Enjoying Portofino

Portofino is a picturesque, half-moon shaped seaside village with pastel houses lining the shore of the harbor. Portofino has shops, restaurants, cafes, and luxury hotels.

Portofino sits on a peninsula in the Tigullio Golf east of Genoa in the northern Italian region of Liguria.
Portofino is part of the Italian Riviera.

Portofino's typical architectural style adds to the beauty of the town. Most of the buildings are painted in bright colours, including red och-re, green and yellow, and accentuated with decorative frescoes. 

Painting by: Teresa Dominici, Acrylic on canvas, 18"x24" (45x60 cm), Year: 2013

From the harbor, it is a good climb to the Castello di San Giorgio, it is a medieval building , but was restored in the 16th century. "The view is superb". 

Castello Brown sits on a hill above the village. The medieval castle became the residence of Yeats Brown, British consul to Genoa, in 1870. Inside are furnishings and pictures belonging to the Browns as well as photos of many famous visitors to Portofino. 

On the way to the castle you can visit  San Giorgio Church, rebuilt after the last war. You can also visit the lighthouse, faro, on Punta del Capo.

Also to see is the church of San Martino is the 12th century construction which dominates the whole central part of Portofino. It has both religious and archaeological importance in the history of the place. The hanging arches and its beautiful rose window stand testimony of its Middle Ages past. Interior of the church is in particularly attractive and richly adorned with marbles, sculptures and valuable paintings. The stripes on its front facade are very characteristic for the Lombard Romanesque style which could be seen on most church of Liguria. 

Oratorio di Nostra Signora Assunta is a tiny chapel dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, is the 14th century oratory of the confraternity of Our Lady of the Assumption has big importance in religious - architectural past of Portofino. The most noteworthy features of the oratory are two huge crucifixes, one is white while the other is black.

Portofino, Italy

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Ray Woods

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Perched on Italy's northwest coast, Portofino is one of the most perfect, most photogenic fishing ports in the Mediterranean.

Ravello

Ravello Card by tdominici

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Ravello è una delle cittadine più belle della costiera. Grazie alla sua posizione privilegiata in alto si può ammirare un paesaggio meraviglioso e il paese è veramente tenuto bene e curato.

Non limitatevi a godere solo del fantastico paesaggio, perché c'è tanto da vedere: Villa Rufolo, Villa Cimbrone, il Duomo e tante altre Chiese sono i luoghi da non perdere durante una visita in città.

"Nestled against the steep slope of a cliff along the spectacular Amalfi Coast, the ancient town of Ravello included in the province of Salerno. Because, in addition to magnificent scenery offered by the medieval streets of the city and the beautiful landscapes that form the backdrop, Ravello is always motivated by intense cultural activity, boasting a calendar of events extraordinarily rich, whose climax is, of course, the prestigious Ravello Festival, the multifaceted exhibition that animates the historic sites of the city for almost the entire year.

Ravello enchants first of all for the exceptional beauty of the landscape: the terraces overlooking the cliff overlooking the gardens facing the cliff and the deep green and transparent, villas and monuments.

Located in Bishop's Square, next to the Cathedral, stands the century Villa Rufolo, whose tower still seems to look carefully throughout the city. Built on behalf of the rich family of Rufolo, traders at the time known and powerful enough to be mentioned in the Decameron, the building passed successively passed from hand to hand until it was sold to the nineteenth century Scottish nobleman Francis Neville, who worked restoration, making it as still seen. The villa revealed in the architectural elements of several strong influence of Arab culture, particularly in the important Moorish cloister structured with double loggia and portico acute arch, adorned with graceful carved decorations, and raised courtyard. The greatest wonder of Villa Rufolo are blooming gardens, favorite place of Richard Wagner, where today, in the flowering terraces and steep towards the blue sea of the Amalfi Coast and the Gulf of Salerno, the Wagner Festival is celebrated in memory to the great German musician , one of the initiatives that has made Ravello the "City of Music" par excellence. 

Another beautiful and famous building in Ravello is Villa Cimbrone, built on a rock overlooking the Gulf of Salerno, in the place where once stood a Roman villa, later converted farmhouse in agriculture. It is a building designed and rebuilt for double hand, Italian and English, the manufacturer's Nicola Mansi and the English lord William Beckett, who magically transformed the house into ruin in a sort of garden of wonders, with a magnificent interplay between the rigor of the Italian style and the lush setting of an English nobleman, a passion for botany. The result, charming and strongly suggestive, is a mix of local and ethnic styles, a meeting point between the old villa and the gallery of antiques, almost a diary of an explorer transformed into a dwelling. The large grounds of the villa, in particular, is a labyrinth of Gothic and classical, including statues, temples, bridges, grottos and fountains to reach the fantastic Belvedere of Infinity, a huge roof terrace facing the sublime view the open sea of the Gulf of Salerno and the Amalfi Coast, a place much loved by the writer Gore Vidal. Today the villa is used to host public and private events."

