guest post by Francesca Edwards
As one of the most romantic cities in the world, its no wonder Venice is such a popular choice for romantic breaks and honeymoons. For those who like to know exactly what they’re in for and like to plan to the last detail, here are a few tips to make your trip to Venice as romantic as possible.
1. Gondola ride… at Sunset
This one can be slightly challenging to organise as it involves perfect timing. However, get it right and the results will be magical. Perhaps one of the romantic activities of all time, floating through the Venetian lagoon on an old-fashioned gondola, past all the charming Venetian architecture will be guaranteed to woo your partner. If you’re lucky you may even be able to convince your gondolier to sing you a nice little verse of Pavarotti’s Nessun Dorma.
2. Spontaneous kiss
By this I don’t mean full on snogging in the middle of the street, ideally you want to sweep your partner off their feet in a nice romantic and civilised way. One of the best place to do this in Venice is on one of the bridges, the more tucked away, the more romantic (having other tourists taking pictures of you mid kiss or being bumped about will take the edge off it – trust me). The Tre Arche Bridge is a short walk from the heart of Venice presents a nice and private sweep your partner off their feet opportunity.
3. Re-enact the scene from Lady and the Tramp
So this can technically be done anywhere in the world (as long as you have access to some spaghetti and meatballs), however it’ll be all that more special in Italy, the land of pasta and romance. All you need to do is find a little restaurant which has spaghetti and meatballs on the menu and ask for two portions to share. Ideally you’ll pick a candlelit restaurant, await your pasta, and just as you get down to the last string of spaghetti - take one end of it each place it in your mouth and suck until you lips touch and mwah! There you have it; the perfect Lady and the Tramp kiss… awww.
4. Perfect Accommodation
Accommodation can make or break any romantic trip so when it comes to picking your love nest choose wisely. You’ll find it’s really difficult to get a secluded romantic atmosphere in hotels and hostels, simply because you’re surrounded by hundreds of other people doing the exact same thing as you – and let’s face it, there’s nothing romantic about being in crowd. This is why when my boyfriend and I decided to go on a romantic Venice break we rented a Venice holiday apartment. We certainly didn’t regret it – taking long baths together, cooking our very own dinners, filling our kitchen cabinets and fridge full of amazing Italian food from the supermarket, no having to worry about the maid disrupting you in the mornings… It was the perfect holiday accommodation for the perfect holiday.
For the perfect romantic holiday in on eof the most romantic cities in the world, a little planning can ensure that a good holiday turns into a vacation of a lifetime.
Photo Credits: night, gondola, bridge, Lady and the Tramp
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Love is in the Air in Venice (Italy)
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Drinks Around the World: Spritz (Italy)
Spritz is the name of a variety of drinks but the original hails from Venice and the Veneto region. Created when under Austrian rule (hence its Germanic name), it is made by mixing equal measures of Prosecco wine (a very dry sparkling wine), the bitter liquor, Campari and sparkling mineral water. The Campari gives it a vivid orange colour. Chill with ice and add a slice of orange and an olive and enjoy watching Venice waltz pass (but get out of St Mark's Square to keep the prices in check!!).
I find the drink very refreshing and have seen variations in other parts of southern Germany, Switzerland and northern Italy.
-------
This is the last of a monthly series that has run for two and half years featuring iconic and traditional drinks from various locations around the world. The drinks have varied dramatically including hot and cold beverages, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, some well-known and others unknown to most people.
Photo Credit: drink
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Porta Portese: A Bargain Hunter's Market (Rome, Italy)
by Francesca Edwards
Well known as one of the fashion capitals of the world, Rome has always been a hotspot for shopping. The magnificently luxurious streets of Via Condotti and Via del Corso are home to many of the Kings and Queens of the fashion industry; Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Prada to name a few. However, once you’ve spent enough time dribbling over Fendi’s latest bag collection you may want to consider a more affordable and equally enjoyable option to get some serious shopping done. Flea markets in Rome are by no means your traditional village markets by any standard. Extremely popular with locals, the mystery behind how Italians can always afford to keep on top of the latest fashion trends becomes apparent here.
The biggest and most popular market in Rome is easily Porta Portese. This fabulous haven of treasures can be found every Sunday from the crack of dawn, come rain, snow or sun. The market starts from the Porta Portese gate (hence the name) and stretches all the way to Trastevere train station, running parallel along the left bank of the River Tiber. As far as the eye can see, there are stalls selling almost anything and everything imaginable. 
