The Places to visit!!

Well, we've talked about celebrations, political scenario, cuisine and even culture. So of course, what's next,   TOURISM!!

Before I give my view, I'm going to give the listed top 10 attractions!!

10. San Gimignano

   Weird name right, but honestly, nicknamed the medieval Manhatten, San Gimignano is a village in Tuscany famous for it's 14 stone towers! After a plague devastated the city in 1348, it's wealth and power are said to have faded, keeping enemies away and preserving many of the city's medieval towers. 

9. Manarola

   Nestled in the Italian Riviera, this is one of the oldest towns in Cinque Terre. The "Five Lands" comprises of five villages noted for their beauty. Part of the charm is the lack of visible modern development. The town sprouts out of the mountainside to provide a breathtaking view of the Mediterranean Sea.

8.Leaning Tower of Pisa

    The world famous Pisa Tower was built over a period of 177 years. 

 . Soon after the construction started in 1173 the tower began to sink due to a poorly laid foundation and was left alone for almost a century. When the construction resumed the engineers built higher floors with one side taller than the other to compensate for the tilt and the tower was finally finished in the 2nd half of the 14th century. Since 2001, the famous tower in Pisa is again open to those wishing to climb it’s 296 steps.

7.Lake Como (Italian Lake District)

     Lake Como is part of the Italian Lake District an area popular with visitors for well over 100 years for its combination of fresh air, water, mountains and good weather. The lake is shaped much like an inverted ‘Y’, with two branches starting at Como in the south-west and Lecco in the south-east, which join together half way up and the lake continues up to Colico in the north. The lake is famous for the attractive villas which have been built here since Roman times. 

6.Positano (Amalfi Coast)

Positano is a small town located on the Amalfi coast, a stretch of coastline renowned for its rugged terrain, scenic beauty, picturesque towns and diversity. The city seems to be scattered from top to bottom down a hillside leading to the coast. Though Positano grew and prospered in medieval times, by the mid 19th more than half of the population was gone. In the 20th century it went from being a poor fishing village to a very popular tourist attraction with the help of author John Steinbeck who wrote about its beauty.

5.Pompeii

On August 24, 79 AD, the volcano Vesuvius erupted, covering the nearby town Pompeii with ash and soil, and subsequently preserving the city in its state from that fateful day. Everything from jars and tables to paintings and people were frozen in time. Its excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of people living two thousand years ago. Today Pompeii is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Italy, with approximately 2,500,000 visitors every year.

4.Piazza del Campo

One of Europe’s greatest medieval squares, the Piazza del Campo is the principal public space of the historic center of Siena, Tuscany. It is renowned worldwide for its beauty and architectural integrity. The Palazzo Pubblico and its famous tower, as well as various palazzi signorili belonging to the wealthiest of Siena families surround the shell-shaped piazza. The twice-per-year horse-race, Palio di Siena, involves circling the Piazza del Campo, on which a thick layer of dirt has been laid, three times and usually lasts no more than 90 seconds.

3.Santa Maria del Fiore

Begun in 1296 in the Gothic style and completed in 1436, The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is Florence’s beautiful cathedral and symbol of the city. The exterior of the basilica is faced with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white. The basilica is one of Italy’s largest churches, and until the modern era, the dome was the largest in the world. It remains the largest brick dome ever constructed.

2.Colosseum

The Colosseum in Rome is the largest and most famous amphitheater in the Roman world. Its construction was started by emperor Vespasian of the Flavian dynasty in 72 AD and was finished by his son Titus in 80 AD. The Colosseum was capable of holding some 50,000 spectators who could enter the building through no less than 80 entrances. Spectators were protected from the rain and heat of the sun by sails called the “velarium”, that was attached around the top of the attic.

1.Canals of Venice

Referred to as “The City of Water”, Venice is the crown jewel of water cities. Romantic gondolas, and Italian architecture along the Grand Canal helped earn this status. Stitched together with over 150 canals that have become central to its character, Venice has decayed since its heyday and has more tourists than residents, but with its romantic charm it remains one of the top tourist attractions in Italy.

So there it is you guys, the top ten tourist spots of Italy! Oh and trust me, they're as good as they sound and look. But hold on, i'm not done yet. If these are the place in Italy, then it's only fair if I give you the top ten things to do in it's capital,    ROME!!

The best way to see the city is to walk. The sights of London or Paris might be mapped out by a few select subway stops. But in Rome, where you can usually count on good weather and unreliable transportation, you're best off doing as much as possible by foot. On the street is also where you'll unearth those unexpected finds. The warm aroma of a bakery. The handmade leather of a local craftsman. The tucked-away piazza that seems stuck in the 16th century, with grandma hanging the clothes out the window and six-year-olds chasing each other across the cobblestones. Even if it doesn't ever really change, Rome always has the power to surprise.

1. Galleria Borghese

They say the best museum in Rome is the city itself. That may be so, but the Galleria Borghese is still a gem worth seeing. Its collections are housed in a magnificent 17th-century villa and offer a compact course in the Italian aesthetic. In just 20 rooms, you are exposed to antiquities, the Renaissance and the beginnings of baroque art. Visits to the Galleria in the northeast corner of the sprawling Villa Borghese park are by reservation, which allows you the pleasure of seeing the Bernini sculptures from every angle without being crowded out.

2. San Luigi dei Francesi

Once you've gotten a taste of Caravaggio, a late Renaissance master whose work is featured at the Galleria Borghese, you can't leave Rome without seeing what many say is his most powerful work. You'll have to go to church to do it.

  The Calling of Saint Matthew hangs in the Contarelli Chapel of the San Luigi dei Francesi church, a reminder that 400-year-old art was provocatively modern when it was first conceived. Two other Caravaggio works — St. Matthew and the Angel and the Martyrdom of St. Matthew — which round out the triptych, are also on permanent display here. Seeing such a renowned work in a church you might otherwise have easily overlooked is proof that Rome really is a living museum. Like other basilicas, entry is free (come in the morning, since the church closes at lunchtime); you'll have to drop a few coins to light up the paintings in the darkened interior and see how Caravaggio infused his own light into the baroque melodrama.

3. Via del Governo Vecchio

 If you look out ol' Giorgio's living room window (from theGiorgio de Chirico House-Museum) across Piazza di Spagna, you will see the famous Via Condotti, which stacks most of the best-known Italian designers into a 100-m stretch of real estate. For my money, though, I'd go to the other side of downtown for a less well-known, but no less elegant shopping experience on Via del Governo Vecchio, where you can buy everything from fur to bathing suits. It may not exactly be a bargain for American shoppers, but you'll probably find items not yet available in the U.S.

5. Ponte Sisto Stroll

 

The best way to soak up the city — and to find some of the quainter (and more affordable) shops — is to zig-zag fromvicolo to vicolo (alley), piazza to piazza. For a good two-hour stroll, start at the bustling Piazza Navona, then head south through Campo dei Fiori, where you'll find cafés and daily food and flower markets, to the beguiling Piazza Farnese, with its pair of fountains and Renaissance palace. From there, continue toward Ponte Sisto. The ponte(bridge) offers a great perspective on the beauty of Rome, with the Gianicolo hill rising to the west and St. Peter's Basilica to the north. Cross the Tiber to arrive in the utterly charming Trastevere neighborhood, where laundry swings overhead and flowers burst from window boxes; your stroll can continue, and the enchantment (and shops) will keep coming.

 SO I guess for now I'm done with tourism in Italy, But I'd say that the truth is, this isn't even the half the places you NEED to see. So when you go, don't forget to visit all these places!!