and regattas. Yet, in these opulent surroundings the daily grind continues: commuters pack on to the rush hour vaporetti (waterbuses), dustmen collect rubbish in their refuse boats and fishermen deliver their catch to the market.
Particularly tourists visit Venice to experience its inimitable charm. The inconvenient of this can be felt in the narrow streets and cramped piazzas of its sought-after areas. A good way to get to know a more personal side of Venice is to saunter through its romantic back streets and residential quarters.
Maybe the only ways of getting around Venice are walking and paying up for the 'expensive-but-worth-it' gondola, water bus/taxi or a regular taxi is officially banned in the lagoon city, a bicycle won’t help you much.
The classic gondola ride with the opera-warbling operator is pretty touristy and expensive but the traghetto is a commuter gondola that crosses the Grand Canal at strategic points. It's entirely a balance test for newbies, as you have to stand. Water taxis (motorboats) are almost as expensive as gondolas, but their pilots don't wear stripy shirts and bellow out 'O Sole Mio'.
If you are looking for the cheerful bars and restaurants, you can't go wrong with the area surrounding Campo di Santa Margarita in San Polo. There you will get an Irish pub, trendy bars that do the limbo, and just plain fun. The area is visited by students from the University and is buzzing with life during the weekends as market stalls of fish and vegetables open up.
Particularly tourists visit Venice to experience its inimitable charm. The inconvenient of this can be felt in the narrow streets and cramped piazzas of its sought-after areas. A good way to get to know a more personal side of Venice is to saunter through its romantic back streets and residential quarters.
Maybe the only ways of getting around Venice are walking and paying up for the 'expensive-but-worth-it' gondola, water bus/taxi or a regular taxi is officially banned in the lagoon city, a bicycle won’t help you much.
The classic gondola ride with the opera-warbling operator is pretty touristy and expensive but the traghetto is a commuter gondola that crosses the Grand Canal at strategic points. It's entirely a balance test for newbies, as you have to stand. Water taxis (motorboats) are almost as expensive as gondolas, but their pilots don't wear stripy shirts and bellow out 'O Sole Mio'.
If you are looking for the cheerful bars and restaurants, you can't go wrong with the area surrounding Campo di Santa Margarita in San Polo. There you will get an Irish pub, trendy bars that do the limbo, and just plain fun. The area is visited by students from the University and is buzzing with life during the weekends as market stalls of fish and vegetables open up.
Rome Travel Guide
Rome Caput Mundi, Rome the ageless City. A different city around the world because of the absolutely opposite styles of art and life that manage to live side by side there: Imperial Rome and Baroque Rome, sophisticated Rome and working-class Rome.
Rome has a long and tempestuous history. No other city had the attention center of the world for such a long period. The city more loved of the Roman Empire, lavished with architectural jewelry by her emperors, but also often seized raided and destroyed. Also fires and earthquakes left their scars, but each time the eternal city recovered from her injuries.
Rome's history is strongly related to the history of Europe. Not just the Roman emperors, but also medieval emperors and kings like Charlemagne or Otto I saw Rome as the true seat of power. They confronted the new rulers, the popes for the supreme power. It was the dispute about who was the true representative of God. Both emperor and pope claimed to be true inheritors of the Roman Empire.
It is said that one life is not enough to get to comprehend Rome. Maybe you'll require about ten, as much as the countless stray cats that also occupy the city, but a week will do for a first introduction. At each corner of each street there’s a story to tell. Thousands of stories together tell the history of a three thousand year old city. Two weeks may be enough for a hasty tour through most everything; a month would be better. Fortunately, Rome (population 2.900.000) is compact enough to skim the best in three (full) days, and if you have more time we guarantee you will find delightful and fulfilling ways to use it.
The most impressive features in Rome comprehend the Trevi fountain (remind Anita Ekberg in the classic scene in La Dolce Vita) and the Spanish Steps, the Roman heritage sights such as the Pantheon, the Colloseum and the Forum Romanum, at least some of the world famous churches such as Il Gesu, S. Giovanni in Laterano or Sta. Maria Maggiore. Make sure not to miss a stroll through the Vatican City with the incredibly huge St. Peter's Cathedral and the unrivalled Vatican Museum.
