Spring Break in Italy
Posted by: Christine Golus
Just returned from a spring break trip to Italy with my daughter. Rome, Florence, Tuscany all in one wonderful whirlwind week. Way too much to document in this blog, but here are a few highlights.
The Colosseum
Toured the iconic symbol of imperial Rome completed in 80 AD – the Roman Colosseum. Once home I came across Google’s 3D virtual fly over created by Rome Reborn, an international project based at the University of Virgina. And, yes, I did rent Gladiator again.
7:30 am at the Vatican
Signed up for a three hour tour with myvaticantour.com. The extra expense was well worth skipping the lines and getting a private guide. Eight English speakers were in our group. Our tour guide said “if you spend 60 seconds on every object in the Vatican Museums it would take you 12 years to see it all.” mmmm, not sure how accurate that is, but it means a lot of art!
Civite di Bagnoregio
Took a footpath to this ancient Etruscan village in Tuscany. Spectacular views of the country side from up top.
The Duomo in Florence
I hate heights, but I climbed to the top of the Duomo for a view of Florence (463 steps!). Firenze is a World Heritage Site and one of the best preserved Renaissance cities in the world. Inside Filippo Brunelleschi’s magnificent dome is Giorgio Vasari and Frederico Zuccari’s Last Judgement. I was pretty darn impressed with the whole thing imagining how the work was created in the days before electricity (painting by candle light?). The vertical picture I’ve included is not great, but it gives you a sense of the height and scale of the project. I’ve since learned that “it’s not all it’s cracked up to be” and a review in Fodor calls it “dreadful”. ah, critics.
T-shirts in Florence
Rock and roll lives on in Italy!
Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij
We flew KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) on our Amsterdam/Rome leg of the trip. KLM was founded on October 7, 1919, making it the oldest carrier in the world still operating under its original name. KLM recently merged with Air France, but the two airlines have retained their own brands unlike the recent Delta/Northwest merger. See story: If KLM Can, Why Can’t Delta. The KLM mark was designed in 1961 by F.H.K. Henrion and modified by Chris Ludlow at Henrion, Ludlow & Schmidt, in 1991. This is the same identity I studied in art school back in the dark ages. Great testament to the power of classic and enduring brand design.
Comments
Wonderful pictures, Christine - thank you for sharing them!
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By Sam on 07 September 2010
