Who doesn’t think of Tuscany when they hear of hills and vineyards? The interesting thing is that it is not just the wineries that are built on the hills – the cities take advantage of the terrain. Siena is one of them – you could walk through the old town and enjoy the view of the sights from a distance.
San Gimignano is known in Italy as “the Town of Fine Towers”. The towers of this medieval town are visible from every point you approach on the hill that it stands on. The dozens of tower-houses are a symbol of San Gimignano but, it’s not the only symbol of this place – another, is the vineyards with the famous Vernaccia grapes!
For many decades after the establishment of Florence Duomo in the 13th Century, the Florence Cathedral was opened, and it took the genius mind of Filippo Brunelleschi to figure out exactly how to build the dome, the first of its kind in the 15th Century. In our day today, it dominates the skyline of the city and makes you marvel at how this structure survived through the ages.
When you visit the Urbino old town, it may seem like a travel back in time. If you look on the buildings and ignore modern outfits of people passing by, the posters, café umbrellas, you can feel like a time traveller visiting on a summer’s day, that is 500 years ago. This is the impression one could have, especially when you visit the square in front of the Urbino Cathedral.
Piazza San Marco, internationally known as St Mark’s Square gained its own nickname “La Piazza” – THE Square, and I think it says a lot about Venice’s importance. There is a legend that Napoleon called it “the drawing room of Europe”. In our day, I would say the “photographing room of Europe”.
The wonderful thing about the Dolomites is that when you take a drive through the mountain valleys to your destination, and you look around – you will see that this route is more interesting than the end. The view on Picco Di Vallandro (translated in German – Dürrenstein) from the flourishing valley, was an absolute pleasant surprise.
The Burano, with its distinctive colours, was unlike anything I had ever seen before. I later learned that there was a purpose behind the colour-toned design. During the golden age of development of Burano, if a house owner wanted to paint his belongings, he had to apply to Burano’s government for a colour. The government would only allow a few options of colours of choice.
You mainly see gondolas in one place on this Earth – Venice. There is more history and meaning in them that you would probably expect. And there are only a few hundred of them – you can only be a gondolier if you receive a license from the Venice’s guild.
Urbino in Marche region in Italy, is one of the hidden gems for history lovers. The city is a UNESCO World Heritage site and now belongs to one of my favourite Italian towns. The old town is known for many medieval ensembles and occupying the remains of the independent Renaissance culture. Today it is recognized as a student town.
Lago di Braies is a natural lake which was the result of a landline blocking the river Braies. The road which leads to it, is an adventure by itself, mainly because of its views. It’s probably one of the most well-known and the largest lakes in the Dolomites, Italy.