A. Rome B. Historic centre of Florence C. Pisa D. Venice E. San Gimignano F. Siena G. Ravenna H. Cinque Terre I. Pompeii J. Verona K. Assisi L. Etruscan necropole of Tarquinia M. Modena N. Su Nuraxi di Barumini O. Medici villas and gardens in Tuscany |
Rome Added to the list in 1980 - visited by Maarten and Annick in 2009 Rome was founded, according to the legend, in 753 by Romulus and Remus. It was the first capital of the Roman empire and became the capital of Christianity in the 4th century. The city is packed with world heritage: the different Forums, the Pantheon, Trajan's column... Own impression Annick: we visited Rome in August and it was boiling hot - we even had 46°C! The city is packed with ancient remains and has a nice atmosphere, especially on the many plaza's with beautiful fountains. I enjoyed her the most during the evenings, which probably has more to do with the heat than anything else :-) Favourite site to see: the Colosseum! Maarten: no doubt about it: the Urbs aeterna is the most beautiful city in the world! I simply love it! In each church, on each square, in each small alley you will find evidence of Rome's rich history. Whether a fountain, statue, building or inscription, there is always a unique moment waiting for you around the next corner... From the majestic splendour of the colosseum to the breathtaking brilliance of the Renaissance architecture and the grandeur of the Vatican: Rome is a superlative in itself. (top) |
Historic centre of
Florence Added to the list in 1982 - visited by Annick, Maarten and Febe in 2013 Firenze is the symbol and cradle of the Renaissance. This medieval merchant-city flourished under the de' Medici family, local rulers in the 15th and 16th century, its golden age. In that time, many impressive buildings were constructed here, which gave this city its splendour as a cultural, economical and spiritual centre. The magnificent architecture and other works of art of the city greatly influenced Italian architecture at that time, attracting famous architects, sculptors and painters (e.g. Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Donatello, Botticello...). Later on, the example of Firenze influenced architecture and art throughout the European mainland. Own impression Annick: Firenze is a beautiful city, one that I would like to explore more of by doing a proper citytrip there. We visited Firenze for a couple of hours on our trip back home from Sardegna. It was early August, and boiling hot. Far too hot to be good for walking around actually. We just couldn't refresh... The city was also completely overcrowded with tourists, which made it more difficult to visit as well, since we had Febe in the stroller with us. Still, I couldn't help but smile upon all the beautiful buildings around us. One famous masterpiece after another enrolls in the fairly small city centre, and there were loads of musea around to visit (all of which we of course didn't have the time for). I'm looking forward to a winter visit or a visit in springtime one day... Maarten: The most beautiful city in Europe (the world?), if you ask me. It doesn't have the long history of Rome, but makes up in Renaissance grandeur. Both the architecture and the art are of the highest class. It is an open-air museum in a lively (although slightly crowded) city. Been here twice, but I still feel that I haven't seen half of it: it is just full of highlights... Need to come back here, especially now that I have read Dan Brown's "Inferno". Personal favorite: the colours of the cathedral - campanile - baptistery complex. (top) |
Pisa
Added to the list in 1987- visited by Maarten and Annick in 2009 The Piazza del Duomo houses 4 monuments: the leaning tower (the campanile), the cathedral, the baptistry and a cemetery. The site is famous all over the world. Own impression Annick: I visited this place twice, and on both accasions it was a spur of the moment idea... For me it is a very nice site, I love the architecture of the buildings. A bit disappointing are the massive crowds of tourists walking around, making it almost impossible to enjoy the site at daytime. My advice: visit at night (there are some excellent restaurants nearby) or come really early in the morning. Otherwise you'll share your pictures with 298384 other tourists :-) Maarten: I have been here twice, although the second time it was already dark. Personally, this place feels strange to me: you have the three large buildings standing rather isolated on the grass lawn, but outside of that Pisa is just another Italian town. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed a spaghetti vongole here. (top) |
Annick at the tower. |
Her dog Daiko, with slightly more of the Piazza del Duomo. |
View on the complete Piazza del Duomo. |
