Naples, beauty and energy on the hedge of a catastrophe 

Naples has been inhabited for more than 4 thousand years despite being the centre of a risky Vulcanic area. 

The first settlers where from Greece, since then it has always been strategic in the Mediterranean history of trade and commerce. The Cardo and the Decumano, the Roman cross at the very centre of every ancient Roman cities, are still the heart of Naples, called the “spaccanapoli” the City Splitter Street. Immense palaces grew around it, home of the courts of kings, emperors and more than anything a lively intellectual elite. Normans, Catalans, Spanish, French, Austrians they all ruled the city building fortresses, castles and palaces, while churches and cloisters got bigger to clearly state the importance of the Church’s power. Statues, paintings, jewels were created to show power and influence. The human made marvels are surrounded by nature. The Gulf of Naples is paradise, with clear waters, beautiful coasts, unique islands all dominated by a threatening volcano: the Vesuvio. 

For centuries the fertile surroundings fed the city fostering a local unique culinary tradition sublimed in the invention of Pizza by the cook of Margherita Queen. The city is the perfect place to visit Pompei, the city where an eruption froze time two thousand years ago; sail to the romantic Amalfi Coast, or a day trip to the Caserta Palace, to admire the recently restored aristocratic mansion where Star Wars interiors were filmed.

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JOURNEY_Ancient Mosaic wonders in Southern Italy 
WEEK END_Elena Ferrante’s Naples

Florence is classical elegance 

As many other Italian cities Florence was originally a Roman village lying down a river, the Arno. During the Medieval ages it became a financial centre and then the place where Renaissance originated. 

Traces of its glorious history can be found all over the city centre, where palaces, chapels, churches were built to demonstrate power and culture. The Medici family was at the centre of the rise of the economic power of Florence. Its wealth family was created by trade and finance, it was in that period that they invented the accounting system still used today all over the world. Florence was the centre of great economic activity, but the family ambition was culture, art and music. They were patrons of Brunelleschi, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Raffaello, Machiavelli, Galileo among others generating a positive desire of families all around Europe to show off through cultural activities. 

Florence proudly defended throughout centuries its cultural primacy protecting treasures from the past in magnificent museums and projecting into the future by creating a perfect environment to become home for artists, musicians, scholars from all over the world, artisans that transform in new trends the ancient traditions of craftsmanship of gold, silver, wood, stones.

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JOURNEY_Contemporary mosaics in central Italy
WEEK END_Dan Brown in Florence

Venice is magic light mirrored in water

Venice is one of the most iconic places in the world: everyone is familiar to the images of its islands, palaces, canals, churches and gondolas. This is the city to immerse yourself into its history by allowing us to take you to the very origin of Venice the Island of Torcello. Now a quiet backwater, Torcello was once a thriving lagoon settlement and here you will rediscover the very origins of Venetian civilization. Inside the ancient church of Santa Maria Assunta, glittering medieval mosaics evoke the richness and importance of Torcello’s history. 

The Lazzaretto islands are fundamental to the understanding of the power of the city: it was here that they invented the quarantine to protect the Venetians from the plague and to protect trade, that was what made Venice the most important city of the Mediterranean for centuries.  

You cannot miss the city centre, if you look at the map you will recognise a big fish with the Canal Grande in the middle. There are six different neighbourhoods, called Sestieri: San Marco, the most famous one, where the full power of the city can be admired in the San Marco Basilica and the Dodge’s Palace. Santa Croce is the one where the bridge from the mainland arrives, built in 1932. It was the first time in centuries that Venice was connected to the rest of Italy. From the station to the San Marco square is a short walk, but the real challenge is not to get lost. 

Then there is Cannaregio, the most populated area of Venice. Here is where locals enjoy Venice, here is where the first Ghetto was created and where for centuries working class lived and worked to build the magnificent palaces. The small Canal of Rio dei Gesuiti separates it from Castello, one of the greenest areas of the city. Home of the famous Arsenale and the Biennale di Venezia, the cultural institution that organizes the Venice Film Festival. Here is located the bookshop AcquaAlta (literally High water), a very fascinating place. The books are put on unusual places like boats, gondole, canoes and tank that save the books in case of high tide.

