Although the ancient period produced much in the way of art, it was in the Renaissance, that period of rebirth when Europe moved from the dark ages to enlightenment, that Italian art flourished. It was the time of Michelangelo and Leonardo DaVinci. Italian artists produced some of the most famous and best known art of all time, and the majority of it is still there, in the galleries and museums and the Cathedrals.

Italy is a very religious country even today, and it is not surprising that religious themes were at the center of Renaissance art. Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, as well as sculpting his famous Pieta, and DaVinci painted the Last Supper that has had a rebirth of popularity in modern fiction. Another Italian artist of the time was famous for his Madonnas, and Michelangelo and Donatelli produced famous impressions of David. All of these great works can still be seen in Italy.






While it is true that much of the great art produced in Italy has found its way to the galleries and museums of the World as well as into private collections, there is enough left to keep the visitor with an interest in art happy for a long time. Perhaps the ideal place to visit to maximize your exposure to Italian art would be the Vatican Museum. The Vatican is an independent country located in the heart of Rome. It is the headquarters of the Catholic Church and the home of the Pope as well as home to one of the world’s greatest Art collections.

Inside the Sistine Chapel one finds The Last Judgment painted by Michelangelo, painted on the ceiling as he lay upside down on his back. It is one of the greatest works of art ever produced. The museum collection includes many more works of Renaissance art as well as art from all over the world, and all time periods.

Although the Vatican is a good central source to view art from this remarkable period, it is only one option in a country that has invented “la dolce vita” (the good life) and considers art as one of necessities of life. Every major Italian city offers galleries and boasts their own collections of artistic masterpieces. It is almost as hard to imagine a trip to Italy that does not include a healthy education in Art History as it is to imagine a trip that does not include eating, drinking, or even breathing.

Although not as well known as Rome or Venice, Milan is the largest city by population in Italy. Its inhabitants number almost seven million, and its land area is equal to that of Paris. It is a financial and industrial center, and is considered to be one of the richest cities in the European Union. Milan is also an important fashion center. Shopping is a major pastime here, and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele is considered to be the world’s oldest shopping Mall. This aggressive modern city was included on a list of the “10 Alpha World Cities” in a recent report by the Brookings Institute.

Milan is only the gateway to Northern Italy, however, and the area includes other urban places of interest such as the water bound city of Venice. It is the nearby mountains that give this area its special flavor, and the area north of Milan not only abounds in spectacular scenery, but also provides opportunities for a wide variety of winter sports. This area is often called the Dolomites region, but is actually a part of the Alps, including the regions of South Tyrol, Trentino, and Belluno. The highest point in Italy is Mont Blanc which is 15,770 feet above sea level.






The Dolomite region abounds with ski areas and winter resorts. Skiing and snowboarding are popular pastimes here and downhill skiing and cross country skiing areas are both available. The winter sport season ranges from December to April, but the scenic beauty of the region makes any time a good time for a visit.
One characteristic of Northern Italy that makes it differ from the Southern part of the country is the blending of several European Cultures into the area’s cultural blend. Northern Italians descend from different racial stock than their cousins in the South, and the influence of German and French Culture on the area has produced a unique mix that is reflected in the wide diversity of the area’s cuisine and wine production. It is not even unusual to find German or French speaking Italians in the region, and this mixture of cultures certainly adds to the regions allure. The land is rich and productive, and this has led to food, and its preparation becoming an art form in itself.
Although it is not quite the common impression of Italy that most travelers have come to expect, and lacks the slow and easy pace of the South, and the sense of history that one gets in Rome, the North of Italy has its own treasures to offer the visitor. One who excludes it from their travel plans will miss one of the world’s most scenic and activity filled regions, one that is not only rich in the past, but on the very cutting edge of the future.

Naples has a very diverse history. In the 4th century, it was conquered by the Romans, who favored Naples for its Greek culture and its beauty. In the 6th century, Naples passed under Byzantine rule and in the 8th century it became an independent duchy. In 1139, it was added to the kingdom of Sicily. In 1282, Sicily passed to the house of Aragon, and the Italian peninsula became known as the kingdom of Naples. In 1860 Naples was annexed to the Mediterranean island of Sardinia. Today, Naples is a thriving industrial city.

