Archive for 'Tourist Attractions'

If you’re visiting Rome on your next Italian vacation this year, make it a priority to gaze upon the interior of the Sistine chapel in Vatican city! This endeared chapel is where the famous papal conclave takes place when cardinals gather to vote for a new pope.

Stay in a holiday rental in Rome where you can spend a few days discovering the rich beauty of this capital city, including the interior of the Sistine chapel!

What makes the Sistine chapel so special is its ornate interior with every inch of wall illustrated with frescoes by famous Italian artists. During the reign of Pope Sixtus IV between 1482 and 1483, a team of highly skilled Renaissance painters were commissioned to fill its interior walls with biblical scenes.

These artists were Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino Pinturicchio and Domenico Ghirlandaio.

The construction of the magnificent Ursino castle in Catania in the early 1200s was ordered under the rule of Frederick II. It was a testament to Frederick’s multicultural style of governance as the castle plans blended styles from both eastern and western design.

Come to Sicily and book a vacation rental near Catania where you can easily explore all the treasures this area of the region and island has to offer you!

Ursino castle originally stood directly overlooking the Sicilian coast and was a mighty structure of security for Catania.

Spend an evening of exquisite music at the Teatro Massimo Bellini in the Sicilian city of Catania! This majestic opera house is named after the famous locally born composer Vincenzo Bellini. Bellini was greatly loved by the people of Sicily.

His cleverly woven melodies were distinctive in style and were so elegant that it earned him the nickname, The Swan of Catania’.

Choose from a superb range of villas in Sicily where you can spend a few days visiting the many attractions of the island, including Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania.

In 1890, the 1200 seats of this lavish theatre were filled with eager spectators who witnessed the masterpiece of Bellini’s called ‘Norma’ and from then, it has been filled frequently with opera and classical music lovers who come to hear the legacy of Bellini’s music and other great works.

Sestola is a charming Orange Flag awarded town in Emilia Romagna, only 50 kilometres southwest of Modena and a further ten kilometres below to Bologna.

Sestola is situated in the mountains surrounded by a thick green forest. Book a villa in Emilia Romagna and enjoy visiting Sestola and other excellent tourist attractions in the region.

Popular with tourists all year around, Sestola earned its Orange Flag award for being an excellent tourist information provider and making the most out of its local and man-made attractions by way of tours, leaflets, local guides and much more.

For example, visitors can avail of excellent information and guided tours through the nearby Regional Park of the Upper Apennines of Modena and walk or cycle along some scenic mountain trails here.

Situated on the outskirts of Mantua in Lombardy is the architectural masterpiece called Palazzo del Te! Designed in an elegant mannerist style by architect Giulio Romano for Frederico il Gonzaga in 1524, this was a lavishly built palace with certainly no expense spared!

Book a stay at a scenic villa rental in Lombardy where you can easily travel around to to see the many attractions of this region, including the glorious Palazzo del Te!

Palazzo del Te is so intricately decorated that after the vast shell of it was built, it took a team of fresco painters, stone carvers and plasterers a period of ten years to adorn every section of wall, floor and ceiling of it!

It was indeed a treasured jewel of artistic achievement and it is little wonder that Palazzo del Te is considered as one of the most beautiful villas in all of Italy!