From there through the Accademia bridge to Dorsoduro, populated by locals; it is home of the Accademia Galleries and the Peggy Guggenheim Museum.  It is a short boat ride to Giudecca, the island originally inhabited by mostly Jewish population that became heavily industrial in the early 20th century and is now a perfect retreat from the city centre. 

Venice was not built for walking; it was built for boats. Remember that best views of the canals and palaces are from water, the shortest roads are on water. 

There are many different cities coexisting in the same space, our distinctive trait is helping guests choose which one they would like to visit and how.

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JOURNEY_Towns made of mosaics in northern Italy
WEEK END_Venice: craftsmanship at its best

Verona the romantic city    

With more than two thousand years of history Verona is the perfect place to have it all. 

The water of the river Adige cut the city creating sweet loops, while the surrounding hills at the northern side create an harmoniously beautiful landscape.

No wonder people settled here more than two thousand years ago, and it became one of the most important Roman cities in northern Italy. The presence of monumental gates, strong walls and fortifications is a clear reminder of its past as independent city of strategic importance, contended by the numerous reigns that formed around this area. Its prestige is linked to the Salingeri family, that built them before becoming a Venetian city and till now shares the glory of that magnificent past. 

Since the roman times the Theatre and the Arena have been at the centre of the vibrant cultural live of this small city with an international ambition. Cultural centres such as the Civic Library, the Biblioteca Capitolare, the Filarmonica Academia, the antique Academy of Agriculture, Science and Literature have been added to the cultural activities of the city. 

No wonder million of visitors entered the city walls during the past to visit and to meet the brilliant minds that worked and studied in Verona, amongst them Dante, Mozart, Goethe, Ruskin: they all lived in Verona. 

Here is where Shakespeare created the myth of Romeo and Juliet love, and here it is still possible to immerse in the atmosphere the young lovers enjoyed while walking along the narrow roads.

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JOURNEY_On Dante’s footsteps
WEEK END_Dante’s Verona

rome is absolute beauty in disarray 

It is the eternal city; no words can describe the magnificence of a place where centuries of history show themselves. 

Rome was the capital of one of the biggest empires in history, one of the centres of the Renaissance. It became the capital of Italy and has been for centuries the centre of Christianity.

The ideal trip to Rome is ….to move there for at least a couple of years. 

Its treasures include the Colosseum, the Sistine Chapel, pasta Carbonara, the views of the centre from Gianicolo hill, the light of the sunset over the Tevere, the smell of fresh fruits and vegetables in the Transtevere Market. 

There are very few cities in the world where beauty almost shocks, where the genius of humankind can be admired through the centuries in all possible forms. Engineering works such as aqueducts and river banks, the thermal baths of Caracalla allowed thousands of people to get clean with water from hundreds of miles away. Different architectural forms can be admired in all possible ways from arches, to walls, to an infinite number of noble palaces standing next to modern buildings. Ancient and modern art can be found in every expression: mosaics, frescos, paintings, statues from the pre-roman times to contemporary galleries. The list of artists that worked in Rome is impossible to compile and what surprises most is the number of skilled craftsmen that still work to maintain the artistic heritage and innovate to create new works of art.  

Then there is fashion that can be bought for all tastes and the Italian food, enjoyed at all possible levels. 

There are many different cities coexisting in the same space, our distinctive trait is helping guests choose which one they would like to visit and how. 

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JOURNEY_On Caravaggio’s footsteps
WEEK END_Rome: Photography workshop in the Eternal City

Ravenna,  the world capital of mosaics

Ravenna is a small town in the Emilia Romagna Italian Region. In ancient times it was a roman port strategically located near the delta of the most important Italian river: the Po. As many other Italian cities, Ravenna preserves magnificent buildings that represent a long history of glory, wealth, conquests, war and different cultures.

