A Visit to Capri

Capri. Sphinx at Villa San Michele. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By []Mark McLaine

Capri is a small Italian town that is situated about 5 kilometers away from the mainland Italy. This island town has a number of resorts and is frequented by 2 million tourists from all over the world annually.

Reaching Capri

There is no international airport on the island and the only way to reach this town is through the boat. There are a number of boats which operate from port of Ischia and Naples. Besides this, there are a number of luxury Capritime boats which offer you water taxi services from Naples to this island.

Milan - A New Choice on How to Spend Christmas Holidays

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By Silem Oidualc


In these last years Milan is becoming one of the best and more popular destinations where to spend Christmas holidays. Thanks to the dozens of events it hosts everyday, such as fairs, typical markets, free concerts, cultural initiatives, Milan is today one of the most attractive cities in Europe for old and young people.
Especially at Christmas time the city changes its face; all begins on 7th December with a wonderful celebration for the feast of Saint'Ambrose, the city's patron Saint. Every year Milan in those days organizes an ancient and famous Christmas market full of sweet and typical products: the "Oh Bej! Oh Bej!" fair, that literally means "So Beautiful! So Beautiful!" Here you can find everything, from antique stalls and buskers to roast chestnuts and candy floss. The fair provides an excellent opportunity to do some Christmas shopping, and is particularly enjoyed by children.

Top 10 Reasons to Go See the Last Supper

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By Mimi Rippy


1. The Last Supper, or Il Cenacolo, as it is called in Italian, is one of the most popular attractions on the Italian tourism circuit. So buy your Last Supper Painting Tickets before hand to ensure you are able to view the painting and don't miss out on this incredible experience.

Dinner and a Betrayal!

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By Mimi Rippy


Discover why The Last Supper is one of the most famous religious images in the world. This article explains The Last Supper's appeal and why it has been the centre of so much debate. It will highlight the elements that are often over looked and how being in its presence will make you reassess the brilliance of Leonardo da Vinci.

Florence - The Gem Of The Italian Renaissance - Michelangelo

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By Orson Johnson


Florence was the city that witnessed the great revival of learning and culture in 14th to 16th centuries. The city was epicenter of the great surge in artistic, literary, and scientific explorations.
The precious Gem of the Italian Renaissance, Florence is often considered as the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. The city was ruled by Medici family during Renaissance age, which brought up the great artists and intellectuals like Boccaccio, Botticelli, Dante, Donatello, Filippo Brunelleschi, Galileo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Niccolò Machiavelli etc. flourished in the city.
It's a saying that "of the 1,000 most important European artists of the second millennium, 350 lived or worked in Florence." Modern city of Florence is highly esteemed due to the great works of its great men.
Florence is among the greatest cities of Europe famous for art, learning, and culture. It's a great cultural hub of Italy. Famous for its art and architecture, the city of Florence is a perfect pleasing place for aesthetic cognoscenti. Florence is home to the finest Museums and Galleries that exhibit the great works of great artists. The great Museums and Galleries of the cities are listed below.

Holidays in Mayenne, Loire Valley, France

By Phil Hanlon
The rural department of Mayenne is located within the Loire Valley region in the west of France. With few large towns, most visitors will spend their time exploring the beautiful natural scenery and historic villages in the area. This is an ideal location for those who like their countryside unspoilt and without lots of crowds. That's not to say there isn't plenty for tourists to enjoy; prehistoric caves, Roman ruins and historic castles are all within easy reach.
Saint Suzanne
The medieval town of Saint Suzanne occupies a dominant position on a 70-metre cliff overlooking the Erve River. William the Conqueror once tried, and failed, to take the fortress with a siege after his more successful visit to England. You can still visit the remains of the original keep and some of the town walls are still standing too. Near to Saint Suzanne is the Erves Dolmen, a prehistoric burial chamber built using large stones which would then have been covered by earth. This example is now open to visitors and has been dated from 4,700 BC. You can only reach the dolmen on foot, though there is a small car park nearby and the site is well sign-posted from Saint Suzanne.

A Journey Among the Flavours of Chianti (Part 2)

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Volpaia and Radda



Volpaia is a charming little town village with the old medieval castle fortified in the XII century and a maze of alleys, arches and ancient palaces. In Volpaia's main square, we indicate you La Bottega di Volpaia (Piazza della Torre 2). During the day it is a very well provided shop where purchase olive oil, fresh pasta, sausages and cheese (at lunch time cheese and cold cuts are also available for take-away); at evening you can have typical regional dishes of the Tuscan cuisine. That is the best place to taste "ribollita" (vegetables and bread soup), a simple and delicious dish of Tuscan peasant tradition.



