Arrivederci Roma

My latest adventure was to Rome. It started off with an early morning train (7:50!) to arrive for a full day of sightseeing on Friday. I arrived at my hostel, checked in, and set off for Il Museo Nazionale Romano before meeting with my friends studying in Rome. However, when I arrived at the museum, it was closed due to a sciopero (strike) occurring in the Piazza della Repubblica. I was disappointed, but decided that now I had two and a half hours to explore that area of Rome. I pulled out my map and began walking down Via Nazionale. I walked down to see the Quattro Fontane, and came upon Palazzo Barberini, which is also Galleria Nazionale D'Arte Antica. I decided to go inside, and was pleasantly surprised with the collection of art. After recently having a test in humanities on Renaissance artists, I was excited to see paintings by Tintoretto and Hans Holbein The Younger.

One of the most important paintings house in the museum is that of Henry VIII in Wedding Dress by Hans Holbein The Younger. It was the perfect conclusion for what I had recently studied. After the museum, I continued to wander around the area and check out Via Nazionale. At 12:30, I met up with Kyle and we headed onto the Baths of Diocletian. Originally, it was built by Emperor Diocletian to be the largest public baths in Rome. In 1561, Michelangelo was commissioned to help change the design so that it could be a church. The church today is beautiful, with large red marble columns lining the entrance. After seeing the church, we set off to catch the bus for Via Appia Antica. Along the way, we passed Trajan's Column, Trajan's Market, and the forums of Augustus, Nerva, and Caesar. I also saw the Colosseum for the first time. Unsure of what to expect, it was impacting and helped me to really understand the power of the Roman Empire. I had seen it in movies and heard different opinions about it, but it was kind of a surreal feeling to see it for the first time. One of the amazing things about Europe is walking down the street and seeing ruins of buildings that were built 2000 years ago or more or coming upon artwork that was designed by the world's greatest. Even after all of the time I have spent here, I am still amazed when I see monuments for the first time. It is amazing to me how they were able to construct such structures with their "technology" and their political reasonings behind the ways in which they were built. It always makes me think of Humanities 111 where we discussed how the Greeks were so open about their construction and positioned and designed buildings to be walked around and seen in every aspect whereas the Romans were more concerned about power and manipulation.

Kyle and I arrived at the bus station to go to Via Appia Antica as the bus was leaving. Not realizing the differences between Via Appia Nuova and Via Appia Antica, we hopped on a bus that we thought would take us there. However, five minutes into the ride, we realized that we were on a new highway and got off the bus at the next station. Unsure of where we were on the highway and noticing that the sidewalk ended in 100 feet, we decided to ask around around how to get to the Via Appia Antica. We finally caught the right bus and were dropped off in the correct spot. Then we had to make the decision of which way to turn. Unknowingly, we went down the direction away from the city. It was a very nice walk and

interesting to be on the Appian Way. I had learned about it in Latin Class senior year of high school; it was the widest, fastest road of the Roman Empire, leading from Rome to the Adriatic Port. It was the most important road of the time and another sign of the power and expanse of the Empire. Pictured to the right are some of the original stones of the road. It really shows a sign of the times; it made me realize how relative the term "fast" is. It was really an interesting journey along the road, seeing the old statues and ruins of buildings that lined the road. While a lot of it is in ruins today, I was able to picture what it may have been like in its heyday, the pride of the Empire. On our way back, we came across some British children that lived on the Via Appia Antica and wondered if they had any idea about the road that they were riding their bikes up and down and throwing rocks on. We finally came upon the San Sebastiano Church and Catacombs, but they were closed, so we caught a bus back to Trastevere to head to the guys' apartment.

We met up with Mike at their apartment and had my first Chinese food meal in Italy. We then began Rick Steve's "Night Walk Across Rome" from Campo de' Fiori to the Spanish Steps Walk. We continued from Campo de' Fiori to Piazza Navona. The Four Rivers Fountain by Bernini is located in the middle of the square. It is a beautiful fountain representing the major rivers of the world, the Nile, the Ganges, the Danube, and the Rio de la Plata. After admiring the fountain, we continued our walk to the Pantheon. It was incredible to see this structure, after hearing so much about it in history classes. One of my first thoughts was "I have to see the back of this." Now at street level, the Pantheon was originally raised far above street level, a commanding building that was used by the Roman Empire to manipulate the people. While the front of the building is adorned with columns and is captivating to the eye, the back is very boring. Unlike the Greeks, the Romans did not care about the perspective of the building from all side, but only to create an imposing building that put the people in awe of the powerful Empire.

