Italy, that is a place I want to visit someday. Besides being of Italian heritage, I love the food, the beautiful landscapes and the history of Italy. My grandfather sailed the President Wilson and arrived in New York on January 6, 1924. The ship sailed from Naples, Italy. He was 28 years old. There would be a few more trips back to his homeland, one to bring back a bride to the states. He was very proud to become an American citizen and prospered here. I do not remember my grandparents taking many trips back to Italy but I do remember the stories told to me. I have relatives I have never met and hope to see someday.
All I can do now is look through a few catalogs and books to know that I definitely want to visit Italy. Some of the places I want to visit are of course the birthplaces of my grandparents and relatives unknown to me. My grandmother was born in the Marche region which is considered a central region on the side of the Adriatic Sea. She was born in Ancona, a seaport, which has become a quite wealthy, touristy region. My grandfather was born in the L'Aquila region just a little south of the Marches.
Places to visit in Italy would be of course it's capital, Rome. Modern Italy, with Rome as its capital, only came into existence in 1870. The area had been made up of many independent city states. These states still exist in the 20 regions that make up Italy. The two states that remain independent today are the Vatican City in Rome and the Republic of San Marino in northeastern Italy. Modern Italy is an important industrial nation, with large steel, chemical, textile and car manufacturing industries. Even so, many Italians still make their living from farming. Their main crops are corn, rice, wheat, grapes and olives plus the fishing industry because of the many fishing ports around Italy's coasts.
I just have to take a look at some of the photos I have on Italy and my heart longs to be there. Rome is located in the Lazio region on the Tyrrhenian Sea side. The Vatican City is a walled state within the city of Rome. It was formed in 1929 and is just a little over 100 acres in size. You can enter the Vatican City through the famous St. Peter's Square with its Baroque architecture dating back to the 1600's. St. Peter's Basilica seats 60,000 people. The largest museum is located in the Vatican City and also there is the Sistine Chapel. Don't forget about visiting The Colosseum!
I would also love to visit the Toscana region and explore Tuscany and Florence. It is said that Tuscany has some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world where artists had used the Tuscan landscape during the Italian renaissance as their backdrop. The capital of this region is Florence where the Cathedral of Pisa - that famous leaning tower still stands. Another beautiful cathedral to visit in Florence is the Santa Maria del Flore which also has great architecture. Florence is where Leonardo da Vinci was born and spent his youth. A little south of Florence is Siena. You can go to another cathedral called the Florence Cathedral.
A honeymoon in Italy sounds very romantic. If I had to do it over again, undoubtedly that is where I would want to go. At this point, my first visit would be in the central regions of Italy that I mentioned above. On another trip, I would love to go further up north to visit Venice and Milan, one of the largest and most developed cities in Italy. Da Vinci's famous painting "The Last Supper" is in Milan as well as The Duomo Cathedral where the Archbishop of Milan resides. It features gothic architecture and the only cathedral bigger than The Duomo is St. Peter's Basilica. Another site to visit is the Sforza Castle which took 10 years to build in the 1300's. This castle was built to be a fortress and now holds Michelangelo's final work of art, a marble sculpture known as the Rondanini Pieta. Last but not least, don't forget about the shopping in Milan. I hear it is to die for!
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