Pompeii
Naples
Vatican City
Vatican Galleries
The Colosseum
Roman Forum
Florence
Venice
Chianti
Gondolas and Gondoliers
Murano
Cemetery island
PompeiiThe day before Vesuvius erupted, the inhabitants had no idea they were living on the edge of a volcano. It looked like a fertile mountain. And then it wasn't. Within two days the entire city was buried under six metres of ash, so fine it adhered to the folds in people's clothing.
The AmphitheatreBuilt around 70 BC, it's the oldest surviving Roman amphitheatre in existence. Grass has reclaimed the seating tiers now, but the scale still holds; it could seat 20,000 people, more than the town's population.
NaplesFounded by Greeks as Neapolis around 600 BCE, making it one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited urban areas and the largest UNESCO World Heritage Site in Europe.
Key highlights include authentic Neapolitan pizza, the Naples National Archaeological Museum, and proximity to Mount Vesuvius.
Castel Sant'ElmoThe Central Funicular has hauled people up this hill since 1928. At the top: a historic star-shaped medieval fortress and 360-degree panoramic views of the city, the bay, and Mount Vesuvius.
Vatican City The smallest country in the world, 44 hectares, entirely enclosed within Rome, and still home to St. Peter's Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, and one of the largest art collections anywhere. Swiss Guards in Renaissance uniform stand watch at the gates. Millions come through every year. A tour through the Vatican Museums, and we could spend weeks and still not scratch the surface.
Vatican GalleriesThe ceilings in the Vatican Museums and historic buildings are world-famous masterpieces of art, featuring the Sistine Chapel ceiling, the Raphael Rooms, and the Gallery of Maps. They use vivid frescoes, gold leaf, and optical illusions to show stories from the Bible and human history.
Ponte Sant'Angelo is a historic pedestrian bridge built by Emperor Hadrian to connect the city center to Castel Sant'Angelo. It features famous angel statues designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and spans the Tiber River.
The ColosseumBuilt for gladiator fights, animal hunts, and public shows. It was started by Emperor Vespasian around 70 to 72 AD and finished in 80 AD. It could hold up to 50,000 to 80,000 people
The Colosseum is 189 meters long, 156 meters wide, and 48,5 meters tall. The entire building has a surface area of 6 acres. Each level has 80 arches. Of these, 76 are numbered with Roman numerals, still visible above them in some places. They served as guides so citizens knew where to find their seats.
Roman ForumOnce the bustling political, religious, and commercial heart of ancient Rome, located in a small valley between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills. It began as a drained marshland in the 6th century BCE and grew into the center of daily life for the Roman Republic and Empire.
Top of the Trevi fountain
FlorenceThe capital city of the Tuscany region, birthplace of the Renaissance, the home of Michelangelo's David, and a UNESCO World Heritage site
Views of Florence from the Boboli Gardens, a massive historic park featuring classical statues, grand fountains, and artificial grottoes.
VeniceKnown for its canals, historic bridges, and beautiful art, built across more than 100 small islands in a lagoon. The entire city sits on a platform of millions of wooden piles driven into the lagoon bed. Over centuries, the mineral-rich saltwater has seeped into the timber and effectively turned it to stone. Venice is, quite literally, built on a petrified forest no one can see.
ChiantiViews from inside an old farm-style winery with 100 goats, where cheese is still made the old-fashioned way just steps from the cellar.
Rialto BridgeThe oldest of the four bridges spanning the Grand Canal, this version finished in 1591 after the wooden one before it collapsed more than once.
Gondolas and GondoliersFlat-bottomed, asymmetrical, built slightly curved so a single oar on one side can steer a boat with no rudder. Each one is handmade, still built the traditional way from eight types of wood, and takes months to complete. Becoming a gondolier isn't casual. It takes years of apprenticeship, a licence, and until relatively recently the job passed almost entirely father to son. Women have only been licensed gondoliers since 2010. There are roughly 400 of them working the canals today, a small number for a city this associated with the boats.
MuranoJust a short Vaporetto ride from Venice and a completely different pace. The island has been the centre of Venetian glassmaking since 1291, when the Republic of Venice ordered all glassmakers to move their furnaces here.
Cemetery islandIsola di San Michele, a short Vaporetto ride, cypress trees, a Renaissance church, and almost no one else (well, no one else alive).
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