Italy's Best Kept Secrets
Italy's best kept secrets
The Moment one plans to visit Italy, The Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the canals of Venice shall be on top of their must-see list.
But We Now take you around some of the lesser known attractions in the Italian peninsula.
Number 1 - San Gimignano
This walled medieval hill town in Tuscany is known as “the Town of Fine Towers”, and is famed for its medieval architecture. Over a dozen towers, coupled with its hilltop location, gives San Gimignano an enchanting skyline. A favorite of writers, a fictionalized version of the town features in EM Forster’s “Where Angels Fear to Tread” as well John Grisham’s “The Broker”. The Sant'Agostino Church houses some artwork from the Renaissance era for art connoisseurs.
Number 2 - Civita di Bagnoregio
A town in the province of Viterbo, about 120 Kilometers north of Rome. Civita di Bagnoregio, founded 2500 years ago by the Etruscans, is home to only ten people and has no post office, supermarket or hospital. Located atop a plateau overlooking the Tiber valley, this beautiful town has stood tall despite witnessing countless wars.
Number 3 - Salina
This island, which is home to six volcanoes, features on the World Heritage List primarily because of its value to vulcanology. The island has abundant vegetation with ferns, poplars, and chestnut trees of various kinds. It takes quite a while to reach Salina from mainland Italy, which is why it is less popular with tourists than many of Italy's other attractions.
Number 4 - Santo Stefano di Sessanio
A small town in Abruzzo, located in Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park. Many properties in the region have been restored due to the efforts of Swedish-Italian entrepreneur Daniele Kihlgren in the early 2000s: his commitment to preserving the town's ancient architecture has made it a hugely popular destination for Italian tourists.
Number 5 - Castel del Monte
Located in the heart of the Gran Sasso mountain range, the town is set in a steep hillside near the high plain of Campo Imperatore. “La Notte delle Streghe” or “The Night of the Witches” is one of the major tourist attractions of the town, whose population was just above 450 in December 2013.
Number 6 - Bolzano
The capital of Italy’s northernmost region of South Tyrol, it was part of Germany until World War I. The discovery of Otzi – the well-preserved natural mummy of a man who lived around 3,300 BCE – was made in this region. Bolzano is a perfect mixture of Northern European and Mediterranean influences
Number 7 - Calabria
It is located at the toe of the Italian peninsula in Southern Italy. Calabria is bordered to the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea, and to the east by the Ionian Sea. Interestingly, in ancient times the region of Calabria was known as Italy before the name was extended to the entire peninsula. Scilla, Tropea, Capo Vaticano, Gerace, and Squillace are some of the best-known coastal attractions of Calabria.
Number 8 - Selinunte
The abandoned city of Selinunte contains five temples centered on an acropolis, including the historic Temple of Hera. Located on the south-western coast of Sicily, it is considered one of the most impressive ancient sites in the Mediterranean.
Number 9 - Marettimo
One of the Aegadian Islands in the Mediterranean Sea west of Sicily, Marettimo is a haven for scuba divers. Home to 300 people in winter, the number of residents more than doubles in the summer on an island that is also a breeding ground for some very rare species of plants.
Number 10 - Porto Venere
Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997, along with five nearby villages that make up the Cinque Terre, Porto Venere is located in the province of La Spezia. The Gothic Church of St. Peter, Doria Castle, and the Romanesque church of St. Lawrence are some of the must visits for travelers to the town.
Top 10 Best Things to do in Terni, Italy
Terni Travel Guide. MUST WATCH. Top 10 things you have to do in Terni. We have sorted Tourist Attractions in Terni for You. Discover Terni as per the Traveler Resources given by our Travel Specialists. You will not miss any fun thing to do in Terni .
