Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
himself—though Palladio's real masterpieces are the
palazzi
in the hills around
town. See p. 354.
POMPEII & HERCULANEUM (CAMPANIA)
The view of Mt. Vesuvius
from the narrow streets of these ancient Roman ghost towns destroyed by the vol-
cano in a.d. 79 is as eerie as it gets. You can almost smell the ashen lava, but con-
centrate instead on the remarkable glimpses into the daily life of those who
lived—and died—here nearly 2,000 years ago. See p. 508.
THE LECCESE BAROQUE (LECCE)
Often called the Florence of the South,
Lecce is overflowing with churches and palaces built of honey-colored stone along
the lines of the city's unique, gorgeous take on baroque architecture—a profusion
of symbolic animals, elaborate carved motifs, and complex curlicues. See p. 538.
CASTEL DEL MONTE (PUGLIA)
Like a cut-stone wedding cake atop a bar-
ren hill, this old fortress of Frederick II is a lesson in octagonal geometry and
medieval architecture, with unbeatable views across the gentle plains of olive
groves. See p. 532.
NORMAN ARCHITECTURE (PALERMO)
Sicily was Greek, Arab,
Norman, French, and Spanish long before it ever became a part of Italy. The
medieval Norman rulers in particular—yes, those Normans, the ones who came
from northern France—adopted a syncretic style of architecture that freely mixed
Byzantine mosaics, Arabic domes, and Romanesque details, to which later rulers
often added baroque flourishes and facades. See p. 548.
ANCIENT GREEK TEMPLES (AGRIGENTO)
The 5th-century b.c. tem-
ples on a hillside of olives and cherry trees just below the southern Sicilian city of
Agrigento are among the best-preserved ancient Greek ruins in the entire world—
Sicily was once part of
Magna Graecia,
the ancient “Greater Greece.” See p. 563.
THE BEST MUSEUMS
THE UFFIZI GALLERIES (FLORENCE)
The 16th-century offices of the
Medici family, with frescoed halls lined by ancient statuary, house their collection
of some of the Renaissance's finest artworks. Don't let this museum's small size
fool you: It's right up there with the Louvre, Metropolitan, and Vatican, housing
some of the greatest artistic masterpieces in the world, including Botticelli's
Birth
of Venus,
da Vinci's
Annunciation,
and Michelangelo's
Holy Family.
See p. 116.
THE ACCADEMIA (FLORENCE)
The art academy of Florence always has a
long line outside. Why? Because this is where they keep Michelangelo's
David
—
along with his unfinished (and far more fascinating) statues of slaves, the full-scale
model for Giambologna's
Rape of the Sabines,
and a passel of fine paintings. See
p. 125.
THE BYZANTINE MOSAICS OF RAVENNA (RAVENNA)
On an easy day
trip from Bologna you can gaze at the glittering medieval mosaics slathered on the
interiors of churches and tombs in Ravenna, Western Europe's last bastion of the
Byzantine empire. See p. 256.
