Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GALLERIE DELL'ACCADEMIA (VENICE)
The world's most extensive col-
lection of Venetian art is kept in a glorious Venetian
palazzo
on the Grand Canal.
From the Byzantine-inspired technique of using gold leaf for decorative effect, to
the masterful embrace of color, mood, and movement by Titian, Tintoretto, and
Veronese, the Accademia provides an opportunity to penetrate beneath the sur-
face of a vast number of superbly rendered canvases. See p. 321.
THE PEGGY GUGGENHEIM COLLECTION (VENICE)
The only truly
worthwhile modern-art gallery in Italy is installed in Peggy Guggenheim's former
(unfinished)
palazzo
on the Grand Canal. It's a who's who of 20th-century artists:
Max Ernst, Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, Constantin Brancusi, Marc
Chagall, Piet Mondrian, Jackson Pollock, Alberto Giacometti, Henry Moore,
Marcel Duchamp, and René Magritte. See p. 320.
THE EGYPTIAN MUSEUM (TURIN)
Who would've thought that the sin-
gle greatest collection of Egyptian artifacts outside of Cairo is not London's British
Museum or New York's Metropolitan, but this remarkable museum in the genteel
Italian industrial capital of Turin? Hey, if nothing else, it makes for a nice break
from all that Italian art. See p. 437.
NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM (NAPLES)
The artifacts
housed in Naples's archaeological museum are among Western Civilization's most
significant, including rare finds from the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum, and
Greek, Etruscan, and Roman artifacts that are simply unmatched in historical sig-
nificance. See p. 491.
THE BEST TRAVEL EXPERIENCES
DESCEND INTO THE CATACOMBS (ROME)
The web of ancient
Christian burial tunnels under the Via Appia Antica park just outside Rome's city
walls is an important stop for religious pilgrims and the historically curious. There
are miles upon miles of these earthen corridors stacked with tombs, underground
mausoleums, and marble chapels—a bit spooky, and with cheesy tour guides, but
endlessly fascinating. See p. 77.
ENJOY A MARATHON DINNER (FLORENCE)
We already talked about the
Italian penchant for lingering over a meal for 3 or 4 hours, with all the courses—
antipasto
(appetizer),
primo
(pasta, soup, or risotto),
secondo
(meat or fish),
contorno
(side dish),
dolce
(dessert)—plenty of wine to lubricate the meal, and a grappa and
espresso to finish it off. You could experience that anywhere in Italy, but if we had
to pick one place to set aside the whole evening (and all plans of eating again for
24 hr.) for that marathon meal, it'd be Florence—probably at Il Latini or Cibreo
Ristorante. See p. 107.
PICK A FESTIVAL, ANY FESTIVAL (TUSCANY & UMBRIA)
The heart
of Central Italy is a festival-happy place, hosting everything from pagan parties
masquerading as Christian rites to modern music fests. Tops are Gubbio's 800-
year-old race of saints' shrines; the contemporary music and arts festivals of
Perugia, Spoleto, and Arezzo; and Perugia's delicious “Eurochocolate '06.” See
chapters 4 and 5.