La bella Ravello, una terrazza sull'infinito

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 Maurizio Capriati

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 Uno dei luoghi piu incantevoli del pianeta terra!
 

The View of the Vatican City

Painting: View of the Vatican by Teresa Dominici, Year 2011, the original is Sold.

St. Peter’s Basilica is a major basilica in the Vatican City, Rome.

St. Peter’s Basilica stands on the traditional site where Peter – the apostle who is considered the first pope – was crucified and buried. St. Peter’s tomb is under the main altar and many other popes are buried in the basilica as well.

Rome , the eternal city  

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Beautiful slide show of Rome at its best.

City of Rotella, The Marche Region, Italy

Painting By: Teresa Dominici, Year: 2009, Acrylic on canvas, the original is Sold.

Rotella is a  comune (municipality) in the Province of Ascoli Piceno in the Italian region Marche, located about 70 km south of Ancona and about 11 km north of Ascoli Piceno.

Ascoli Piceno - Marche region - Italy

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Ascoli Piceno is a town and comune in the Marche region of Italy, capital of the province of the same name. Its population is c. 51,400.

Geography

The town lies at the confluence of the Tronto River and the small river Castellano and is surrounded on three sides by mountains. Two natural parks border the town, one on the northwestern flank (Parco Nazionale dei Monti Sibillini) and the other on the southern (Parco Nazionale dei Monti della Laga).

Ascoli has good rail connections to the Adriatic coast and the city of San Benedetto del Tronto, by highway to Porto d'Ascoli and by the Italian National Road 4 Salaria to Rome.

History

Ascoli was founded by an Italic population (Piceni) several centuries before Rome's founding on the important Via Salaria, the salt road that connected Latium with the salt production areas on the Adriatic coast. In 268 BC it became a civitas foederata, a "federated" city with nominal independence from Rome. In 91 BC, together with other cities in central Italy, it revolted against Rome, but in 89 BC was reconquered and destroyed by Pompeius Strabo. Its inhabitants acquired Roman citizenship, following the developments and the eventual fall of the Roman Empire.

During the Middle Ages Ascoli was ravaged by the Ostrogoths and then by the Lombards of King Faroald (578). After nearly two centuries as part of the Lombard Duchy of Spoleto (593-789), Ascoli was ruled by the Franks through their vicars, but ultimately it was the bishops that gained influence and power over the city.

In 1189 a free republican municipality was established but internal strife led dramatically to the demise of civic values and freedom and to unfortunate ventures against neighboring enemies. This unstable situation opened the way to foreign dictatorships, like those of Galeotto I Malatesta (14th century), initially recruited as a mercenary (condottiero) in the war against Fermo, and Francesco Sforza. Sforza was ousted in 1482, but Ascoli was again compelled to submit to the Papal suzerainty. In 1860 it was annexed, together with Marche and Umbria, into the newly unified Kingdom of Italy. SOURCE :WIKIPEDIA

Umbria - Italy

Painting By: Teresa Dominici, Year: 2009, Acrylic on canvas.

Umbria it lies almost at the centre of the peninsula bordered by Tuscany, Lazio and Le Marche. 
  
Umbria is mountainous, more austere in its landscape and more sparsely inhabitant. It is famous for the olive groves covering the hillsides and the production of olive oil, of its woods of oak and sweet chestnut, and for its vineyard. Perugia capital of the Umbria region, home to Italy's best chocolate.

Umbria - Italy 

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Umbria is a region of Central Italy, bordered by Tuscany to the west, the Marche to the east and Lazio to the south. This region is mostly hilly or mountainous. Its topography is dominated by the Apennines to the east, with the highest point in the region at Monte Vettore on the border of the Marche 2,476 m (8,123.36 ft), and the Tiber valley basin, with the lowest point at Attigliano 96 m (314.96 ft). It is the only Italian region which is both landlocked and with no common border with other countries.