Here you can find the latest fashion trends, electrical goods, souvenirs and knickknacks at more than reasonable prices! And if you’re really desperate for that, D&G bag there is also a wide range of illegal (yet irresistible!) imitations to be found. The market is also a very well known for its antique section, where bargain hunters have the chance to walk away with a vintage replica of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper or a French decetoire period chest of drawers for their dining room. For those who have a real keen eye for a bargain, then it is definitely worth checking out the second hand stalls. On first glance it may appear to be a pile of mismatched shoes, or unloved bags, but as they say one man’s junk is another man’s treasure! 
The sights, sounds and smells of the market give Porta Portese a hectic atmosphere. Be prepared to chat to friendly stall sellers, and watch out ladies, it’s not unheard of to get a marriage proposal or two whilst browsing for shoes!
When you’re feeling hungry Porta Portese is also the perfect place for you to grab a porchetta sandwich, this typically Roman ‘delicacy’ always hits the spot.
When in Rome haggle like a Roman:
• Don’t buy from the first stall you see. You will often find that something that is 5 Euro on one stall will be 4 a few metres down the line. As a general rule for Porta Portese, the further away from Trastevere train station the more prices drop. Since not as many people make it all the way to the bitter end and sellers here are hoping to attract the final few with competitive prices.• Remember that the best way to strike a deal or knock down the price of something is when you wish to purchase multiple items. This makes it easier to offer a set price for both.• Do not let yourself get bullied. If you are an impulsive buyer or easily persuaded into buying things you never knew you wanted, then be alert! Market sellers can spot a foreigner a mile off and as soon as you so much as catch their eye, they can be very pushy. Before you go, practise saying ‘NO’ like you mean it.• Keep an eye on your belongings. As with being a foreigner in any large city you are more susceptible to pick pocketing. Porta Portese does have a bad reputation for pick pockets, however as long as you apply common sense and keep an eye on your valuables, you shouldn’t experience any problems.
Photo Credits: market, bearded man, clothing stall, mirrors
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Sicily: Culture and History (Italy)
guest post by Katherine Conlan
Those looking for a cultural trip in a sunny climate should consider the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily. Looking like the sharp piece of rock being kicked by Italy’s heeled boot, Sicily is a modern island with a rich history, and a fantastic place to explore by car. Comparing car rental rates and organising your own transport from one of the four airports before you get there will leave you free to start your tour as soon as you arrive.
Palermo, the island’s capital, is a real cosmopolitan city and its long history (including occupation under the Phoenicians, Roman and Byzantine Empires, Arabs, Normans and Spaniards) can be seen scattered across its streets. The twelfth century Cathedral of Monreale is an Italian national monument and one of the most spectacular examples of Norman architecture in existence. The interior is covered in mosaics (made up of around 2200 kilos of pure gold), and among the depictions of saints and kings is one of the first portraits of Thomas Becket following his murder in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170.
The Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo is an extraordinary place to visit. Now a popular tourist attraction, the catacombs were originally intended for burying Capuchin friars when the monastery’s cemetery became too full in the sixteenth century. As time went on burial here became a symbol of status, and wealthy residents asked to be preserved in the catacombs in their finest clothes. Around 8000 mummies line the walls, and one of the last people to be buried here is now the most famous: two year old Rosalia Lombardo who died of pneumonia in 1920 and has been so remarkably preserved she looks as though she is only sleeping.
On the east coast of the island is that familiar 10,922 foot tall active volcano, Mount Etna. There are a number of mountain treks with fantastic valley views to choose from depending on the time available and the level of difficulty, and although walking around the summit is obviously not advisable, cable cars get visitors close. Most trips around the south side of Mount Etna depart from the port city of Catania, around 130 miles drive from Palermo. Catania has had its fair share of trouble, being destroyed by earthquakes in 1169 and 1693 and Mount Etna’s violent eruption in 1669. After these catastrophes the city was rebuilt in Baroque style and is now home to World Heritage-listed architecture. You may wonder why the city was continuously built up at the foot of an active volcano; the reason being volcanic ash makes exceptionally fertile soil for farming.
