Italy

Italy: A Captivating Symphony of History, Culture, and Splendor

In the heart of the Mediterranean lies Italy, a country that has shaped the cultural and historical landscape of Europe like no other. With its roots delving deep into the heart of ancient Rome, Italy has been the cradle of Western civilization and a center of global culture for centuries. Modern Italy, unified in 1861, stretches from the snow-capped Alps in the north to the sun-kissed shores of Sicily in the south.

From Ancient Empires to Renaissance Masterpieces

Italy's narrative is a storied tapestry of ancient empires, Renaissance revolutions, and influential global events. Its soil has been a battleground for empires and a canvas for visionaries like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, whose works still echo through the ages.

Rome: The Eternal City

The capital, Rome, stands as a monument to history itself, home to the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Vatican City, offering an unparalleled journey through time.

Venice: The Serene Republic

Venice, with its labyrinth of canals, opulent architecture, and storied Doge's Palace, remains a testament to its status as a powerhouse of the Mediterranean for over a millennium.

Florence: The Cradle of the Renaissance

Florence, the jewel of Tuscany, invites admirers of art and architecture with the splendor of its Duomo, the treasures of the Uffizi Gallery, and the Ponte Vecchio’s charm.

The Amalfi Coast: A Picturesque Paradise

Escape to the Amalfi Coast, where cliffside villages like Positano and ancient ruins like Pompeii offer breathtaking views and a window into the past.

From the rolling vineyards of Chianti to the fashion capital of Milan and the gastronomic delights of Bologna, Italy is an endless feast for the senses. Let travel.frogsfolly.com be your compass to the country's soul, where every corner holds a story, every meal is a celebration, and every visit is an experience of a lifetime. Dive into Italy with us, where the legacy of the past informs a vibrant present.

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			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/jcassiano/">JCassiano</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jcassiano/55480679743/" title="MILÃO - Itália"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55480679743_f8c258545f_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="MILÃO - Itália" /></a></p>

<p>DUOMO DI MILANO<br />
A Catedral de Milão - A construção durou cerca de 600 anos, tendo início em 1386 e sendo concluída em 1965. Possui aproximadamente 3.400 estátuas (mais de 1.000 no interior), 135 pináculos, 55 vitrais... <br />
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A PORTA PRINCIPAL (3ª porta)<br />
BASE DA PORTA: o jovem Davi segurando a cabeça decepada do gigante filisteu Golias (1 Samuel, 17:51). Um dos relatos mais famosos do Antigo Testamento, onde o jovem Davi derrota o gigante filisteu usando apenas uma funda (estilingue) e uma pedra. Davi correu, pôs os pés sobre ele, e, desembainhando a espada do filisteu, decepou a cabeça de Golias após derrubá-lo com um estilingue e uma pedra. Em seguida, Davi levou a cabeça de Golias para Jerusalém.<br />
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Seis painéis contam histórias do Antigo Testamento, e abaixo deles estão gravados em latim os versos iniciais da oração Salve Rainha. “Salve Regina, Mater Misericordiae, Vita Dulcedo et Spes Nostra, Salve...” (Salve Rainha, Mãe de Misericórdia, vida, doçura e esperança nossa, salve...)<br />
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A Porta é monumental! Assim como as demais quatro portas, ela é também chamada de “Porta Maggiore”, é a maior e a mais pesada entre as cinco portas da fachada, é também a maior da Itália, com impressionantes 37 toneladas, 10 metros de altura, 5 metros de largura, uma obra-prima em bronze que concluiu a fachada da Catedral no início do século XX, esculpida pelo escultor italiano Ludovico Pogliaghi, entre 1894 e 1906, dedicada à Virgem Maria (Santa Maria Nascente), a quem a Catedral é consagrada. As demais portas (4) foram instaladas entre 1948 e 1965, com diferentes temas históricos e religiosos. A porta central é dividida como uma grande Árvore da Vida: o lado esquerdo é dedicado aos episódios dolorosos, e o direito, aos gloriosos.<br />
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A Porta retrata as “ALEGRIAS E DORES” da Virgem Maria, inaugurada em 8 de setembro de 1906, combinando o estilo neogótico com elementos do Art Nouveau. É composta por duas grandes folhas de bronze ornamentadas com baixos e altos-relevos detalhados que retratam episódios da vida da Virgem Maria e de Jesus Cristo. No centro, dois belíssimos Medalhões! No lado esquerdo, está o Medalhão “A Pietà”, a lamentação da Virgem Maria sobre o Corpo de Cristo em seus braços após a crucificação. No lado direito, o Medalhão “A Glória da Virgem Maria ou a Assunção”, anjos alados a cercam, sustentando mantos, oferendas florais e coroando-a em atitude de veneração.<br />
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OS PAINÉIS AO REDOR<br />
A folha de bronze à esquerda, mostra o “Ciclo da Paixão e Dor”. Os painéis acima e abaixo do Medalhão, ilustram cenas dolorosas, como o Açoite de Cristo, o Caminho do Calvário, a Crucificação... A folha de bronze à direita, mostra o “Ciclo da Infância e Glória”. Os painéis retratam passagens felizes e gloriosas, como o nascimento da Virgem Maria, a Anunciação, o Nascimento de Jesus, a Aparição de Jesus Ressuscitado a Maria Madalena...</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/67969037@N04/">Brickadier2020</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/67969037@N04/55479539332/" title="Bellagio"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55479539332_dcf867eaca_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="Bellagio" /></a></p>

