Italy - Our Top 10

During our nearly one month stay in Italy we were able to visit an array of different regions and cities. To wrap up our trip, before moving onto Vienna and Berlin, here are our top ten Italian experiences.

Ancient Rome

No trip to Italy is complete without visiting the Colosseum. One of the Seven Wonders of the World, it is not only extremely impressive, even by today's standards, but also a testament to the building acumen of the ancient Romans. If that wasn't enough, you can walk in the footsteps of Augustus, Caesar, and the rest of Rome's important historical figures in the ruins of the Roman Imperial Forum and Palatine Hill.

The Colosseum - the centre of Ancient Rome

Cinque Terre

Five cities perched on the Ligurian coast caused us to forget everything - blog posts, TV, calling home, and even bickering - if only for a few days. Rightly a UNESCO World Heritage Site, these five cities still seem to operate the same way they have for hundreds of years, oblivious to the millions of tourists flocking to see them every year.

Riomaggiore - our home for 4 days

Pompeii and Herculaneum

Perhaps the best opportunity to step back nearly 2000 years and explore a fully functioning Roman city - from palaces and temples to storefronts, cafeterias, and small family homes. Ironically, by being destroyed, Pompeii and Herculaneum survived, untouched and avoided the slow degradation of generation upon generation building on top of each other. 

Pompeii - destroyed but not gone

Burano

A photographer's playground, with it's brightly painted houses and winding canals, Burano provides the authenticity that Venice is now missing. Even as water buses deposit groups of tourists on the island hourly, it somehow manages to retain a laid back, peaceful feeling.  

 

Burano - full of colour

Sculpture

With the likes of Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello, and Bernini (wait, he wasn't a ninja turtle), the Italians easily dominate in the field of sculpture and there's no better place to bask in the glory of their masterpieces than Florence. The Uffizi, Bargello, and Accademia museums feature works by these famous sculptors as well as many others. 

Giasone - one of our favorite sculptures in Italy

The Vatican Museum

Our favorite Italian museum (that we've visited), and a serious contender for best overall, the Vatican Museum won us over with it's collections which are large both in size and scope. From ancient Egyptian artifacts, to Greek and Roman sculptures, classical and modern paintings, and the museum's architecture, the museum offers something for everyone - and it's also home to the Sistine Chapel. 

The Raphael Rooms - one of art's great achievements

Pizza

Naples may be credited with the invention of this tasty dish, however we found restaurants throughout the country serving up mouth watering versions. Our favorites were Senzanome, in Florence, and Dar Poeta, in Rome. 

Pizza at Senzanome

Montemartini

Unable to get enough sculpture in Florence, we added a trip to the Montemartini Museum to our Roman itinerary and were blown away at the exhibition space - a historic electric plant. The contrast between the soft white marble sculptures and dark metal engines, valves, and pipes is gorgeous and provides a great photo opportunity as well. 

Juxtaposition at Montemartini

Basilica San Marco

Unrivaled for the title of most opulent by anything we've seen to date, Basilica San Marco makes up for what it lacks in size and scale with an abundance of sparkling gold mosaics. The lavish exterior, situated next to the equally stunning Doge's Palace, and mosaic covered interior leave visitors with a true understanding of how rich and powerful this republic really was. 

Basilica San Marco - one of the best in the world

The Pantheon

Was it famous before Dan Brown included it in his best selling novel Angels and Demons? If so, it's impossible to tell now, as visitors flock to the site hoping to glimpse a hidden symbol, or at least Raphael's tomb - which actually isn't that easy to spot. However for us, the building's architecture is the real draw. 

The Pantheon - an architectural marvel

A reminder, many more photos from our time in Italy, as well as the entire trip through Europe can be found on our Flickr page.

Hope you enjoyed our list...think we missed anything? Let us know!

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Cinque Terre - A Photo Essay

Cinque Terre is the envy of Pinterest members everywhere and one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Five cities cling to the Ligurian coast for dear life while still maintaining their old-world charm. The people inhabiting these places are friendly and helpful, never seeming to get frustrated by the millions of tourists who come to stay and explore every year. In just three short days, the region captured our imagination and made us vow to return.

Monterosso

Vernazza 

Corniglia

Manarola

Riomaggiore

We hope you enjoyed our photos even a fracture as much as we enjoyed our time there. Check out our post on Riomaggiore, where we stayed for four relaxing nights at the lovely Casa Lorenza. If you did indeed enjoy these photos check out our Flickr page for some more!

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Riomaggiore - an Eternity would be too short

Cinque Terre was another site, like Santorini or Athens, that I dreamed about visiting everyday since first spotting a photo online. Bright buildings in hues of pink, orange, red, and yellow lined up against steep cliffs and the crashing Mediterranean Sea combine to create five of the most picturesque villages in the world. 

We caught the train from Milan to Riomaggiore with a quick stop over in Genoa. Unfortunately we ended up waiting at the Riomaggiore train station for a bit due to a miscommunication with Lorenza, the owner of our B&B, however all was quickly forgotten upon entering our beautiful room at Casa Lorenza - complete with en-suite bathroom, a couple bottles of beer as a welcome gift, and a private balcony overlooking the entire town. 

Sunset from our balcony

Brilliant colours of Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore's centre

Laundry drying in the sun

The room was so beautiful it became difficult to leave but after a leisurely morning and breakfast on the balcony we headed out to explore the town, with just a bit of separation anxiety. Riomaggiore is quite small, as are all the towns in Cinque Terre, and we were able to thoroughly explore it in just a few hours. 

The town has a rocky beach area as well as the ruins of an old castle perched at the highest point on the cliff. We also found two lovely churches, the grey and white stripes we later found out are common in many churches in the region. 

Flowers still in bloom

Colourful buildings line the small harbour

Path taking you towards the beach area

Church interior stripped in gray and white

Besides the sights, we found some amazing food in Riomaggiore. The best focaccia I've ever eaten (good plain for breakfast as well as covered in pesto, tomatoes, and mozzarella for lunch), as well as homemade pasta to-go (made as you wait gnocchi with pomodoro sauce in an adorable fold-up Chinese food box) and fresh local prosciutto and tallegio cheese from the deli. In addition to being delicious and amazingly fresh, everything was really afforable.

After two wonderful days exploring the area the rain found us again, shutting down the ferry service and effectively forcing us indoors for most of the day. Although we'd planned to visit Porto Venere - a small town outside of the Cinque Terre area yet just as pretty - we were unable to get there without the ferry (no train service to the town). We were a bit upset but also embraced a day of relaxing in our room and storm watching from the balcony (have I mentioned we had our own private balcony?). Alas, missing out on Porto Venere gives us a great reason to visit again!

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Relaxing in Riomaggiore

Hey, we know its been a few days since we posted but don't worry, we're still alive! We just happen to have a very nice place in the lovely town of Riomaggiore in Cinque Terre, Italy with a big balcony and an amazing view...oh, and no wireless. So instead of blogging we are just enjoying our time here and relaxing for a few days.

Do check back though, because there is a little bar below our place with wi-fi and we do have some posts stored up...so maybe one or two might pop up if we get around to it. In any case, expect a flurry of posts starting October 27th when we arrive in Florence since we are about 4 cities behind now!
 

Here is a picture from sunset last night in the meantime...

 

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