After two years of visiting Italy, I'm still awestruck at the versatility, breadth and range of Italy's greatness, beauty, capabilities and their well-deserved pride. While attempting to write this article, I could vividly imagine a montage of ancient ruins in Rome, postcard beauty of Florence, magnificence of Pisa tower, enchanting canals of Venice, breathtaking Alpine scenes.
While Switzerland is sheer poetry in terms of visual scenery, France more in terms of history and fashion and Germany more about engineering and architecture - Italy can easily give a run for their money in their core areas.
How can any one country be a birthplace of an ancient civilization (Roman), ideologies (capitalism, fascism), engineering (Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Ducati), fashion (Armani, Versace, D&G, Prada, Gucci et al), mafia (Sicily) cuisine (Pizza, Pasta, Gelato), art and renaissance (Leonardo Da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo)
I had both glad and sombre moments in Roma (anglicized name being Rome) yet the city didn't fail to fill me with awe and some unforgettable moments. The majestic Colosseum and the way Italians have preserved their heritage and ruins will make anybody agape in disbelief. Rome - a city filled with narrow tiled by-lanes, pizzerias with chairs arranged all along streets, activity at piazzas (small city squares), friendly Italian bystanders and localites trying hard to respond in English, the humongous Roma Termini train station, Trenitalia high speed trains can never be forgotten.
There are two things which are common between Italy and India. First being closely knit families. No offence to families of other ethnicity but Indians and Italians are a breed apart. Second common thing is their aversion to traffic and lane rules. It was so refreshing for me to witness an equally laid-back nation which simply doesn't bother about maintaining lanes, traffic lights or just-name-it.
Vatican (though officially another country but geographically landlocked within Rome) is a world in itself. The serenity and papal ambiance brings about divinity in the atmosphere. St.Peter's square, the enchanting dome (which we inadvertently scaled to the top) are mind-blowing.
Pisa tower is a bit overexposed and overrated but never disappointing but the underrated Florence is a visual epic. The city, birthplace of famous renaissance which shaped the artistic, cultural texture of the world has to be seen once before we die. It's simply a marvel which pulls you over into the artistic history of Italy.
Venice will be in the top 3 dream destinations of any person who is romantic at heart. Rightly positioned as the most beautiful place in the world by many surveys, Venice is a different utopian land which we can only imagine in the wildest romantic fantasies.
Built on some 117 small narrow islands connected by canals and located in the Adriatic sea, Venice is a picturesque fantasy. Can you imagine traffic and commutation only by boats, gondolas, canals dividing multi-floored buildings on both sides throughout the city ? Venice city by foot is another experience with tiled narrow lanes, cathedrals and the famed Saint Mark basilica.
We missed Cinque Terre, Naples and few other prominent places. May be some other time but whatever Italy I visited, experienced and witnessed first hand, I could say that the country grew upon me. I can't wait to go back there. This is a feeling which no other place or country could stir up in me, except India ofcourse.
VIVA ITALIA !
While Switzerland is sheer poetry in terms of visual scenery, France more in terms of history and fashion and Germany more about engineering and architecture - Italy can easily give a run for their money in their core areas.
How can any one country be a birthplace of an ancient civilization (Roman), ideologies (capitalism, fascism), engineering (Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Ducati), fashion (Armani, Versace, D&G, Prada, Gucci et al), mafia (Sicily) cuisine (Pizza, Pasta, Gelato), art and renaissance (Leonardo Da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo)
I had both glad and sombre moments in Roma (anglicized name being Rome) yet the city didn't fail to fill me with awe and some unforgettable moments. The majestic Colosseum and the way Italians have preserved their heritage and ruins will make anybody agape in disbelief. Rome - a city filled with narrow tiled by-lanes, pizzerias with chairs arranged all along streets, activity at piazzas (small city squares), friendly Italian bystanders and localites trying hard to respond in English, the humongous Roma Termini train station, Trenitalia high speed trains can never be forgotten.
There are two things which are common between Italy and India. First being closely knit families. No offence to families of other ethnicity but Indians and Italians are a breed apart. Second common thing is their aversion to traffic and lane rules. It was so refreshing for me to witness an equally laid-back nation which simply doesn't bother about maintaining lanes, traffic lights or just-name-it.
Vatican (though officially another country but geographically landlocked within Rome) is a world in itself. The serenity and papal ambiance brings about divinity in the atmosphere. St.Peter's square, the enchanting dome (which we inadvertently scaled to the top) are mind-blowing.
Pisa tower is a bit overexposed and overrated but never disappointing but the underrated Florence is a visual epic. The city, birthplace of famous renaissance which shaped the artistic, cultural texture of the world has to be seen once before we die. It's simply a marvel which pulls you over into the artistic history of Italy.
Venice will be in the top 3 dream destinations of any person who is romantic at heart. Rightly positioned as the most beautiful place in the world by many surveys, Venice is a different utopian land which we can only imagine in the wildest romantic fantasies.
Built on some 117 small narrow islands connected by canals and located in the Adriatic sea, Venice is a picturesque fantasy. Can you imagine traffic and commutation only by boats, gondolas, canals dividing multi-floored buildings on both sides throughout the city ? Venice city by foot is another experience with tiled narrow lanes, cathedrals and the famed Saint Mark basilica.
We missed Cinque Terre, Naples and few other prominent places. May be some other time but whatever Italy I visited, experienced and witnessed first hand, I could say that the country grew upon me. I can't wait to go back there. This is a feeling which no other place or country could stir up in me, except India ofcourse.
VIVA ITALIA !
1 comment:
Now someone wants to go there badly... Me!!
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