Some of Naples’ Attractions:
The Capodimonte Museum and Park was built as a hunting lodge for King Charles III. It houses one of Italy’s richest museums with a great picture gallery and collection of majolica and porcelain. You can wander through the royal residence and grounds. The Duomo is a 13th century Gothic cathedral dedicated to Naples’s patron saint, San Gennaro. It also includes the oldest church in the city, a 4th century basilica, a baptistery, and Renaissance crypt.

Spaccanapoli is one of the main streets crossing Naples and is the center of the historic heart of the city. The Spaccanapoli district holds interesting shops, churches and other buildings and is mainly a pedestrian zone. The National Archaeological Museum of Naples has one of the world’s finest collections of Roman and Greek antiquities, including mosaics, sculptures, gems,
glass and silver as well as a collection of Roman erotica from Pompeii.

The Castel Nuovo, a huge castle erected in 1282, houses the Civic Museum. Castel dell’Ovo, the oldest castle in Naples, sits in distinction on the harbor and is used for exhibitions and concerts.






Festivals in Naples:
Naples has one of the best New Year’s Eve fireworks displays in Italy. There are many decorations for Easter, too, and a huge parade. During the summer, there are many music festivals with entertainment held on open air stages. Two huge religious festivals are held in September, the Festa di Piedigrotta on the 7th and San Gennaro on the 19th. During Christmas, hundreds of creches decorate the city.

Transportation:
As one of the major hubs in southern Italy, Naples has several train and bus services found in the grand Piazza Garibaldi on the eastern side of Naples. Naples has an airport, Aeroporto Capodichino, with flights to other parts of Italy and to Europe. A bus connects the airport with Piazza.

For getting around in the city itself, there is an abundance of public Transportation such as buses and taxis, so there really isn’t a need to have a rental car of your own. Besides, the best tours through some of the districts are on foot. Naples is definitely a place you don’t want to miss when you visit Italy.

Chianti
Chianti is a wine producing region in Italy world famous for its dry, red wines. Chianti is located in the center of Tuscany, with Florence on the northern end and Siena marking the southern boundary. The region is divided into smaller areas with the Chianti Classico area being the center and the most prestigious wine.
The main grape used in Chianti is the Sangiovese variety, but it may be blended with other grapes, including Trebbiano. The Sangiovese grape is a finicky variety, not ripening uniformly or easily, and wines made from this grape must be carefully formulated by experienced winemakers to produce the distinct and full bodied Chianti wines.
Wines from this area once brought up visions of a peasant village, with red checkered tablecloths and candles perched in straw wrapped bottles, dripping with wax down the sides. Due to a changing in the wine laws of Italy in the early 1990′s, the style and quality of Chianti has improved tremendously in the last ten years.

Piedmont
“Piemont”, meaning “at the hoot of the mountain” describes the landscape where the vines are grown. This area produces more than 40 officially recognized wines known worldwide, the greater majority made on small family-run estates.
The Nebbiolo is the main grape grown in this Northern Italian region, resulting in rich, hearty reds like Barbaresco, Gattinara and Barolo. Here, also, is where their sparkling white, Asti Spumante, was developed from the Muscato grape, by an Italian vintner who trained in France.
Picturesque landscape, beautiful peoples and a wide variety of wine tasting from light sweet dessert wines to delight and excite the palate make the Piedmont region a must on your tour Italiano.





Tuscany
Situated in Central Italy, the region is crossed by the Apennines mountain range. Rolling hills, and warm, soft sun in this area produce red and white wines in a wide variety. In its heart, lies the Chianti region, Again, as in the Chianti region, the main grape used here in the red wines is the Sangiovese. In the past, these grapes were blended with others. Today, the emphasis is place strongly on the Sangiovese, and more of the best Tuscan wines use very little or no other grape varieties to produce these fine wines. Some of the top wines of the region are Montalcino’s Brunello, Chianti’s Sangioveto and Montepulciano’s Prugnolo Gentile

Veneto
Romantic gondola rides in the city of Venice’s watery canals, visions brought to mind when one mentions this region. But the area becomes even more interesting if you love Italian wines. With the most types of wines produced in any region in Italy, the Veneto reaches from the Adriatic sea in the east to Lake Garda in the west.
Vintners grow many varieties of grapes native to other areas of the world, but the grapes bred to this region produce the best wines. White varieties include Garganega, Prosecco, Trebbiano, and Vespaiola. Reds include Corvina, Molinara, Rondinella, and Negrara. There are 80 grape varieties that are authorized in Veneto.
Wines made here are some of the best selling wines throughout the world.

