A piece of history! Worthwhile to take a stop nearby the main square in Bologna and admire these…read morefeats of medieval architecture. As of end Dec 2023 both towers are closed for maintenance as the base and building materials have deteriorated and are no longer safe for tours. Prior to closing stairway access to the top via 498 steps (according to their website) was available for €5 to the taller tower Asinelli, with shorter tower Garisenda already under repair. There is a public website commune.bologna.it where anyone can donate to the restoration campaign.

Between the 12th and the 13th century, Bologna was a city full of towers. Almost all the towers…read morewere tall defensive stone towers. Besides the towers, there are still some fortified porticos that correspond to the gates of the 12th-century city. The richest families used these towers for offensive/defensive purposes during the period of the Investiture Controversy. In the 13th century, many towers were demolished or collapsed. Many towers have been used as a prison, city tower, shop or residential building. The 2 towers remained a famous sight of Bologna throughout the later periods; even Dante mentioned some of the towers in his Inferno.

"Aerodynamics are for people who can't build engines" - Enzo Ferrari…read more Who can argue. The masterpieces found inside his museum in Modena is stunning. There's a video history presentation that plays on loop and to say it is impactful and beautiful is an understatement. For those who don't know, there are two Ferrari museums, One in Modena that focuses on Enzo and the other is in Maranello, Italy, and is the home of the Ferrari factory and the Scuderia Ferrari racing team Both museums deserve a visit but I found Museo Enzo Ferrari to be better. The layout and car choices makes it very user friendly. The other Museum snakes through rooms and can be hard to get up close to some of the Ferraris. As one can see from my pictures, there is a lot of space around each of the Ferraris on display I highly recommend visiting the Enzo Ferrari museum even if you are a casual fan and even more if you are a Ferrari enthusiast

What a beautiful selection of Ferraris we had a wonderful time learning about Enzo and his…read moreautomobile company

We crossed the moat by walking over the 600 year old drawbridge. In the courtyard we paid to enter…read morethe castle & climb 122 steps up the tower. We started at a model of the castle & moved through the kitchen, saw bibles, 4 towers, prisons, rooms for court games & entertainment. The ornate ceiling ls were very impressive passing through the Governor & Pope's rooms. There were archaeological remnants from the 1400's all around us. We saw Borso d'Este or Duke of Ferrara's bible. There was a museum with art of Adelphi Ricardo Mantovani done in the 20th century that appeared to be well done but we moved through it. We spent :90 minutes here admiring palazzos, frescoes, archaeological sites, ceilings, tiles... We passed a few brides taking photographs here.

The Castello Estense ('Este castle') or castello di San Michele ('St. Michael's castle') is a…read moremoated medieval castle in the center of Ferrara, northern Italy. It consists of a large block with four corner towers. Beautiful to visto on morning and night as well.

Venice's only Gothic church. It is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary. It is simply called "I…read moreFrari" as it was built by the brothers (frati) of the Franciscan order. LOCATION: In the San Polo sestiere but I remember just stumbling onto it while walking the island from my hotel in Dorsoduro to the train station on the opposite side of the island. ADMISSION: €3 Modest dress requested. I'm an atheist but as Christianity was highly influential in shaping European history I visit churches with the intent of understanding the history (and sometimes) art in shaping a region's cultural identity. As the Frari is not in San Marco, Rialto or any other major Venetian landmark I would've easily missed this church if not for Rick Steves' audioguide (http://podcasts.ricksteves.com/walkingtours/FrariChurch.mp3). His reasoning is that offers an opportunity to experience art in-situ (right where it was designed to be seen) as opposed to hanging in a museum. The audioguide explains the major art pieces in detail way better than I ever can. Here's a summary of the major pieces inside the church. - Titian's Assumption of Mary. This is considered to be Titian's magnum opus and his first major commission from a church. It's located behind the main altar. Its depiction of Mary was revolutionary for its time as she is seen as triumphant and depicted in soft and warm colors. - Titian's Madonna of Ca' Pesaro. What's significant is that this broke Renaissance tradition by depicting Mary and Jesus off-center and interacting with the commonfolk. - Giovanni Bellini's Madonna and Child aka the Frari Triptych. - Tombs of Titian and Canova. Titian had his tomb decorated with a relief of his most famous painting. On the other side Canova's cenotaph (Venice's most famous sculptor) is pyramid-shaped and was once meant for Titian, but when the church used the present design his pupils repurposed it for their master instead. It's a cenotaph because he isn't buried here but an urn contains his heart. Once you're done exploring the church the surrounding area is quieter than San Marco or Rialto. It makes for a good lunch/dinner spot and the prices are more reasonable.

Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (aka Frari Church) was one of my favorite attractions in Venice…read more The church is beautiful, there were no lines to wait in, and the cost was only 3 Euros per person. Frari church has many beautiful Venetian sculptures. The main highlight at this church is Titian's Assumption over the main alter. We downloaded Rick Steves' free audio tour onto to our iPods and it really added to the experience since our knowledge on Venetian art and Frari Church were minimal. You can download the free audio tour at: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/italy-audio-tours/id272230438 After you visit the church I recommend checking out the Dorsoduro neighborhood along the Grand Canal and buying a cone of gelato!