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List of Best Things to do in Terni, Italy
Cascata delle Marmore
Carsulae - Parco Archeologico
Umbria Outdoor
Maneggio Jolly Horse
Basilica san Valentino
Chiesa di San Salvatore
Chiesa San Francesco d’Assisi
Santuario di San Francesco
La Passeggiata
Parco Chico Mendes - Il Mare di Terni
Places to see in ( Tarquinia - Italy )
Places to see in ( Tarquinia - Italy )
Tarquinia, formerly Corneto, is an old city in the province of Viterbo, Lazio, Italy known chiefly for its outstanding and unique ancient Etruscan tombs in the widespread necropoli or cemeteries which it overlies, for which it was awarded UNESCO World Heritage status.
In 1922 it was renamed after the ancient city of Tarquinii (Roman) or Tarch(u)na (Etruscan). Although little is visible of the once great wealth and extent of the ancient city, archaeology is increasingly revealing glimpses of past glories.
The Etruscan and Roman city is situated on the long plateau of La Civita to the north of the current town. The ancient burial grounds (necropoli), dating from the Iron Age (9th century BC, or Villanovan period) to Roman times, were on the adjacent promontories including that of today's Tarquinia.
The main necropolis of Tarchuna, part of which can be visited today, is the Monterozzi necropolis with some 6,000 tombs, at least 200 of which include beautiful wall paintings, and many of which were tumulus tombs with chambers carved in the rock below. The city towered above the Marta valley and was about 6 km from the sea. La Civita is made up of two adjoining plateaux, the pian di Civita and the pian della Regina, joined by a narrow saddle.
The Temple Ara della Regina measuring c. 44 × 25 m and dating to c. 4th-3rd century BC, it was built in tufa with wooden structures and decorations, notably the famous and exquisite frieze of winged horses in terracotta that is considered a masterpiece of Etruscan art. The large walls were built during the city's most prosperous period in the 6th century BC and measured about 8 km long, enclosing 135 ha, and long parts of the northern section are visible.
Alot to see in Tarquinia such as :
Tarquinia National Museum: with a large collection of archaeological finds, it is housed in the Renaissance Palazzo Vitelleschi, begun in 1436 and completed around 1480–1490.
The church of Santa Maria di Castello.
Santa Maria di Castello: church built 1121-1208 with Lombard and Cosmatesque influences. The façade has a small bell-tower and three entrances. The interior has a nave and two aisles, divided by massive pilasters with palaeo-Christian capitals and friezes. Noteworthy are also the rose-window in the nave and the several marble works by Roman masters.
Tarquinia Cathedral: once in Romanesque-Gothic style but rebuilt after the 1643 fire, it has maintained from the original edifice the 16th-century frescoes in the presbytery, by Antonio del Massaro
San Pancrazio: Gothic-Romanesque church
San Giacomo and Santissima Annunziata, churches showing different Arab and Byzantine influences
San Martino: 12th-century Romanesque church
San Giovanni Battista: 12th-century church with an elegant rose-window in the simple façade.
Communal Palace, in Romanesque style, begun in the 13th century and restored in the 16th
The numerous medieval towers, including that of Dante Alighieri
Palazzo dei Priori. The façade, remade in Baroque times, has a massive external staircase. The interior has a fresco cycle from 1429.
( Tarquinia - Italy ) is well know as a tourist destination because of the variety of places you can enjoy while you are visiting Tarquinia . Through a series of videos we will try to show you recommended places to visit in Tarquinia - Italy
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Viterbo, Italy Travel
Viterbo, Italy Travel - Viterbo is an ancient city and comune in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It is approximately 80 kilometers (60 mi) north of Rome on the Via Cassia, and it is surrounded by the Monti Cimini and Monti Volsini. The historic center of the city is surrounded by medieval walls, still intact, built during the 11th and 12th centuries. Entrance to the walled center of the city is through ancient gates.
Apart from agriculture, the main resources of Viterbos area are pottery, marble, and wood. The town also hosts the Italian gold reserves, an important Academy of Fine Arts, and the University of Tuscia, and is located in a wide thermal area, attracting many tourist from the whole central Italy.