Landscape of Umbria

The Tiber forms the approximate border with Lazio; although its course northwards from its source just over the Tuscan border lies in Umbria, the river course is changeable and thus few towns have been built on it: the Tiber itself is not a major factor in the history and human geography of Umbria. The same cannot be said of the Tiber's three principal tributaries, each flowing in a generally southward course. The course of the Chiascio takes it through relatively uninhabited areas until Bastia Umbra, and about 10 km later it flows into the Tiber at Torgiano. The Topino, cleaving the Apennines with passes that the Via Flaminia and successor roads follow, makes a sharp turn at Foligno to flow NW for a few kilometres before joining the Chiascio below Bettona. The third river is the Nera, flowing into the Tiber further south, at Terni; its valley, called the Valnerina, is widely considered to be the most scenic area of Umbria. While the upper Nera flows more or less in isolation in the mountains, the lower course of the Chiascio-Topino basin is a fairly large floodplain, which in Antiquity was a pair of shallow, interlocking lakes, the Lacus Clitorius and the Lacus Umber. They were drained by the Romans over several hundred years, but an earthquake in the 4th century and the political collapse of the Roman Empire resulted in the reflooding of the basin, which was drained a second time over five hundred years; Benedictine monks started the process in the 13th century, and it was completed by an engineer from Foligno in the 18th century.

In tourist literature one sometimes sees Umbria called il cuor verde d'Italia (the green heart of Italy). The phrase, taken from a poem by Giosuè Carducci — the subject of which is not Umbria but rather a specific place in it, the source of the Clitunno river, treasured as a beauty spot — is to a certain extent appropriate since the modern administrative region is the only one to have neither a coast nor a border with a foreign country, and, except for August and September, is famously green. ( source Wikipedia )

Positano, Italy

Painting by:  Teresa Dominici, 

Title: Positano, Italy,  

Medium: Acrylic on canvas, 

size: 24"x18" (60x45cm),

Year: 2012.

Positano is placed along a beautiful stretch of Salerno coast, in the centre of the gulf composed by Punta Germano in the west and Capo Sottile in the east and in a splendid scenic position.

Positano, praised by famous poets and writers and immortalized by painters from all over the world, it is today one of the most interesting places of Amalfi coast .

In its enchanting centre there is the parish church of S.Maria Assunta with a splendid majolica dome among small white houses and blooming gardens . Positano, very famous for the flourishing handicrafts and the fashion, combines in a perfect way the beauty of the landscapes, the beaches (marina Grande, Ciumicello, La Porta, Arienzo and Fornillo) and the charm of the old sea suburbs.

Positano 

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Positano penisola sorrentina

The view of the village of Apricale (Liguria)

Apricale is a beautiful hilltop medieval village with prehistoric roots. The town is just 8 km from the sea and about 4 km from Dolceacqua…..but you’re totally in another world - this is a beautiful charming and interesting little town (filled with frescoes and murals). The town centers about the 11th century Castello della Lucertola and the village circles and falls down the hill from there — terribly evocative. The castle is a town museum and exhibition center (art shows, concerts, meetings ). 

The museum offers history and legends as well as local artifacts of the town. The town is characterized by stone walls and buildings, alleys, arches, flowers, frescoes and views: totally wonderful - thoroughly beautiful.

Painting: View of the Village of Apricale by Teresa Dominici, Year: 2009, Medium: Acrylic.

 




Italian Town of Apricale - 
Great Attractions (Apricale, Italy)

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Take a tour of Italian Town of Apricale in Apricale, Italy -- part of the World's Greatest Attractions travel video series by GeoBeats.

Italy is a country bestowed with the presence of archaic and daunting towns throughout its lands.


One such town is that of Apricale, meaning "visible to the sun", which is lavishly spread across the verdant Italian terrain.


It carries the true essence of a medieval village graced with lovely architecture from that era.


A generally amicable climate sets the ambiance for visitors to experience the stunning Italian countryside.


Nestled cozily right below the Alpes Maritime, it yields a gorgeous panorama of the locale.


Not only has the town been blessed with stunning scenery but it is also a cultural center with several museums, castles, and squares.

Piazza di Spagna, Rome, Italy

Photograph by Piero Lucia, http://artisticante.blogspot.com/

The Spanish Steps - Scalinata della Trinità dei Monti

The Piazza di Spagna is one of the most famous images in the world.

Visit the Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy

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Visit the Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy -

Take a tour of Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy – part of the World’s Greatest Attractions travel video series by GeoBeats. Sink nose deep into history at one of Italy’s most famous attractions. Take a trip back to the Renaissance era at the Spanish Steps in Rome. The steps, also known as ''Piazza di Spagna'', named after the Spanish embassy, have a flower festival in spring. Get inspired by the celebrated and quintessential Baroque architecture surrounding you.

Visit the Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy