I love old walls. I’ve explored walled cities like Lucca and, outside of Italy, I’ve walked the whole 84 miles of England’s Hadrian’s Wall. So I was intrigued to discover that Verona’s status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site rested partly upon its walls and fortifications. I had to go and look for myself, but …
Making Sense Of Verona’s Walls And Fortifications Read More »
There is a vast amount to see in Rome, but when you have had enough of the crowds at the Forum and the Colosseum you might want to find somewhere quieter. The Appian Way (Via Appia Antica) is the ideal place: a shady cobbled avenue lined with the remains of Roman buildings. This is just …
Herculaneum has a lot in common with the nearby city of Pompeii. They are both UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and they are both Roman cities that were destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, their ruins have been excavated and are open to visitors, and they are both on the same train line …
Nestling among the wilds of the Sicilian landscape, close to Agrigento, the Valley of the Temples comes as a surprise. Sicily is unmistakeably Italian: I had explored hilltowns and Roman remains, and spent long evenings with Italian food and wine. But here I was, in a pocket of ancient Greece, surrounded by Doric columns and …
Valley Of The Temples, Agrigento: Sicily’s Greek Heritage Read More »
The Byzantine mosaics of Ravenna, in northern Italy, are a major tourist attraction. Spread across eight buildings from the early Christian period, these magnificent artworks are now part of one of Emilia-Romagna’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Early Christianity In Ravenna Ravenna played a crucial part in western civilisation during the 5th and 6th centuries, first …
“Are you here for the beach?” asked the hotel proprietor; he looked surprised when I said I was in Rimini for sightseeing. But the town is much more than just a beach resort. It has a rich history, an old city centre and Roman remains. It also has several excellent restaurants, and train and bus …