Italy Essentials - Elemental Quests

The Roman Empire spread its ideas and culture across Europe. The Italian city-states led the way again during the Renaissance. These iconic surroundings made Italy a star of the silver screen. Its jet-setting people, cosmopolitan cities, ravishing landscapes, and romantic towns are the same reasons why everyone wants to visit. Go there for the art, architecture, history, and gastronomy. Piazza or pizza? Either way, let your stomach guide the way. Also, when in Rome, visit Vatican City, a micro-state long entangled in the affairs of Italy.

MUST SEES: VENICE

St. Mark’s Basilica

The basilica has St. Mark’s corpse, smuggled from Egypt in a barrel. Multicolor marble columns looted from Constantinople adorn the façade. Pillaged bronze horses trot above the doors. Gold mosaics cover the Byzantine-Gothic basilica.

Piazza San Marco

From the Grand Canal, you first notice the pink marble Doge’s Palace and tall bell tower. Two columns frame the entrance, St. Theodore standing on a crocodile and the winged lion of St. Mark. The grand plaza has arcades with restaurants and cafés.

Ponte de Rialto

Antonio da Ponte built the magnificent stone Ponte de Rialto. With the surname Ponte, he was born to build bridges. Rialto Bridge is the grandest of bridges linking Venice’s 118 islands. The arched bridge spans the Grand Canal with a portico and carvings of saints.

Gondola Ride

Discover Venice’s beauty through a gondola ride. In the past, these long Venetian rowing boats were the only way to travel. Experience the romance of gliding through the canals at night when the city is illuminated.

Murano

In 1291, glassmaking moved to Murano as the furnaces were fire hazards to wooden homes. From this secluded enclave, artisans perfected the craft of glassmaking. Murano glass objects are art pieces with elegant designs and beautiful colors. Visit a workshop to learn more about this ancient tradition.

Bridge of Sighs

Ponte dei Sospiri connects the Doge’s Palace to the prison. The enclosed white limestone bridge has windows with stone bars. Lord Byron came up with this nickname for condemned prisoners who sighed at their final view of Venice’s beauty.

MUST SEES: ROME

Trevi Fountain

Oceanus stands on a shell chariot pulled by hippocamps and tritons. In an iconic scene in “La Dolce Vita,” Anita Ekberg wades through the Baroque fountain. If you throw a coin behind your back in the fountain, you will one day return to the Eternal City.

Colosseum

Emperors offered electrifying spectacles for bloodthirsty masses. Gladiators battled to the death. Wild beasts attacked prisoners. Naval battles flooded the Colosseum. The elliptical wooden floor is gone, and you can now see underground tunnels and cages.

Roman Forum

Between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills, the Roman Forum was a monumental plaza buzzing with activity. Public speeches were held under triumphal arches. Gold was shuffled into treasuries and an eternal flame was lit at the Temple of Vesta.

Spanish Steps

The Spanish Steps is ideal for people watching. The travertine steps connect the Spanish Plaza with the Piazza Trinità dei Monti on top. At the stairs, Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck started their day of fun in “Roman Holiday.”

Mouth of Truth

The ancient Roman marble mask leans against a wall in Cosmedin Church. According to legend, it would bite off the hand of anyone who tells a lie. The mask represents the face of Oceanus. In “Roman Holiday,” Hepburn and Peck place their hands in the mouth.

Piazza Navona

The plaza was built on the former Stadium of Domitian, giving it an oval shape. Pope Innocent X commissioned Bernini to design the Fountain of Four Rivers fountain for his palace. Four river gods (continents) lounge on travertine rocks with an obelisk at the center.

Villa d’Este

In Tivoli, Villa d’Este’s terraced Renaissance gardens showcase spectacular fountains. Neptune’s Fountain has a grotto with cascades and lofty water jets. The Oval Fountain is a waterfall from an egg-shaped basin against a semicircular wall. The Hundred Fountains is a long mossy alley with spouts gushing from masked faces.

MUST SEES: FLORENCE

Duomo

Brunelleschi’s octagonal dome is a Renaissance masterpiece of nested shells. An inner shell provides support and the majestic outer shell reaches for the heavens. Climb to the top for gorgeous views. The neo-gothic façade is clad in white, green, and pink marble.

Uffizi Gallery

The Uffizi Gallery contains the greatest collection of Renaissance art. The Medici art collection was bequeathed to the city on the condition that it must never leave Florence. Make a beeline to the Botticelli Room to view the Birth of Venus and Primavera.

Santa Croce

The Basilica of Santa Croce is the largest Franciscan church in the world. Florentine greats are buried here, including Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, and Rossini. The neo-Gothic façade for its pink marble and Star of David.

Ponte Vecchio

Florence’s landmark Ponte Vecchio spans the Arno. Cosimo I de’ Medici had Giorgio Vasari build the Vasari Corridor on top of the bridge. This allowed the Grand Dukes to move securely between the Medici’s Pitti Palace and the Palazzo Vecchio government hall.

Gates of Paradise

Michelangelo referred to the gilded bronze doors at the Baptistery of the Duomo as the Gates of Paradise. Lorenzo Ghiberti’s east set of doors has ten panels of scenes from the Old Testament.

David

See the replica of Michelangelo’s magnum opus at the Piazza della Signoria or the original at Galleria dell’Accademia. Michelangelo said that he was merely revealing the forms that already existed in the massive block of white marble.

MUST SEES: PISA

Leaning Tower

The bell tower leans due to its unstable foundation and was already leaning after the second floor was built. Engineers compensated by making one side taller on the upper floors. Galileo dropped weights from the top, showing gravity causes objects of different masses to fall at the same rate.

Piazza dei Miracoli

The Square of Miracles has four massive religious structures: Pisa Cathedral, Pisa Baptistery, ‘Monumental Cemetery, and Leaning Tower of Pisa.

MUST SEES: ASSISI

Basilica di San Francesco

Assisi is a gem of an Umbrian hill town. The Romanesque-Gothic church was built on two levels – the Upper Basilica and the Lower Basilica. St. Francis founded the order of the Franciscans. Giotto painted frescoes of the saint’s life with a realism and humanism that sparked the Renaissance.

FOOD

Amatriciana

Pasta all’amatriciana combines salty cured pork cheek (guanciale), sweet tomatoes and onion, pecorino romano cheese, white wine, and black pepper. The thick and jammy sauce infuses immense flavor in the olive oil-coated rigatoni pasta. It’s one of Rome’s four classic pasta dishes.

Coffee Bar

Italians enjoy coffee several times throughout the day. This includes an afternoon pick-me-up and a treat after dinner (after dessert). They just don’t drink cappuccinos after 11 am. At coffee bars, order your caffè (espresso shot) at the counter (al banco) and sip it standing up.

Gelato

Gelato in Italy contains 6–9% butterfat. Seek an artisanal gelateria that emphasizes seasonal fruit options over unnaturally brightly-colored flavors. Also avoid gelato that is piled high. Enjoy a rich scoop that is dense, smooth, and creamy.

Keep Exploring!