Written by Andrew Fessler
Italy has a wide variety of art ranging from different cultures and art forms. There is enough art in one city that you could spend over a day visiting the sights. We shall begin our exploration in the capital city of Rome. Starting with an architectural masterpiece, the Colosseum is a definite must-see when visiting Rome.
The next sight for first-time visitors is the Trevi Fountain. This fountain is in the center of Rome and has beautiful sculptures made of travertine stone. There are many world-renowned art museums that range from traditional to modern paintings. It is impossible to encompass everything to see in Rome so I suggest you simply explore but definitely go see these two world-renowned structures. The second stop is next to Rome but is technically its own city-state: Vatican City. Vatican City is home to the Sistine chapel. The ceiling is painted by Michelangelo and is the most famous aspect, but the entire chapel is covered in beautiful art. Another personal favorite found in Vatican City is the statue Laocoon & his sons. This statue is crafted with marble and is one of the most famous ancient statues. The next stop on our art exploration is Florence.
Florence is home to the Galleria dell'Accademia which houses Michelangelo’s statue of David. There are two copies of David in Florence but there’s nothing like seeing the original! One of my favorite paintings in Florence is Sandro Boticelli’s, “Birth of Venus”, which is located in the Uffizi gallery. This gallery is also home to many famous Leonardo paintings as well as Caravaggio’s “Medusa”. Our third stop is going to be in Milan. Picking up on the trend of seeing world-renowned paintings we’ll be visiting the church Santa Maria delle Grazie to view Leonardo’s “The Last Supper”. Our last stop takes us down to the Italian island of Sicily. There are many forms of architecture on the island but we are going to Taormina to see the Ancient Greek Theatre. A beautiful stage that gives insight into an ancient culture that once settled these lands.
Itinerary:
Day 1; LAX——FCO, Rome
Day 2; Rome: Visit the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain
Day 3; Vatican City: Explore the Sistine Chapel and Laocoon & his sons
Day 4; Take the train to Florence; view Michelangelo’s statue of David and visit the Uffizi Gallery
Day 5; Take the train to Milan and visit the church that houses Leonardo’s “The Last Supper”
Day 6; Take the train back to Rome and relax
Day 7; Fly from FCO, Rome—-CTA, Catania and enjoy the city of Catania
Day 8; Drive to Taormina, explore the beaches and see the Ancient Greek Theatre
Day 9; CTA, Catania——FCO, Rome, and FCO, Rome——LAX.
Images by M Malinov and Tomas Lei
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