Next, we got the best gelato that I have ever had. We went to Pasticceria Giolitti where they served up huge scoops of gelato and whipped cream on chocolate dipped cones. Happily eating our ice cream, we walked over to the Trevi Fountain. Once again, it was surreal to see something I had heard so much about in person. Mike gave me a coin to throw in, which according to tradition, ensures that I will return to Rome again some day. To finish our walk, we went to the Spanish Steps. This is one of the greatest places to people watch. We watched a man selling flowers trying to force different couples to buy them and eventually gave them to two American student girls and tried to get a group of guys nearby to buy them. One guy nearby used the situation to talk to the girls and flirt with them, ultimately asking for a picture with him. Once he walked away, the other group of guys came over and started talking to the girls and got a picture with him. The first guy was very upset, and it was rather humorous to watch him rage in jealousy as the girls were talking to the second group of guys.

The next day, we were up bright and early to go to the Colosseum. Walking inside of it for the first time was incredible. At first, I couldn't believe that I was in the Colosseum, where men fought for their lives and were at the mercy of the Romans. This was obviously the center of the social lives of the Roman citizens in the early centuries A.D. I can only imagine what is was like when it was at it's peak, holding 50,000 people for each show. During its day, a 100 foot statue of Nero gleamed high into the sky. Just outside is the Arch of Constantine celebrating the victory of Constantine at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in AD 312.

Not far down the road is the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. The Palatine Hill houses the House of Livia and Augustus, the huts of Romulus and Remus, and the Flavian Palace. You can also see the Circus Maximus, one of the greatest chariot race courses. We headed down to the Roman Forum. Walking through the ruins of the economic hub of ancient Rome where some of the greatest decisions that formed civilization were made was breathtaking. Even though it is now in ruins and sometimes hard to imagine what the original buildings really looked like, seeing places like the Temple of the Vestal Virgins and the towering columns of the Temple of Saturn was amazing.

Unfortunately, Mamertine Prison where Peter and Paul were held was closed for restoration, so instead we took the elevator to the top of the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II. The view of the city was incredible. With stomachs growling, we headed for lunch at Rossopomodoro. The gnocchi I had was delicious, and our dessert was amazing. Although pretty full, we could not pass up the doughnuts drizzled with Nutella. Ready to go, we headed over to the Pantheon for our last stop of the day. It had been so incredible to see it the night before, and entering it enabled us to see even moreso the incredible thought and novelty of architecture that went into creating the building. On the top of the coiffured ceiling, there is a large circular hole. The floor was designed so that when it rains, the water drains to the sides and does not get the hole building wet. It was the largest dome for 1700 years, and still does not cease to amaze modern architects. When designing St. Peter's Basilica, Michelangelo made the dome three meters smaller in respect to the original architect of the Pantheon. We were able to see a small square in the ceiling where Brunelleschi cut it out to study the materials when preparing to create the Duomo in Florence. Today, the Pantheon is a church, and the great Renaissance artist Raffaello is buried there. Tired after a long day, we headed back to their apartment for the rest of the day to catch up on some homework and played cards with their friends.

The highlight of my weekend was at St. Peter's Basilica on Sunday morning. The pope was delivering mass that Sunday, and we decided that we would show up and try to get tickets. I planned to meet them the next morning after I took the metro there, and Mike was going to call my cell phone from Spain. We all arrived on time, but unfamiliar with the area, I walked over to the Vatican Museums. Just as I was talking to Mike and about to figure out where they were, our phones cut out and he could not make anymore phone calls to me. I stopped in a shop and found out the direction of the Basilica and made my way into St. Peter's Square. Luckily, it was not very crowded this morning and we were able to find each other easily. By the time I arrived, they had already gotten tickets from a nun who had some extras. The next step was making it into the church. We walked into the Basilica and were so excited to see that we could get seats just a little

bit before the halfway point and near the aisle, where the pope would walk down. Finally, a little after 9:30, the service began. I had never been to a mass before in my life, so I was following my friends and the crowd to see what to do. Even though I am not Catholic, it was still an amazing experience that really did not fully hit me until I was back in Florence that night. The entire mass was in Italian, but thanks to my Italian and Spanish mixture, I was able to understand the message of the day. He spoke about brining hope to Africa and fighting the diseases and poverty that has wreaked havoc throughout the continent. It was such a neat experience that is so hard to put into words. After I got back to Florence that night, I was watching some video footage of the service I had taken and it really made me realize where I had been, who I had seen, and the impact that he makes on the world everyday.