Going to South from Volpaia, we find one of the most beautiful village of Chianti's region: Radda, the ancient main town of the Chianti's League in 1415 and the place where the most powerful Florentine families used to spent their summer holiday during the XVII century; the village still keeps the old wall where it is possible to walk along the old passageways and catch a great sight of the surrounding hills.




In IV Novembre square you can find Casa Porciatti where it is possible to purchase typical products of Chianti 's tradition, as filetto di maiale stagionato (seasoned pork fillet) and lardo (lard). You can also stop at the little wine bar run by the same family and located in the medieval passageways. In the village centre there is the finest restaurant of Radda: Chiasso dei Portici (tel. 00390577738774), placed in the street of the same name. This restaurant is perfect to have a very romantic dinner, enjoying a high level cuisine and a great wine list.



Panzano and Castellina



Going back to Radda towards Greve, you reach Panzano in Chianti where it is worth visiting one of most beautiful Romanesque church of Tuscany: the Pieve of San Leonino, built in the VII century. Here in Panzano, you can find also the Antica Macelleria Cecchini (Via XX luglio 11), the shop of the butcher poet Dario Ceccherini, a real must for Tuscan cuisine.



This casual and typical place definitely won't let you down, offering you cold cuts and wine tastings as well as the best bistecca alla fiorentina of these outskirts (a special beef t-bone steak very thick, grilled and coming cooked to medium rare). Many international VIP are some of the most devoted clients of this place. For example: Jack Nicholson. The owner suggests getting there having empty stomach, on time and it is funny to say, feel free to get there, bringing your own wine, if you want, without further expenses.



But, from Radda, if we move to West, we get to Castellina in Chianti. This town village was disputed between Florence and Siena in the past, nowadays play with Greve to achieve the title of Cuore del Chianti Classico. Castellina is immersed in a wonderful countryside among olive tree, cypresses and vineyards; it is very worth visiting the great passage of via delle Volte catching a sight of the medieval mansion but also because of the great number of places for gourmet.... particularly, we suggest you la Trattoria La Torre Piazza del Comune 15 in the centre of the fortified village. This restaurant is a very casual place really renewed in Castellina, offering great dishes of the Tuscan tradition. Don't miss vitello di Valdichiana (beef of Valdichiana area) and ossibuchi!



Here in Castellina, it is not so difficult to buy high quality wine in good places, among those Enoteca Le Volte (via Ferruccio 12) and the Azienda agricola San Donatino (Tel. 00390577740318), 1 km away from Castellina in direction of Poggibonsi, where the French son writer Leo Ferré lived until 1993. But our best place is still Fattoria La Castellina in via Ferruccio 26 maybe because of its fascinating atmosphere; this place was an old farmhouse in the XIV century. They sell wine, honey, spirits, Vin santo, olive oil, aromatic vinegar...



Our journey among Chianti's flavours ends in this farmhouse where we are impressed by those big old barrels still kept inside the cellars. By chance, this journey has brought us on the footsteps of important personalities apparently very distant from each other, as Leonardo da Vinci, Leo Ferré and Jack Nicholson. We have nearly made this journey closing our eyes, just following two sentences very important that so often are forgotten because of the frenzy of our day life: taste and smell.

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We are situated in the main square of Greve in Chianti, a picturesque small town near the two main historical cities in Tuscany: Florence and Siena. For more information about the Chiantishire and our Hotel, please visit our website:
"Albergo del Chianti" Hotel



Source: http://www.submityourarticle.com



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A Journey Among the Flavours of Chianti (Part 1): Greve, Panzano and Radda

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The land of Chianti offers precious views to its visitors: medieval abbeys and fortified villages as well as smooth hills of unique colours. But, not only is your sight continuously stimulated while getting around this land rich in culture and ancient, also your taste and smell will have their own chance to be pleased as going through Chianti's routes. Besides, everybody knows that the recollection of a journey comes from our eyes and also from the memory of a strong flavour or taste.



We cannot forget, of course, the most famous and celebrated product of this region: red wine. The main character of our itinerary will be food - olive oil, cheese, honey, encased cold cuts, meat and vegetables and so on... that goes so well with the most important product of this region that is wine.