Two hours’ drive south from Palermo near the city of Agrigento is the UNESCO World Heritage Site the Valley of Temples. This huge site includes the remains of seven Greek temples in varying degrees of preservation, two almost complete and others with only their columns still standing. Their different uses as places to celebrate weddings and pray for health give a nice insight into the social history of the period surrounded by the grandeur.
Sicily is full of cultural and historic highlight which can be enjoyed in sun-drenched comfort of this Mediterranean highlight reel.
Katherine Conlon likes to a get a feel for the history of the places she visits, and seeks out the bits which reveal something about the culture in different areas of the globe. She has travelled in four different continents and is looking forward to exploring the rest.
Photo Credits: etna, cathedral, catacombs, etna, agrigento
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Drinks Around the World: Bibicaffe (Italy)
Again a product of an age-old family recipe, Bibicaffe is one of the more unusual soda drinks I have ever tasted. Bibicaffe is a bottled, mildly carbonated coffee drink - a sparkling espresso. While a fraction sweet to me (though at least it is real cane sugar), Bibicaffe has subtle flavours of caramel and vanilla woven into a strong coffee flavour, presenting one of the most unusual drinks I've tried and very refreshing straight from the bottle (small bottle with the traditional bottlecap) on a hot Italian day (exploring Pompeii).
Alternatively, Bibicaffe is served in cafes poured over ice and with a dash of cream (like a bubbly macchiato). Reading their website, it is also used in a range of suggested cocktails. Incidentally, the Bibicaffe website is one of the most painful and cheesy sites I've ever witnessed with cringe-worthy music and painful cartoon-like graphics. Visit at your peril!!
For those who like coffee, Bibicaffe is well worth trying when exploring the wonders of Italy. Whether it is for refreshment or a bit of a lift, it is one of the most unusual and best soda drinks I've drunk and a real taste of Italy.
----------
Travel Wonders highlights a characteristic drink experienced on his travels. Prior articles have featured drinks as widely varied as Vietnamese slow-drip coffee, Austrian Almdudler, Green Mint Tea from Morocco and cherry beer (Belgium).
Sunday, November 21, 2010
In the Footsteps of Leonardo da Vinci - Part Four (Amboise, France)
See parts one, two and three covering Leonardo's boyhood years in Vinci, Leonardo's apprenticeship in Florence and Leonardo's time in Milan.
Leonardo’s time in Milan finished after the French occupied the city, starting sixteen years of travels around Italy in various roles, including visits to Venice, Florence and Rome. In this time, Leonardo continues to produce his extraordinary notes and work. During the time he painted the famous Mona Lisa before finally being offered a painting and advisory role to the French king and moving to the Loire valley and the town of Amboise. He took his valued belongings with him (including the Mona Lisa) a reason the Louvre holds five of Italian Leonardo’s rare paintings.
Leonardo was granted a mansion in Clos Luce connected by underground passage to Amboise Castle. This mansion still survives and pays homage to Leonardo with the house furnished in the style of Leonardo.
The property is surrounded by extensive leafy parklands with pleasant walking tracks lined with a number of models of Leonardo's works. Unlike in other museums, these models are made to be touched and enjoyed. The paddleboat can be ridden on the stream, the multiple firing gun can be fired, water raised from the river and the portable bridge crossed.
In a separate room, a number of his other models are on display highlight Leonardo’s fascination with flight and transport. His extraordinary vision for a geared car shows a model that will run on a spring for over 100 metres and a wooden tank that could be used in warfare.
Leonardo only lasted three years in Clos Luce before dying. Cherished by the French king, François 1,”No man ever lived who had learned as much about sculpture, painting, and architecture, but still more that he was a very great philosopher.”, his remains were buried in a chapel in Amboise Castle in a simple tomb.
For his time, Leonardo was exceptionally well travelled. Leaving behind precious little of his times outside of his drawings, famous paintings and notebooks, he is unmatched in history for his breadth of works and was unmatched for centuries in the inventiveness of his thoughts and ideas. As an engineer, he has left behind helicopters, gliders, armoured tanks and a parachute. His anatomical studies were not bettered for hundreds of years. Leonardo is the true “Renaissance Man” and has left enough snippets of his life to make travelling in his footsteps an intriguing journey.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
In the Footsteps of Leonardo da Vinci - Part Three (Milan, Italy)
See Leonardo's boyhood years in Vinci and Leonardo's apprenticeship in Florence before his time in Milan.