After a fun weekend, it was finally time to head out. The guys made some pasta at their apartment for lunch, and I headed back to Florence. Looking back over the weekend, I really enjoyed Rome and cannot wait to go back in the spring with my parents.

Siclia

Day 1

Before the sun had risen on Tuesday morning, the entire Florence group had left the villa on a double decker bus for the airport in Bologna. We had a 9:20 AM flight from Bologna to Palermo. Fortunately, most of us were able to finish sleeping on the hour and a half ride. Everything went smoothly and we were soon on our way to the island of Sicily. Looking out the window, we saw beautiful scenery of Italy. As we were landing in Palermo, it looked as if we were going to land in the water, as the airport was right on the coast.

Palermo is the capital city of Sicily. The former presence of the Greeks, Spaniards, Normans, and many other cultures is obviously present throughout the city and the rest of the island. Due to its geographical location, it was easily attacked, but also beneficial for its conquerers for trade and military purposes.

Our first stop of the day was the Church of Martorana, also called St. Mary's of the Admiral. It was built in 1143 originally as a place of worship for the Arabs, which was later transformed into a Greek Orthodox church during the Norman era, and ultimately to a Byzantine Catholic church. This church is very important because of the mosaics within. The ceilings are completely decorated in mosaics. It is astounding to think about the time and patience that goes into this slow process. Everywhere, there is a different Bible story with many different types of symbolism. During the times when many people were illiterate, the churches used images to tell the stories. When the church was restored, the church was expanded in the front and painted with frescoes. After the church, we moved over to the Quattro Canti. This fountain is on the four corners of the intersection, with three different levels. On the first level is one season on each fountain. The next level has the four Spanish kings of Siciliy. The third level represents the four saints of Palermo.

After a quick break for lunch, we went over to the Cathedral of Palermo, also called Santa Maria Assunta. Our tour guide told us that the outside of this cathedral was absolutely magnificent, one of the most beautiful cathedrals, but that the inside was rather ugly. The outside was amazing. It was one of those pieces of architecture that makes you stop and wonder how they were able to do it. It made me realize how brilliant some of the people were back then and how much they appreciated architecture. One of the interesting things about this church is the amount of cultures and styles reflected in the design. Construction began in the late 7th century in a Sicilian-Norman style. However, in the 1400s, Spanish influence changed some of the outer facade of the church and is also seen in the Gothic-Catalan style in other parts of the church. We are also able to see Arab influence as we walk into the church because a prayer is written in Arabic on several columns. However, the inside is very different. It is designed to be more simple, not as eye catching as its outside is. Inside, there is a Zodiac line in which they are able to measure the once a year to make sure that everything is still in order.

The most unique part of the day, to say the least, was when we went to the Capuchin crypts. Originally designed as a burial place for Capuchin monks, it was eventually opened to people who could afford to be buried there. The body was allowed to decay until it was just bones, when they would then be dressed in the burial clothing and placed on the wall in the crypt. It was absolutely disgusting and frightening. I could not look at there faces and mostly looked down at the ground the whole time I was inside. The crypts were closed to burial in 1871, except for one young girl who was buried there in 1920. Her name was Rosalia Lombardo who died from pneumonia at the age of two. Her father was gone to war, and they wanted to preserve her body. Other than a slight change in color of her skin, she looks exactly the way she did when she died nearly ninety years ago.

A nice change of pace was the the church in Monreale. The cathedral there is decorated in Arab, Byzantine, and Norman styles. This church was meant to show power, and it was demonstrated by using two tons of gold inside on the mosaics. Once again, but in a much more elaborate fashion, the entire ceiling is made out of mosaics. Additionally, in the cloisters behind it, there are columns lined with mosaics and reliefs telling Biblical stories. Tired after a long day, we headed back to our hotel.

