Venice
Pisa
( Livorno )
From
the 11th to the 13th centuries, Pisa's navy ensured
the city's dominance in the western Mediterranean
. Trade with Spain and North Africa led to a scientific
and cultural revolution and remarkable architectural
development. This can be seen in the Duomo and other
religious buildings on the Campo dei Miracoli (Field
of Miracles), which blend Romanesque colonnading,
Gothic pinnacles and Moorish marble inlay techniques.
Piazza dei Cavalieri, in Pisa's ancient centre, is
the most attractive square and the colonnaded Via
Borgo Stretto has elegant shops. Stately 16th century
palazzi flank both banks of the Arno.
Florence
( Livorno )
As
an independent city state, Florence became one of
Italy's leading powers in the 13th century, first
as a republic, then, until 1737, under the banking
dynasty of the Medici. Its cosmopolitan society and
wealth attracted artists and architects, who filled
it with some if Italy's greatest Renaissance works.
Historic Florence is compact and most of the great
sights are accessible on foot. Many of the most famous,
including the Duomo, Uffizi Art Gallery and statue-filled
Piazza della Signoria, cluster in its western half.
The eastern half, while similarly rich in palazzi
, is also the place to shop. Across the river
in the quieter Oltrarno district is the Medici's vast
Palazzo Pitti.
Duomo,
Campanile and Baptistry
Set
in the heart of Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore-the
Duomo, or cathedral-dominates the city with its huge
dome. Its sheer size was typical of Florentine determination
to lead in all things and, to this day, no other building
stands taller in the city. The Baptistry is one of
Florence's oldest buildings, dating perhaps to the
4th century. The celebrated North and East doors
were commissioned from Lorenzo Ghilberti on 1401 to
mark Florence's deliverance from the plague. The
Campanile was designed by Giotto in 1334.
Rome
( Civitavecchia )
Legend
says that ROMULUS founded Rome in 752 BC and archaeology
also dates the first settlement to around that time.
After 300 years as a kingdom, it was governed for
500 years as a Republic. This, in turn, was superseded
by the Roman Empire , which endured from 27 BC to
AD 935. Imperial Rome became the centre of the Christian
world when, in AD 313, Constantine granted freedom
of worship to Christians. After many centuries of
decline the city rose to new dominance in the Renaissance
and Baroque periods, when artists and architects flocked
to work for the papacy. Although steeped in history,
today's Rome is a vibrant city that successfully juxtaposes
its ancient and modern identities. Many of Rome's
centro storico (historic centre) lies in a bend of
the Tiber and its attractive, narrow, cobbled streets
are best explored on foot.
St.
Peter's Basilica
Rome's sumptuous, marble-clad basilica of St. Peter, Catholicism's
most sacred shrine, draws pilgrims and tourists from
all over the world. It holds hundreds of precious
works of art, some salvaged from the 4th century
church built by Emperor Constantine, others commissioned
from Renaissance and Baroque artists. The dominant
tone is set by Bernini, who created the baldacchino
twisting up below Michelangelo's huge dome. He also
designed the cathedra in the apse. The throne is supported
by the figures of four saints and contains fragments
once thought to be relics of the chair from which
St. Peter delivered his first sermon.
Vatican
Museums
These
vast buildings were originally the palaces if Renaissance
popes, but in the 18th century became a showcase
for the papacy's priceless works of art. Visitors
today have to follow a one-way system. Be sure to
conserve energy for the Sistine Chapel and Raphael
Rooms , which are 20 to 30 minutes walk from the
entrance without allowing any time for viewing along
the way.
Naples
Naples
lies in a beautiful bay dominated by Mount Vesuvius. Its name derives from the ancient Greeks' settlement,
Neapolis, but its golden age was as the capital of
the Medieval Angevin and Aragonese kingdoms. The historic
centre is easily explored on foot. Its main axes are
Via Toledo (also called Via Roma), running north from
the Palazzo Reale to Piazza Dante, and a long, narrow
street known as Spaccanapoli (split Naples). The
latter's central sections (named Via Benedetto Croce
and Via San Biagio dei Librai) have been likened to
an open-air museum for their many fine buildings.
Pompeii
An
earthquake in AD 62, which shook Pompeii and damaged
many buildings, was merely a prelude to the tragic
day in AD 79 when Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying
the town in 6 m (20 feet) of pumice and ash. Although
it was discovered in the 16th century, serious excavation
began only in 1748, revealing a city frozen in time.
In some buildings, paintings and sculpture have survived
and graffiti is still visible on the street walls.
Venice
Venice
was founded in the 1st century AD by the Veneti seeking
shelter from Goth attack. It was a world power from
the 12th to the 14th century and controlled Mediterranean
trade into the 17th . The Grand Canal is a showcase
of its history, with nearly every palazzo bearing
the name of a once-grand family. At the heart of the
city are the Piazza and Basilica of San Marco and
the Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace). From here, most
sights can be reached on foot.
