Archive for 'Museums & Galleries'

Liguria is home to the Italian Riviera, a stretch of the coast that boasts some of Italy's most beautiful beaches and, as a result, it is an especially popular holiday destination. However, in addition to having lots of options for days of fun and sun at the beach, a villa in Liguria also means enjoying incredible fresh seafood and plenty of delicious local specialties including mushroom pie and mussels stuffed with cheese and herbs; visits to exclusive holiday resorts such as the luxurious and star-studded Portofino; wonderful walks and hiking routes along the coast where you can enjoy the scent of the sea and endless lemon groves that permeates the air or in the Ligurian Alps where you'll take in some of the most extraordinary views in the world; wandering the picturesque towns of the famous Cinque Terre; trips to villages famous for witch trials, inspiring Monet, annual carnival celebrations, and more; and, of course, time exploring the stunning and elegant capital of the region, Genoa. Genoa is an incredibly beautiful gem with an old town full of pretty winding little streets among tall old buildings, palaces, museums, and architectural feats. Among all of the wonderful things to see and do in the city, however, if you have found a villa in Liguria and are spending the day in Genoa, then a visit to the Palazzo Reale is a must.

Michelangelo's most famous work in Rome has to be his painted ceiling in the stunning Sistine Chapel and any art-lovers who have found a villa in Rome are sure to seek it out to see for themselves. However, the great artist personally most loved to work as a sculptor, freeing figures he imagined were trapped inside blocks of marble, waiting to be born at his hands. As he was a great favourite in Rome and the Church was one of his best patrons, there are also some wonderful sculpted works by Michelangelo to be discovered around the city, as well. So, if you are planning a vacation in Rome, be sure to check those out too and to see how incredibly talented he was at mimicking the folds and flesh and shape of the human form in stone.

Italy is known for many things; food, art, opera, design, style, a relaxed pace of life, gorgeous scenery, and more. However, to motor enthusiasts, it is the country that produced some of the most iconic and beloved cars and motor vehicles in the world. In particular, Italy has given the world some of the most beautiful racing cars, supercars, and luxury cars. Ferrari is just one famous brand and if you are a car-lover who has found yourself a villa in Emilia-Romagna, a lush and beautiful region to the north-east of Italy, then you should definitely make it a point to visit the Museo Ferrari.

While a villa in Sicily ensures a holiday in Italy full of fun and sun and relaxation, there is more to the stunning island than playing on the beach, sunning oneself on the sand, tasting local delicacies, and wandering around the more typical tourist attractions. There are also some rather more unusual and, even macabre, attractions that will delight and intrigue the more curious tourists in search of fascinating and strange sights that are well off the beaten path. One such impossibly interesting and somewhat morbid gem for those who have found a villa in Palermo, in particular, is the Catacombe dei Cappuccini.

If you are a serious culture vulture who likes to admire the greatest works made by human hands, then one of your bucket list destinations has to be Rome. With a villa in Rome, you can discover the ancient ruins of the Colosseum, Michelangelo's painted glories on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the unbelievable scale and architectural splendor of St Peter's, and much more besides. However, beyond the most famous attractions of the city, there is also an impossible wealth of other incredible attractions, buildings, works of art, examples of stunning city planning, gorgeous gardens, collections of incredible artefacts, and more to be explored. In fact, there is more to see in Rome than one could get to if they had full lifetimes to wander the beautiful streets and amazing attractions of the city. However, if you're looking for something that is a famous must-see but still slightly off the beaten track for many international tourists in Rome to pencil into your next vacation in Rome, then we suggest a visit to the glorious Palazzo Colonna.

The Palazzo Colonna is a block of palatial buildings that is located in the centre of Rome, at the base of the Quirinal Hill and which is built on a site that has housed buildings and homes since before the year 1000AD, including an ancient Roman Serapeum, a 12th century castle, and palaces of twenty generations of the powerful and noble Colonna family of Rome. Today, the palace can be visited and explored and is home to the Colonna Gallery, an incredible museum of Baroque art in the surrounds of frescoed walls and ceilings, gilded corridors, and antique furnishings. The largest noble residence in Rome, this stunning palace is akin to any of the great palatial buildings of Europe and is home to works of art by some of the most famous names in the history of art, making it an absolute must-see if you were thinking about finding a villa in Rome and spending time in the city.