Day 2

Up bright and early again, we left Palermo for Cefalu`. It was a beautiful, warm day. We visited a cathedral that began construction in 1131. This church also had a large mosaic of Jesus above the altar, which was meant to show His blessing, the trinity, and the earthly and heavenly worlds and that He came to bridge the gap between the two. Next, we went over to the greatest invention of its day: the Lavatoio. This was the modern washing machine of the time. Instead of having women go to the river to wash clothes, where the woman farthest downstream would only have dirty water to wash in, this was a room that had eight different sections of fresh, clean water that was constantly flowing through so that each work station had fresh water. After spending the afternoon at the beach and eating the most heavenly crepes (chocolate, banana, and whipped cream), we headed over to Castelbuono. It is a mountain town twenty-five kilometers from Cefalu`. It is an old castle from the 1300s, that ultimately had a town built up around it. We also went into a small church with interesting "crypt" paintings that tell about the passion of Christ.

Day 3

We woke up in Agrigento, where Valley of the Temples is located. Since 1998, it is a Unesco world heritage sight. It was a cold rainy day and many of us donned our rain boots and umbrellas. The first temple we visited was the Temple of Hera (Juno). We were able to see where the temple originally stood as well as the

altar for the sacrifice of animals. We continued down a ways through the area of ancient tombs to the Temple of Concordia. This temple has never fallen apart nor been reconstructed. The name Concordia means peace, and is the symbol for Unesco, which "encourages international peace and universal respect by promoting collaboration among the nations." The symbol of Unesco is the Concordia temple. For the final temple, we saw the Temple of Hercules (Heracles). This is the oldest and is in the most ruined state. Only eight columns are still standing today. We were able to enter into this temple and explore the different sections.

Next, we went to a museum that had ancient artifacts from the tombs and the surrounding area. My favorite part was the man that represented Atlas from the Temple of Zeus (Jupiter). It was a representation of Atlas and that the statue was paying its duty to Zeus by supporting the temple. It reminded me of one of my favorite books, Atlas Shrugged. The museum had very interesting artifacts, such as figurines used for sacrifices, and an alabaster tomb telling the story of the death of a young child.

After lunch, we went to the Villa Romana del Casale. It is the richest, largest and most complex collection of late Roman mosaics in the world. It is amazing to see the detail that went into each and every floor in the house. They worked so diligently that many of them remain intact today, and we are able to understand the stories that they told with the mosaics. In the master bedroom, the mosaics and frescoes (that are now faded) told stories of fertility. The dining room told of the Twelve Labors of Hercules and the story of Ambrosia. The palestra (gymnasium) showed Circus Maximus. While this villa is very elaborate and not typical of the times, it still helped us to see what life was like for a certain part of society and to understand their thoughts, values, and cultural beliefs at the time.

Day 4

On Friday, we headed over to Taormina. From here, we saw ancient ruins of a Greek and Roman theater (the Romans restored what had previously been a Greek theater and adjusted it for their purposes). Today, it is used for the Cinema Festival which occurs during the summer. We also saw the Odeon theater, built during the Empire of Caesar Augustus Octavian. It is a much smaller theater, as it could old hold an audience of about two hundred. We continued on to the beautiful public gardens. Inside the gardens, there are two memorials. The first one is for World War I, and

the second is an Italian torpedo from World War II. There is a fantastic view of the coastline from the gardens. We headed up tothe main piazza and were set free for lunch. We found a little caffe` and had panini and pizza before heading back to the hotel. That afternoon, we had five hours of free time to rest. In the late afternoon, Courtney, Katie, and I decided to explore and see if we could find the ocean. It was too cold to go swimming, but the water was surprisingly warm. That evening, our entire group headed back to the beach for a bonfire and cookies. It was nice to relax after a long week of walking and using our whispers.

