Tuscany

Abruzzo

Cinque Terre National Park

Amalfi Coast

The Amalfi Coast is one of the most spectacular coastal regions in the world where the azure sea meets high cliffs kisses at points the incredibly high cliffs and narrow inlets where fishing villages and incredible estates that seem architecturally impossible have been built. 

Calabria

Calabria is on the tip of the boot, the extreme south of Italy, lapped by the splendid crystal blue Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas and separated from Sicily by the Strait of Messina. The warm climate, the beautiful colours of the sea, rocky coasts alternated to sandy beaches, the wild and mysterious nature, the strong and genuine flavours of local food and the vestiges of its ancient origins make Calabria a unique place to admire both in winter and summer. 


Any wish can be fulfilled. Those who love nature, its scents and mysteries, can explore the Calabrian hinterland, discovering pure and unpolluted sceneries, where huge green belts alternate with blue lakes and falls. 


On the other hand, those who prefer basking in the warm rays of the sun and dive into a crystal-clear sea can choose from the many charming towns along the long Tyrrhenian and Ionian coasts. Instead those who prefer to learn about the past of this region, Calabria, the cradle of Magna Graecia and land of ancient settlements, offers a wide choice of churches, monasteries, castles, palaces and places where age-long traditions still survive. 

The provinces of Calabria are: Catanzaro (regional capital), Reggio Calabria, Cosenza, Crotone and Vibo Valentia.

Venice

Bari

Izmir

Izmir

Istanbul

Heraklion

Rethymnon

Chania

Athens

Dubrovnik

George Bernard Shaw described the city of Dubrovnik as "the pearl of the Adriatic" and said wrote home saying ""those who seek paradise on Earth should come to Dubrovnik," and it is true that many who have visited this sea-side crown jewel have remained both enchanted and amazed with the coastal beauty found here and the charm of the old town, which  became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.

Venice

Venice

Sorrento

This small town is wonderfully located over white steep cliffs and offers a fantastic view over the Bay of Naples. Sorrento lies on a Tufa terrace and is enclosed by impressive rocks of the limestone mountains. For 2000 years already visitors from all over the world have been attracted to Sorrento by breathtaking sunsets and fragrances of orange and lemon gardens.

The small fishing harbor of Marina Grande is especially beautiful in the low season, where one can sense the naturalness of Sorrento. 

Athens

Epidaurus

Olympia

Athens

Venice

Venice

Rome

In the Eternal City one can see many layers of history, from ancient to modern times, existing side by side. The center of the Catholic Church and the third most visited city in Europe, Rome has something for every seeker of culture and adventure. Once the center of the greatest empire on Earth, its universities, libraries, and museums are repositories of culture going back centuries. The Vatican Museums house many of the world’s great art treasures and are a favorite among art lovers worldwide. The Colosseum stands as both a great monument to the vast empire that was ancient Rome, while at the same time giving a warning to future generations about power and decadence. The city is known for its architecture, which spans centuries and offers a glimpse into the distant past as well as its influence on development through the years. Rome is one of Italy’s and the world’s great cities, a title it has held for centuries, a thought and an idea expressed in its past, and presently on display in the Eternal City.

Sorrento

This small town is wonderfully located over white steep cliffs and offers a fantastic view over the Bay of Naples. Sorrento lies on a Tufa terrace and is enclosed by impressive rocks of the limestone mountains. For 2000 years already visitors from all over the world have been attracted to Sorrento by breathtaking sunsets and fragrances of orange and lemon gardens.

The small fishing harbor of Marina Grande is especially beautiful in the low season, where one can sense the naturalness of Sorrento. 

Istanbul

Rome

In the Eternal City one can see many layers of history, from ancient to modern times, existing side by side. The center of the Catholic Church and the third most visited city in Europe, Rome has something for every seeker of culture and adventure. Once the center of the greatest empire on Earth, its universities, libraries, and museums are repositories of culture going back centuries. The Vatican Museums house many of the world’s great art treasures and are a favorite among art lovers worldwide. The Colosseum stands as both a great monument to the vast empire that was ancient Rome, while at the same time giving a warning to future generations about power and decadence. The city is known for its architecture, which spans centuries and offers a glimpse into the distant past as well as its influence on development through the years. Rome is one of Italy’s and the world’s great cities, a title it has held for centuries, a thought and an idea expressed in its past, and presently on display in the Eternal City.