<p>Lego Creation</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/188996221@N04/">Robert Bugeja</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/188996221@N04/55480443531/" title="Ponte della Costituzione"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55480443531_0e8837b7f6_m.jpg" width="240" height="135" alt="Ponte della Costituzione" /></a></p>

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			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/188996221@N04/">Robert Bugeja</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/188996221@N04/55479453807/" title="Campo del Ghetto Nuovo"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55479453807_f7900a1b9c_m.jpg" width="240" height="135" alt="Campo del Ghetto Nuovo" /></a></p>

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			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/188996221@N04/">Robert Bugeja</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/188996221@N04/55480562098/" title="St Mark&#039;s Clocktower from Piazza San Marco"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55480562098_10d393eb83_m.jpg" width="160" height="240" alt="St Mark&#039;s Clocktower from Piazza San Marco" /></a></p>

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			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/188996221@N04/">Robert Bugeja</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/188996221@N04/55480442086/" title="Reflections Beneath a Venetian Bridge"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55480442086_363a89dfba_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="Reflections Beneath a Venetian Bridge" /></a></p>

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			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/188996221@N04/">Robert Bugeja</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/188996221@N04/55479453572/" title="Memorial to the Shoah, Venice Ghetto"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55479453572_9ea25892ff_m.jpg" width="240" height="135" alt="Memorial to the Shoah, Venice Ghetto" /></a></p>

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			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/188996221@N04/">Robert Bugeja</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/188996221@N04/55480620344/" title="Santa Maria Formosa and its Campanile"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55480620344_40af7e4e2d_m.jpg" width="240" height="135" alt="Santa Maria Formosa and its Campanile" /></a></p>

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			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/188996221@N04/">Robert Bugeja</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/188996221@N04/55479452497/" title="Across the Venetian Lagoon"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55479452497_9ddb20f451_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="Across the Venetian Lagoon" /></a></p>

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			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/truusbobjantoo/">Truus, Bob &amp; Jan too!</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/truusbobjantoo/55479443827/" title="Walter Chiari in Ferragosto in bikini (1960)"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55479443827_93879b0b92_m.jpg" width="240" height="168" alt="Walter Chiari in Ferragosto in bikini (1960)" /></a></p>

