One of Italy’s most known architectural structures is the Leaning Tower of Pisa. “It really leans!!!” It is a freestanding bell tower that is tilted to one side because the foundation on ground on one side was too soft to support its own weight.
This campanile is part of the Piazza dei Miracoli otherwise known as Piazza del Duomo, where there are four great religious structures – the Duomo, the Baptistery, the Campanile (Leaning Tower) and the Camposanto Monumentale.
FLORENCE: As soon as I arrived in Florence, I knew there was something unique about this city. Everything clicked – it was love at first sight. Florence is a beautiful city in Tuscany. It has gorgeous alleys and squares and the best gelato I had tasted!
From basilicas and palaces to squares and statues, the city is overflowing with masterpieces in the styles of the Renaissance, Gothic, and Neo-Classical periods. Lucky, I was prepared to have a sore neck after a day out from my head constantly twisting from side to side.
Florence is a captivating city, with narrow winding medieval alleys that somehow always seem to lead to the Duomo or the Santa Maria dei Fiori, the most iconic building in Florence.
One of my favorites was Ponte Vecchio, a bridge unlike anything I’ve ever seen before – shops are built along both sides of the medieval stone bridge, many with an extension so that the shops hang over the river.
Wonderful narrow streets with lots of souvenir and other shops, small cafes and trattorias, small piazzas and architectural wonders all around, that’s Spaccanapoli. The cleanliness is not an attribute one can give to Naples in general, but if you have already been around the city, it’s tolerable.
Galleria Umberto A shopping passage from the 19th Century. Dating from around 1890 and designed by engineer Paolo Boubee, the Gallleria Umberto was originally the meeting point of the Neapolitan aristocracy. The structure is French inspired with beautifully decorated facades and is a triumph of iron and glass nearly 60 meters high from the dome seemingly supported by copper angles to the delicate colored marbled inlayed floor.
Pizza comes from Naples. Look for pizza margherita, the original one, with nothing more than fresh tomatoes, basil, fresh mozzarella and a little olive oil. Eating a pizza in Florence or in Rome is not the same as eating it in Naples! Here the dough is thicker (than in Rome, for example) and is a little chewy.
The front of the church is hailed as a work of genius combining an astonishing array of structural and decorative pieces that feature scenes taken from biblical teachings. In one interesting relief, an aged man is seen with his hand in his mouth. It is believed to be modeled after the architect himself, punished after boasting that he can design a church that could surpass St. Mark’s Basilica in beauty and grandeur.
Blissful Trails 