Florence

Tuscany is a "must see" region in Italy and Florence, the capital of the Tuscan region is a "must see" city in Tuscany.  Once the hub of the Renaissance, Florence is still a city marked by outstanding cultural and artistic splendor. In the modern day this translates into some of the best shopping anywhere for fine products from leather to gold. A perennial favorite of tourists and home to such historical figures as Machiavelli and the Medici clan, all of the finest aspects of Renaissance culture, from literature and art to theater and music still flourish here. Besides tourism, food and wine production are also prominent industries in this city, which is the main city of the Tuscany wine-producing region. The Uffizi Gallery and Accademia Museum house two of the world’s great art collections and seeing the David by Michealangelo, at the Accademia is a moment never to be forgotten. The Duomo in Florence is as breathtaking as it is massive. This amazing structure can be seen from many vantage points near the city center and it looms in its majesty above the city’s interesting architecture and unique streets. Major attractions: Uffizi museum, Accademia museum with the David, Piazza della Signoria, Duomo di Santa Maria del Fiore, Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella churches and squares. Other museums of notice are Palazzo Vecchio, Palazzo Pitti with the Silver museum, the Boboli Gardens and the Palatine Gallery, the Brancacci Chapel, the Museum San Marco. Major theaters and events: Teatro Comunale, Teatro della Pergola, Toscana Opera Festival, Teatro Verdi.

Siena

Venice

Castellina in Chianti

Montalcino

Montepulciano

San Gimignano

Approaching San Gimignano from any direction, you will see first that it cascades down a small hill about 325 meters high, overlooking the Val d'Elsa.  Then you will wonder about the many "skyscrapers" that dart upward mostly near its uppermost reaches.  This is the Town of the Towers, one of the prettiest, most well-preserved medieval towns in all of Italy.

There is evidence that San Gimignano began as an Etruscan settlement as long ago as 500 BC.  Later, it was a Roman town on the via Francigena, between Siena to the south and Lucca to the north.  Nothing of moment seems to have occurred during the Roman period, except, during the fall of Rome, when, according to legend, the Bishop of Modena (whom later became Saint  Gimignano for whom the city is named) saved the city from barbarian invaders.

So, how to explain the towers?  A little history will help.

During the early Christian era, San Gimignano was one of several villages under the domination of the Bishop of Volterra.  Toward the end of the 9th Century, the Bishop granted the town the right to hold a weekly market, setting the town on a course of growing importance in the area.  In 949 AD, San Gimignano became a  city and by 998 AD, the citizens had erected the first ring of walls there.  Noblemen and commoners alike built within these walls to take advantage of the protection they offered. 

For a period of about three centuries from these early days, there was conflict between the Bishops of Volterra and the local nobility and wealthy signori of the city, with power shifting back and forth between the Bishop's faction (the Guelphs) and the faction identified with the Holy Roman Emperor (the Ghibellines).

In 1199, at a time when the Bishop  had once again asserted control he shrewdly offered a tax incentive to noblemen and wealthy merchants who built within the city walls, a second set of which were built a couple of years later.

At the same time, cultivation,  harvesting and exportation of saffron and crocuses on the slopes of the Val d'Elsa, was generating great wealth for land owners now living in the city.  Within the confined space circumscribed by the walls, the wealthy families competed with one another to display their wealth, resulting in the building of the first towers to overcome the lack of space on the ground.  These wealthy families also funded the building of various piazzi (court yards or squares), churches and various other public buildings still extant in San Gimignano today.

So intense was the tower-building competition, that a local ordinance was passed to prohibit the building of any tower higher than the 50 meter (165 ft) high city hall, known as the Rognosa.  Seventy two such towers were built, of which only 14 remain standing today.

The building of towers was very common in medieval towns and cities of the era, including in cities like Florence, Bologna and Perugia, but except for a few isolated instances, the towers either collapsed, were destroyed in war, or were pulled down during rebuilding programs.

They survived mostly because as peace came to the area, and people, towns and connecting highways  moved to the valleys, San Gimignano lost the importance it had during the medieval era.  In other words, the town retains its medieval appearance - and all that medieval charm - precisely because no significant changes have occurred within the city walls for hundreds of years.

But, because it has been so well preserved in its medieval condition, it is now a major attraction to tourists and travelers, whose money is now the economic life blood of San Gimignano.  However, the fact that it is such a heavily touristed town should not deter you from visiting, although an off-season visit is recommended.  It is a beautiful and unforgettable place, redolent of a profound, not a superficial, medieval atmosphere.

The color of its stone, a warm ochre, that radiates a golden lustre in the afternoon light, its twisted and winding streets, its convivial piazzas, its cool and solemn Duomo and churches, its charming cafes and restaurants, can take you back in time in a way that few other places can.  And, from the tops of the famous towers, you can see a rolling, green and verdant Tuscany - a Tuscany you think only exists in your imagination, but is real indeed.

Katakolon

Portofino

Delphi

Delphi

Praia a Mare

Praia a Mare is a magical town on Italy’s Cedri Riviera - the Citrus Coast - filled with natural wonder, legend and history.  The town is home to Dino Island, whose sandstone circumference includes mystifying cave grottos, in which an indescribable colour of blue, created by light which comes up through the water, has caused Dino Island to be given World-Heritage site status.  
 

Praia a Mare is a naturally inspiring destination that has gone un-noticed by most travelers who unfortunately have passed up the town’s treasures which include: pedestrian only tree-lined streets and a stunning church, known as “La Madonna Della Grotta” built inside an enormous cave behind the town (look for sign near the Arcate hotel that indicates the Archaeological Zone).
 