And there you have it, a brief overview of the four major regions of wines in Italy, and perhaps more than a whetting of your appetite to try some of these while visiting the country.

Central Italy
Tuscan food is simple and abundant with local produce, mellow cheeses and grilled meats. Their delicious, chewy breads are baked without salt. Another Tuscan staple: white beans cooked with sage and olive oil. Beef Steak Florentine, versions of roasted or wine-braised game and thick and hearty soups cover the table of a typical Tuscan meal.
The town of Urbino is set amid The Marches. The food is considered simpler, known for such dishes as its version of Porchetta (which stuffs pig with peppers, rosemary and garlic) and their rich version of lasagna called Vincisgrassi. The best known dish is brodetto or seafood soup which incorporates all types of fish overflowing in a saffron-infused broth.
Rome is a traveler’s delight. Food is again the typical rustic fare of Central Italy with Abbacchio (a suckling lamb seasoned with fresh rosemary), Spaghetti alla Carbonara (a bacon, egg and cheese sauced pasta), Saltimbocca (marsala braised tin slices of veal topped with ham), and Suppli al Telefono (addictive deep fried rice balls filled with mozzarella).
Pasta in Abruzzo is made using a chitarra, a rectangular device strung with thin metal wires like a guitar, hence the equipment’s name. Sheets of pasta are rolled over this to form strips. Food festivals which honor saints or simply occur to celebrate happen often. Their non-stop eating and drinking event is called the Panarda which serves people course after course of food.






Southern Italy
Ziti, short tubes of pasta eaten in Naples; and orecchiette, round indented small pastas meaning “little ears” are eaten in Apulia. Inland areas are more likely to eat meats than the coastal reagion who rely heavily upon seafood to supplement their diet of vegetables, fruits and grains. Pizzas served hot from the wood burning oven and topped with an assortment of vegetables, seafood, meats and cheeses are in stark contrast to foccacia, the flatbread of the north. Olive oil, especially extra virgin, is used in lieu of butter. Neopolitan and Campanian specialties include octopus prepared in a variety of ways, spaghetti dishes using a tomato-based fish sauce, and dishes using buffalo milk mozzarella including pizza. Pasta Puttanesca, a fiery tomato sauced spaghetti flavored with lots of garlic, capers, Gaeta olives and anchovies is a favorite. Another tasty offering is Parmigiana di Melanzane, or Eggplant Parmesan.

The traveler to Italy today can explore this period of history, and become familiar with many of the most famous works of art that the world has ever known. Museums feature the works of artists such as Michelangelo, DaVinci, and Botticelli; and the cities that were the heart of the Renaissance, such as Venice and Florence; abound in the architecture of the period.

Florence, or Firenze as it is known in Italian, is one of the most visited tourist destinations. Located two hundred and eighty miles north of Rome, it is served by its own International Airport. Florence is the capital of Tuscany, and although not an exceptionally large city has one of the highest concentrations of Masterpieces of Art of any city in the world. These include the David of Michelangelo, The Uffizi Galleries, as well as countless churches and other medieval period buildings.






Florence also has ample hotels and restaurants to accommodate the traveler and also is the headquarters for visits to the nearby Tuscany region of Italy.

Venice is another well known destination that invokes the time of the Renaissance. Known for its canals and the colorful gondolas that are its water bound taxis, this city build on water grew into a major city state during the Middle Ages, and was a major sponsor of many of the artists and scientist that flourished in the Renaissance. Perhaps the best known site in Venice is the Piazza San Marco, or St. Mark’s Square as it is known in English. This wide open place in the heart of Venice is the prime gathering place for visitors and residents alike, as well as home to the countless pigeons that have made it famous.

Another landmark of Venice is the Rialto Bridge that crosses the Grand Canal. The equally famous Bridge of Sighs, a much smaller bridge that crosses from the prisons to the Doge’s Palace was given its name by Lord Bryon. The name was suggested by the fact that prisoners on their way to their executions would get their last glimpse of beautiful Venice as they crossed it.

A traveler who visits Italy to tour and discover the Renaissance, or Rebirth, period of history will not be disappointed. Venice and Florence are but two gems in this crown, and many other destinations offer a look into this important and world changing time in history. Come and stand and gaze in awe at some of these grand creations of the souls of men, and realize that this beauty helped lead Western Culture out of the dark night of the past and into the bright light of the future