Italy People

During the Norman domination, in 1184 the archbishop of Palermo Walter Offamilio started the construction of a splendid cathedral to replace the Muslim mosque with a Christian church. Over the centuries the additions and restorations modified the original building: the most radical change was made by Ferdinando Fuga in 1771 and in 1809. He was an architect from Florence and gave to the interior of the church a neoclassical aspect. Visiting the Cathedral it is important to observe: the XIV century portal with bronze doors, the long right side is decorated with a scenic portico in Catalan-Gothic style from the XV century, under which there is a highly decorated portal by Antonio Gambarra in 1426, the apses kept their original form of the XII century. The Cathedral contains the Royal and Imperial tombs. Among the people buried there are Roger II, Henry VI of Hohenstaufen, Costance de Hauteville, Frederick II of Hohenstaufen. Among the numerous chapels there is Santa Rosalia's, where in a silver urn done in 1631, there are kept the ashes of the patron Saint of Palermo. There is lastly fine treasure, comprising precious objects and pieces of embroidery found in Royal and Imperial tombs, holy vestments, chalices, ostensories.

Hmmm... are you German? Brittish? NO? well, Caorle is.... quite a place out there, in the middle of nowhere. Unlike the stereotypical idea, the truth is that the place is a little town where locals work their ass of in the summer season... the beach is crowded of umbrellas standing on a row, in a perfect, straight line. There is no space for your own towel... Basically, its just a little beachtown that is trying to make money out of foreign (mainly german and british) tourists in the summer months. YOU NEED A CAR, because there is not much to do in the village.... with a car you can get to venice and other cities, which you shouldnt miss if you are in this part of italy. Seriously... there is not much to see or do... if you wanna party, choose Jesolo instead of Caorle... if you go for the beach, go further south where the water is clear.... or why not to Croatia, same sea, but less people and cheaper... If you still go... enjoy!

Brindisi is a tourist trap for people taking boats to Greece, so if you go to a restaurant there (and there are good ones) go off the beaten path... also if you can pull off pretending not to speak english, when they give you the menu, ask if they have one in Italian. More than one place I went to had prices that were less than half those on the english menu.

Firenze, it's amazing museums during the day, and such an exciting nightlife! Just hang around on the plaza's and find some people making music, they'll probably show you the clubs to go! For the museums, buy your tickets a couple days before going, you'll get inside quicker! Otherwise, be patient!

If you visit Italy a must see is Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre is five small villages chiseled into the rocky cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. They are Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza Monterosso. It might not surprise you to know the tourist population of this area grows every year, not from advertising but from word-of-mouth as people are so taken by their experience that they want other people to go there. It is a dream destination...