My Italian and I randomly encountered this artist as we were wandering around Rome one day… He had set up small signs with the names of various sites of cultural or historical significance written on them and then had various objects placed next to the sign that carried some sort of symbolism (symbolism that only … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Italy
Siracusa (Syracuse), Sicily
Described by Cicero as “the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of them all”, Siracusa still possesses quite a bit of charm: Located on the southeastern corner of Sicily, the 2,700-year-old city was once one of the major powers of the Mediterranean world. Siracusa was founded in 734 or 733 BC by Greek settlers … Continue reading
Agrigento, Sicily
Agrigento is located on the southern coast of Sicily and is renowned as the site of the ancient Greek city of Akragas. So, I’ll focus on that first… In its day, Akragas was one of the richest and most famous of the Greek colonies. Ancient Akragas covered a huge area — much of which is … Continue reading
Photo Of The Day: A Late Night Cafe In Italy
I can’t recall if this is Rome or Catania. Either way, it is Italy and a scene one will see recreated every night in thousands of locations across Italy. I liked all of the motorcycles parked out front, suggestive of later excitement to come… Continue reading
Sicily’s Mount Etna: Climbing The Volcano
Perhaps it is a guy thing, but I have always been fascinated by volcanoes. I remember seeing video footage when I was a child of Etna spraying lava hundreds of meters into the night sky and wanted to visit ever since then. Nice to cross something else off of the list… Mount Etna is actually … Continue reading
Cefalù, Sicily
The Velvet Rocket staff are quite familiar with Italy and have seen most of it. And we (including our Italian correspondent) remain unanimous on one point: Sicily is our favorite part of Italy. These scenes from the small Sicilian town of Cefalù, which can be found in the province of Palermo along the northern coast, … Continue reading
The Bomarzo Monster Park
In the hills of Italy’s Lazio region one can find the small town of Bomarzo. Bomarzo’s main attraction is a garden, sometimes called the Bomarzo Sacred Grove, but more commonly referred to as the Bomarzo Monster Park… The garden takes its name from the many over the top sculptures, some carved right into the bedrock, … Continue reading