Monday, December 5, 2011

Piazza della Repubblica in Florence

It’s the oldest and the most modern square of the city. It was the heart of the roman colony: Florentia (menaning “the flourishing”), in fact about three meters underneath our feet lie the remains of the Roman forum.
Since the Xth c. the square hosted the Mercato Vecchio (literally the “Old Market”), the most important trade center in the city and, since 1571, also home of the Jewish ghetto built by order of the Granduke Cosimo I de' Medici.
When Florence became the capital of Italy in 1865 the city underwent a heavy restyling, which ended up with the inevitable demolitions of entire areas of the city center and thus, the unfortunate loss of important artistic treasures. Good part of the history and identity of Florence was lost forever, all to give the city a more “acceptable” look. Florentines referred to this period as the “sventramento del centro storico” (the entrails of the historical center were torn out).

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

San Gimignano in Tuscany


San Gimignano is a small village in the Province of Siena known for being one of the sites of Tuscany which was declared World Heritage by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). It is indeed a peculiar and very characteristic town, considered one of the best preserved examples of two-fourteenth-century urban architecture existing Italy.
Currently its historical and cultural importance is due to the perfect preservation of its original structure dating back to the age of the city states, a characteristic that contributed to put it on the list of World Heritage to protect and preserve for future generations.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Le Cinque Terre

For your holiday in Italy, the Cinque Terre area is the best possible option: Riomaggiore, Corniglia, Manarola, Vernazza, Monterosso, five small villages linked together, hanging in between sea and land, over breathtaking cliffs...

18 kilometres of rocky coast, full of bays, beaches and deep sea bottoms, dominated by a mountain chain running in parallel with the coast...
But there is not only the sea: the Cinque Terre area offers paths on the hills that people can easily cover by foot, and then strolls in the old villages, boat rides, visits to the Sanctuaries, and finally excellent wines and gastronony...
For all these reasons, the Cinque Terre area was declared a UNESCO Human Heritage site in 1997.