Leonardo received increased opportunities as he moved to Milan to serve the powerful Duke of Milan – a city of less than 80,000 people in 1480. Leonardo was partially adopted for his ability to design defences and war machines for the Duke – an ironic twist for this pragmatic but pacifist being. By this time, Leonardo was starting to become noteworthy and Milan has more evidence of Leonardo’s life.
Leonardo also commenced his famous notebooks (or codices) filling between 20,000 and 30,000 densely filled pages packed with ideas, sketches, creations, maps and thoughts. Leonardo was a pioneer in virtually every field he studied and researched – an unmatched achievement in human history. 
Broken up and sold over time, only 7,000 pages exist stored in twelve modern codices and held by various libraries and institutions (and one by Microsoft’s Bill Gates and one by The Queen of England) around the world. Most have been scanned and can be viewed through the internet to see the unusual mind of Leonardo – the same page potentially containing an anatomical sketch of a limb, notes on water flow and a drawing in preparation for a painting.
When virtually everyone wrote right-handed, Leonardo’s famously wrote left-handed and in a perfect mirror-script. Experts argue as to whether this was for a sense of secrecy or the practical reason of not smudging the ink before it dried.
On one page, Leonardo recorded his observations of fossils suggesting correctly that they were ancient creatures preserved by time. His notes include the identification of tracks and burrows left behind by ancient creatures, controversially against the teachings of the church (who claimed it was either from the Great Flood or simply bits of coincidental rock) and hence never spread beyond his notebook. Such ideas would only be matched by modern naturalists hundreds of years later.
On another page is the familiar Vitruvian Man highlighting the proportions of man (now in the Accademia in Venice) while another details a fully functioning robot capable of playing drums automatically.
I have sighted several of these codices though sadly most only go on display for special events. Codex Arundel at the British Museum and Codex Windsor at Windsor Castle are the most likely to be on public display while Bill Gates loans his codex on an annual display somewhere in the world. The two in Milan at the Ambrosiana Library (largest codex) and Sforza Castle are rarely sighted.
The highlight in Milan is undoubtedly Leonardo’s extraordinary Last Supper painted on a wall of the dining hall of the monastery at Santa Maria delle Grazie (visits are limited to a strict 15 minutes and only accessible by ticket – buy them well in advance online).
The outstanding Milan National Science and Technology Museum includes a rich selection of models from Leonardo’s notes highlighting paddle boats, gliders, cars, winches and cranes with notes from his pages showing the original drawings.
A cruise on The Milan canals (sadly many are now filled in) reveals much of Leonardo’s thinking at work. While the canals existed well before Leonardo’s time, he dramatically improved and interconnected them with the development of lock designs and sluices some of which remain in usage in Milan today.
Sforza Castle remains a major landmark in Milan, highlighting the power of the dukes in the middle ages. Today it hosts a number of museums and art galleries. Leonardo assisted in designing the defences of the castle (including a moat, now grassed) and decorated the Tower Room (sala delle asse) which was eventually given to him as his own private room. Leonardo constructed a bridge over the moat to gain access and decorated the room with an exceptional (but heavily restored) fresco of eighteen willow trees with a single golden rope intertwined and looped through the branches and the Sforza coat of arms in the centre.
Milan is an elegant city based on its unusual mix of fashion and finance, often excluded on Italian itineraries for the popular Florence, Rome and Venice. For those seeking the treasures of Leonardo, it highlights a number of elements of Leonardo’s life at the time when Leonardo was at his most prolific and inspirational.
The final part takes up Leonardo's last years in France.
Photo Credit: salle della asse
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
In the Footsteps of Leonardo da Vinci - Part Two (Florence, Italy)
See Part One for Leonardo's early years in Vinci.
Showing early signs of being a fine painter, Leonardo moved to Florence with his father when he was fourteen and was apprenticed to master painter Verrocchio (only a couple of blocks from the stunning cathedral). 
In those days, the apprentices worked as a team on many of the commissioned works though tradition dictated that all were credited to the workshop master. Hence the difficulty today in assigning who actually painted various paintings. It is well documented that Leonardo painted the angel in the lower left of Verrocchio’s The Baptism of Christ (pictured) with most considering it the finest part of the painting (it is hung in the nearby Uffizi). Stories abound that Verrocchio never painted again and turned solely to sculpture.