Etruscan warrior, found near Viterbo, dated circa 500 BCE.
The first report of the new city dates to the eighth century, when it is identified as Castrum Viterbii. It was fortified in 773 by the Lombard king Desiderius in his vain attempt to conquer Rome. When the Popes switched to the Frankish support, Viterbo became part of the Papal States, but this status was to be highly contested by the Emperors in the following centuries, until in 1095 it is known it was a free comune.
In a period in which the Popes had difficulties asserting their authority over Rome, Viterbo became their favourite residence, beginning with Pope Eugene III (1145--1146) who was besieged in vain in the city walls. In 1164 Frederick Barbarossa made Viterbo the seat of his Antipope Paschal III. Three years later he gave it the title of city and used its militias against Rome. In 1172 Viterbo started its expansion, destroying the old city of Ferentum and conquering other lands: in this age it was a rich and prosperous comune, one of the most important of Central Italy, with a population of almost 60,000.
In 1207, Pope Innocent III held a council in the cathedral, but the city was later excommunicated as favourite seat of the heretical Patari and even defeated by the Romans. In 1210, however, Viterbo managed to defeat the Emperor Otto IV and was again in war against Rome.
In the thirteenth century it was ruled alternately by the tyrants of the Gatti and Di Vico families. Frederick II drew Viterbo to the Ghibelline side in 1240, but when the citizens expelled his turbulent German troops in 1243 he returned and besieged the city, but in vain. From that point Viterbo was always a loyal Guelph. Between 1257 and 1261 it was the seat of Pope Alexander IV, who also died here. His successor Urban IV was elected in Viterbo.
In 1266-1268 Clement IV chose Viterbo as the base of his ruthless fight against the Hohenstaufen: here, from the loggia of the Papal Palace, he excommunicated the army of Conradin of Swabia which was passing on the Via Cassia, with the prophetical motto of the lamb who is going to the sacrifice. Other popes elected in Viterbo were Gregory X (1271) and John XXI (1276) (who died in the Papal Palace when the ceiling of the recently-built library collapsed on him while he slept), Nicholas III and the French Martin IV. The Viterbese, who did not agree with the election of a foreigner directed by the King of Naples, Charles I of Anjou, invaded the cathedral where the conclave was held, arresting two of the cardinals. They were subsequently excommunicated, and the Popes avoided Viterbo for 86 years.
Without the Popes, the city fell into the hands of the Di Vicos. In the fourteenth century, Giovanni di Vico had created a seignory extending to Civitavecchia, Tarquinia, Bolsena, Orvieto, Todi, Narni and Amelia. His dominion was crushed by Cardinal Gil de Albornoz in 1354, sent by the Avignonese popes to recover the Papal States, who built the Castle. In 1375 the city gave its keys to Francesco Di Vico, son of the previous tyrant, but thirteen years later the people killed him and assigned the city first to Pope Urban VI, and then to Giovanni di Sciarra di Vico, Francescos cousin. But Pope Boniface IXs troops drove him away in 1396 and established a firm Papal suzerainty over the city. The last Di Vico to hold power in Viterbo was Giacomo, who was defeated in 1431.
Thenceforth Viterbo became a city of secondary importance, following the vicissitudes of the Papal States. In the 16th century it was the birthplace of Latino Latini. It becoming part of Italy in 1871. SOURCE : WIKIPEDIA
Enjoy Your Viterbo, Italy Travel!
Panorama (Montefiascone, Province of Viterbo, Italy, 2013-07-31) [Via Piave]
Panorama (Montefiascone, Province of Viterbo, Italy, 2013-07-31) [Via Piave]
Description: Panorama of Montefiascone as seen from the Via Piave on approach to the Rocca dei Papi (Montefiascone, Province of Viterbo, Italy). Filmed using a JVC camcorder during my trip to Europe (2013).