It was capital of the Western Roman Empire and then of the Germanic Ostrogothic and the Byzantine, till is was conquered by the Longobards and passed to the Pope kingdom for centuries. It is mostly famous for the mosaics of its Christian monuments (5 UNESCO Sites).

Ravenna’s monuments are made of stone and gold, the best architects and craftsmen of the time worked here, creating with mosaic eternal images with unique colors.  Blue is the color of the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, while gold covers the sidewalls of the Basilica of Sant’Apolllinare Nuovo. The Basilica of San Vitale is an explosion of colors and a unique example of architecture and art of those times.

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JOURNEY_Towns made of mosaics in northern Italy

Carrara, the city of Marble 

Carrara’s marble is famous all over the world, but very little is known of this small town in Tuscany. 

It originated from the small village built by Romans to house workers of the marble quarries that were used to make the most important Roman Empire statues. The abilities of marble workers and the workshops resisted the geopolitical changes and querry workers became protagonists of cultural and political history of Italy. After the unification, the city became the cradle of Anarchism. 

The inhabitants of Carrara take pride in being the birthplace of the International Anarchist Federation. In dirty workshops and with strong hands they are able to create unique pieces of art and to gently shape delicate living figures. 

The city itself is a contrast between heavy industry and fine arts. Marble can be used to make floor-boards, as well as cut to create micro-mosaics. From sinks to the David of Michelangelo, there are no limit for this material that Carrara’s experts have been shaping for centuries now. 

Marble is all over: from the quarries in the high mountains, to the sea shore where it is exported to all over the world, through the workshops where international artists meet to learn and practice sculpting, to the the lardo di Colonnata, pork fatback curated in marble basins. 

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JOURNEY_Carrara Marble Experience

Milan is elegant dynamism in constant evolution

There are many reasons to visit Milan. From Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper to the shops, from ancient roman ruins to the best skyscraper in the world, the Bosco Verticale. Less than 2 hours from the sea and from the Alps, close to all most famous lakes, the city is a perfect place to start discovering northern Italy.

The city boost varied and rich cultural offer as well as remaining the most important centre for finance, fashion and design.

If you are into History you can start your journey from the Duomo terraces, from where the guide can introduce you to the history of the city from above. Roman Centre, Medieval roads, Spanish walls and Napoleonic roads can be spotted from the top of the Duomo.

From there get down to the Piazza and enter the Duomo, the city Cathedral, then to Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, once the place where all important families would meet to sit, relax and decide the future of Milan. From below follow Via Dante to Castel and then into Parco Sempione, admire one of the very few places where you can have a perspective of the city, the same that Napoleon use to build his Milanese Triumphal Arch, the gate towards Paris.

Then discover the history of Milan patronage and industriousness starting from Via Montenapoleone, now heart of the fashion district, but once reign of jewelers and antique dealers.
You will be guided into the history of the neighborhood and some of its palaces, home of several notable families: Palazzo Morando, Palazzo Melzi di Cusano, Palazzo Belgioioso, Manzoni’s house, where the famous writer died, and Palazzo Omenoni. The itinerary proceeds through the narrow roads to end in Piazza della Scala.

Then indulge yourself shopping, sometimes you will be not sure if you are looking at a work of art or at the shops’ windows.

A walk to discover a lesser-known Leonardo da Vinci’s heritage. The path starts from Castello Sforzesco to visit the Sala delle Asse, to admire his monochrome fresco and proceeds to its Pinacoteca to appreciate some of the paintings of the artists working around the Master while he was in Milan such as Foppa, Luini and Cesare da Sesto.

We will then move to another collection that allows you to discover the genius of Leonardo: the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, where you can admire the famous work “The Musician”. Walk towards Santa Maria delle Grazie, to San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore where frescoes by Bernardino Luini apply to the Church to be known as the Sistine Chapel of Milan and Atellani House, where it is possible to walk in the famous Leonardo’s vineyard.

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JOURNEY_On Caravaggio’s footsteps
WEEK END_Shopping is Culture in Milan
EXPERIENCE_Milan city lights