Sights in Italy
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Colosseum
A monument to raw, merciless power, the Colosseum (Colosseo) is the most thrilling of Rome's ancient sights. It's not just the amazing completeness of the place, or its size, but the sense of violent history that resonates: it was here that gladiators met in mortal combat and condemned prisoners fought off wild beasts in front of baying, bloodthirsty crowds. Two thousand years later it's Italy's top tourist attraction, pulling in between 16,000 and 19,000 people on an average day.
Built by the emperor Vespasian (r AD 69–79) in the grounds of Nero's palatial Domus Aurea, the Colosseum was inaugurated in AD 80. To mark the occasion, Vespasian's son and successor Titus (r…
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Pantheon
Along with the Colosseum, the Pantheon is one of Rome's iconic sights. A striking 2000-year-old temple (now a church), it is the city's best-preserved ancient monument and one of the most influential buildings in the Western world. The greying, pock-marked exterior might look its age, but inside it's a different story and it's an exhilarating experience to pass through its towering bronze doors and have your vision directed upwards to the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome.
Its current form dates from around AD 120, when Emperor Hadrian built over Marcus Agrippa's original temple (27 BC) – you can still see Agrippa's name inscribed on the pediment. Hadrian's temple…
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Trevi Fountain
This fountain almost fills an entire piazza, and is Rome's most famous fountain, its iconic status sealed when Anita Ekberg splashed here in La Dolce Vita. The flamboyant baroque ensemble was designed by Nicola Salvi in 1732 and depicts Neptune's chariot being led by Tritons with sea horses – one wild, one docile – representing the moods of the sea. The water comes from the aqua virgo, a 1st-century-BC underground aqueduct, and the name Trevi refers to the tre vie (three roads) that converge at the fountain. It's traditional to throw a coin into the fountain to ensure your return to the Eternal City. It's usually very busy around the fountain during the day, so it's…
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St Peter’s Basilica
In Vatican City, a city of astounding churches, St Peter’s Basilica outdazzles them all. Awe-inspiringly huge, rich and spectacular, it’s a monument to centuries of artistic genius. On a busy day, around 20,000 visitors pass through here. If you want to be one of them, remember to dress appropriately – no shorts, miniskirts or bare shoulders. If you want to hire an audioguide (€5), they’re available at a desk in the cloakroom to the right of the entrance. Free English-language guided tours of the basilica are run from the Vatican tourist office, the Centro Servizi Pellegrini e Turisti, at 9.45am on Tuesday and Thursday and at 2.15pm every afternoon between Monday and…
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Vatican Museums
Visiting the Vatican Museums is an unforgettable experience that requires strength, stamina and patience. You’ll need to be on top of your game to endure the inevitable queues – if not for a ticket then for the security checks – and enjoy what is undoubtedly one of the world’s great museum complexes.
Founded by Pope Julius II in the early 16th century and enlarged by successive pontiffs, the museums are housed in what is known collectively as the Palazzo Apostolico Vaticano. This massive 5.5-hectare complex consists of two palaces – the Vatican palace nearest St Peter’s and the Belvedere Palace – joined by two long galleries. On the inside are three courtyards:…
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Galleria degli Uffizi
Reason enough to come to Florence, this fabled museum contains quite simply the world’s finest collection of Renaissance art, including both 12th- to 14th-century forebears and 16th- and 17th-century inheritors. Its 50-plus rooms are crammed with more than 1500 works, nearly all of them masterpieces. Part of the museum’s mystique is the difficulties it presents: long lines, crowded galleries, a daunting combination of quantity and quality. There are two tricks to enjoying your experience: pre-book tickets and concentrate on select artists or periods. While signage is less than satisfying, the museum is laid out chronologically, and largely over a single floor. For a…
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Basilica di San Marco
Creating Venice's signature architectural wonder took nearly 800 years of painstaking labour and one saintly barrel of lard. Legend has it that in AD 828, wily Venetian merchants smuggled St Mark's corpse out of Egypt in a barrel of pork fat to avoid inspection by Muslim customs authorities. Church authorities in Rome took a dim view of Venice's tendency to glorify itself and God in the same breath, but Venice defiantly created the basilica in its own cosmopolitan image, with Byzantine onion-bulb domes, a Greek cross layout, a Gothic rosette window and Egyptian marble walls. The roped-off circuit of the church is free and takes about 15 minutes. For entry, dress modestly…
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Piazza di Spagna & the Spanish Steps
The Spanish Steps (Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti) provide a perfect auditorium for people-watching, and have been a magnet for visitors since the 18th century. The Piazza di Spagna was named after the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See, and consequently the steps were so-named, although they were designed by the Italian Francesco de Sanctis and built in 1725 with a legacy from the French. They lead to the French Chiesa della Trinità dei Monti, which was commissioned by King Louis XII of France and consecrated in 1585. In addition to the great views from outside, it boasts some wonderful frescoes by Daniele da Volterra. His Deposizione (Deposition), in the second chapel…
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Galleria dell'Accademia
A lengthy queue marks the door to this gallery, built especially to house one of the greatest masterpieces of the Renaissance, Michelangelo's original David.
