Sights in Italy
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Chiesa della Gran Madre di Dio
This church was built between 1818 and 1831 to commemorate the return of Vittorio Emanuele I from exile. The steps leading up to the church were the ones Michael Caine famously careered down in the cult film, The Italian Job, while some mystics would have you believe that the Holy Grail is actually buried under the church. Its interior is closed to the public.
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Duomo
A frenzy of flying buttresses, 135 spires and a staggering 3200 statues, Milan’s Gothic Duomo is the world’s largest of its kind, and third largest in any style in Europe. This vision of pink-tinged Candoglia marble was commissioned in 1386 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti and has a capacity for a congregation of 40,000 (Milan’s population at the time).
Centuries of construction (from east to west) finally saw it largely completed in 1812 (although various bits and bobs would not be attached until the 1960s). Crowning this Gothic splendour is a gilded copper statue of the Madonnina (Little Madonna), the city’s traditional protector. Curiously, there’s no bell tower.
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Marina
Browse-worthy indeed, the Cagliari waterfront is known as Marina and it's the most atmospheric part of town, with little lanes full of artisans' shops, delicatessens and loads of good eateries. This neighbourhood is also blessed with plenty of churches: the Chiesa di Sant'Eulalia on Piazza Sant'Eulalia is the most interesting thanks to its attached museum.
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Museo Archeologico dell’Alto Adige
The star of the Museo Archeologico dell’Alto Adige is Ötzi, the Iceman. The so-called Iceman’s clothing and equipment is on display, while his still-frozen body is kept in a separate, temperature-controlled room and can be viewed through a tiny window. Ötzi aside, the museum also has an important collection of archaeological finds.
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Gianicolo
It was here in 1849 that Giuseppe Garibaldi and his makeshift army fought pope-backing French troops in one of the fiercest battles in the struggle for Italian unification. Although a cannon is still fired from it every day at noon, Rome's highest hill is now better known for great views, pony rides and Neapolitan puppet shows at weekends.
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Basilica di Sant’Apollinare in Classe
The brilliant star-spangled apse mosaic of the Basilica di Sant’Apollinare in Classe is a must-see. The basilica, 5km southeast of the city centre, was built in the 6th century on the burial site of Ravenna’s patron saint, who converted the city to Christianity in the 2nd century. To get there take bus 4 or 44 to Classe.
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Castello Sforzesco
Originally a Visconti fortress, this immense red-brick castle was later home to the mighty Sforza dynasty that ruled Renaissance Milan. The castle’s defences were designed by Leonardo da Vinci; Napoleon later drained the moat and removed the drawbridges. Today, it shelters a series of specialised museums.
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Giardino Garibaldi
Surrounded on all sides by elegant palazzi, gentrified Piazza Marina (M0154) is Palermo's quietest piazza, and its small Giardino Garibaldi encloses Palermo's oldest tree, a venerable 25m-high, 150-year-old ficus benjamin. Dedicated to Garibaldi, the square has witnessed its fair share of bloody executions.
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Piazza Maggiore
Flanked by the world's fifth-largest basilica and a series of impressive Renaissance palazzi, Piazza Maggiore is the city's principal focus and an obvious starting point for sightseeing. A lively pedestrian hub through which you'll find yourself passing several times, it was laid out in the 13th century.
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Bioparco
A tried and tested kid-pleaser, Rome’s zoo hosts a predictable collection of animals on a far-from-inspiring 18-hectare site. Quite frankly there are better ways to spend your money, but if your kids are driving you bonkers, it’s a thought.
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Teatro Politeama Garibaldi
Teatro Politeama Garibaldi is Palermo’s second theatre. Designed by architect Giuseppe Damiani Almeyda between 1867 and 1874, it has the same imposing circular layout as the Teatro Massimo and features a striking facade resembling a triumphal arch topped by a huge bronze chariot.
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Giudecca 795
Founded to promote local artists of all kinds, this quirky and welcoming gallery displays (and sells) a wide range of works by both established and young artists, most of whom have a strong connection with Venice itself. There is also a shop attached with quirky, Venice-related keepsakes.