Day 5

Once again awake before the sun had begun to rise, we were off to Mt. Etna. But only one mile away from the entrance, our bus broke down. A little while later, another tour bus came and picked us up and we were all ready to sing "Climb Every Mountain" (from the Sound of Music).We had been warned all week that there was a possibility of having snow on top of the mountain and that it would probably be a little cold, but after most of us were either from California or had spent the past year there, we did not really take the message to heart. I had brought my "winter" coat, but had forgotten to bring my gloves, scarf, and earmuffs. But I figured it would be fine, it couldn't be that cold. Were we wrong. It was absolutely freezing. Fortunately, we did not have to hike up the volcano, but instead took gondolas to the top, and then rode in snow cats to get to the peak. We enviously looked on as we saw people

skiing and biking in the snow down the mountain. When we first got out of the gondolas, it was cold, but bearable. When we reached the peak close to 9000 feet, we were all frozen. We had forgotten that there would be wind. I quickly pulled out a very thin cotton scarf I had worn for the day and wrapped it around my head. It didn't do much, but helped a little bit. My hands were absolutely freezing. Melody and I "cuddled" together as we walked to produce as much body heat as possible. We were looking at craters from the eruption in 2002. This was also the location that one of the Star Wars movies was recently filmed. After we made it around the crater and were half frozen, we headed back down the mountain to warm up with hot chocolate and lunch. Afterwards, we set off for the airport, and arrived in Florence that night.

Venezia

This weekend I went to the land of gondolas and masquerades, Venice. Venice is by far one of my favorite parts of Italy. I fell in love with it as soon as we left the train station.

Our first goal of the day: find the hostel. Easier said than done. When we arrived, Steven pulled out the map and we began our walk to the hostel. When we finally arrived in the piazza (there is no easy way to get around Venice), we could not figure out where the hostel was. We went around asking at a bank and grocery store to see if they knew where our hostel was, but they said that they had never heard of it. We were a little worried. Eventually we figured out that it was fun by a restaurant in the piazza, so we dropped off our things and headed off to meet the other group of girls that were in Venice.

We all met up at the Rialto bridge, which is basically the Venetian version of the Ponte Vecchio here in Florence. It gave us a beautiful view of the Grand Canal. Hungry, we set off for lunch. I had a delicious dish of gnocchi con ragù, and we were serenaded by a quartet. I also tried Grissini for the first time. With full stomachs, we walked over to Piazza San Marco. At one end of the Piazza is the Basilica di San Marco. At first, it looks like it belongs in Russia, but it is decorated in the Byzantine style. One of our favorite parts of the Piazza was the outrageous number of pigeons. Gross, right? But we had kept some grissini from lunch and decided to feed the pigeons.

Just after putting a little bit of grissini in our hands, the pigeons flocked to us. Before we knew it, they were on our arms and heads, trying to pry the food from our hands.I held one on my arm for a minute, and after it flew off, decided that I should "sanitize" my arm with some Purell. But the pigeons decided that we were not done playing, and decided to land back on my arm. I was rather disgusted, and Steven captured the moment well.

After attempting to take pictures jumping in front of the church, we decided it was time to ride on a gondola. We had exactly six people for each gondola, so it worked out perfectly. We took a thirty minute ride through the canals and learned a lot about the city from our gondolier. We passed by Casanova's home and many bridges, including the Bridge of Sighs. We finished our day, and decided to make our way back towards the hostel and do some shopping along the way. That evening, we ate dinner at the restaurant that runs the hostel and took advantage of our discount. We wandered through the streets of Venice, being careful to not get lost, which of course happened anyways.

The next morning, we all woke up and got ready for the day and headed over to the restaurant for breakfast. While we were enjoying eating outside, it started to rain. Then in started to pour. The only time that I have ever seen it rain so hard was in Jamaica several years ago when I was on a mission trip there. All of the restaurants in the piazza had canopies that allowed people to sit under cover outside, but they were filling up quickly with gallons of rain. We were amused by the restaurant owners rushing to try to dump the water out of the canopy. After waiting out the rainstorm for a half an hour, we made our way to the train station to drop off our bags and buy our train tickets to return home. From there, we caught a "bus" (which is really just a boat that looks like a city bus on the inside) to the island of Murano, famous for glass blowing. It was a very interesting experience, and our group came to call them the "Glass Mafia," since it was a tradition passed down from father to son and the business was run by each family. It was a very strange experience, as I went to buy a glass horse but was told by one of the workers that I should not buy a horse because it would break easily, so instead I should buy him. So I ended up not buying anything from them and found some other nicer and cheaper stores on the other part of the island. It is absolutely amazing what they can do with glass. The chandeliers in all of the stores were breathtaking.

After a nice but quick lunch, we headed back and got on our train. After a nice weekend we headed back to Florence.