Fortunately, the most famous statue in the world is worth the long wait. The subtle detail (not quite as illuminated on copies) of the real thing - the veins in his sinewy arms, the muscles in his legs, the change in expression as you move around the statue - is impressive. Carved from a single block of marble already worked on by two sculptors before him (both of who gave up), Michelangelo's most famous work was also his most challenging - he didn't choose the marble himself, it was veined and its larger-than-life…
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Palazzo Ducale
Don't be fooled by its genteel Gothic elegance: underneath all that lacy pink cladding, the doges' palace flexes serious muscle. The seat of Venice's government for nearly seven centuries, this powerhouse survived wars, conspiracies and economic crashes, and was cleverly restored by Antonio da Ponte (who also designed Ponte di Rialto) after a 1577 fire.
Exterior
Outside, the palazzo (mansion) mixes business with pleasure, capping a graceful colonnade with medieval capitals depicting key Venetian guilds. Facing the piazza, Zane and Bartolomeo Bon's 1443 Porta della Carta (Paper Door) served as a bulletin board for government decrees.
Courtyard
Sansovino's brawny statues of…
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Peggy Guggenheim Collection
After tragically losing her father on the Titanic, heiress Peggy Guggenheim befriended Dadaists, dodged Nazis and amassed avant-garde works by 200 modern artists at her palatial home on the Grand Canal. Peggy's Palazzo Venier dei Leoni became a modernist shrine, chronicling surrealism, Italian futurism and abstract expressionism, with a subtext of Peggy's romantic pursuits – the collection includes key works by Peggy's ex-husband Max Ernst as well as Jackson Pollock, who was among Peggy's many rumoured lovers. Peggy collected according to her own convictions rather than for prestige or style, so her collection includes folk art and lesser-known artists alongside…
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Piazza del Popolo
For centuries the sight of public executions, this elegant neoclassical piazza is a superb people-watching spot. It was originally laid out in 1538 to provide a grandiose entrance to the city – at the time, and for centuries before, it was the main northern gateway into the city. Since then it has been extensively altered, most recently by Giuseppe Valadier in 1823. Guarding its southern entrance are Carlo Rainaldi’s twin 17th-century baroque churches, Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Chiesa di Santa Maria in Montesanto, while over on the northern flank is the Porta del Popolo, created by Bernini in 1655. In the centre, the 36m-high Egyptian obelisk was moved…
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Scicli
Scicli is full of wonderful baroque architecture - in particular Palazzo Beneventano and Palazzo Fava - and framed by rocky cliffs. It is well off the beaten track and there is seldom another tourist in sight. From here you can head down to Modica Marina (around €2.20, six buses daily) and Sampieri (around €2.50, three buses daily) on the southern coast for long sandy beaches, as well as rocky coves.
Both are popular with the town's youth, with bars and loungers (bed & umbrella for two around €10) on the sand, though there are vast unpopulated areas if you walk along the beaches, where you can be undisturbed by the crowds.
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Campo de' Fiori
Noisy, colourful 'Il Campo' is a major focus of Roman life: by day it hosts a much-loved market, while at night it morphs into a raucous open-air pub. Towering over the square is the Obi-Wan-like form of Giordano Bruno, a monk who was burned at the stake for heresy in 1600.
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Ponte Vecchio
The first documentation of a stone bridge here, at the narrowest crossing point along the entire length of the Arno, dates from 972. The Arno looks placid enough, but when it gets mean, it gets very mean. Floods in 1177 and 1333 destroyed the bridge, and in 1966 it came close to being destroyed again. Many of the jewellers with shops on the bridge were convinced the floodwaters would sweep away their livelihoods; however - fortunately - the bridge held.
They're still here. Indeed, the bridge has twinkled with the glittering wares of jewellers, their trade often passed down from generation to generation, ever since the 16th century, when Ferdinando I de' Medici ordered them…
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Piazza Navona
With its baroque palazzi and extravagant fountains, pavement cafes, hawkers and surging crowds, stadium-sized Piazza Navona is Rome's most iconic public square. Laid out on the ruins of an arena built by Domitian in AD 86, it was paved over in the 15th century and for almost 300 years hosted the city's main market.
Of the piazza's three fountains, Bernini's high-camp Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers) dominates. Depicting personifications of the Nile, Ganges, Danube and Plate rivers, it's festooned with a palm tree, lion and horse and topped by an obelisk. Legend has it that the figure of the Nile is shielding his eyes from the Chiesa di Sant'Agnese in…
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Chiesa del Gesù
An imposing, much-copied example of late-16th-century Counter-Reformation architecture, this is Rome's most important Jesuit church. The facade by Giacomo della Porta is impressive, but it's the awesome gold and marble interior that is the real attraction. Of the art on display, the most astounding work is the Trionfo del Nome di Gesù (Triumph of the Name of Jesus), the swirling, hypnotic vault fresco by Giovanni Battista Gaulli (aka Il Baciccia), who also painted the cupola frescoes and designed the stucco decoration.
