Italy
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Cinque Terre – the five lands
Cinque Terre which can be seen in many photos or folders advertising tourism in Italy might seem to be just the one picturesque village. Meanwhile, the name Cinque Terre means “the five lands” and is used to describe five fairy-tale towns, situated on the high cliffs by the Mediterranean Sea. These include: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso. Each of them has amazing views and pastel-coloured buildings. In fact, this place gained popularity only in the 70s of the 20th century. Before that, Cinque Terre had been a place difficult to access. Only the construction of the railway connecting all five towns contributed to the significant development of tourism in…
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The Leaning Tower – Pisa in the shadow of the pandemic
The Leaning Tower in Pisa was a place I had wanted to see for a long time. Ultimately, in the summer of last year, I managed to make it happen. I had a bit of a mixed feelings about traveling to Italy during the COVID pandemic. I was especially afraid of typical tourist places, because Italy is a rather popular destination during the holiday season. Meanwhile, to my surprise, it turned out to be the safest trip I could have ever imagined. Pisa was practically depopulated, we easily parked the car near the Leaning Tower. In the most important place – Piazza dei Miracoli, where there are four, most popular…
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Turin and its surroundings – in the footsteps of Umberto Eco
I visited Turin with my friends during a weekend trip to Italy. I hadn’t actually planned to visit this city earlier, but when it turned out it was on the way we decided to look there. At first glance, you can see that this is one of the biggest cities in Italy. Between 1861 and 1864 it was even the capital for a while. However, architecture, driving habits, and people’s behavior are far from typical Italian culture. In my opinion, Turin is a more elegant and peaceful city. Turin is mainly associated with the football club – Juventus, Shroud of Turin and Fiat. However, that’s not all, this city is…
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Lucca, Tuscany – forests on the roofs, Girl on a Trail
Among the picturesque hills and vineyards of Tuscany there is a charming town – Lucca. At first glance, it looks the same as other Italian towns. However, there are some surprising places to explore. Lucca used to be a very rich city, inhabited by wealthy merchants. Its position was mainly due to the monopoly for silk production. Although silk clothes are still made here, Lucca is mostly famous for its excellent olive oil. Supposedly olive oil produced here is one of the best in Tuscany. Residents are proud of their city’s history and typical local dialect. Lucca maintained its independence as a city – state until 1837. Lucca’s unique attraction…
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Milan – one day trip
The airport in Bergamo is an excellent hub for farther travel across Lombardy and other regions in Italy. If you have a free weekend, no plans and around 40€ in your pocket, I invite you for a short one-day trip to Milan! In order to save on accommodation, it’s best to buy tickets for the morning flight and return in the evening. I flew from Warsaw early in the morning, while on the way back I took advantage of Ryanair (departure at 9.20 pm to Warsaw – Modlin Airport). Total cost ticket was around 20€. From the Orio al Serio Airport you can get to Milan by bus. There’re many…
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Italy – Venice
Venice arises contradictory emotions. Some love it for beautiful architecture and romantic channels while others hate it. It was created about 1500 years ago and has remained unchanged up to this days. The phenomenon of the Venice is that it was built on the marshland. The location of the city on the unstable ground was possible thanks to special wooden stakes that guarantee the stability of the construction of the buildings. Mainly alder stakes were used to build Venice. Wood of this kind is characterised by high resistance, and in addition, it doesn’t rot when immersed in water, without oxygen supplies. Drowning City Venice is constantly threaten by flood. A…
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Girl on a Trail – one-day trip to Verona
I guess everyone knows that feeling when you want to go somewhere for a while, but you don’t want to spend a lot of money and take day off from work. In such a situation, you can go somewhere in your beautiful country or just take a plane and within 4 hours’ time you can sit in a cafe sipping aromatic Italian cappuccino in Piazza Bra in Verona 😉 A little organisation… How to go to Verona for just one day, saving on accommodation? On the way from Warsaw to Bergamo I used Wizzair which flies very early in the morning (plane lands in Bergamo at 8.30 am). On the…
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Tip for a trip – weekend on the Lake Como!
What’s the best way to say good-bye to winter? Purchase a flight to Bergamo at a discounted price and in just 3 hours’ sip aromatic Italian cappuccino in a cosy cafe with a view of the famous lake Como. What can you visit there and how to organize this trip on budget? As a short introduction, there’s a lot to see, because Lake Como is the third largest lake in Italy, right after lake Garda and Maggiore. What’s more is one of the most deepest lakes in Europe, in some places its depth reaches over 400 m. One can say that size matters, but in my humble opinion the sights…
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Asisi – Basilica on the Hill of the Hell
Asisi, called by the Italians Terra dei Santi (the Land of Saints) is famous for numerous saints like St. Francis, St. Clare or St. Gabriel. The main tourist spot is obviously the St. Francis Basilica. Ironically, the Basilica was built on the Hill of the Hell, famous for executions which were performed there. The name Haven Hill was established by the Pope Gregory IX, just after the St. Francis canonization. The interior of the Basilica is full of pictures presenting the life of this saint. During the strong earthquake which stroke this place on 8th September 1997, died 4 monks and a lot of unique frescos were irretrievably damaged. Another…
