Italy, commanding a long Mediterranean coastline, has left a powerful mark on Western culture and cuisine. Its capital, Rome, is home to the Vatican as well as landmark art and ancient ruins.
Other major cities include Florence, with Renaissance treasures such as Michelangelo’s ", David" and it’s leather and paper artisans, Venice, the sinking city of canals; and Milan, Italy’s fashion capital.
Capital: Rome
Currency: Euro
Major Cities
Rome,
Italy’s capital, is a sprawling, cosmopolitan city with nearly 3,000 years of globally influential art, architecture and culture on display. Ancient ruins such as the Roman Forum and the Colosseum evoke the power of the former Roman Empire. Vatican City, headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church, boasts St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museums, which house masterpieces such as Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel frescoes.
Venice
Venice, capital of northern Italy’s Veneto region, is built on more than 100 small islands in a marshy lagoon in the Adriatic Sea. Its stone palaces seemingly rise out of the water. There are no cars or roadways, just canals and boats. The Grand Canal snakes through the city, which is filled with innumerable narrow, mazelike alleys and small squares.
Florence,
Capital of Italy’s Tuscany region and birthplace of the Renaissance is home to masterpieces of art and architecture. One of its most iconic sites is the Florence Cathedral, with its terra-cotta-tiled dome engineered by Brunelleschi and bell tower designed by Giotto. The Galleria dell & Accademia displays Michelangelo’s “David,” while the Uffizi Gallery exhibits preeminent works such as Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus” and da Vinci’s “Annunciation.”
Milan:
Milan, a metropolis in Italy’s northern Lombardy region, is a global capital of fashion and design. Home to the national stock exchange, it’s a financial hub also known for its high-end dining and shopping. The Gothic Duomo di Milano cathedral and the Santa Maria delle Grazie convent, housing Leonardo da Vinci’s fresco “The Last Supper,” testify to centuries of art and culture.
Pisa:
Pisa is a city in central Italy’s Tuscany region best known for its iconic Leaning Tower. Already tilting when it was completed in 1372, the 56m white-marble cylinder is the bell tower of the Romanesque, striped-marble cathedral that rises next to it in the Piazza dei Miracoli, a grassy, walled square.
Capri,
An island in Italy’s Gulf of Naples, is famed for its rugged landscape, upscale beach resorts and high-end shops selling handmade leather sandals and signature limoncello liqueur. One of its best-known natural sites is the Blue Grotto, a dark cavern where the sea glows electric blue, the
result of sunlight passing through an underwater cave.
Verona
Verona is a city in northern Italy’s Veneto region famous for being the setting of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Its home to a 14th-century house said to have “Juliet’s balcony,” even though the building’s connection to the play is fictional. Verona is also famed for its grand Arena, a 1st-century Roman amphitheater still hosting concerts and an annual opera festival.
Point of Interest:
Colosseum, Florence Cathedral, Pantheon, St. Peter basilica, Uffizi Gallery, Grand Canal, Saint Mark Basilica, Trevi Fountain, Amalfi Coast, Sistine Chapel, Doge’s palace, Vatican Museum, Piazza San Marco, galleria Borghese, Milan cathedral, Leaning Town of Pisa, Lake Como, Spanish Steps. Rialto Bridge, Siena cathedral, Murano Glass factory.
www.aconholidays.com