Archive for 'Tourist Attractions'

Those who love the great outdoors, outdoor pursuits, and pretty scenery will find that if they secure a vacation rental in Piedmont they will quickly discover that it makes for an excellent holiday destination. Home to a famously gorgeous and UNESCO-awarded landscape blanketed by rolling green hills covered in vineyards, snow-capped peaks, glassy lakes, pretty little towns and elegant cities, Piedmont boasts rather breathtaking vistas.

In one of the most scenic parts of this beautiful and lush region, you will find a very unique and special amusement park: Alpyland. Located on Mottarone, a mountain in the Western Alps of north-western Italy, Alpyland takes full advantage of its scenic position and boasts fun for all of the family as well as offering sweeping views over the surrounding area; taking in the Alps, the stunning Lake Maggiore, and more.

Seaside towns in Italy are particularly dreamy places for a vacation as they combine all of the best traits of a beach holiday with the charms of the food, culture, and style of a getaway in Italy. Spend days gazing at incredible works of art, going wine-tasting, enjoying delicious meals, wandering around pretty little historic towns and grand architectural gems, playing on the beach, working on your tan, and more, all in the one holiday and maybe even the one day! From the famous backdrops of the picturesque villages of the Cinque Terre to the perfect beaches ringing Sicily to the lovely towns of the Tuscan Coast, there are lots of excellent seaside destinations to choose from for those looking to vacation in Italy and this is your guide to some of our absolute favourites among them...

Many people throughout the world are fascinated by abandoned places, by ruins, by underground passages and caverns as there is just something inherently intriguing about these empty, ancient, and no longer used spaces. Seemingly untouched by the outside world, though no longer as they once were and once looked, they are both steeped in history and removed from the passing of time. Furthermore, these places manage to be both eerie and beautiful at the same time.

Such places are often made more appealing by the contrast with the bustling of the busy cities above or around them in which they are located. Take, for example, the hauntingly lovely and truly impressive Piscina Mirabilis, a giant ancient Roman cistern that is located on the north-west side of the Gulf of Naples, not far from the daily hustle and bustle of daily life in the electric city of Naples. For those who are interested in such things and those who simply enjoy getting off the regular beaten path for tourists and taking in truly remarkable sights, this is a must-see if you have found a vacation rental in Campania and are exploring the region.

Apulia's Alberobello is a town that is famous for her distinctive and evocative local architecture, characterised by the presence of trulli, a kind of traditional limestone building from the area that features cone-shaped or domed roofs that are made of corbelled slabs of stone. Designated an UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996, these unique buildings developed out of necessity in the 14th century when peasant workers were moved to the area by Count Acquaviva, a feudal lord, to help clear the surrounding woods and cultivate the land. Trulli became the housing structure of choice for inhabitants of Alberobello as they wanted it to continue not to be classified as an inhabited settlement and to continue to avoid the taxes and laws to which towns in the area were beholden at the time. Trulli could be quickly dismantled, if necessary, and as there were no permanent structures that could characterise Alberobello as a town, they could continue to live there without having to pay the local taxes or adhere to local laws as a result. In fact, it wasn't actually until over a couple of centuries later, in 1797, that Alberobello was first officially classified as a town! A remarkable origin tale and a rather ingenious way to avoid taxes, if you want to come and see the distinct and fascinating architecture of this gorgeous town for yourself, then be sure to go ahead and browse our vacation rentals in Alberobello.

Italy is home to some truly unique and beautiful parks and gardens. However, most still confirm to certain aesthetics; green manicured lawns, pathways, fountains, trimmed hedges, neat flowerbeds, and more. While these stunning outdoor spaces are well worth exploring in their own right, if you are in search of a more specific and singular yet equally stunning garden and you have found a vacation rental in Sicily, then we recommend a visit to the Kolymbetra Garden in Agrigento, on the South Coast of Sicily.

Kolymbetra Garden, or Giardino della Kolymbetra, is a very Sicilian kind of garden. Located in the heart of the Valley of the Temples, and often overlooked but readily visited if you are already at that other famous attraction, it is a lush and fragrant space that hosts all sorts of events. The landscape of this area is made up of almond and olive tree groves, with irrigated citrus groves and orchards cutting through this. Kolymbetra is an example of an irrigated citrus garden but also boasts great historical and archaeological value. Situated in a small valley to the west of the Hill of the Temples, nestled between the Temple of Castor and Pollux and the Temple of Vulcan, the six hectares of garden are framed picturesquely by these great monuments of the distant past. It is also mentioned in ancient records, noted as the site of a Greek pool mentioned by Diodorus Siculus in the first century AD as the place where Carthaginian slaves were brought in to build aqueducts that delivered water to the sumptuous pool that they also built in the area. While this artificial lake has long since been destroyed and disappeared, the land remained fertile and the profitable fishing industry that had thrived there when it was a fish hatchery was replaced by the Moors with a business based on abundant trees yielding delicious fruits.