The church is lovely, high above the beach. The beach is gorgeous white sand. Crystal clear water, Gentle surf - a sunbather's delight. Car park just nearby, or you can walk down from the town (but the return walk will test your stamina!). At the end of April, 2014 this site was closed to the public for ongoing work. It appears that the exterior of the church has been overly restored, inviting comparisons with a Lego building. Older photographs show a much more charming, slightly ruined building.
Tropea is a municipality located within the province of Vibo Valentia, in Calabria (southern Italy). The town is a famous bathing place, situated on a reef, in the gulf of St. Euphemia connected with the mainland by a narrow strip in the Tyrrhenian Sea, toward the south with respect to Vibo Valentia and northward with respect to Ricadi and Capo Vaticano.
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In place names the town bank term is reserved for deeply lining the Grand Canal and the Bacino di San Marco . At the time of the Venetian Republic in fact the existing banks were the quays for berthing of vessels that operated the mercantile trade in the Mediterranean basin . For this reason, the banks are characterized by a width much greater than that of fondamente ordinary and are totally devoid of parapets. The banks are the most famous Riva di Biasio or Biagio, the Riva del Vin and Riva del Carbón along the Grand Canal ; the Riva degli Schiavoni and the Riva dei Sette Martyrs along the Bacino di San Marco .
Source: flickr.com/photos/37759772@N07/10852348584
Monterosso al Mare is a town and comune in the province of La Spezia, part of the region of Liguria (northern Italy). It is one of the five villages in Cinque Terre. The town is divided into two distinct parts: the old town and the new town. The two areas are divided by a single tunnel that caters to pedestrians and the very few cars in the town. The beach at Monterosso runs along most of the coast line and is well used by tourists and locals. The beach is the only extensive sand beach in the Cinque Terre. Monterosso is a small town that in the summer months is overrun by tourists. The village was briefly excluded from the Cinque Terre trail in 1948, but was re-introduced in mid-1949. This is because Italian officials considered the village too large to be considered part of the historic trail. The area is famous for its many lemon trees that can be seen throughout Monterosso. It is also renowned for its white wines, grapes, and olives.
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Manarola is a small town, a frazione of the comune (municipality) of Riomaggiore, in the province of La Spezia, Liguria, northern Italy. It is the second smallest of the famous Cinque Terre towns frequented by tourists. Manarola may be the oldest of the towns in the Cinque Terre, with the cornerstone of the church, San Lorenzo, dating from 1338. The local dialect is Manarolese, which is marginally different from the dialects in the nearby area. The name "Manarola" is probably dialectical evolution of the Latin, "magna rota". In the Manarolese dialect this was changed to "magna roea" which means "large wheel", in reference to the mill wheel in the town.
Manarola's primary industries have traditionally been fishing and wine-making. The local wine, called Sciacchetrà, is especially renowned; references from Roman writings mention the high quality of the wine produced in the region. In recent years, Manarola and its neighboring towns have become popular tourist destinations, particularly in the summer months. Tourist attractions in the region include a famous walking trail between Manarola and Riomaggiore (called Via dell'Amore, "Love's Trail") and hiking trails in the hills and vineyards above the town. Manarola is one of the five villages. Mostly all of the houses are bright and colourful. Manarola was celebrated in paintings by Antonio Discovolo (1874-1956).
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Vernazza is a town and comune located in the province of La Spezia, Liguria, northwestern Italy. It is one of the five towns that make up the Cinque Terre region. Vernazza is the fourth town heading north, has no car traffic, and remains one of the truest "fishing villages" on the Italian Riviera. Vernazza's name is derived from the Latin adjective verna meaning "native" and the aptly named indigenous wine, vernaccia ("local" or "ours"), helped give birth to the village's moniker. The Cinque Terre is a rugged portion of coast on the Italian Riviera. It is in the Liguria region of Italy, to the west of the city of La Spezia. "The Five Lands" comprises five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. The coastline, the five villages, and the surrounding hillsides are all part of the Cinque Terre National Park and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Over the centuries, people have carefully built terraces on the rugged, steep landscape right up to the cliffs that overlook the sea. Part of its charm is the lack of visible corporate development. Paths, trains and boats connect the villages, and cars cannot reach them from the outside. The Cinque Terre area is a very popular tourist destination.