We will visit some of the places where it is possible to taste typical regional meals of the peasant tradition. Their simply ingredients are combined with the ability of experienced chefs and the pleasure of the most modern catering services. Moreover, we will point you out where to purchase the tastiest food typical of the Tuscany cuisine, to keep a strong and tasty souvenir, once you're back. Well, Greve in Chianti is the first leg of our journey.




Greve's flavours



"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy", thus the first taste of the day could be the very gorgeous pastries and sweets that you can find in Pandemonio (via G. Garibaldi 12). If you're looking for a tasty but cheap lunch (15-20 €), go to the very central piazza Matteotti where you can find the nice restaurant, Il Portico, very famous for its traditional entries and grilled meat at fair prices. In piazza Matteotti, the heaven of food and drink, we can also find other restaurants it is worth mentioning: Mangiando Mangiando, furnished with wood tables and visible kitchen, Il Gallo Nero, specialized in bruschette and meat grilled on coals as tradition, the restaurant Giovanni da Verrazzano, where you could taste Tuscan traditional meals, spending about 35 euro, drinks not included. We definitely suggest you to taste meals with wild boar, lamb as well as rabbit.



Still in Piazza Matteotti, we indicate you another place where purchase typical products: the very famous Macelleria Falorni, a temple of high quality wild boar cold cuts and pecorino cheese. Here you can also taste or buy the renowned cold cuts "sbriciolona" and the real Chianina steak.



After lunch, it is worth visiting the medieval castle of Montefioralle, overlooking Greve. Once back to the village, you ought to stop and visit the very well-provided Cantine di Greve in Chianti (piazza delle Cantine) modern wine cellar where it is possible to purchase olive oil and wine as well as visiting the little but interesting museum of the history of wine.



In the surroundings of Greve



Now it is time to immerse ourselves in the surrounding hillsides and engage our taste in a more aristocratic setting among old gardens and towers: Both Castello di Verrazzano, 4 km North from Greve or Castello di Querceto, 8 km east on the way to Figline are good examples.



But, maybe the right place for us to taste wine and cheese is Villa Vignamaggio, on the way to the Lamole from Greve. Visiting the Italian style gardens and savouring the wine produced by those vineyards, the most ancient of Chianti's region, you can also be impressed by a fascinating ancient legend: Monna Lisa, the lady portrayed by Leonardo da Vinci in the most famous paint of the world the Gioconda, would be born in this old mansion.



If we move towards Figline from Greve, we will find the wonderful natural park of Monte San Michele: here it is possible to hike in an impressing place where you can still see hares and roes at liberty. After hiking immersed in such an environment, we are perfectly ready for dinner, thus we are only waiting to enter Ristorante Borgo Antico (via Case Sparse 115) in Dimezzano di Lucolena.



This place is furnished with modern and traditional components and offers a rich wine-list, delicious roast meat and generous helping. From risotto pere e gorgonzola to homemade tiramisu... this place is able to satisfy also the most demanding palate and offer a dramatic landscape on Chianti's hillsides.

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We are situated in the main square of Greve in Chianti, a picturesque small town near the two main historical cities in Tuscany: Florence and Siena.

For more information about the Chiantishire and our Hotel, please visit our website:

http://www.albergodelchianti.it



Source: http://www.submityourarticle.com



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Travel Guide to Florence

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By Ramon Van Meer
Once the main capital of Italy in the year 1865, Florence reinvented itself yet is always a sight to view inside Europe. Filled by art work, fantastic architectural structures at every corner, a busy business center, populated by men and women pleased with their own heritage, it still is a treasure.

Let the artwork in Florence take your breath away in areas like the Basilica di Santa Maria del Carmine, Casa di Dante, Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Galleria degli Uffizi, Macchine di Leonardo or one of the Museos. At the Basilica, you get to look at art by Masolino da Panicale, Masaccio and Filippino Lippi. The frescoes by Masaccio right here are considered his best works and it presents the transition from gothic to the fresh appearance of the Renaissance in its early stages. A museum focused upon Dante's works, life and times is at Casa di Dante. This is not exactly where Dante was born but is the place where he lived. At the Galleria d'Artte Moderna, art work from the 18th and 19th century are presented. They were created by artists of the Florentine Macchiaioli school like Telemaco Signorini and Giovanni Fattori. However, the Galleria degli Uffizi is home to the Medici family's exclusive collection. The Macchine di Leonardo showcases the grand scale models of some of Leonardo da Vinci's inventions like flying machines, a bicycle, a glider, and also a tank.

