Senin, 03 Januari 2011

10 tempat wisata di italia

FONTANA DI TREVI ( TREVI FOUNTAIN)


The Fontana di Trevi or Trevi Fountain is the most famous and arguably the most beautiful fountain in all of Rome. This impressive monument dominates the small Trevi square located in the Quirinale district.The Trevi fountain is at the ending part of the Aqua Virgo, an aqueduct constructed in 19 BC. It brings water all the way from the Salone Springs (approx 20km from Rome) and supplies the fountains in the historic center of Rome with water.
In 1732, Pope Clement XII commissioned Nicola Salvi to create a large fountain at the Trevi Square. A previous undertaking to build the fountain after a design by Bernini was halted a century earlier after the death of Pope Urban VIII. Salvi based his theatrical masterpiece on this design. Construction of the monumental baroque fountain was finally completed in 1762.The central figure of the fountain, in front of a large niche, is Neptune, god of the sea. He is riding a chariot in the shape of a shell, pulled by two sea horses. Each sea horse is guided by a Triton. One of the horses is calm and obedient, the other one restive. They symbolize the fluctuating moods of the sea.
On the left hand side of Neptune is a statue representing Abundance, the statue on the right represents Salubrity. Above the sculptures are bas-reliefs, one of them shows Agrippa, the general who built the aqueduct that carries water to the fountain.
The water at the bottom of the fountain represents the sea. Legend has it you will return to Rome if you throw a coin into the water. You should toss it over your shoulder with your back to the fountain.


COLLOSEUM


The Colosseum in Rome

The Colosseum is probably the most impressive building of the Roman empire. Originally known as the Flavian Amphitheater, it was the largest building of the era.
The monumental structure has fallen into ruins, but even today it is an imposing and beautiful sight.
Emperor Vespasian, founder of the Flavian Dynasty, started construction of the Colosseum in AD 72. It was completed in AD 80, the year after Vespasian's death.
The huge amphitheater was built on the site of an artificial lake, part of Nero's huge park in the center of Rome which also included the Golden House (Domus Aurea) and the nearby Colossus statue. This giant statue of Nero also gave the building its current name.The elliptical building is immense, measuring 188m by 156m and reaching a height of more than 48 meter (159 ft). The Colosseum could accommodate some 55,000 spectators who could enter the building through no less than 80 entrances.
Above the ground are four storeys, the upper storey contained seating for lower classes and women.
The lowest storey was preserved for prominent citizens. Below the ground were rooms with mechanical devices and cages containing wild animals. The cages could be hoisted, enabling the animals to appear in the middle of the arena.
The Colosseum was covered with an enormous awning known as the velarium. This protected the spectators from the sun. It was attached to large poles on top of the Colosseum and anchored to the ground by large ropes. A team of some 1,000 men was used to install the awning.Emperors used the Colosseum to entertain the public with free games. Those games were a symbol of prestige and power and they were a way for an emperor to increase his popularity.
Games were held for a whole day or even several days in a row. They usually started with comical acts and displays of exotic animals and ended with fights to the death between animals and gladiators or between gladiators. These fighters were usually slaves, prisoners of war or condemned criminals. Sometimes free Romans and even Emperors took part in the action.
Hundred-day games were held by Titus, Vespasian's successor, to mark the inauguration of the building in AD 80. In the process, some 9,000 wild animals were slaughtered.


ST. PETER'S BASILICA

St. Peter's Basilica in Rome

This great building is the center of christianity. The opulence of the building's interior bears testimony to the wealth of the catholic church in the 16th century.
Emperor Constantine, the first Christian emperor of Rome, ordered to build a basilica on Vatican Hill. The location was symbolic: this was the place where Saint Peter, the chief apostle, was buried in 64 A.D. A small shrine already existed on the site but it was now replaced by a new building church was completed around 349 A.D. In the middle of the 15th century, the basilica was falling into ruin and pope Nicolas V ordered the restoration and enlargement of the church after plans by Bernardo Rossellino. After Nicolas V died, works were halted. In 1506 pope Julius II laid the first stone of a new basilica which was to become the largest in the world.
Julius II appointed Donato Bramante as the chief architect of the new Basilica. In 1547 Michelangelo succeeded Bramante. He designed the imposing dome and altered some of the original plans.Michelangelo died in 1624, two years before the St. Peter's basilica was dedicated by pope Urban VIII. Ever since, this church has been the center of Christianity, drawing pilgrims from all over the world. The building itself is truly impressive. The largest church in the world, it has a 218 meter long nave. The basilica's dome is the world's largest measuring 42m in diameter and reaching 138 meter high (more than 450ft). The interior, which includes 45 altars, is decorated bymany famous artists. Some of the most important works in the church are the Pietà by Michelangelo, the papal altar by Bernini, the Throne of St. Peter - also by Bernini - and the Monument to the Stuarts by Canova.
The opulent interior can be visited daily for free although a strict dress code is enforced.
Near the entrance of the Basilica you will probably encounter some of the famous Swiss guards.
Swiss guard, St. Peter's in Rome
Swiss Guard
Since 1506 when pope Julius II invited Helvetian soldiers to join the small Vatican army, they have been the guards of the Vatican and the pope in particular. All entrants to the army must be Swiss, catholic and they must take the oath of loyalty to the pope. This oath is taken May 26th, to commemorate the sacking of Rome on the same day in 1527 when Swiss guards protected pope Clement VII during his escape to Castel Sant'Angelo Of the 189 guards, only 42 survived.
St. Peter's is located in Vatican City, across the river Tiber, west of Rome's center. Vatican City is completely surrounded by the city of Rome.

