Cities in Italy
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Rome
Rome is Italy's treasure, packed with masterpieces from more than two millennia of artistic achievement. Modern Rome has one foot in the past, one in the present. Find a cafe at summer twilight and watch the shades of pink turn to gold and copper before night finally falls. That's when another Rome comes alive; restaurants and cafes grow more animated and after dinner you can have a gelato (or an espresso in winter) or stroll by the fountains or through Piazza Navona, and the night is yours.
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Venice
With sumptuous palaces and romantic waterways, Venice is straight out of an 18th-century Canaletto masterpiece. No matter how many times you have seen it in movies or TV commercials, the real thing is more surreal and dreamlike than you ever imagined. Its landmarks, the Basilica di San Marco and the Palazzo Ducale are exotic mélanges of Byzantine, Gothic, and Renaissance styles. It is full of secrets, ineffably romantic, and - at times - given over entirely to pleasure. You must walk everywhere in Venice and where you cannot walk, you go by water.
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Florence
Florence, the capital of Tuscany, is one of Italy's most atmospheric and pleasant, retaining a strong resemblance to the small late-medieval center that contributed so much to the cultural and political development of Europe. Art treasures Michelangelo's David Botticelli's Birth of Venus, and Raphael's La Velata draw millions of visitors every year. Throw into the mix fabulous architecture (the Duomo with Brunelleschi's dome, Giotto's campanile, Santa Croce), fine restaurants and earthy trattorie, plus leading designer boutiques and bustling outdoor markets, and the city of the Renaissance becomes quite simply one of the world's must-see sights.
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Milan
Milan is Italy's window on Europe, its most sophisticated and high-tech metropolis. La Scala, its landmark, is one of Europe's most prestigious opera houses. In addition, it's the site of several world-renowned annual trade fairs. Milan is one of Europe's top shopping cities, with an incredible concentration of sophisticated, high style boutiques - and that's only fitting because Milan is the dynamo of the Italian fashion industry. Dolce & Gabbana, Ferré, Krizia, Moschino, Prada, Armani, and Versace have all catapulted to international stardom from design studios based here. Inevitably, shopping is of almost religious significance.
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Amalfi Coast
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Tuscany and Hill Towns
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Italian Lakes
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Italian Riviera
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Assisi
Assisi is one of Italy's top sights, competing with the Colosseum, Pompeii, and Venice's canals. It boasts some of Italy's finest early Renaissance art. One of the top attractions is the remarkably preserved portico of a Roman temple on its main square. The Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi (St Francis) is a World Heritage Site that well worths a visit. The town is dominated by two medieval castles. The larger, called Rocca Maggiore, was built by Cardinal Albornoz (1367).
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Siena
Siena is a city of brick, where urban development all but ceased after the great plague of the 14th century, busy as it was defending itself. Today, Siena is one of the largest Tuscan cities to maintain a distinctively medieval atmosphere and a great place to discover Tuscany at its medieval best, with numerous gothic palaces, pastry shops, and unequaled altarpieces.
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Pisa
Pisa does not need an introduction, as testified by the millions of tourists offloading each year for their mandatory photo of the Leaning Tower. In the rush of the moment, few bother to find out that Pisa was founded circa 1000 b.c. and became an important maritime republic alongside Venice, Amalfi, and Genoa. Birthplace of the famed Galileo Galilei, Pisa is also home to one of Italy?s top universities. For those choosing to stay longer, there are plenty of architectural splendors around the Tower.
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Verona
The city of Verona in the province of Veneto, Northern Italy, rivals Venice in terms of magic and romance. Visitors turn here in numbers, making this town the most visited of the province after Venice. Aside from Romeo and Juliet's strong pull, Verona is a charming medieval and Renaissance city, with numerous medieval palazzi, churches, towers, and centuries-old piazzas. Among other objectives of interest are the Roman amphitheatre (the third largest in Italy), Arco dei Gavi, Basilica of San Zeno.
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Montecatini Terme
Montecatini Terme is a heaven for those who love spa treatments. The curative powers of the hot springs and steaming vaporous caverns of the Valdinevole west of Pistoia have been renowned for centuries. Wrapped in mud packs, drinking mineral-laden waters, getting radioactive vapors steamed into your face you will forget all about the stress. The Parco dei Termi, a long park of neoclassical temples expanding over the sources of various underground hot springs is the ideal place for relaxation.
