Archive for 'Tourist Attractions'

Brisighella is a medieval town and spa centre in Emilia-Romagna which has been recognised as one of the Best Small Towns of Italy and has received an Orange Flag for its preservation of the town's historical centre, sustainable tourism and easily accessible tourist information services. Not only charming and chock full of things to do, the town also takes good care of its visitors. Additionally, though it has lots to offer, it is never overrun with tourists. Located in the Lamone Valley on the Lamone River, it has beautiful surroundings and looks like something out of a fairytale with its distinct silhouette. Find a villa with pool in Emilia-Romagna and see everything the town has to offer for yourself.

Palermo Cathedral was founded on the site of a Muslim mosque, which in turn had replaced an Early Christian basilica in 1184 by the Archbishop of Palermo. His aim was to create something more astounding than the cathedral at Monreale nearby and so a competition broke out between the two cathedrals which became known as the “Battle of the Two Cathedrals”. It is still debatable as to who the winner was but the cathedral at Palermo is stunning in its own right. A fantastic example of the Arab-Norman architecture that is awaiting news on UNESCO status and which is one of the defining characteristics of the city, it is a must-see for any with a love of Western churches, Islamic architecture and Byzantine mosaics as it sees all three combined.

The Arab-Norman architecture of Palermo is a collection of buildings and monuments with design and decorative features that came about from an intertwining of cultures. Sicily's history is a tale of a long succession of rulers from a variety of places and cultures. Sicily was especially influenced by the Islamic conquest (827-1091) of lands in what is now Italy and then by how this combined with Norman rule (1071-1194). Alongside Byzantine influences, this led to a multi-ethnic culture that saw Western and Islamic cultures combined in art and architecture among other areas. Find a luxury villa in Sicily and you could see it for yourself!

Cimitero delle Fontanelle, or Fontanelle Cemetery, is an ancient necropolis in the Valley of the Dead, Naples. A 30,000 m² cavern in Capodimonte Hill, it holds the skeletal remains of those too poor to afford proper burial, vast numbers that died from disease and the numbers that overflowed from local burial places. In use since the 16th century, estimates suggest that at one point it held over eight million bones. The cemetery began as a secondary burial ground but, unusually for an ossuary, saw the bones come to be cared for exceptionally carefully and lovingly. Closed for a period, it is now reopened to the public and makes for both an extraordinary site of worship for the faithful and an astounding sight for all others.

Villa Jovis is a site on Capri at the end of the Viale Amedeo Maiuri which houses the ruins of a villa from the first century B.C. which is attributed to the Roman Emperor, Tiberius. Perched on a cliff-top, it now provides visitors with astounding views but once afforded its occupants both privacy and security. Once the largest and most sumptuous of the twelve Roman villas on the island, it is now reduced to ruins, though a considerable percentage still survives. In fact, the amount of survival from the original complex means that the visitor centre has reliable reproductions of what it might have looked like.