PIAZZA DI SPAGNA


Spanish steps

The piazza di Spagna is one of the most popular meeting places in Rome. It is also one of the most visually pleasing squares. The combination of a monumental staircase - the famous Spanish Steps, an obelisk and a beautiful church draws photographers to the square.
The Piazza di Spagna or Spanish Square is connected to a French church (Trinità dei Monti) on top of the hill via a long staircase, known as the Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti or Spanish Steps. The idea of connecting the church with the square below originates from the 17th century, when the French also planned a statue of King Louis XIV of France at the top of the staircase.
Papal opposition caused the plans to be shelved until 1723, when the monumental staircase was built without the statue. Pope Innocent XIII appointed the Italian architect Francisco de Sanctis. He presented a design that satisfied both the French and the papacy.
The elegant staircase consists of 137 steps over twelve different flights.
It has an irregular albeit symmetric structure. It is especially beautiful in May, when it is decorated with azaleas. The steps are usually very crowded; it attracts tourists as well as locals who use it as a gathering place.At the bottom of the Spanish Steps is the Piazza di Spagna or Spanish square. The long, triangular square is named after the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See. In the 17th century, the area around the embassy was even considered Spanish territory.
At the foot of the Spanish Steps is the Fontana della Barcaccia,
Fontana della Barcaccia, Piazza di Spagna
Fontana della Barcaccia
a sober fountain commissioned by Pope Urban VIII and designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The design, a small boat, was inspired by the flooding of the Tevere in 1598, when a small boat stranded here after the water subsided.

PANTHEON

Pantheon, Rome

Built more than 1800 years ago, the magnificent Pantheon building still stands as a reminder of the great Roman empire.With its thick brick walls and large marble columns, the Pantheon makes an immediate impression on visitors. But for its time the most remarkable part of the building is the more than 43 meter high some. It was the largest dome in the world until 1436 when the Florence Cathedral was constructed.
At the top of the dome is a large opening, the oculus, which was the only source of light.
The front portico has three rows of 8 columns, each one with a diameter of 1.5m. A huge bronze door gives access to the cylindrical building. Its diameter equals the interior height of 43,3m.
Pantheon interior
Interior
Originally a temple for all pagan gods, the temple was converted into a church in 609. The Pantheon now contains the tombs of the famous artist Raphael and of several Italian Kings. Its ecclasiastic interior design contrast with the temple's structural design, but the marble floor - which features a design consisting of a series of geometric patterns - is still the ancient Roman original.

PIAZZALE MICHAELANGELO

Firenze - modified.jpg

Piazzale Michelangelo is a famous square with a magnificent panoramic view of Florence, Italy, and is a popular tourist destination in the Oltrarno district of the city.The view from this observation point overlooking the city is justly famous and has been reproduced on countless postcards and snapshots over the years.It was built in 1869 and designed by architect Giuseppe Poggi on a hill just south of the historic center, on completion of retraining of the left bank of the shore. From that fact, Florence was the capital of Italy and the whole city was involved in an urban renewal, the so-called rehabilitation, or the rebirth of the city middle class: they were created lungarni; on the right bank, instead of the fourteenth-century walls were open the avenues of the ring of a boulevard, on the left bank was traced, wind on the hill of San Miniato, the Viale dei Colli, a street tree overview 8 kilometers long, at whose climax the square was built as a terrace with a panoramic view inside the city. The chronicle of the early construction of the company has been described in detail by the Italian journalist Peter Ferrigno (known under the name of Yorick) that does not fail to report as a part of Florence is dispiacesse "for the excessive spending of the construction.The square, dedicated to the great Renaissance sculptor Michelangelo, has copies of some of his works found elsewhere in Florence: the David and the four allegories of the Medici Chapel of San Lorenzo. These copies are made of bronze, while the originals are all in white marble. The monument was brought up by nine pairs of oxen on 25 June 1873.Poggi designed the loggia in the neoclassical style that dominates the whole terrace, which today houses a panoramic restaurant. Originally it was supposed to house a museum of works by Michelangelo, ever. In the wall of the balcony, under the loggia, an epigraph is a banner characters reminiscent of his work: Florentine architect Giuseppe Poggi turn around here is his monument MCMXI.The panorama encompasses the heart of Florence from Forte Belvedere to Santa Croce lungarni through the bridges crossing the Arno, including the Ponte Vecchio, and the Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, the Bargello and the octagonal bell tower of the Badia Fiorentina, without forgetting opposed to the hills north of the city with the center and Settignano Fiesole.The square can be accessed by car along the tree-lined Viale Michelangelo, constructed at the same time, or by walking the stairs going up the ramps of the monumental Piazza Poggi Poggi in the district of San Niccolò.

