WHeritage

E continue our visits to UNESCO World

Sites in ITALY. VENICE (Venezia) is situated across a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by bridges. It’s the world’s only pedestrian city, easily walkable, and the absence of cars makes this a pleasant experience. There are no roads, just waterways lined with Renaissance and Gothic palaces. Along the way we discovered marvelous art, superb architecture and breathtaking urban landscaping. Waterfront palazzos, citadels, and churches make drifting down the Grand Canal feel like cruising through a painting. I gasp at the showstopper and one of the most beautiful squares in the world - Piazza San Marco. With its gondolas, canals, amazing restaurants, and unforgettable romantic ambiance, VENICE is definitely a city for one’s bucket list.

A cradle of the Renaissance, romantic, enchanting and utterly irresistible, FLORENCE (Firenze) is a place to feast on world-class art. It is believed to have the greatest concentration of art (in proportion to its size) in the world. It offered the world a stage for great artistic masters such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo. Italy’s fashion industry was born and bred here. Homegrown designers Gucci and Salvatore Ferregamo opened haute-couture boutiques in the 1920s and shopping has been stylish ever since. Another place made for walking… so we wandered on some of the oldest streets in the city, from the Basilica (Duomo) to Piazza della Signorina, until we reached the Old Bridge (Ponte Vecchio) on the Arno River. I was awed by FLORENCE’s magnificent treasures!

One of the historic capitals in northern Italy is the lively BOLOGNA (1000-BC). The famous Two Towers (Due Torri) with its iconic leaning forms provide a popular symbol of the town. It is famed for having the oldest university in the Western world (1088). Noteworthy students present at the university in centuries past included Dante, Thomas Becket, Erasmus, Copernicus and Marconi. BOLOGNA is also renowned for its culinary tradition. It has given its name to the well-known “Bolognese sauce”, a meat-based pasta sauce called ‘ragu’, and the original ‘mortadella’ (Bologna sausage). BOLOGNA’s nicknames neatly sum it up: “La Rossa” (The Red – for its traditional political leanings and its terracotta medieval buildings adorned with miles of porticoes), “La Dotta” (The Learned – western world’s oldest university), and “La Grassa” (The Fat – that rich cuisine). Our Italian sojourn ends here. Our gratitude goes to Gina Anagaran and Robert Magliba. Maraming Salamat!