Date: 2013, July 31.
Location: Montefiascone, Province of Viterbo, Italy.
Recording Device: JVC Everio HD.
Licensing: Creative Commons - Do as you wish.
Italy's Dying City | Civita di Bagnoregio by Tourist by Chance
Known as the 'dying city', Civita is connected to the rest of the world only by a narrow footbridge!
Located in the province of Viterbo in Lazio, about 90 kilometres northwest of Rome and about 28 kilometres south of Orvieto, this place has to be on your Italian Bucket List.
Read all about it at:
Video: Tourist by Chance
Music: Ugonna Onyekwe - Destination Unknown
- Music promoted by 1HMNC - No Copyright Music
Civita, Bagnoregio, Viterbo, Lazio, Italy, Europe
Civita di Bagnoregio is a town in the Province of Viterbo in central Italy, a suburb of the comune of Bagnoregio, 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) east from it. It is about 120 kilometres (75 mi) north of Rome.
Civita di Bagnoregio was founded by Etruscans more than 2,500 years ago. The Civita was the birthplace of Saint Bonaventure, who died in 1274. The location of his boyhood house has long since fallen off the edge of the cliff. By the 16th century, Civita di Bagnoregio was beginning to decline, becoming eclipsed by its former suburb Bagnoregio. At the end of the 17th century, the bishop and the municipal government were forced to move to Bagnoregio because of a major earthquake that accelerated
the old town's decline. At that time, the area was part of the Papal States. In the 19th century, Civita di Bagnoregio's location was turning into an island and the pace of the erosion quickened as the layer of clay below the stone was reached in the area where today's bridge is situated. Bagnoregio continues as a small but prosperous town, while the older site became known in Italian as La città che muore (The Dying Town). Civita di Bagnoregio has only recently been experiencing a tourist revival. The town is noted for its striking position on top of a plateau of friable volcanic tuff overlooking the Tiber river valley. It is in constant danger of destruction as the edges of the plateau collapse due to erosion, leaving the buildings to crumble as their underlying support falls away. As of 2004, there were plans to reinforce the plateau with steel rods to prevent further geological damage. The city is also much admired for its architecture spanning several hundred years. Civita di Bagnoregio owes much of its unaltered condition to its relative isolation; the town was able to withstand most intrusions of modernity as well as the destruction brought by two world wars. The population today varies from about 7 people in winter to more than 100 in summer. The town was placed on the World Monuments Fund's 2006 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites, because of threats it faces from erosion
and unregulated tourism.
Beauty of Venice, Italy
Venice is the world's most beautiful city. Venice: A New History
is the full story of Venice, from the time people escaped into the lagoon a thousand years ago to the present.
Music: Somewhere Sunny (ver 2) by Kevin MacLeod. incompetech.com.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. 2001-2012 Kevin MacLeod.
ITALY - TUSCANIA from Civitavecchia (not Tuscany)
Discover picturesque Tuscania, Italy with us in the province of Viterbo.
Earlier in the day we explored the Etruscan wonders of Tarquinia, had lunch on a lake and then visited Tuscania.
Also see - ITALY -TARQUINIA TOWN, MUSEUM & ETRUSCAN TOMBS APR 2016
Tuscania is a town and comune in the province of Viterbo, Lazio Region, Italy. Until the late 19th century the town was known as Toscanella.[
Evidence of human presence in the area dates from the Neolithic age, but probably the city proper was founded in the 7th century BC when the acropolis on St. Peter's Hill was surrounded by a line of walls. Villages existed in the vicinity. In the following years its strategic position gave Tuscania a leading role in the Etruscan world.
Filmed April 2016
Produced with CyberLink PowerDirector 16
Travel Guide to the Lazio Region of Italy
What to see and do in the Lazio region of Italy, the city of Roma plus a rich culture, food and wine. For more information on outdoor activities in Italy go to