Italian cities and towns

[Marco94]

Saluzzo, Province of Cuneo, Piedmont:

I visited this town (as a kid) when I travelled with my family to Italy (and Europe) and visited my great-grandpas towns that are close to it. Very beautiful city, and not invaded by tourists (at least when I've been there):

[MinervaItalica]

Melfi (Basilicata)

[Joso]

Typical foreigner biased opinion.

Northern Italy may have some foreigner influences from neighbour countries about architecture but it's still South Europe.

All Italy is beautiful. I would suggest you to take a trip to Matera European Capital of Culture 2019.

OT:

Lecce (Puglia)

Southern Italy is beautiful too

[PHDNM]

Rome

[MinervaItalica]

Viterbo (Lazio)

[PHDNM]

Beautiful photos of 19th century Venice



“Queen of the Adriatic”, “City of Bridges”, “City of Canals”—whatever you call this beautiful city, you can be sure to find romance, for the name Venice is derived from the Indo-European root wen- meaning “love”.

Fleeing waves of Germanic and Hun invasions in the 5th century, refugees from the surrounding countryside sought sanctuary on a series of islands in a marshy lagoon between the Piave and Po Rivers. The Venetian settlers dedicated the first church, San Giacomo, on the islet of Rialto, meaning “high shore”.

Venice developed into a city state, that by the late 13th century, was the most prosperous in Europe. With a strategic position at the head of the Adriatic Sea, Venice dominated Mediterranean trade with a fleet of 3,300 ships. The wealthiest families vied with each other to build the grandest palaces and sponsor the greatest artists.

But by the 15th century, a great darkness fell upon the city. Devastated by plague and war with the Ottoman Empire, Venice went into a long period of decline.

As new trade routes across the great oceans were discovered, Venice lost its position as the center for international commerce. Ill-suited to ocean-going travel, Venice’s fleet of oared galleys couldn’t compete with the sailing ships of Portugal, France, England and the Netherlands.

By the 18th century, Venice was seen in a new light. It was considered the most elegant city in Europe—influencing art, architecture and literature. And by the Victorian Era, a new form of transportation—the steam ship—brought travelers from far and wide to gaze upon its beauty.

Closely spaced wooden piles made from water-resistant alder tree trunks support the buildings of Venice. Driven through soft layers of sand and mud, the piles reach a much harder layer of compressed clay. Submerged by water, wood does not decay as rapidly as on land, and most piles are still intact centuries later.

Google Photos Album

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...VHemk0cVF5YkdB

[Antinoo]

Corigliano Calabro (Calabria, Southern Italy)













The Castle of Corigliano

[Antinoo]

Santa Severina (Calabria)

[Antinoo]

Badolato (Calabria)















The hills and the Ionian sea





The port

[Antinoo]

Papasidero di Cosenza (Calabria)











The Romito Cave (Italian: Grotta del Romito) is situated in Papasidero (Cosenza). The archaeological excavations of the 60’s made possible to establish that the interest of man for the cave dates back to the Epipalaeolithic era. Stratigraphic record of the first excavation confirmed prolonged paleo-human occupation during the Upper Paleolithic since 17,000 years ago and the Neolithic since 6,400 years ago.



The most famous rock carving that have made famous the Romito is the portrait of three different profiles of Bos Primigenius, an extinct species of large wild cattle that inhabited Europe, Asia, and North Africa: