I remember my first encounter with Bergamo. After several days in Stresa, on Lago Maggiore north of Milan, I headed east on the autostrada on a late Spring afternoon. The periphery of the old city called the Città Alta, Upper City, is a very industrial area. The main east to west autostrada and numerous major [...]
Campo San Giovanni e Paolo When in Venice, either with one of our small group tours or on my own, I always stay at a lovely small hotel that faces the Campo Santa Maria Formosa, the Palazzo Vitturi Hotel. The rooms with views facing the campo look directly out on the Church of [...]
In the annals of the Catholic Church, few contain a story like Caterina (called “Lucrezia”) de’ Pazzi. She was born into a wealthy Florentine family. At an incredibly early age, some writings suggest perhaps nine years of age, Caterina began to mortify her flesh (self-flagellation, belt of nails, and others) in keeping with meditations she [...]
Since the time of the Grand Tour, Italy has beckoned travelers to the cities of Venice, Milan, Florence, Rome, and Naples. Beyond those well-traveled cities lie less well known places, regions, and cities of incredible beauty. Such is the case of Apulia, Puglia as it is called in Italian. Archaeological finds in the region date [...]
Naples, Italy The city of Naples delights the eye, the palette, and the intellectual mind, but treasury? How so? How can a city that has become the brunt of jokes and even downright disgust be a treasury? When the Houses of Aragon and Bourbon occupied Naples and controlled the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, [...]
A universal truth holds that tourists who first come to Italy, and sometimes those who repeat visits to the country, think only of Venice when they consider a visit to the province of Veneto. However, visitors can find other beautiful and far less crowded cities throughout Veneto. Vicenza is “The Jewel” of the province. Some [...]
Poggio a Caiano A mere eleven miles from the city center of Florence lies one of the most beautiful of the many Medici villas which dot the Tuscan countryside. Lorenzo de Medici, known as “The Magnificent” oversaw the construction one such location: the villa Poggio a Caiano. The approach to the villa offers [...]
The Medici Villa of Petraia and gardens As I prepare to board a flight out of Florence’s Peretola Airport, I always make a point to look to the northeast and seek out an incredibly special villa. In the near distance stands one of the Medici Family’s most beautiful country residences, La Petraia. The [...]
Piazza San Marco Florence continues to surprise those of us fortunate enough to have spent years exploring the private and hidden corners in one of the world’s most sought after travel destinations. Such is the case of San Marco Monastery, located an easy ten minute walk north of the city’s Duomo and Baptistery. [...]
Self Portrait Bern lies in the heart of one of the most beautiful cantons of Switzerland, a gorgeous walled city center now recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At the beginning of the 16th century when one Niklaus Manuel Deutsch was born, the city had survived numerous plagues and long periods [...]