Archive for 'Architectural Gems'

Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was born on the 22nd of December 1858 and would go on to become an opera composer that would be labelled "the greatest composer of Italian opera after Verdi". Many of his works are very famous. In fact, among his ouevre are some of the best known operas of all time, amongst them are “La Bohème” (1896), “Tosca” (1900), and “Madama Butterfly” (1904). These are the operatic works that tour most often and have become standards of the genre of music.

We have talked about Poppi Castle before but only to discuss the grisly legend of Matilda, the most beautiful woman in the area that was married off young to an old powerful man from the Guidi family, who ruled Tuscany with an iron fist.

None too fond of her husband and jealous of the freedom of the common people, she began sending for eligible young bachelors to come to Poppi Castle to do repairs or entertain her. Each evening, she would choose one of these men to come to her chamber to spend the night and the following morning, to avoid having her adultery discovered, she pushed them through a trapdoor where they fell to a bloody death among razor blades and broken glass. When the number of missing young men began to be noticed, rumours of Matilda spread and, legend says, the townspeople stormed the castle. Matilda was trapped in a tower of the castle and the door was bricked up, leaving her to starve to death.

Carrara is a Tuscan town that is famous worldwide for its marble and is the centre of the Apuan-Versilia marble trade.

Since Roman times, it has been where artists and architects from the world over have gone to source their marble, the likes of Michelangelo among them. Situated along the Ligurian Sea, in north-western Tuscany, it is a charming town that features the material it is so famous for in buildings throughout. A particular highlight is the Cathedral, or Duomo: with almost the entire exterior being covered in Carrara marble, it really is a perfect advertisement for the town's “white gold”.

Another, older church, once stood on the same site. The Ecclesia Sancti Andree de Carraria has records going back as early as 1035 but only a bas-relief remains of the original structure. Construction of the new building, also dedicated to St Andrew, began in the 11th century and was completed in the 14th century.

In the final post in this series, here are the last of Google's suggestions for what to do with just a day in Florence. Having just left the Piazza della Signoria, we now move on to the Duomo.

7. Florence Cathedral (Travel: 10 minutes by foot. Approx. time to spend here: 1 hour)

The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, or the Duomo, is Florence's cathedral and main church. It was begun in 1296, according to the designs of Arnolfo di Cambio, and was completed in 1436 with the addition of a soaring dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi.

The exterior is expressed in polychromatic marble panels and an elaborate 19th century Gothic Revival façade by Emilio De Fabris. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is one of the city's must-see attractions and the view from the top is unrivaled.

Google seems to have the answers to all of life's questions, right? Whether you are looking for directions or somewhere good to eat, want to know when a museum closes or when to avoid peak crowds, having the internet at your fingertips takes the work out of holiday-making and makes your life a hell of a lot easier.

In fact, they've gone a step further now and Google has even compiled all of their data to generate automatic itineraries of destinations based on the post popular attractions, their locations and the distances between them. Based on the amount of days you will be in the place you have chosen, there are a variety of itineraries to choose from and one can't help but wonder at how well an algorithm might plan a trip.

So, here is Google's suggestion for what to do with 24 hours in Florence. Just find a luxury villa in Florence and see for yourself how suitable it might be.