TERRY'S LIBRARY: ITALY

ROME, FLORENCE, PISA,
VENICE / LIDO

Rome:

Touring the innards of
The Colosseum.

The Pantheon is a former Roman temple
and, since 609 AD, a Catholic church.

Touring the Roman Forum

Architect Giuseppe Sacconi's
Victor Emmanuel II National Monument
also known as Vittoriano or Altare della Patria
("Altar of the Fatherland") was completed in 1935
- a nationalist symbol erected, not surprisingly,
during Italy's Fascist period.

Making my way toward
Castel Sant' Angelo
aka the Mausoleum of Hadrian

After touring The Forum
I came upon The Arch of Titus -
constructed in 81 AD by the Emperor Domitian
to commemorate his brother Titus & father Vespasian's
victory over the Jewish rebellion in Judea.

Preparing to climb
The Spanish Steps -
I know, right...
they're Spanish? they're in Italy and
designed by a French architect! Oy vay!
By the way, there's 135 of 'em...
I counted every one!

Mindful of the song
I threw Three Coins in the
Trevi Fountain...
and the kid on my right dove in
and took off with them.
Not quite the wish I'd hoped for.

Trevi Fountain

FLORENCE:

Admiring the many sides of
Michelangelo's David
at the Galleria dell'Accademia

...and, frankly,
still unsure which side
I liked the best.

One of the most romantic evenings of my life
was spent on Ponte Vecchio
beneath a full moon
while listening to an American Opera student
belt out Puccini's Nessun dorma.

Florence
torn from my guidebook,
in my top 3 places I've ever visited!

Spent 3 of the most memorable nights of my life
at the Hotel Duomo.

Duomo Cathedral, or
Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore
was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style
to a design of Arnolfo di Cambio
and was finally structurally completed in 1436,
with the dome masterfully engineered
by Filippo Brunelleschi.

VENICE

A talented Gondolier
gave me my first tour of Venice

The second day we visited with
Martino's brother David
at Alberoni beach on the south end of the Lido

The bell tower, or campanile,
of St Mark's Basilica

The Bridge of Sighs ...
read about it!

Looking across at the Lido

The Piazza San Marco at dawn.

I didn't take this pic,
but thought it a cool shot of San Marco /
Saint Mark's Basilica

Some people call 'em pigeons,
I see them as flying rodents.

PISA

I don't think the 3 dudes
in the crane cage behind me
are gonna have much luck
pushing it back into place.

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