Archive for 'Museums & Galleries'

The region of Lombardy is an excellent destination for those who enjoy good food, lush scenery, and visiting incredible palaces and architectural gems. Some of Italy’s most sumptuous buildings exist here and it is an ideal spot in which to plan holidays full of day trips, going out to enjoy that beautiful landscape, potter around little towns, discover delicious local products, and explore some truly magical castles and noble homes. If you are a fan of these sorts of rambling but adventurous kinds of holidays then we recommend finding a villa in Lombardy and coming to discover all that this stunning region has to offer the discerning tourist.

Certainly, if you have found a vacation rental in Lombardy and are near Brescia, you should set aside some time to visit Castello di Padernello. This stunning castle looks like something from a fairytale, can be toured, hosts exciting exhibitions and events right through the year, and has some excellent eateries to keep the foodies in your group happy! Located in a particularly lovely part of Lombardy and in the charming village of Padernello, there is plenty to see and do on a day out at this gem!

Titian is one of Italy’s most beloved and famous master painters whose name is still remembered and known by many all over the globe, centuries after his death. Some, however, may not know that Titian was a famous adopted son of Venice. Finding a vacation rental in Venice or a villa in Veneto and coming to visit the city, therefore, is a great idea if you are a fan of his rich and beautiful works or just incredible Italian art in general as you will find many of the best examples in churches and galleries throughout the region. If you want to go on your own little Titian tour of the area or if you were considering a holiday in Veneto anyway but would like to add a Titian twist to the itinerary then read on to discover our ultimate guide to following Titian’s life and career all around this lovely part of Italy...

Italy is full of incredible museums but the majority of them are formal spaces in which the museum experience is very much the same: visitors keep their distance, they stay behind lines and ropes, and they never touch artworks. However, there is one museum where the exact opposite is true. In fact, in this museum, the whole point is to feel the works of art and to have a completely different experience with them and the visit to the museum, in general. A must for those interested in art and those intrigued by different museum experiences, and especially for those who might be visually impaired or completely blind, the Museo Tattile Statale Omero, or State Tactile Museum Omero, is an incredibly unique gem in Italy’s Le Marche region. Those who find a vacation rental in Le Marche should definitely make a point of planning a visit!

Located in the Mole Vanvitelliana, a historic building and former hospital for those with leprosy built on a small artificial island in the port of the city of Ancona, the Museo Omero is one of a very small number of places in the world where visitors are encouraged to engage with works of art with their sense of touch rather than their sense of sight. The roots of the museum date back to 1985, when Aldo Grassini and his wife Daniela Bottegoni, a pair of non-sighted travellers and adventurers, became exasperated with the constant refrain of, “Do not touch,” in other museums around the globe. They wanted, instead, to create a rather different kind of museum that would be the exact opposite of this and accessible to all. After establishing a foundation, fundraising, and filling out endless applications, they were able to finally make this dream of theirs a reality. 

There are plenty of reasons to find a vacation rental in Venice or to find a villa in Veneto and plan day trips into the city as it stands but every second year there is one more excellent incentive to head to the famous city of canals: the Biennale Arte. This is a massive festival of art, design, and performance that sees artists and countries from all over the globe come to exhibit their creations throughout the city, transforming all of Venice into one massive and fascinating art gallery. For serious art-lovers, it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience to tick off your bucket list or a regular indulgence depending on your inclination and means but it is certainly worth experiencing for yourself if you get the chance. 

Beautiful design and incredible works of art are a key part of Italy’s cultural heritage but while everyone knows this includes paintings, sculptures, buildings, objects, clothes, and more, some forget that garden design is a key element. Italy’s history of garden design is rich and fascinating and has left us with some truly extraordinary and magical gardens to visit all throughout the country. Varying from pretty and manicured palace gardens, to diverse and educational botanic gardens at universities, to gems specialising in one sort of bloom or tree or plant and presenting a gorgeous array, to flights of fancy featuring interesting planting interacting with wonderful sculptural works, to welcoming parks where generations can gather for fun and excitement; there are all sorts of wonderful gardens in Italy. One of the most unique of all, however, has to be the Labirinto Della Masone, an astonishing and magical garden that is a must-see for all those who find a villa in Emilia Romagna and are interested in such things!

Created by Franco Maria Ricci, an Italian graphic designer, editor, and designer, this extraordinary bamboo maze spreads out over an astounding seven hectares and follows a path that is 3km long in total. Ricci had been long fascinated by mazes and he first dreamed of building one all the way back in the eighties. Following a meeting and collaboration with Jorge Luis Borges, the famous Argentine writer who directed the series La Biblioteca di Babele for Ricci’s publishing house, the idea to make a labyrinth of his own came to Ricci.