Piazza
San Marco
Throughout
its long history Venice's Piazza San Marco has witnessed
pageants, processions, political activities and countless
carnival festivities. Tourists flock here in their thousands, for the Piazza's eastern end is dominated
by two of the city's most important historical sights
St. Mark's Basilica and the Palazzo Ducale (Doge's
Palace). In addition to these magnificent buildings
there is plenty to entertain, with elegant cafes,
stylish boutiques and open-air orchestras beneath
the arcades of the Procuratie. So close to the waters
of the lagoon, the Piazza is one of the first points
in the city to suffer at acqua alta (high tide). Visitors
and Venetians alike can then be seen picking their
way across the duckboards that are set up to crisscross
the flooded square.
Palazzo
Ducale
The
Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace) was the official residence
of each Venetian ruler (doge), as well as Venice's
seat of government and justice. It was founded in
the 9th century as a fortified castle, but fire destroyed
this and several subsequent buildings. The present
palace owes its external appearance to the building
work of the 14th and early 15th centuries. To create
their airy Gothic masterpiece, the Venetians broke
with tradition by perching the bulk of the pink Verona
marble palace on a lake-like loggia and portico of
Istrian stone. For centuries, this was the city's
only building to be entitled palazzo; the
rest were merely called Ca' (Casa, or house).
Genoa
Genoa
, birthplace of Christopher Columbus, is Italy's
most important commercial port. It became a prominent
sea power in the 10th century, and in 1343 Simon
Boccanegra was elected its first doge. In the 16th
century, the doge Andrea Doria and rich merchants
proved astute patrons of the arts. The historic centre
is famous for its carruggi (old, narrow streets),
as well as the grand palazzi along the Renaissance
Via Balbi and 17th century Via Garibaldi. Near the
Porta Soprana is a house where Columbus may have lived.
The recent regeneration of Genoa's port has given
the city some remarkable new architecture, such as
Renzo Piano's Bigo, built in 1992.
Portofino
The
picturesque setting of this former fishing village
and its natural deep-water harbour, called Portus
Delphinus in Roman times, have made it Italy's most
exclusive resort, crammed with the yachts of the wealthy.
It occupies a narrow inlet at the end of a peninsula
on Liguria's Riviera Levante the attractive, rocky
coastline stretching east form Genoa and dotted with
other popular holiday resorts. The entire Portofino
peninsula, the northern half covered in pine, olive,
eucalyptus and chestnut trees and the southern half
in macchia (Mediterranean scrub), is a protected
natural park. No cars are allowed into Portofino village.
A footpath leads from the village to the church and
15th century fortress of San Giorgio and, beyond
them, to the lighthouse at Punto Portofino the tip
of the peninsula. Another path leads to the medieval
abbey of San Fruttuoso. Its church dates from 984,
but the abbey was built by the Doria family in the
13th century. The tower was added in the 16th century.
Capri
With
idyllic views and almost constant sunshine, Capri
lies just off the southern tip of the Bay of Naples
. Its first illustrious residents were the Roman emperors
Augustus and Tiberius (27 BC-AD 37). Forteen years,
Tiberius ruled Rome from Capri and the the ruins of
his luxurious villa can still be seen today. Despite
this noble history, the island saw few visitors until
the 19th century, when the German poet August Kopisch
found the Grotta Azzurra, which was known to locals
but not to travelers on the Grand Tour. Tourism began
to flourish and Capri became the haunt of foreign
politicians, artists and intellectuals, among them
Oscar Wilde and Alexandre Dumas. Today, despite year-round
crowds, it still retains its attractiveness.
Sardinia
Sardinia
is most famous for its translucent seas and the luxury
holiday resorts on the Costa Smeralda. However, the
entire coastline is picturesque, with isolated coves,
coral strands and long, sandy beaches, spectacular
cliffs and flamingo-filled marshes. Inland are rolling
uplands and the rugged Gennargentu Mountains . The
dominant feature of the island is the 7,000 nuraghe
, conical structures built between 1500 and 400
BC by the Nuraghic people, about whom almost nothing
is known. Sardinia was settled by the Phoenicians
in around 1000 BC, after whom the Romans, the Pisans
and Genoese, and then the Aragonese held sway before
it was passed to the House of Savoy and united with
Italy . The main ports are Cagliari , Porto Torres
and Olbia. Cagliari, the capital, is notable for
its 2nd century AD rock-cut Roman amphitheatre and
the medieval Pisan and Spanish architecture in its
high Castello district.
Palermo
Sicily's capital lies in the Conca d'Oro (Golden Shell),
a natural amphitheatre below Monte Pellegrino. Palermo's golden age, from 902 to 1091, was under the Arabs
and its Arabic past is most apparent in the Vucciria,
the medieval casbah-style market in the Kalsa. This
old Arab quarter later became the Norman fishermen's
district, and it is for its Norman architecture that
Palermo is most famous. The originally 12th century
Duomo stands on Corso Vittore Emanuele, the main street,
which is full of impressive buildings and elegant
sores. The city also has many fine Baroque buildings
.
Messina
Although
Messina was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake
in 1908 and heavily bombed in 1943, some historic
buildings were rebuilt and the Museo Regionale holds
treasures from many others. The Duomo dates from 1160
to 1197 and its campanile houses the world's largest
astronomical clock, built by a Strasbourg firm in
1933. The beautiful church of Santissima Annunziata
dei Catalani is also Norman. The port is protected
by the 17th century Forte San Salvatore on a peninsula.
|