ITALY:- Art Cities

Previously published at MoneyLife

Italy: Art Cities
October 08, 2011 10:27 AM | 
Jaideep Mukerji with Veeresh Malik

Located in southern Europe and bordered by the Mediterranean Sea, Italy is a country full of rich history and culture that amazes the world

If there is one country that combines the best of history, culture and landscapes together with superlative cuisine and shopping, it is Italy. I have visited Italy several times and the country never ceases to amaze me with its profusion of historic sites reflecting the grand architectural legacy of the Greco-Roman Empires. Italy has 47 World Heritage Sites—the highest in any country in the world—and Italian museums contain some of mankind’s best examples of art and sculpture. In this (and subsequent) article, I will take you on a brief journey through the better-known and some lesser-known Italian cities.



Venice: Described as one of Europe’s most romantic cities, Venice was historically the capital of the independent Venetian Republic and has been known as the ‘City of Masks’ and the ‘City of Canals’. Venice has been one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations since the 18th century. It is also one of Europe’s most beautiful cities of art. Since the 1980s, medieval traditions, like the Carnival of Venice, have been revived and the city has become a major centre of international conferences and film festivals, such as the prestigious Venice Film Festival which attract visitors from all over the world.

Venice is best explored by foot or by vaporetto—the public water bus system that operates along the Grand Canal. Start your tour by walking along the maze of canals, sidewalks and bridges that are unique to Venice, until you arrive in St Mark’s Square (the Piazza San Marco), surrounded by elegant, historic buildings. Napoleon called Piazza San Marco, ‘the drawing room of Europe’. The Square is dominated by St Mark’s Basilica, a Byzantine masterpiece on one side. The construction of this cathedral began in 830AD to house the tomb of St Mark whose relics were smuggled from Alexandria (Egypt) and brought here. The inside walls are encrusted with precious art, rare marbles and magnificent mosaics. Behind the altar is the famous gold altarpiece, ‘Palla d’Oro’ which is one of the finest examples of craftsmanship in gold.



Next to St Mark’s is the Doge’s Palace. This former seat of Venetian power, the Palace has the second largest wooden room in Europe. As you walk through the council rooms, of interest is Tintoretto’s Paradise over the Grand Council Chamber—reportedly the largest oil painting in the world. The Palace is connected to the old prison by the ‘Bridge of Sighs’. The name, given by Lord Byron in the 19th century, comes from the suggestion that prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice through the window before being taken down to their cells.

The banks of Venice’s Grand Canal are lined with more than 170 buildings, most of which date back to the 13th to 18th century and demonstrate the art created by the nobles of the Republic of Venice. Venetian families spared no expense to show off their wealth by building their palazzos along the Grand Canal. The churches along the Canal include the basilica of Santa Maria della Salute. Centuries-old traditional festivities, such as the Regatta of the gondola boats, are held every year along the Canal. The gondola is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to local conditions which, for centuries, was the chief means of transportation. Now, these iconic boats are used by tourists and Venetians as a convenient taxi-service.

While on your walking tour, cross the famous Rialto Bridge over the Grand Canal and spend time in the market that is busy with locals buying fruit and vegetables brought in from the mainland and fresh fish caught in the Adriatic. The present stone bridge with rows of shops on either side was completed in 1591 and is one of the architectural icons of Venice. Venice’s historic Jewish Quarter in Dorsoduro is well worth a visit as well. Take the vaporetto, to the island of Murano located about 1.5km north of Venice, famous for its glassmaking. In 1291, the glassmakers in Venice were forced to move to Murano due to the risk of causing fires in the city while blowing molten glass. In the following century, the island became famous for glass beads and mirrors and, for a while, Murano was the main glass producer in Europe. Later, the island came to be known for chandeliers (in the 18th century); glassmaking still remains the island’s main industry.

Milan: Staying in northern Italy, take the Eurocity train to Milan, recognised as the world’s fashion and design capital. The city has an ancient cultural heritage and legacy, vibrant nightlife and is particularly famous for its musical and operatic traditions (it is the birthplace of several composers, such as Giuseppe Verdi) and theatres (such as the Teatro alla Scala). Milan is also well known for several important museums, universities, palaces, churches and two renowned football teams, namely, AC Milan and FC Internazionale Milano.

Like most Italian cities, the main sites of interest are within walking distance from Milan’s central plaza, the Piazza del Duomo, dominated by the grand cathedral (the Duomo), the fourth largest cathedral in the world and, by far, the largest in Italy. Construction of the Gothic design cathedral began in 1386 and the last details of the cathedral were finished only in January 1965. This date is considered to be the end of a process which took six centuries, although, even now, some un-carved blocks remain to be completed as statues.
Immediately beside the Duomo, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in the Piazza del Duomo is reputed to be the world’s first shopping mall. The Galleria connects two of Milan’s most famous landmarks: the Duomo and the Teatro alla Scala, but the Galleria is a landmark on its own right. Now, more than 130 years since its inauguration, the four-story arcade includes elegant shops selling most things from haute couture and jewellery to books and paintings. The Galleria is famous as being home to some of the oldest shops and restaurants in Milan, such as the historic Biffi Caffé founded in 1867, the first Milanese café to install electric lighting (in 1882), and the famous Bernasconi silverware store. Today, the Galleria is the site for many luxury brands including Prada, Gucci and Louis Vuitton.

A short walk away is the Piazza della Scala, the pedestrian central square of Milan with Leonardo Da Vinci’s statue at its centre. Named after the renowned Teatro alla Scala opera house, one of the leading opera and ballet theatres in the world, it includes both the opera house and the La Scala Museum, dedicated to the history of La Scala and opera, in general. Over the past 200 years, most of the world’s greatest operatic artistes and singers have appeared at the La Scala.

Another walk takes you to the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, yet another in the UNESCO World Heritage list. The Church contains the famous mural of the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci which is in the refectory of the convent. During World War-II, the night of 15 August 1943, bombs dropped by British and American planes hit the Church and the convent. Much of the refectory was destroyed, but some walls survived, including the one that holds the Last Supper which had been sand-bagged for protection.

Why Go There: Italy is a country that combines the best of history, culture and landscapes along with superlative cuisine and shopping. It has historic sites reflecting the grand architectural legacy of the Greek and Roman Empires and 47 World Heritage Sites, the highest in any country in the world.

Getting There: Almost all European airlines offer flights to Venice using their hubs of London, Paris or Frankfurt. China Airlines has direct flights from Delhi to Rome. Train tickets for travel within Italy can be bought online at http://www.trenitalia.com/.

Visas: Tourist (Schengen) visas are available from the Italian Embassy in New Delhi and Italian Consulates elsewhere. Full details available at http://www.vfs-italy.co.in/ or by telephoning the Italy Visa Call Centre (at 120-6641090).

Where To Stay: Hotels in Italy can easily be booked through one of the hotel-booking portals like bedsonline.com, hotelbeds.com or travelocity.com. To plan your vacation, visit www.italia.it for a wealth of information; for maps and brochures email the Italian Tourist Office in Mumbai at mumbai@enit.it