Venice Added to the list in 1987 - visited by Maarten in 1997 and Annick in 2006 Built over a lagoon, Venice was founded in the 5th century and is spread over 118 small islands. It became an important city in the 10th century and is an architectural masterpiece. Own impression Annick: For me, this is my favourite world heritage site so far. Next to the fact that this city is simply amazing in very single way, this trip was also of symbolic importance to me. During this trip I realised that even when life gets really messed up, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. And seeing that light in one of the nicest cities in the world... It made a big impression. Maarten: I have been here in 1997 on a school trip. I really liked the city, although I always feared to get lost in its narrow streets. That's also what makes it so special: Venice has the bombast of the Doge's Palace and the San Marco Square, the cosiness of the small streets with its tiny shops and the grandeur of its canals. What astonished me most was the amount of gold used in the Doge's Palace! A bit too much for me... (top) |
View on the Canal Grande. |
Gondola's by nightfall. |
The Palazzo Ducale. |
Frehs seafood at the Rialto Market. |
San Gimignano Added to the list in 1990 - visited by Maarten in 1997 San Gimignano used to be a famous stop for pilgrims on their way to Rome. This town used to be controlled by rich patricians, who built around town 72 tower-houses as a symbol of their wealth and power. Some rise up to 50m high! Own impression I really liked this medieval town with its narrow streets and mediterranean atmosphere. I remember we came here to see some very old frescoes (Giotto?) in a church, but it turned out they were being renovated (as most of the buildings and paintings in Italy at that time it seemed...). Strolling through San Gimignano was nevertheless very relaxing and made up for not seeing those frescoes. I remember buying a piece of red agate (gem stone) in one of the tiny shops here... (top) |
Siena Added to the list in 1995 - visited by Maarten in 1997 Siena is a fine example of a medieval city. The historical town centre is still surrounded by a city wall which is 7km long. Siena is not only a beautiful city, it is also a city that has had a high influence on Italian and European art, architecture and city development. Own impression I visited Siena as part of a one-way trip to Italy with my secondary school. We were there only shortly, but I still vividly recollect the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo and its Torre del Mangia. (top) |
Ravenna Added to the list in 1996 - visited by Maarten in 2004 The world heritage of Ravenna consists of the early christian monuments. In the 5th century, Ravenna was the capital of the Roman Empire and up until the 8th century it was the capital of Italy. All the early christian monuments were built during the 5th and 6th century. Roman, Greek & Christian influences can be seen in them and they combine eastern & western building styles. Own impression Ravenna was the host town of the Twelfth International Meiofauna Conference (Twimco) in 2004. Although we had a rather tight congress schedule, we managed to see quite some historical buildings in this superb city. I remember visiting several churches, all with wonderful and elaborate mosaics of the highest quality! I really liked the city and its early Christian art. (top) |
Cinque Terre Added to the list in 1997 - visited by Annick in 2006 The world heritage actually consists of a part of the coast between Cinque Terre & Portonevere and also includes the islands of Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto. This coastal area is 15km wide and the rough landscape has been formed into numerous terraces to grow grapes and olives. The villages are built directly on the rocks. Own impression I visited Cinque Terre by accident. Normally I wouldn't have stopped in this region, but at the start of my trip in 2006 I was confronted with bad weather in the lake district of Northern Italy (Lago Maggiore - Lago Mergozzo). A detour to the west coast brought the sun back to my holiday... The visit of the 5 villages is unforgettable due to the magnificent road that leads to them... Turn after turn you descend slowly into this valley where time seems to have stopped - mainly due to the fact that you cannot reach these parts easily. The villages themselves are charming & worth a stop for a gelato ;-) (top) |
Pompeii Added to the list in 1997 - visited by Maarten in 1997 The cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were destroyed during a massive volcano erruption of the Vesuvius, on the 24th of August 79. The remains of those two cities give a wonderful look back into history, picturing daily life of the Romans living there. Own impression To me, this was thé highlight of my trip through Italy organised by my secondary school. It's just incredible to get a glimpse of a real Roman city, with buildings still upright, decorated with frescoes and with a lot of remarkable "every-day" details, such as a large phallus carved out of a street stone, pointing to the "red district" of the town (yes, it's that kind of details I remember the most...). At the horizon, mount Vesuvius with its odd shape (due to several large eruptions, e.g. during the time of Plinius the Elder) is always there as a grim reminder that the tragedy of Pompeii could happen again any day. (top) |
Walking the streets of Pompeii. |
Pompeii with Mount Vesuvius in the background. |
Roman villa. |
Verona
