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Background: Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the city-states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His disastrous alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, sluggish economic growth, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous north.

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By JimmyBoi2
August 22nd 2009

Prelude to Lucca-- Part One Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Lucca

I finally decided to do it-- after 25 years, ritorno in Italia ! That's not bad, this going to Italy every 25 years. At this rate my next trip will occur when I'm 78 years old, and who knows? It may be in a box! (Just kidding; I plan on living past 100 because I want to see if the Democrats achieve a 100% majority in both the House and Senate.) My friend Eugene and I were talking one time about the figurative town of Cazzolungo, in Sicily. In the 1960s the town found itself, thanks to emigration, with a large [View Full Entry]

By JimmyBoi2
August 22nd 2009

Prelude to Lucca-- Part Two: The Shopping Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Lucca

Do you like to shop? I don't. I like to go and buy the things I need, checking them off a list as I go along from store to store, not doing any comparison shopping or wielding coupons. I mean, it's not because I'm rich or anything, but I've felt that time is more valuable than anything else-- time is the one thing you can't see, and so I'm loath to squander it. So, to make this as streamlined as possible, I've made a list of all the things I will need to bring to Italy in mid-July, which is cross-referenced [View Full Entry]

By JimmyBoi2
August 22nd 2009

Prelude to Lucca-- Part Three: Mama Drama Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Lucca

Okay; I've gone on and on and ON about getting ready for this trip, both here and here. And there was talk of my mother possibly coming along with me for this looming Italian trip-- talk which, in a Northern Italian woman, is spoken silently but nevertheless reverberates along the horsehair-and-plaster walls of her 1912 semi-detached house in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. We'd always spoken about making the crossing together, a trip I know she'd love. After all, Mom hasn't been to see her cousins since 1950. That trip was captured on film, all stored in yellow Kodak boxes and annotated by [View Full Entry]

By Dirk en Silvia around the world
August 22nd 2009

Dag 3: La Spezia - Villamagna, Agriturismo Diacceroni 2 Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Volterra

Agriturismo Diacceroni 2

Nadat Dick heeft gewandeld met Wapper en Dino in het bos en nadat Silvia de tassen heeft ingepakt, gaan we vandaag het laatste stuk rijden, van La Spezia naar Agriturismo Diacceroni 2, Villamagna, Volterra, waar we rond kwart over 11 aankomen. Barry en Bianca zitten ons al op te wachten, want zij zijn hier al een week. De auto uitladen, kamer 'inrichten' en even bijkomen van de 2,5 dag durende reis. Wapper en Dino natuurlijk een rondje lopen en wij een koel drankje. De Agriturismo is mooi gelegen, op een heuvel met uitzicht op het typisch Toscaans landschap. Als we bijgepraat [View Full Entry]

By JALY
August 21st 2009

Day 16- Morning in Rome, Afternoon Train to Florence Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Florence

Church of St Mary with Angles and Martyrs

This morning we took a stroll around the Piazzas within walking distance of the Hotel, including some amazing churches and Basilicas. We entered the Church of St Mary with Angles and Martyrs which was built inside some ancient roman baths and designed by Michelangelo when he was in his 80’s. We also found the “Scala Santa” (or Holy Staircase) which is said to be the steps from the house of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem which Christ climbed before being brought before Pilate before being crucified. It is said to still show the drops of blood from Jesus. Pilgrims ascend thi [View Full Entry]

By Born to Explore
August 19th 2009

Fabulous Florence Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Florence

Night reflections on the Arno river
The view from the Ponte Vecchio.

This is a late entry that is meant to capture our time in Florence. We had to cut our Florence and Rome entries in half as they were too long together so be forewarned. Complaints can be forwarded to the to the owners of this website (not us). Mikayla from Ca Venier got up early to get us breakie so that we could catch the vaporetto at 7:45am (she was awesome). A quick trip back to Venice from Murano, we then hopped on a short train that took us to the main Venice train station. NOTE: For those who are going [View Full Entry]

By jawilso
August 17th 2009

Florence and Italian Passion Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Florence

Piazza Vecchio in Florece
The shadow statue is of Perseus holding up Medusa's severed head. You can see Fake David's tiny head in the lower right corner.

In Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love; they had five hundred years of democracy and peace -- and what did they produce? The Cuckoo Clock. -Orson Welles I like this quote because to me sums up the reality of the artistic temperament. In order to produce great art you have to go to the extremes of emotion. You have to be inspired and possess the arrogant belief that your vision is valuable, no [View Full Entry]

By AlTess
August 15th 2009

Florence Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Florence

Back on Tuscan Roads

15 August 2009 We’ve gone as far south as this journey will take us and have now set course north again. Roman streets are quiet, nigh deserted, and the trip to Florence is very quick. Florence was the hotbed of the Italian renaissance at various stages the home of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Galileo and it also became the resting place for many of these great minds. The one person that Florence lost, and always regretted was Dante. Dante was accredited as being the father of the Italian language, being the first to write down the spoken language of the time. [View Full Entry]

By artaris
August 11th 2009

Day2: Destination Siena. Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Siena

Siena road sign, good sign.

The effects of cycling takes a toll on your body physically. From the use of the upper torso to maintain the handlebar alignment, to the calf muscles that powers me up the slopes. The moment I woke up, I knew that my leg muscles were gonna be hurting. I got out of the tent - hmm, so far so good. Just a little tightness in the hamstrings, totally bearable. After all the equipments are packed and loaded onto the bike, I load up my bike. Ouch! The butt is sore and tender to the now-seemingly rock hard saddle! So, boys and [View Full Entry]

By RTW adventure 09 to 13
August 11th 2009

Tales From The Big Boot!!!! Europe » Italy » Tuscany » Florence

Don't Know What The Fuss Is About

Ciao From Tuscany The train from Nice into Italy ran smoothly with a quick change at Genova, then on to my first real taste of an Italian city with a nights stop in Pisa. There's only a couple of reasons to visit Pisa, the obvious being the leaning tower, and then the Campo Dei Miracoli that it's situated in which also houses the Duomo (the main church of the city). Luckily, the hostel I'd booked was called Under The Tower, and that's exactly what it was. You could see it from the bedroom window!!! Placed on one of the little side [View Full Entry]

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