Month: February 2022

Visit @ Görz

On the way to Austria, we also decided to stop at Gorizia (or Görz), which lies directly at the border to Slovenia. Originally a watchtower or a prehistoric castle controlling the fords of the Isonzo River, Gorizia emerged as a small village not far from the former Via Gemina, the Roman road linking Aquileia and Emona (modern Ljubljana). The name Gorizia was recorded for the first time …

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Trieste & Miramare

As Trieste lies off the route from Austria to other parts of Italy, we never made the detour to visit this town, which is an important part of the Austrian history. At last, we took the time to visit Trieste and the castle of Miramare, and discovered a lovely town with an interesting mixture of …

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Ravenna

Ravenna is known for its well-preserved late Roman and Byzantine architecture, with incredible mosaics. But we soon discovered, that the Green Pass is required to visit the most important sights. For us with a “Red Pass”, no entrance was granted, but we made the most out of it and explored the city as best as …

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San Marino

A European country, which was missing on our list, was the Republic of San Marino. From Rimini it was a short drive to the European microstate enclaved by Italy. Luckily we were allowed to take the funicular to get to the top of Mount Titan on which the old town of Marino is perched.  Saint Marinus, a stonemason from the then-Roman island …

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Stop @ Rimini

The weather was so grey and wet, that we didn’t even think about visiting the famous beaches of Rimini, but instead took a stroll through the drizzle into town, where some remains of the history of Rimini can be found. The first sight we encountered was the Arch of Augustus, a gate in the former city …

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Crossing Chianti

Crossing the Chianti region to the east, we went for a hike at Castello di Brolio and spent a night at Città di Castello, a castle region it seems, with hills covered with wine yards and olive trees. Castello di Brolio is a rural castle with a palace and gardens located about 20 km NE of Siena, in …

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Reggia

Reggia, meaning royal palace or king’s court, and Reggia di Caserta north of Naples is just that, a true palace. It was constructed by the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies as their main residence as kings of Naples. It is the largest palace erected in Europe during the 18th century and still the largest royal residence in the world, something you …

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24th of August, 79 AD

No better place to get a glimpse into an ancient Roman city than in Pompeii! We had been here before, but couldn’t resist to walk through the streets again, looking into villas, houses and stores, imagining the life of the people who lived here until 79 AD. One of the things we love most are …

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