Added to the list in 2000 - visited by Annick in 2006 Founded in the first century, Verona was a prosperous city during the 13th and 14th century, and later in the 15th-18th century when it was a part of the Venetian Republic. The inner city houses some magnificent Roman remains of which the Arena is the most impressive. This Arena is the largest amphitheatre after the Colosseum in Rome. Own impression I stopped briefly in Verona on my way to Trieste. It was a very hot day and because I had my dog with me (Daiko, a black labrador) it wasn't really ideal to visit the entire city. I did walk around for a bit and visited the magnificent Arena, which made a huge impression on me. The city itself had a nice atmosphere, a typical Italian summer-feeling to it :-) The plazas and their fountains were much appreciated, especially by Daiko ;-) Also worth a stop when you are there: the house of Shakespeare's Juliet... (top) |
Coulourfull Verona. |
Impressive city walls. |
The impressive arena. |
Inside they were getting ready for a performance. |
Assisi
Added to the list in 2000 - visited by Maarten in 1997 Assisi is the birth place of Franciscus (1182-1226), who founded the order of the Franciscans. The city is packed with religious buildings, such as the Basilica di San Francesco or the Santa Maria degli Angeli. Own impression The picture below is the only one I have. It's taken from the bus and shows Assisi as a white spot on the hillside. Assisi was very quiet when I visited it, so I enjoyed the walk from the Basilica down the main street up to some nice viewpoints, where I could experience the Umbrian scenery. I bought a nice holy-water font here for my grandmother (with the figure of Franciscus feeding some birds), who uses it still. (top) |
The famous only pic. Really: we should go back through Italy and take more photos. And decent ones ;-) |
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Medici villas and
gardens in Tuscany Added to the list in 2013 - visited by Annick, Maarten and Febe in 2013 The de' Medici has been the most influential family in the Italian Renaissance. It is their fortune, as well as their economical and political power, that brought the very best architects and artists to the city of Firenze, thus greatly influencing the art and architecture of modern Europe. Their innovative spirit is also visualised in their own villas and gardens, all located in or around Firenze. It is the harmony between the house, its gardens and its rural and natural environment. These were places dedicated to leisure, art and knowledge. Own impression Annick: It was boiling hot the day we visited Firenze. Visiting the Boboli gardens (that was were we started off) was actually torturing ourselves a little bit ;-) It was way over 40 °C and the gardens climb up quite steeply - from our point of entry anyway. The fact that we had Febe in her stroller with us didn't help to ease the excercise we took :-) The Boboli gardens were nice to visit, although, as always in a formal garden like this, I did miss some flowers. I also found it a pitty that none of the fountains were working (except from some small ones, that served as an excellent refreshment). Though probably the reason for that might be that the water would simply evaporate too quickly in mid-summer. The second part of our tour that day took us to some of the villas in the hills around Firenze. They were just declared Unesco Worldheritage before we left on our trip, and it was obvious that none of it was actually prepared for visitors to arrive. We had to drive around a lot to reach the villas (there were roadworks and roadblocks all over the place), and either the villas were simply closed for public visitors (not clearly indicated on the Unesco website) or just closed on Sunday or just plain inaccessable - or we couldn't find them. We even damaged our car trying to reach one of them - needless to say: this wasn't our favourite Worldheritage site ;-) Thinking back on that afternoon visit, I think dragging myself up a steep hill in the Boboli gardens at 44°C seems like a refreshing stroll around the block ;-) Maarten: The fact that my car looks like a patchwork is due to me being a complete failure in painting cars ánd the super narrow streets around Firenze. In our quest for the Villa Medici de Fiesole, I drove into a steep, winding alley. On top of the alley there was a first bend to the left, followed by an unexpected bend to the right. Because I had to react in a split second, I didn't realise my car was too big to get through. So I hit the side of a house. The same night we actually left Firenze a day earlier than planned and drove home. We were fed up with these world heritage sites. The misery of searching for the Medici villas was the result of blocked roads and roadworks around these sites, and this within short time after inscription in the list! Freshly new world heritage sites, but unaccessible for the public. Except for the Boboli gardens, which were great, we could only visit the gardens of Villa de Castello, and even there it was quite a problem to find it (only indicated as Villa reale on signposts)... Both the Villa de la Petraia and the Villa de Careggi were inaccessible. Could be a great contribution to the list, but badly managed unfortunately... (top) |