the Must
Historic Rome
Mythical city founded by Romulus, caput mundi (capital of the world), the jewel of the Christian world ... Rome testifies today more than 2500 years of history of art and architecture. The Pantheon to the Colosseum, to the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo and countless works of Caravaggio, it will be impossible to go around the city in one visit. Then, like so many before you throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain and made a vow to return.
Venice, city virtuoso
Crossing the gate of the Basilica San Marco, trying to figure out what could be felt in the Middle Ages, an illiterate peasant dressed in burlap, seeing for the first time five domes adorned with shimmering mosaics of gold. Modern outfits are less coarse, but the millions of tiny tesserae (tiles) gold are so sumptuous that it feels good to our little tour.
Florentine Renaissance
The Duomo (cathedral) with red tiles Brunelleschi to Michelangelo's David, to the Birth of Venus by Botticelli, Florence contains, according to UNESCO, the strongest works of art of universal fame concentration in the world . If Rome and Milan were destroyed and rebuilt many times, the center of Florence, with its stone towers and cypress-lined gardens, has changed little since 1550 Today, the city evokes an array of Renaissance.
The ruins of Pompeii
Pompeii, the ancient Roman city once thriving, is frozen for 2000 years in his agony. Over the Roman streets, strung forums lined columns, a brothel, a 5,000-seat amphitheater and the Villa dei Misteri frescoes. It then remembers the testimony of Pliny the Younger: "Once again it was the darkness, again it was the ash, heavy and cumbersome. We constantly rising, we secouions to make them fall; otherwise we would have been covered and even crushed under their weight. "
The Amalfi Coast
With its fragrant lemon groves, the sides of cliffs flowers, fishing boats and disorderly villages with bright colors, the Amalfi Coast is still the most beautiful of the peninsula. Others will say that the title went to the Cinque Terre (Liguria) or the Costa Viola (Calabria), but Hollywood stars and dazzled tourists will not budge. The most remarkable and least developed section stretches from Sorrento to Positano.
Madness museums
Classicism, Renaissance, Mannerism, Baroque, Futurism, Metaphysical painting ... These movements have emerged in Italy, thanks to artists such as Giotto, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Bernini, Caravaggio, Carracci, Boccioni Balla and De Chirico. For an overview of their jewels, visit the Museo e Galleria Borghese and XXI MA in Rome, the Uffizi in Florence, the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice, the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo and the Museo del Novecento in Milan.
the Dolomites
Found on Earth much more extensive high mountains, and with greater geological variety. But few equals romance Dolomites to pink granite. Is their tapered profile? Their tops covered with bright wildflowers in the spring? The rich heritage of the Ladin legends valleys? Or the fact that this region of northern Italy was the birthplace of the most daring climbers in the world?
The busy streets of Naples
Nothing like being woken up by the noise of the Mercato di Porta Nolana! In this market the false air souk, market gardeners harangue you in Neapolitan and swordfish heads perched on mountains of sardines await you from the corner of the eye. All amidst the scent of citrus and sfogliatella (pastry with ricotta) fresh from the oven.
Sacred treasures
Often considered a dark period, the Italian Middle Ages, however characterized by its artistic brilliance. Maybe he was inspired by the shimmering mosaics of the basilicas of Ravenna. Anyway, Giotto decided to ignore the dark with bold murals he painted in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua and the Basilica di San Francesco in Assisi. The world therefore acquired a new artistic language, which soon led Trinity by Masaccio and glimmers of the Renaissance.
Lake Como
Natural lake of glacial origin located in the shadow of the Rhaetian Alps, Lake Como is the most spectacular lakes of Lombardy. It is surrounded by Liberty-style villas (bought by stars and Arab princes) and lush vegetation. Do not miss the gardens of Villa Melzi D'Eril, Villa Carlotta and Villa Balbianello, where camellias, azaleas and rhododendrons bloom in April-May.