Travelers have been by-passing Praia a Mare on route to Sicily, but from May to October, when the weather is good Praia should be considered a "must see"  destination for anyone traveling in Southern Italy. 
 

The town is impeccably clean, well served by trains and buses, and because empires throughout the centuries have laid claim here, it is home to numerous historical ruins including a prominent Byzantine guarding tower that lies in front of Dino Island and a Spanish Castle.
 

Praia a Mare is small, and easy to get around with a car or without.  There are numerous hotels, bed and breakfasts and restaurants which are relatively low-cost for what you receive in comparison to other parts of Italy.  Praia is an optimal place from which to explore numerous other villages on the Cedri Riviera. 
 

Dino Island, the main attraction which draws visitors from around Europe each year, is approximately one mile in circumference and is home to six magnificent grottos, easily accessible by paddleboat or canoe that can be rented by any number of beach lidos in operation from May until September.  In the off-season, boats can be rented at hotels.


The Madonna Della Grotta sanctuary is easily accessible throughout the town and admittance is free of charge. There are in fact, two churches within the cave, the smaller one, built inside a smaller cave, in which limestone deposits have formed an alter of sorts, used by local priests for Catholic ceremonies carried out here.                                       

Aieta

Vatican City

Vatican City is the smallest independent state in the world. The importance of this city state however is inversely proportional to its size. The area which Vatican City occupies is between Monte Mario and the Janiculum. In the 1st century B.C., it was the site of Caligula's circus - where Nero had hundreds of Christians martyred, some years after. The Church rises on teh spot where one of Nero's victims St. Peter was buried. Over the years, other building grew up around it. The Vatican's independence started in the 8th century, and was of primary importance throughout the Middle Ages. The Papal State expanded to such an extent that, until the unity of Italy when it was wiped off the Italian political scene, it covered practically all of Central Italy. It only regained an independent political status in 1929 (as a state with less than a half a square kilometer of territory).

Trastevere

Ineffably picturesque, Trastevere is a district of two halves. West of Viale Trastevere, besotted tourists mingle with the few locals who have survived the influx of foreign residents, through twisting alleys packed with bars and restaurants (which are not always the cheapest or the best, but which usually guarantee atmosphere). Every alley seems to lead eventually to Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere, where the facade of the eponymous church glows with 13th-century mosaics, as does the apse, where the scenes from the life of the Virgin are by Pietro Cavallini, a lesser-known Roman contemporary of Giotto. More of Cavallini's extraordinary work can be seen to the east of Viale Trastevere in the church of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, where a fragment survives of his Last Judgment—an extravaganza of exquisitely colored angels' wings (2 Piazza Santa Cecilia; 39-06-589-9289; open Tues.–Thurs. 10 am–noon, Sun 11:30 am–noon). This side of Viale Trastevere is altogether a quieter, more laid-back neighborhood

Meteora

Mycenae

Thermopylae

Mykonos

Why Mykonos?

Few islands in Greece typify the Greek Island experience as well and as famously as Mykonos.  Simply put, there is no island in Greece that offers a better combination of top notch accommodation, superb beaches, cosmopolitan nightlife and variety than Mykonos.  This is the island that offers everything to everyone. 

Surprisingly to some, Mykonos offers a good variety of cultural options.  A visit to he ancient island of Delos is highly recommended. The island boasts one church for every day of the year and it is also home to a growing number. of respected artists.  Music and art festivals are regularly held during the spring and summer months.

Santorini

Crete

Capri

Val D'Orcia

Rapallo

Monterosso al Mare

Rome City Centre

Piazza Navona

Piazza Navone is one of the most famous and arguably the most beautiful of Rome's many squares. The large and lively square features no less than three magnificent fountains. Another eyecatcher is the baroque church of Sant'Agnese in Agone.  The piazza  is situated in the historic center of Rome, west of the Pantheon. It is one of Rome's liveliest squares, with many outdoor cafes, restaurants and night clubs in the neighborhood.

Roman Forum

The Roman Forum was designed by the architect Vitruvius with proportions 3:2 (length to width). For centuries, the Forum Romanum was the site of the city's most important public buildings, such as the Arch of Septimius Severus, built in AD203 and the Roman Forum Rostra or platforms for public speeches. The reliefs on the triple arch represented many of Rome's victories over oriental tribes and the Rostra was decorated with prows of warships captured during battles. The Roman Forum became the spectacular showcase of the Roman Empire filled with beautiful statues and architecture.  The Roman Forum (Forum Romanum) was the central area of the city around which ancient Rome developed. Here was where commerce, business, prostitution, cult and the administration of justice took place. Space where religious activities were conducted and the communal hearth of the city.

The main sight of the Forum include the Arch of Titus (Arco di Tito), the Temple of Saturn, Temple of Vesta, and the church of San Luca e Martina. These are all linked by the Sacra Via, the main road through the Forum.

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Malta