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The Sea and Hillside
Volterra, San Gimignano, Pisa and
Siena...
Tuscan culture around the corner form eachother. |
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VOLTERRA- The Tuscan city of Alabaster
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Volterra,
ancient medieval city |
Lonely on a hill (that has its boundless view from the Appennini up
to the Tyrrhenian sea), stern and peaceful at once, this town has a particular
glamour that is
different from the others.
Once you reach its threshold, you will be impressed by the mighty wall, both
of the Medieval times and Etruscan ones, where there are many gates.
The most famous of them is Porta dell'Arco Etrusco
(the gate of Etruscan Arch).
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| Indoors you will find remembrances of the severe
town of Volterra during the Medieval times. All this is helpful for us
to understand
the charming of its beauty. |
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SAN GIMIGNANO, la città delle torri
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Sangimignano e le sue torri |
The 15 medieval towers (a reminder of the
72 towers that used to rise during the period of greatest splendor) announce
from far away
the town's magnificence.
The amazement continues after entering one of the town gates, that open in the double
enclosed wall, and walking up the silent streets flanked with ancient
buildings.
The streets unexpectedly lead into three squares on the summit of the town, where
the severe medieval buildings that surround them may be admired.
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Pisa was an ancient Roman harbour and a
great Maritime Republic. Nowadays the territory
of Pisa does not extend any more up to the sea, but you may still live
its past in its monuments, rich in art and
history.
Its narrow lanes flow into charming squares with colourful markets,
noble lungarni with wonderful and aristocrat palaces, the glamorous Piazza
dei Cavalieri and Piazza dei Miracoli – a
complex that is one of the most famous in the world with the Duomo,
the Camposanto (the monumental cemetery)
and the legendary Leaning Tower, the symbol
of the town.
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The Leaning Tower of Pisa is the belfry
of the Duomo. Its construction started in August 1173 and
has been going on for about 200 years, keeping the primary project whose
author is not known for sure.
During the past, it was believed that the leaning of the tower was made
with intention but nowadays we know that it is not so.
The Tower was projected "standing up", then during its construction,
it started leaning. And since 1173, the Tower has always been cared with
a special attention for its beauty and its leaning. During its construction,
special building schemes tried to contrast the leaning. Afterwards, many
columns and other damaged parts were replaced; finally, nowadays the
leaning has been faced acting through the soil to grant the Tower a long
life.
In this long history of the Tower, there is a motif: the "genetic
code" of the Tower: that is its continuous interaction with the
soil where it is based.
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| Pisa e la sua torre pendente |
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| Pisa, città storica della Toscana |
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Pisa, has not only a great amount of art treasures, but it is also a
town with ancient cultural traditions. It is the home of Galileo,
there is one of the most ancient and famous University in the world and
moreover, in Pisa there are numerous exhibitions and events of outstanding
value such as the Season of Music, the Luminara of San Ranieri and the
great Historical Regatta.
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Siena ha sempre suscitato profondo interesse verso i turisti, per la
bellezza dei suoi monumenti Siena always attracts many tourists for its
wonderful monuments and its numerous masterpieces to visit in
its museums.
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Some great artists were born
in Siena and among them it is to remind Duccio di Boninsegna and Nicola
Pisano, who worked on the greatest masterpiece in Siena: the
Duomo.
In narrow and winding lanes, in museums and in the quarter oratorios
you may hear Palio propitiatory chants
that recall the ancient customs and modern allegories. In the evening,
on the other side, the
patter of soles on the desert paving contrasts to the peace of the green
valleys surrounded
by the walls by its ancient administrators, for centuries till today.
In the town you may admire many masterpieces such as the Duomo, set in the
Campo, Siena's red-bricked main square and the wonderful landscape of Facciatone,
the hall
of Pellegrinaio in Santa Maria della Scala, the Piccolomini
library, the prestigious Accademy Chigiana and the wide rooms in Fortezza
Medicea, that hides the rarest wines in Siena, in Tuscany and in the peninsula.
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