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Chiesa di San Cataldo
The Chiesa di San Cataldo almost looks Eastern European but, disappointingly, is almost bare inside. Its main point of interest to visitors lies in the Arab-Norman style of its exterior: the dusky-pink bijoux domes, solid square shape, blind arcading and delicate tracery.
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Bastione San Remy
Once a strong point in the fortifications, the bastion is now a belvedere offering views across the city and its lagoons. For decades a flea market has set up here on Sunday, perhaps the successor to the 1948 fair, which was held as the city tried to pull itself out of the postwar mire.
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Piazza Trieste e Trento
Cocktail-sipping poseurs and packs of flirting teens make this an essential city pitstop. Grab a lemon granita from the hole-in-the-wall acquaiolo (drink stall) and take in the famous locals, which include the Palazzo Reale, Teatro San Carlo and legendary Caffè Gambrinus.
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Casa di Goethe
A gathering place for German intellectuals, the Via del Corso apartment where Johann Wolfgang von Goethe enjoyed a happy Italian sojourn from 1786 to 1788, but complained of the noisy neighbours, is now a lovingly maintained museum. Exhibits include documents and some fascinating drawings and etchings. With advance permission, ardent fans can use the library full of first editions.
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Mole Antonelliana
The symbol of Turin is the Mole Antonelliana. This 167m tower, with its distinctive aluminium spire, appears on the Italian two-cent coin. It was originally intended as a synagogue when construction began in 1862, but was never used as a place of worship.
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Chiesa di Santa Margherita
Vernazza's tiny harbour is a delight, so perfectly quaint you'll think you've wandered onto a film set. The small waterfront piazza is watched over by the harbourside gothic church of Santa Margherita di Antiochia complete with bell tower which has stood here since 1318.
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Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo (MAXXI)
Rome’s flagship contemporary art gallery opened in May 2010 to grand fanfare and headlines across the world. The star of the show was, and still is, Zaha Hadid’s stunning €150 million, 27,000 sq m gallery, universally hailed as a triumph of modern architecture. Housed in a former barracks, the building is impressive inside and out. The multi-layered geometric facade gives on to a cavernous light-filled interior full of snaking walkways, suspended staircases, glass, cement and steel. There’s no set route between the exhibition spaces but it’s fascinating to follow the sweeping ramps as they curve around the walls. The gallery has a small permanent collection but more…
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Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Scale
If you have the time, the old town is best accessed via the salita commendatore, a winding pass made up of stairs and narrow archways taking you past the remains of the 15th-century Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Scale, from where there's a good viewing point.
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Chiesa di San Giuseppe dei Teatini
In the southwestern corner of the Quattro Canti is the Chiesa di San Giuseppe dei Teatini, topped by a soaring cupola. The monumental interior is baroque at its brashest, and has been lovingly restored after it suffered substantial damage during WWII.
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Giardini di Augusto
The colourful Giardini di Augusto was founded by the Emperor Augustus. The view from the gardens is breathtaking, looking over to the Isole Faraglioni, three limestone pinnacles that rise vertically out of the sea.
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Using high-tech holograms and computer-generated footage, this 'virtual archaeological museum' brings ruins like Pompei's forum and Capri's Villa Jovis back to virtual life. Especially fun for kids, it's a useful place to comprehend just how impressive those crumbling columns once were. The museum is on the main street linking Ercolano-Scavi train station to the Ruins of Herculaneum.
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Piazza Castello
Turin's central square shelters a wealth of museums, theatres and cafés. Essentially baroque, the grand piazza was laid out from the 14th century to serve as the seat of dynastic power for the House of Savoy.
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Museo Nazionale Romano: Palazzo Massimo alle Terme
A treasure trove of classical art, the light-filled Palazzo Massimo alle Terme is one of Rome's finest galleries, but remains almost off the beaten track in its position a few steps away from Termini station.
The ground and 1st floors are devoted to some incredibly fine sculpture, including the mesmerising Boxer that dates from the 1st century BC; upstairs there's an exquisite crouching Aphrodite from Tivoli's Villa Adriana, the softly contoured, 2nd-century BC Sleeping Hermaphrodite, and the iconic vision of perfection that is the Discus Thrower. Yet the sensational mosaics and frescoes on the 2nd floor blow everything else away. The layout has been revamped so that the…
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