SANTI GIOVANNI E PAOLO



The Basilica di San Giovanni e Paolo, known in the Venetian dialect as San Zanipolo, is a church in Venice, northern Italy. One of the largest churches in the city, it has the status of a minor basilica. After the 15th century the funeral services of all of Venice's doges were held here, and twenty-five doges are buried in the church.A huge brick edifice built in the Italian Gothic style, it is the principal Dominican church of Venice, and as such was built for preaching to large congregations. It is dedicated to John and Paul, not the Biblical Apostles of the same names, but two obscure martyrs of the Early Christian church in Rome, whose names were recorded in the 3rd century but whose legend is of a later date.In 1246, Doge Jacopo Tiepolo donated some swampland to the Dominicans after dreaming of a flock of white doves flying over it. The first church was demolished in 1333, when the current church was begun. It was not completed until 1430.The vast interior contains many funerary monuments and paintings, as well as the Madonna della Pace, a miraculous Byzantine statue situated in its own chapel in the south aisle, and a foot of St Catherine of Siena, the church's chief relic.San Giovanni e Paolo is a parish church of the Vicariate of San Marco-Castello. Other churches of the parish are San Lazzaro dei Mendicanti, the Ospedaletto and the Beata Vergine Addolorata.

SANTA MARIA MAGGIORE

Santa Maria Maggiore at night, Rome

The Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major (Italian: Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore, Latin: Basilica Sanctae Mariae Majoris ad Nives[1][2]), is an ancient Roman Catholic Marian basilica of Rome. It is one of the four major or four papal basilicas,[3] which, together with St. Lawrence outside the Walls, were formerly referred to as the five "patriarchal basilicas" of Rome,[4] associated with the five ancient patriarchal sees of Christendom (see Pentarchy). The other three papal or major basilicas are St. John Lateran, St. Peter and St. Paul outside the Walls. The Liberian Basilica (another title for the church) is one of the tituli, presided over by a patron—in this case Pope Liberius—that housed the major congregations of early Christians in Rome. Santa Maria Maggiore is the only Roman basilica that retained the core of its original structure, left intact despite several additional construction projects and damage from the earthquake of 1348.The name of the church reflects two ideas of greatness ("major"), that of a major (or papal) basilica and that of the largest (major) church in Rome dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.After the Avignon papacy formally ended and the Papacy returned to Rome, the Basilica became a temporary Palace of the Popes due to the deteriorated state of the Lateran Palace. The papal residence was later moved to the Palace of the Vatican in what is now Vatican City.


MUSEUM OF ROMAN CIVILIZATION

Museum of Roman Civilisation, EUR, Rome


The Museo della Civilta Romana – the Museum of Roman Civilization – is situated at EUR, a modern city that was the brainchild of Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. It's one of Rome's most interesting museums, however many visitors miss it due to its remote location.
Museo della Civilta Romana was designed by architects Pietro Ascheri, D. Bernardini and Cesare Pascoletti and was built between 1939 and 1941. The architectural style is typical for the buildings in EUR, a modernized version of the monumental buildings of Ancient Rome. The museum is divided into 59 sections that illustrate the history of Roman civilization.

PINCIO GARDENS

Pincio Gardens, Rome, Italy

A great place from which to enjoy Rome’s picturesque sunsets, visiting the Pincio Gardens is a pleasant way to spend part of your day in the Eternal City.
The Pincio Gardens (a.k.a. Pincian Gardens) actually date back to ancient Rome, but what you’ll see when you visit them today is a more modern 19th century version, separated from the nearby Villa Borghese gardens by ancient walls.With orders from Napoleon, landscape architect Giuseppe Valadier laid out the gardens in French style; a style more formal than the traditional terraced gardens of Rome.

Esposizione Universale Roma

Fascist sculpture, Rome

A visit to EUR gives travelers a good look at the visions of the former Italian Fascist leader, Mussolini. EUR was built in the 1930s as a showcase of fascist architecture.
The area dubbed EUR, short for Esposizione Universale di Roma,was intended to showcase Rome in the World Exhibition of 1942, coinciding with the 20th year of the regime of dictator Mussolini. It was meant to become the monumental gateway of a large city that would stretch all the way to Ostia.
Mussolini and other Fascists had a passion for erecting large buildings, so as they were planning EUR along with architect Marcello Piacentini, the order of the day seemed to be “the bigger, the better.” The result was a number of large, modern buildings that some insist were built to the detriment of Rome’s wonderful early architecture.
The exposition was eventually cancelled because of the war, but work on some of the buildings still continued after the war, absent of Mussolini’s political agenda.Many visitors believe that EUR has the feel of a failed project but find it interesting to visit nonetheless.
As an urban project however EUR can be considered successful: it is popular with residents thanks to its open layout and easy accessibility. In contrary to Rome's historic center, EUR is easy to drive in and not overcrowded.