Baroque master Andrea Pozzo designed the Cappella di Sant'Ignazio in the northern transept. Here you'll find the tomb of Ignatius Loyola, the Spanish…
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Imperial Forums
The ruins over the road from the Roman Forum are known collectively as the Imperial Forums (Fori Imperiali). Constructed between 42 BC and AD 112 by successive emperors, they were largely buried in 1933 when Mussolini built Via dei Fori Imperiali. Excavations have since unearthed much of them, but work continues and visits are limited to the Mercati di Traiano (Trajan's Markets), accessible through the Museo dei Fori Imperiali.
Little that's recognisable remains of the Foro di Traiano (Trajan's Forum), except for some pillars from the Basilica Ulpia and the Colonna di Traiano (Trajan's Column), whose minutely detailed reliefs celebrate Trajan's military victories over the…
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Palazzo Donn'Anna
Few buildings fire up the local gossipmongers like Posillipo’s seaside Palazzo Donn’Anna. Incomplete, semiderelict yet strangely beautiful, it takes its name from Anna Carafa, for whom it was built as a wedding present from her husband, Ramiro Guzman, the Spanish viceroy of Naples. When Guzman hotfooted it back to Spain in 1644 he left his wife heartbroken in Naples. She died shortly afterwards and architectural whiz-kid Cosimo Fanzago gave up the project. The grand yet forlorn heap sits on the site of an older villa, La Sirena (The Mermaid), reputed setting for Queen Joan’s scandalous sex orgies and crimes of passion (rumour has it that fickle Joan dumped her lovers…
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Duomo
Not only is Florence's duomo the city's most iconic landmark, it's also one of Italy's 'Big Three' (with Pisa's Leaning Tower and Rome's Colosseum). Its famous red-tiled dome, graceful campanile (bell tower) and breathtaking pink, white and green marble facade have the wow factor in spades.
Begun in 1296 by Sienese architect Arnolfo di Cambio, the cathedral took almost 150 years to complete. Its neo-Gothic facade was designed in the 19th century by architect Emilio de Fabris to replace the uncompleted original, torn down in the 16th century. The oldest and most clearly Gothic part of the cathedral is its south flank, pierced by Porta dei Canonici (Canons' Door), a…
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Chiesa di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva
Built on the site of an ancient temple to Minerva, the Dominican Chiesa di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva is Rome’s only Gothic church, although little remains of the original 13th-century design.
Inside, in the Cappella Carafa (also called the Cappella della Annunciazione), you’ll find two superb 15th-century frescoes by Filippino Lippi and the majestic tomb of Pope Paul IV. Left of the high altar is one of Michelangelo’s lesser-known sculptures, Cristo Risorto (Christ Bearing the Cross; 1520). An altarpiece of the Madonna and Child in the second chapel in the northern transept is attributed to Fra Angelico, the Dominican friar and painter, who is also buried in the…
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Chiesa di San Luigi dei Francesi
Church to Rome’s French community since 1589, this baroque church boasts no less than three canvases by Caravaggio: La Vocazione di San Matteo (The Calling of Saint Matthew), Il Martiro di San Matteo (The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew) and San Matteo e l’Angelo (Saint Matthew and the Angel), together known as the St Matthew cycle. These were among Caravaggio’s earliest religious works, painted between 1600 and 1602, but they are inescapably his, featuring down-to-earth realism and stunning use of chiaroscuro (a three-dimensional effect created with contrasting highlights and dark shading). Before you leave the church, take a moment to enjoy Domenichino’s colourful…
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Roman Forum (Foro Romano)
Today an impressive, if rather confusing, sprawl of ruins, the Roman Forum was once a gleaming complex of marble-clad temples, proud basilicas and vibrant public spaces: the gleaming heart of an ancient city.
Originally an Etruscan burial ground, it was first developed in the 7th century BC and expanded over subsequent centuries. Its importance declined after the 4th century until eventually it was used as pasture land. In the Middle Ages it was known as the Campo Vaccino (literally 'Cow Field') and extensively plundered for its stone and marble. The area was systematically excavated in the 18th and 19th centuries, and excavations continue to this day.
Entering from Largo…
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Museo Nazionale del Cinema
A decade ago, the tower became home to the multifloored Museo Nazionale del Cinema, which takes you on a fantastic tour through cinematic history – from the earliest magic lanterns, stereoscopes and other optical toys to the present day. Movie memorabilia on display includes Marilyn Monroe’s black lace bustier, Peter O’Toole’s robe from Lawrence of Arabia and the coffin used by Bela Lugosi’s Dracula. At the heart of the museum, the vast Temple Hall is surrounded by 10 interactive ‘chapels’ devoted to various film genres.
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Cimitero Monumentale
Behind striking Renaissance- revival black-and-white walls, Milan’s wealthy have kept their dynastic ambitions alive long after death with grand sculptural gestures since 1866. Nineteenth-century death-the-maiden eroticism gives way to some fabulous abstract forms from midcentury masters. Studio BBPR’s geometric steel-and-marble memorial to Milan’s WWII concentration camp dead is stark and moving. Grab a map inside the forecourt - it’s easy to get lost.
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