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The castle is privately owned by an Italian-French company and has been closed for over 20 years as they await approval for an ambitious restructuring project for the castle. It is NOT open to the public, but I found the website for a local association that works with the property to organize occasional visits. Since this year marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of the marquis that built the villa, there have been several occasions this year when the villa was open as you can see here: http://www.sammezzano.org/iniziative.html
I see they also have a Facebook page - I'd suggest contacting them by email and through their FB page to see what they might be able to do in terms of a visit. Just know ahead of time that in August, lots of people go on vacation and lots of things close down. So don't expect too much in terms of organizing a visit so late and in August - they might not even checking email or the page at all right now. But I'm curious to know if you do get any sort of reply, so do share if that happens!!
Locorotondo is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Bari, Italy, with a population of c. 14,000. The city is known for its wines and for its round historical center, from which derives its name, meaning "Round place". It is located in south-east Murgia, deep in the Itria Valley, dotted with white trulli. Locorotondo is listed as one of most beautiful villages in Italy. Locorotondo's heritage includes the Mother Church of "St. George the Martyr", built between 1769 and 1821 and including 14th century basreliefs; the church of "San Rocco", the Romanesque church of "Our Lady of Greece". The beauty of the historic centre is also represented by a labyrinth of white alleys, jealously guarded by their inhabitants. The houses are topped with unusual pitched roofs called "cummerse", a feature typical of the historical centre of Locorotondo.
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Amalfi is a town and comune in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto, surrounded by dramatic cliffs and coastal scenery. The town of Amalfi was the capital of the maritime republic known as the Duchy of Amalfi, an important trading power in the Mediterranean between 839 and around 1200. In the 1920s and 1930s, Amalfi was a popular holiday destination for the British upper class and aristocracy. Amalfi is the main town of the coast on which it is located, named Costiera Amalfitana, and is today an important tourist destination together with other towns on the same coast, such as Positano, Ravello and others. Amalfi is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The Colosseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy. Built of concrete and stone, it was the largest amphitheatre of the Roman Empire, and is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and engineering. It is the largest amphitheatre in the world. The Colosseum is situated just east of the Roman Forum. Construction began under the emperor Vespasian in 70 AD, and was completed in 80 AD under his successor and heir Titus. Further modifications were made during the reign of Domitian (81–96). These three emperors are known as the Flavian dynasty, and the amphitheatre was named in Latin for its association with their family name (Flavius).
The Colosseum could hold, it is estimated, between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators, and was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine.
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The Arch of Titus is a 1st-century honorific arch located on the Via Sacra, Rome, just to the south-east of the Roman Forum. It was constructed in c. 82 AD by the Roman Emperor Domitian shortly after the death of his older brother Titus to commemorate Titus' victories, including the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD. The Arch of Titus has provided the general model for many of the triumphal arches erected since the 16th century perhaps most famously it is the inspiration for the 1806 Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France, completed in 1836.
The arch is large with both fluted and unfluted columns, the latter being a result of 19th century restoration. The spandrels on the upper left and right of the arch contain personifications of victory as winged women. Between the spandrels is the keystone, on which there stands a female on the East side and a male on the West side. The soffit of the axial archway is deeply coffered with a relief of the apotheosis of Titus at the center. The sculptural program also includes two panel reliefs lining the passageway within the arch. Both commemorate the joint triumph celebrated by Titus and his father Vespasian in the summer of 71.
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Positano is a village and comune on the Amalfi Coast, in Campania, Italy, mainly in an enclave in the hills leading down to the coast. Positano was a port of the Amalfi Republic in medieval times, and prospered during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. By the mid-nineteenth century, however, the town had fallen on hard times. More than half the population emigrated, mostly to America.
The church of Santa Maria Assunta features a dome made of majolica tiles as well as a thirteenth-century Byzantine icon of a black Madonna. According to local legend, the icon had been stolen from Byzantium and was being transported by pirates across the Mediterranean. A terrible storm had blown up in the waters opposite Positano and the frightened sailors heard a voice on board saying "Posa, posa!" ("Put down! Put down!"). The precious icon was unloaded and carried to the fishing village and the storm abated.
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Source: fineartamerica.com/featured/positano-view-neil-buchan-grant.html