Early on, Leonardo pioneered subtle shading and smudging techniques called sfumato to create subtle differences in tone and mood which is apparent in all his works.
As it is today, Florence was an elegant cultural city becoming the ultimate Renaissance City. While the buildings have obviously changed and the city walls gone, the general panorama of Florence is little changed with its grand cathedral (duomo), main piazza and stately Ponte Vecchio already built by the time Leonardo moved there in 1466. Note Vasari’s painting of Florence from 1460 (top photo) and contrast it with the wonderful and recommended panoramic view from Piazzale Michelangelo. As with Paris, the city centre has been spared from tall modern buildings with architectural integrity being maintained so well.
The relationship to art is well noted with statues and artworks all over the city in the main squares along with a number of world class galleries. To imagine that Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael, a remarkable trinity of renaissance painters all spent overlapping time in Florence, leaving a cultural influence that remains bedded into the fabric of this city to this very day.
A few years later, Leonardo set out by himself (aged 25) but struggled to find much work with competition fierce between the painters serving the elite and wealthy citizens. His lifetime habit of being both a perfectionist and procrastinator left him with a nasty early reputation of being unreliable and not completing work.
Leonardo must have seemed an odd person to his fellow workers. He was left-handed (seen as the work of the devil by many), homosexual (evidently not as unusual in Florence, but illegal and strongly disliked in the highly influential church) and a vegetarian (very rare) on compassionate grounds. 
Not being as well known, sadly little remains of Leonardo’s time in Florence apart from a handful of his fine paintings that are on view in the incomparable Uffizi Gallery (a public gallery since 1591!). These include The Adoration of the Magi (one of several unfinished paintings) and The Anunciation. An occasional habit of painters of the time was to include self-portraits with speculation that the young man on the far right looking outwards is a youthful Leonardo.
His finest times were to come as he moved to Milan under the sponsorship of the Duke of Milan. Part Three takes up Leonardo’s life in Milan.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
In the Footsteps of Leonardo da Vinci – Part One (Vinci, Italy)
Leonardo is probably the most universal genius of all time. Variously described as a painter, sculptor, writer, architect, town planner, scientist, cartographer, engineer, philosopher, aeronaut, inventor, anatomist, botanist, musician and geologist – his achievements in any single field would have left his mark in history. For his time through the Renaissance, Leonardo was widely travelled, taking various roles for a number of military, regal and religious leaders of the day. Leonardo is my invited guest to the well-known but pointless query about who I'd most like to share a dinner with.
This series of articles explores Leonardo’s travels starting with his birthplace in the small Tuscan hillside village of Vinci (hence his surname). Born illegitimate to a father who married four times, Leonardo’s ordinary and unprivileged early life is fairly undocumented. Today the small town of Vinci dines out on their famous son, nearly every element of the town carries his name.
Built around the so-called Ship Castle due to its elongated shape, the long narrow town is surrounded by rolling hills, covered in the trademark Tuscan vineyards and olive groves. Tasty wines and olive oils compete for space with Leonardo memorabilia and knick-knacks in the numerous small shops. Vinci feels lost in time – Leonardo may well still feel at home in the narrow streets and stone houses of the tiny town.
Independent of Leonardo, the castle tells a fine story of a Vinci military leader who was arrested for treason and sentenced to death by being thrown from the castle. In the spirit of the day, prisoners who survived their death were pardoned as it was seen as God’s way to rescue wrongly charged folks. Imbued with a glass of the local wine, the man survived his death by miraculously gliding – the town also recording record harvests that year. To this day, this event is celebrated in the town.
The Leonardo Museum boasts quite a number of models taken from his detailed but cryptic notes revealing the breadth and depth of thinking of this extraordinary individual. A car, double-hulled ship and a skin-diving suit (with breathing tube) shares space with innovative war machinery, bridges, gliders, a crane and a weaving machine. Each model is captioned with the relevant page from his notes showing the detailed sketch from which the modern models are constructed. For further detail, the neighbouring library (Biblioteca Leonardiana) contains copies of all his written works, though no originals.
