ITALY ~ ROME A FEAST FOR THE EYES #4 AND LAST

The court of Rome never regarded the sheep without the wool.

Not a sheep but a goat that I came upon on the Via Appia

Our visit to Italy, will come to its end with this first post of the New Year.

For the last day, I chose an itinerary that I hope will please you, First of all, we will walk the Via Appia Antica, a road connecting the city of Rome to the Southern parts of Italy that remains usable even today.

As we are walking the Via Appia, we are put  back in time. There are amazing Roman structures along the road and it forces the imagination to wonder how the road might have looked back during the height of Rome’s power.

From the Via Appia, let's take an adventure off of the typical tourist path to immerse ourselves into Roman life at the Trionfale Market, near the Vatican Museums. As it isn't the most charming of Roman markets, it's often left out of guide books.

 Once the visit to the market is over and we have been kindly invited to have lunch at an Italian family's, let's head toward their place. 

After lunch, we will have enough free time to do window-shopping before taking the plane back home...

Once again, I want to emphasise how lucky I have been to have you travelling with me most of the time. I'm pretty sure that without your good company I wouldn't have enjoyed as much as I did.

Many thanks!

RELATED POSTS

ITALY #1

ITALY #2
ITALY #3
ITALY #4
ITALY #5
ITALY #6
ITALY - ROME #1
ITALY - ROME #2
ITALY - ROME #3

~~ Thanks for stopping by ~~

ITALY #4 ~ DISCOVERING PUGLIA ~ TARANTO

Today, let's do something different. I mean, spend the whole day in the city of Taranto that sits right on Ionian Sea coast. Because of its situation, it's an important commercial port and it also serves as the main Italian naval base. We are on a lucky day. Without having got a prior information, we notice an unusual movement in the city: the farewell of an Italian battle ship to its 30-year life of activity, which implies the extraordinary opening of the swing bridge.

Entering Taranto under the swing bridge, the only bridge in Italy that pivots other than rises.

Steel and iron foundries, oil refineries and chemical works also play an important role in the economy and landscape of the port city. Europe's biggest steel mill that is the major employer in Taranto is often blamed for the unusually high rate of cancer in the area.

The XV century defence castle that overlooks the sea is nowadays the office of the Navy.

Right opposite the castle, two well-preserved Doric columns, remains of a Greek temple, remind us Taranto’s past as a Greek colony.

Taranto is divided into the 'new town' and the 'old town'.

The old town centre is a maze of narrow alleyways, many of which only allow access in single file.  Images such as the ones we see below, showing crumbling buildings, graffiti are a bit shocking, aren't they? Don't you think the old city looks like the apocalypse after a war? Don't you feel sorry for the people who live there?

Let's walk along the seafront promenade and give a look at the stone mermaids on the breakwaters... I don't hear any of them singing, do you? If they are not singing, perhaps they are waiting for Triton, the messenger of the sea...

If you feel like having a look at he slideshow, you will realize how the time spent in Taranto that is also called the capital of Magna Grecia, was worth the day, not to mention the delicious local specialities we had for lunch...

RELATED POSTS

ITALY #1

ITALY #2
ITALY #3

~~ Thanks for following me ~~

~~ Have a great week~~

ITALY #2 ~ DISCOVERING PUGLIA - ALBEROBELLO, POLIGNANO A MARE AND MONOPOLI

Today, let's drop in to visit Alberobello, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site where we will find the highest concentration of trulli.

I tried to capture a bit of magic in this town. I hope you enjoy my photos.
The trulli (singular version: trullo) are dry mortarless stone huts built with conical tops. You see them throughout the Itria Valley in Puglia, but the greatest concentration is in Alberobello. Here’s the view from a lookout on the edge of the city centre.

Could you imagine if you lived in a house like one of these?

Plenty of trulli have been converted into restaurants and guesthouses. Let's have lunch in one of them...

The city is celebrating its patron saints Cosmos and Damian. The non religious events include a street market selling from vegetables and fruit to hosiery ...

Does Domenico Modugno mean something to you? Most probably it's a singer's name familiar to some of you. Well, he was from Poligliano a Mare, a picturesque town. The statue of the famous "Volare" (also known as "Nel blu dipinto di blu")" singer/writer's arms outstretched stands at a square and it's very important to the local people.

From Poligliano a Mare we are going to stop at Monopoli,another picturesque town. Let's stay here until we see the full moon rising from the Adriatic Sea...

For further images of the day, hope you enjoy the slideshow...

It was good to have you together with me...

See you soon!

~~ Have a great rest of the week ~~

RELATED POST