Rome has a long and tempestuous history. No other city had the attention center of the world for such a long period. The city more loved of the Roman Empire, lavished with architectural jewelry by her emperors, but also often seized raided and destroyed. Also fires and earthquakes left their scars, but each time the eternal city recovered from her injuries.
Rome's history is strongly related to the history of Europe. Not just the Roman emperors, but also medieval emperors and kings like Charlemagne or Otto I saw Rome as the true seat of power. They confronted the new rulers, the popes for the supreme power. It was the dispute about who was the true representative of God. Both emperor and pope claimed to be true inheritors of the Roman Empire.
It is said that one life is not enough to get to comprehend Rome. Maybe you'll require about ten, as much as the countless stray cats that also occupy the city, but a week will do for a first introduction. At each corner of each street there’s a story to tell. Thousands of stories together tell the history of a three thousand year old city. Two weeks may be enough for a hasty tour through most everything; a month would be better. Fortunately, Rome (population 2.900.000) is compact enough to skim the best in three (full) days, and if you have more time we guarantee you will find delightful and fulfilling ways to use it.
The most impressive features in Rome comprehend the Trevi fountain (remind Anita Ekberg in the classic scene in La Dolce Vita) and the Spanish Steps, the Roman heritage sights such as the Pantheon, the Colloseum and the Forum Romanum, at least some of the world famous churches such as Il Gesu, S. Giovanni in Laterano or Sta. Maria Maggiore. Make sure not to miss a stroll through the Vatican City with the incredibly huge St. Peter's Cathedral and the unrivalled Vatican Museum.
Italy Travel Guide
Italy is a beautiful country but is one of those countries which you probably have some questions and preconceptions, before your coming to this special country. A place of olive oil, pasta, wine, mafia and sunshine, roman ruins and renaissance palaces, Italy has a lot to give its tourists. Although some of these conceptions are amazing and interesting, it would be a shame if that was the only thing you come away with. Italy is certainly much more complex and stimulating than these concepts.
Italy is a country full of interesting things for the casual tourist and the educated tourist, it has deep Roman Catholic roots. The tourists can stay weeks in important tourist centers without reason to feel bored, but it is equally simple to get off the beaten track. In the north, next to the Alps and the landscapes of the Po river, many cultural gems and highly developed industrial cities fascinate. In this exciting country the people live the "la vita Italiana".
Lombardia is the capital of Milan, city of business organization and haute couture, the tourist can easily stay weeks without being bored. Bergamo is only an hour of distance and has an upper Old Town. On every corner you will observe something new. Venice and Verona are the most famous tourist attractions in the north-east of Italy, maybe you can think about romantic love affairs here.
The people can discover easily the beautiful landscapes of Italy, Verona province may be the more fascinating. Many persons say that the north-west of italy is a paradise for every culinary interested traveler. For the people who adore the wine, Piemonte is related with Barolo and Barbaresco, the most famous wines made out of the Nebbiolo grape. Turin is the capital of Piemonte, this city provides more than just a starting point to visit these wine regions. Lots of tourist attractions like museums, modern art, music and book fairs make of this city, one of the notable Italian cities concerning cultural life. At the same time it is a booming industrial and multimedia city.
Italy is a country full of interesting things for the casual tourist and the educated tourist, it has deep Roman Catholic roots. The tourists can stay weeks in important tourist centers without reason to feel bored, but it is equally simple to get off the beaten track. In the north, next to the Alps and the landscapes of the Po river, many cultural gems and highly developed industrial cities fascinate. In this exciting country the people live the "la vita Italiana".
Lombardia is the capital of Milan, city of business organization and haute couture, the tourist can easily stay weeks without being bored. Bergamo is only an hour of distance and has an upper Old Town. On every corner you will observe something new. Venice and Verona are the most famous tourist attractions in the north-east of Italy, maybe you can think about romantic love affairs here.
The people can discover easily the beautiful landscapes of Italy, Verona province may be the more fascinating. Many persons say that the north-west of italy is a paradise for every culinary interested traveler. For the people who adore the wine, Piemonte is related with Barolo and Barbaresco, the most famous wines made out of the Nebbiolo grape. Turin is the capital of Piemonte, this city provides more than just a starting point to visit these wine regions. Lots of tourist attractions like museums, modern art, music and book fairs make of this city, one of the notable Italian cities concerning cultural life. At the same time it is a booming industrial and multimedia city.
Monday, January 12, 2009
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