The font likely to have been used to baptise Leonardo remains in the Church of Santa Croce, while a fine horse statue graces the centre of Piazza della Liberta at the other end of the village.
However, the best way to enjoy Vinci is to escape the visitor bustle and undertake a pleasant hour-long stroll to his underwhelming but humble honey brick birth house in Anchiano via a fine hiking trail. Under shaded trees and near farmyards to the sounds of twittering birds and alongside a peaceful stream, maybe Leonardo’s later ideas and inventions were formulated and stimulated along this very path. The views back on Vinci alone make the walk worthwhile.
At fourteen, Leonardo moved to Florence...
Photo Credit: Vinci map, parachute
Sunday, July 18, 2010
The Natural Jacuzzi (Saturnia, Italy)
In the south of Tuscany, a couple of kilometres south-east of its ancient namesake hillside village and west of the stunning Pitigliano are the remarkable hot springs of Saturnia. With the haphazard parking of cars and vans, a steady stream of half-naked people strolling along a dirt track and the less-than-subtle scent of sulphur wafting in the air, the Saturnia Cascades gushes warmed water from the Earth which settles into a series of small rock pools.
Gracelessly slithering down a natural stair to enter the hallowed waters, people step into the mineral-rich vivid turquoise bath. Even with a fair crowd of people chatting animatedly, the Saturnia hot springs are remarkably relaxing and a wonderful afternoon tonic to Tuscan adventures. Settling nearer the small waterfall offers a robust massage while sitting in one of the natural pools up to your neck is like bathing in champagne, the effervescence of tiny bubbles tingling the entire body.
With no change rooms, limited signage and a lone van selling ice-creams and cool drinks, this is as uncommercialised as can be. Lean back and enjoy the warming spa waters of this offbeat wonder of the world in much the same way as historic documents show that the Etruscans, Romans and Italians have done for over two millennia. And maybe like these predecessors, the memories will stay for a day or two as the sulphurous smell lingers despite any efforts to wash it off.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The Two Leaning Towers (Bologna, Italy)
This is the first in a series of three European travel wonders, focussing on less popular travel cities. The series is written by Travel Wonders and kindly sponsored by HotelCalculator.com.
When even a whisper of a leaning tower is mentioned, people immediately think of Pisa’s grand bell tower and the major medieval engineering error. However, central to one of Italy’s liveliest and most dynamic cities are not one, but two leaning towers. The travel wonder of Bologna is home to Europe’s oldest university (over 900 years old and producing students including Thomas à Becket, Copernicus and Dante), one of the world’s largest churches and stands resplendent in the rich red hue of its buildings, kilometres of covered walkways and famous meat and tomato-based pasta sauce. People joke that the rich red is also an indicator of their ties to socialism and communism that is widely known throughout the country.
In the middle ages equivalent of today’s battle to construct the world’s tallest buildings, wealthy families developed a habit of building tall towers in their cities for a combination of pride and defensive reasons. In Bologna, most have disappeared over the centuries but two most famous ones remain in the centre of the city credited to the families who built them. Asinelli Tower stands over 97 metres while the Garisenda Tower stands to around half that height. 
The most notable point of interest about le Due Torri is that they both lean, the shorter tower very noticeably to the point where the building is closed to the public. Documents show that the Garisenda Tower had over ten metres removed off its top in the 14th century to prevent it from falling over, though it continues to lean at a precarious three degrees.
Asinelli Tower can be climbed via 500 steps to highlight a terracotta-red fabric of roofs across the historic centre with occasional spikes from the numerous church spires and a number of the remaining twenty towers. The arrow-straight streets laid out in Roman times continue to radiate across the city. The top few floors of the tower were once a prison, cruelly locked away but with a staggering view of the prisoner’s home city. Much like its famous cousin in Pisa, the tower has been used for scientific experiments, the tilt making it possible to drop objects from a great height directly to the ground.
Bologna is a wonderful city rich in history, culture, cuisine and knowledge marked by a pair of towers both leaning from poor foundations. It makes for an excellent day visit and a culture-rich weekend when paired with the mosaic travel wonders of Ravenna around 50 kilometres to the east.
Aerial Photo: Google
This series of hidden European gems (written by Travel Wonders) is sponsored by HotelCalculator.com - the hotel search engine offering accommodation in over 10,000 cities worldwide including hotels in Bologna available at the best market prices.
