Shopping in Florence
Everything in Florence is art. Shopping for leather goods? Jewelry? Food? Here, such things aren’t merely utilitarian or even decorative personal items. In this major Tuscan city, shopping amounts to searching for a work of genius. And, in Florence, that’s not hard to find.
Mercato Centrale
Formed from a major urban project in the mid-19th century, Mercato Centrale in San Lorenzo offers food and small goods shopping in a classic Florentine atmosphere. A two-story structure of cast iron and glass, there are ten classical arches to welcome visitors. Souvenir shops around the building make sure you don’t go home without something to remember the trip. Read more
Venice Carnival
Filed under: Italy events, Italy tourist attractions
The famed Carnevale di Venezia has very old origins. There are documents as far back as 1268 discussing its games during the celebration. Though the carnival faded after Napoleon’s invasion, it came roaring back again. Today, it is one of this already festive city’s most celebrated events.
It takes place typically in February, and continues for about two weeks, ending with Lent. During this time the streets of Venice become even more crowded than usual. Though, given the city’s population and popularity, it’s hard to conceive. Read more
Colosseum in Rome
Il Colosseo as the Romans refer to it began life as the Flavian Amphitheater, an enormous elliptical stadium capable of seating 50,000 spectators within its six acre domain.
During the 1st century AD, and for hundreds of years thereafter, the Colosseum was host to grisly spectacles of human-human and human-animal combat. Slight evidence of those activities remains among the ruins, chiefly the underground vaults and tunnels that served as storage and entrances for the combatants. Read more
St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice
Venice is an unusual city, a mixture of influences from East and West. Nowhere is this more evident than in the famed Basilica di San Marco.
Built on top of the burnt ruins of an earlier church, the current building took shape in the late 11th century. Consecrated in 1094, the present facade began in the 13th. The cathedral was under construction in some form or other for the next 600 years. Read more