Napoli, Sorrento, Capri, and the Amalfi Coast

This week, Natalie, Danielle, and I headed off on another adventure to southern Italy. We began our weekend in Napoli, origin of pizza. It was a cloudy and rainy day, but that didn't stop us. Armed

with Rick Steves, we set off to love the city that most people do not enjoy. We made our first stop at Pizzeria Trianon, where I had a Caprese pizza. Though not the best pizza I've had, it was really good. We continued on towards the harbor. Along the way, we stopped in Piazza Bellini. After posing with statues of medieval kings, we continued on towards the end of the street. At the end of the street, their was a great viewpoint of Mt. Vesuvius. As it began to rain again, we quickly made our way back to the train station.

We finally found the Circumvesuviana, which connects Naples to Sorrento, in the train station. We bought our tickets, found the right platform, and twenty minutes we were on our way towards Sorrento. After a fifty-five minute ride, we were officially in the Amalfi Coast. With only two hours in Sorrento, we quickly made our way to the town center. The town itself was adorable. Built high on the cliffs, it offers a beautiful view of the water. We wandered down a narrow street and came upon a string of shops. We did a little bit of souvenir shopping and Natalie bought her first pair of boots. We made it back to the bus station just in time, and with the help of some local Italians, found the right bus to head to our hostel/campsite. It was a very curvy, hour-long bus ride, but we made it to the right bus stop. The Italians have been very helpful with helping us find the right bus stop and talking to the bus drivers so that we are able to get off in the right location.

We stepped off the bus and arrived at the campsite. We stayed in a cute two bedroom bungalow. Starving, we headed up to the restaurant for a late dinner. I was very excited because the region is known for their lemons, and lemon risotto is one of my favorite dishes to make at home. Looking over the menu, I found their lemon risotto dish; it was absolutely delicious. We headed to bed to arise for an early morning departure to the island of Capri.

At 9:00 AM we set off for Capri. It was a fun boat ride with breathtaking views. Other than Cinque Terre, I have never seen anything so beautiful. The cliff edges and the different blue hues of the water combine to create a picturesque paradise. We arrived at the island and continued on a tour around it to view the different grottoes. Unfortunately, the water was too choppy to enter the famed Blue Grotto. We arrived on the island, and unaware of the buses, began our trek up the side of the island. It was definitely worth it, though, as we were able to take in the view and observe the different style of homes. When we finally reached the top, we caught the bus to Anacapri. Although it does not have a view of the ocean, the town itself is very cute. We went shopping and found a beautiful ceramic store. The owner creates all of the ceramic pieces, and they are all hand-painted. We decided to have lunch there before moving onto the main town of Capri.

The view from Capri was astounding. Hundreds of feet above the sea level, we could still see into the water. We wound our way through the town, which is very much like Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. It is lined with every designer store imaginable. After enjoying the sights, we hiked our way back down to the Marina Piccola where we were meeting the boat to return. We had two hours to spare and decided to go for a swim. The water was very cold, but refreshing after a long day. Afterwards, we laid on the rocky beach and fell asleep under the sun. On our way back, we finished our tour of the island. On the boat, we met several students from Iowa State University that are studying in Rome for a semester.

After returning to our bungalow, we headed out to the pizzeria recommended by local fishermen. The pizza was delicious, and we ate in steps that led down to the ocean. We had some down time, and decided to head down to the beach. We met a fisherman we had talked to earlier, and wanted to go fishing with him and his mate. But they were going to be gone for more than three hours. We talked to them for a little bit, then headed down the beach to relax and watch the harbor. It was a very relaxing evening. When we headed back to the hostel, we met up with the students from Iowa State. After a fun night of conversation and cards, we headed to bed to prepare for the next day.

We were happy to be able to sleep in for a little bit. We left around 10:30 and headed for the Amalfi Coast. Little did I know, we were headed for the most beautiful but sickening drive I have ever been on. The coastline is absolutely amazing, but the road is extremely long and curvy. Being prone to motion sickness, it did not bode well with me. We arrived in Positano and ate lunch. An hour later, we were on a bus headed to Amalfi. Unfortunately, we had to catch a train in just a few hours and had to hop right back onto the bus once we arrived in Amalfi.

We really enjoyed our time in this area of Italy. It is a beautiful region rich with history and breathtaking views.