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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Lens to the Past - Pompeii

In the year 79 AD, the two seemingly ordinary Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were forever immortalized by one of the most catastrophic volcanic events in recent history. Mount Vesuvius' eruption not only created two of the most fascinating and unique archaeological sites in the world, it also created a lens through which we can gaze upon how life would have been in an actual Roman city. Spectacular Roman archaeological sites are littered all across Europe, Northern Africa, and the Middle East, but few can provide the kind of information that Pompeii and Herculaneum can.

Pompeii's streets seem to stretch on forever

Our first stop for the day was Pompeii, easily the most visited of the two and definitely the largest site. According to most scholars, Pompeii was an affluent and important city in the Roman Empire before its extraordinary demise. While estimates vary, it seems that the city had approximately 12-15,000 inhabitants, 2000 of whom died the day of the eruption. However, gazing out over the remains it's easy to imagine the city as much larger as the buildings, pubic squares, and roads appear to stretch on forever. 

Wandering through the 2000 year old houses is extremely rewarding

The preservation and restoration of some of the buildings is amazing

Pompeii was rained down on by ash, rocks, and other debris for 6 hours on the day of the eruption, knocking down roofs and walls, and leaving the city buried under 25 feet of debris until its rediscovery 1700 years later. 

The culprit, Vesuvius, in the background

With advancements in technology and further site excavation, more and more is being learned about Pompeii, the eruption of Vesuvius, and everyday Roman life. DNA analysis continues to be run on skeletons found there, and the results shed light on everything from relatedness of people found together to general health to trends in population dynamics (heights, occupations, etc,). 

Some of the unbelievably preserved frescoes

Colors and detail in the surviving frescoes

Much of the site is still off-limits and being studied

Upon entering the site, we were immediately blown away by the sheer size of the city. Block after block seem to stretch on forever and make the city seem larger than the accepted estimates. We decided not to follow any route in particular and just wandered aimlessly through the houses, brothels, eateries, temples, and amphitheaters that have all been uncovered.

The main amphitheater of Pompeii

We were amazed at how well preserved some of the mosaics, frescoes, and architectural elements of the structures were. And then there's the stuff removed from the buildings. Plaster casts of some of the victims, sculptures, fountains, and endless amounts of pottery still remain on site, many kept in a fenced off area that you can still look into.

Some objects still remain where they were found

Sculptures found on the site

The number of intact pieces of pottery is unbelievable

The "posterboy" of Pompeii

With the new cards and passes available in the region of Campania, visiting Pompeii and Herculaneum are now cheaper and easier than ever. We decided to pick up the 5 site card which gives entry to Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis, Stabiae, and Boscoreale for just 20 Euro per person. Even if you only go to Pompeii and Herculaneum (which we did) you still save 2 Euro per person. 

**Don't worry, our Herculaneum post is on its way tomorrow! 

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Heading South

After a few weeks in northern and central Italy, we reached the southern tip of our journey – Campania. We’ve heard that the south has its own flavour and culture which was immediately evident as we tried to catch a train to our hotel in Sorrento. After missing the first train due to a surplus of people over available space – passengers were so stuffed into the train the doors wouldn’t  close – the next train was delayed multiple times while we waited on the platform, carefully watching our belongings*.

Aside from being poorer than the rest of Italy – an environment in which crumbling infrastructure, increased theft, and organized crime thrive – the south runs on a time table all its own, a fact we quickly realized waiting for our first of many trains. As a result, trying to fit too much sightseeing into one day was immediately quashed by a delayed train, cancelled train, or broken down bus (all of these actually happened).  Being forced to slow down, go with the flow, and accept the inevitable, we were thankful for the four full days we had in the area and, with Sorrento as our home base, we were perfectly situated for day trips to Pompeii and Herculaneum, Naples, and the Amalfi Coast. 

From Sorrento, looking out across the bay to Naples

The ancient site of Herculaneum

Amalfi's stunning architecture

Although the south often receives criticism for its higher crime rates and insane drivers, we didn’t encounter any problems while visiting, and the combination of multiple world-class attractions and incredibly affordable prices made it a great backpacking destination. Best of all, our off-season visit meant that the overly visited sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum were nearly deserted and catching a bus to and from Amalfi was without line-up, leaving us more time to wander and take photos.

If having great weather, wonderful food, budget-friendly prices, and some amazing things to see wasn't enough to convince you - the people are great too. Friendly, outgoing, and talkative, the people are really what makes this place unique. We had gerat experiences from the second we arrived, from people helping us to decipher the trains, to a shop owner explaining all the intricacies and differences between the various types of buffalo mozzarella, to our fantastic hosts who gave us great advice on places to eat and things to see. The people are really what makes this place unique.

We would have loved to have kept on our southerly path into Sicily, but our limited time meant that we had to leave that for a future adventure. Instead, we opted to return north and wrap up our time in Italy getting lost in the canals of Venice before heading to Austria. 

The small city of Amalfi

A small vineyard in Revello, on the Amalfi coast

We will get into more detail on the things we got to see and do in the next couple of days, but hopefully some pictures will hold you over until then!

*We later learned the delays and unpredictable transit schedules in the area are due to labour strikes. Striking employees have gone without compensation for three months –  considering this, the trains actually run quite well seeing as the employees are so disgruntled.

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