Admire architectural mastery from times past in Florence by viewing the Basilica di Santa Croce. This had been accomplished in 1385 and commemorates some of the excellent Florentine artists. Michelangelo's' grave here is designed by Vasari. Monuments in memory of Dante and Galileo Galilei can even be found here.

Marvel at the holy center of Florence at the Duomo. This has been once the site of the town's Roman temple. Near the Duomo, the 84.7 meter high Campanile is located. Enjoy its beauty from the outside and then climb the 414 step inside to be treated to a spectacular view of Duomo and central Florence. Check out the Casa Guidi exactly where Robert and Elizabeth Barrett rented rooms and wrote 1847. The house has been refurbished in the 19th century style and has a few of the items owned by the Brownings on display. The Palace of the Guelph Faction's Captains is another well conserved piece of medieval Florence. It is a prepared building that stands on land that has been taken from the Ghibellines that was later created by Brunelleschi and Vasari.

Climate: The summer seasons in Florence are extremely humid and hot. Temperature typical around thirty-one degrees Celsius in July and August. The ideal time to visit Florence is in spring or autumn where temperature tend to be more comfortable and enjoyable.

Transportation: Local transport in Florence consists of taxis, buses and trams. The taxis is located outside the Stazione di Santa Maria Novella and at other taxi stops around town. A lady travelling alone may also ask for a discount in between the time of 9p.m. to 2a.m. Buses go around the town center and also to areas outside the city. Additionally, there are night buses which operate between 9p.m. to 1a.m. You can also rent a car or a bike if you want to discover Florence on your own.

Ramon van Meer is a travel expert and owner of Lets Fly Cheaper, an Online Travel Consolidator.
Lets Fly Cheaper offers Cheap Flights to Florence with the best personal service. For more information about how to get the cheapest airline tickets like Cheap International Flights go to the website.

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Art in Italy

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Italy is internationally recognized for its vast culture, art development and language production. Travel to Europe
and study Italian in Italy is a great option to discover the country where the two thirds of the world’s historical heritage lies. All types of architectural styles of the west globe can be found in Italy. Discover amazing cities as the region of the Tuscany that counts with more artistic expressions than the whole of Spain. The UNESCO has declared as World Heritage Sites more than 40 regions of Italy. Discover this astonishing past while you study Italian in Italy.

The Historic Center of Florence is a huge conglomerate of constructions and expressions from the Renaissance times and the Etruscan settlements in Italy. As you study Italian in Italy enjoy in Florence impressive buildings as the Church of Santa Croce and the Uffizi and Pitti Palace. Don’t miss the incredible works of Michelangelo, Botticelli and Giotto.

You should visit Rome and discover the capital of the ancient Roman Empire and the Roman Republic. In Rome you will enjoy religious constructions as the papal buildings and monuments
to old rulers like the Column of Marcus Aurelius. Study Italian in Italy as you go around the extensive mausoleums of Augusts and Hadrian, the Pantheon and Trajan’s Column.

In Lombardy you must get immersed in the mystery of the Dominican Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Study Italian in Italy and find in this chapel a marvellous architectural complexity and the masterpiece “The Last Supper” by Leonardo Da Vinci.

The city of Venice is an artistic expression in itself. While you study Italian in Italy you will encounter the major maritime power Italy ever had. Venice constructions and its intelligent display framed by water, are the most beautiful postcard Italy will confer you. Also enjoy the works of master Titian and Veronese.

A special place to visit in the region of Padua as you study Italian in Italy is the Botanical Garden created in 1945. This is the first botanical garden created in the world and it still keeps its premier layout. It also maintains its original purpose of being a scientific research center.

If you are interested in the archaeological past of the country, you must visit the province of Udine while you study Italian in Italy. In Udine you will find the greatest archaeological reserve of the kind; go around the remains of the wealthy city of Aquileia that was destroyed by Attila in the 5th C. Here you will also find the famous Patriarchal Basilica in your journey through history while you study Italian in Italy.

Italy is full of Catholic and Christian religious heritage. If you want to enjoy the biggest expression of faith in the country you should visit the Sacri Monti as you study Italian in Italy. This place portrays a group of chapels of architectural design from the 16th C, with valued paintings and statues. The chapels are perfectly integrated to the natural hilly landscape with blue lakes and pine trees. Study Italian in Italy and enjoy a country rich in culture, arts and faith.

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