The home of the Medicis, Florence was the banking and cultural capital of the Italian peninsula more many centuries. The old part of the city is a winding maze of narrow street, dominated by the Duomo.
Cinque Terre, literally "five lands", are five villages on the Ligurian Sea, Italy's western coast. The towns, Monterosso, Vernazza, Conigliore, Manarole, and Riomaggiore, are connected by hiking trails that wind high above the cliffs that serve as a backdrop to all five villages.
View from south on trail to Corniglia
Corniglia sits atop a high cliff. It is the only one of the five villages that does not flow to the water.
The stairs down to the Corniglia train station.
Alba
Monforte d'Alba
Barolo
Bagnoli del Trigno is set atop a massive rock formation in the Molise region of Italy, about 140 miles southeast of Rome. It is not on many tourist lists. But it is the birthplace of Michelena's grandfather, Costanzo Gabriele, who emigrated to the United States in 1919. In 2005 Michelena's aunt Leyna arranged a family trip to visit Bagnoli. A large group of Gabrieles, spouses, and offspring wandered through streets that seemed mostly unchanged from the time young Costanzo lived there. We spent much time with relatives who still live there (and their children who live in Rome) and met a distant cousin who is a monk. Side trips included a visit to ancient Roman ruins in Pietrabbondante and a bell foundry (started in the year 1040) in Agnona. A highlight was a private tour of the Castello Sanfelice in Bagnoli. We were also fortunate to be there at the time of the annual Bagnoli Festa.
Puglia is an area in the southeastern part of Italy, forming the heel of the boot, with hundreds of miles of coastline on both the Adriatic andthe Mediterranean.
Martina Franca
Gallipoli
Trani
Barletta
Alberobello, a UNESCO Heritage site, is a small village with many of the areas's typical conical shaped buildings, called "truli."
The Gargano National Park a sprawling area comprising the "spur" of the Italian boot.
Vieste, at the easternmost point of the Gargano
Monte San't Angelo, a village in the Gargano.
Ceramic pots in Grottaglio
Cisternino
Bari