<p>Vintage Italian postcard by Bromofoto, 1734. Euro International Films. Still for the comedy <i>Ferragosto in bikini</i> (Marino Girolami, 1960). . <br />
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Good looking <b>Walter Chiari</b> (1924-1991) was a hugely successful Italian stage and screen actor. He appeared opposite Anna Magnani in Luchino Visconti's <i>Bellissima</i> (1951) and played countless roles in the Commedia all'italiana. Chiari achieved international success with <i>The Little Hut</i> (1957), <i>Bonjour Tristesse</i> (1958), <i>Chimes at Midnight</i> (1966), and <i>The Valachi Papers</i> (1972). In the late 1950s and 1960s he was one of the main protagonists of the ‘Dolce Vita’, the glitzy and glamorous Italian jet-set scene, but a drugs scandal in 1970 hurt his screen career. <br />
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Walter Chiari was the stage name of Walter Annicchiarico, born in Verona, Italy in 1924. His father, Carmelo Annichiarico, was a police official and his mother Enza was an elementary school teacher. He was very athletic and he became both a swimming and boxing champion. The young Chiari joined the army of the Italian Social Republic of Salò. After the end of the war, he spent a few months in prison for collaborating with the fascist regime. He got his first stage job thanks to actress Marisa Maresca, who offered himn a part in the show Se ti bacia Lola (If you kiss Lola). Besides for his good looks, he was spotted fort his improvisation talent. He started his film career with a role in the drama Vanità/Vanity (Giorgio Pastina, 1947) with Liliana Laine and Dina Galli. The film, set in nineteenth century Milan, is based on a play by Carlo Bertolazzi. Chiari was awarded a Nastro d'Argento for best debut performance. Next he co-starred in the comedy hit Totò al giro d'Italia /Totò at the Tour of Italy  (Mario Mattoli, 1948) starring Totò. It was the first of a long series of comedies, all directed by Mario Mattoli. Very successful was also I cadetti di Guascogna/The Cadets of Gascony (Mario Mattioli, 1950), in which he acted with another newcomer, Ugo Tognazzi. He also made comedies with other directors, such as O.K. Nerone/O.K. Nero (Mario Soldati, 1951) with Gino Cervi as emperor Nero. <br />
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Chiari appeared as a young, handsome scoundrel opposite Anna Magnani in Luchino Visconti's neorealism drama Bellissima (1951). The film, which is a satire of the film industry, was shot at the Cinecittà studios. Alessandro Blasetti, a contemporary film director, appears as himself. Bellissima centers on a working-class mother in Rome, Maddalena (Anna Magnani), who drags her young daughter (Tina Apicella) to Cinecittà for the ‘Prettiest Girl in Rome’ contest. Maddalena is a stage mother who loves movies and whose efforts to promote her daughter grow increasingly frenzied. <br />
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Chiari's first foreign film was the French-Italian film La minute de vérité/The Moment of Truth (Jean Delannoy, 1952) with Michèle Morgan and Jean Gabin. It was followed by Nana/Nanà (Christian-Jaque, 1955), an adaptation of Émile Zola's novel Nana, starring Martine Carol and Charles Boyer, and the crime film Je suis un sentimental/Headlines of Destruction (John Berry, 1955) with Eddie Constantine. In Italy, he co-starred in the comedy Donatella (Mario Monicelli, 1956) for which Elsa Martinelli won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 6th Berlin International Film Festival. <br />
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For MGM, Chiari co-starred in the romantic comedy The Little Hut (Mark Robson, 1957). During the making of The Little Hut, he met Ava Gardner  who was still formally married to Frank Sinatra but lived already estranged from him. They started a passionate and tumultuous relationship. Next he featured for Columbia in Bonjour Tristesse/Hello, Sadness (Otto Preminger, 1958) based on the novel by Françoise Sagan. In the meantime he figured permanently in the tabloids as a womanizer. He had affairs with Silvana Pampanini, Elsa Martinelli, Delia Scala, Lucia Bose (with whom he had a long engagement ), Anita Ekberg, Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy and Italian singer Mina.<br />
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During the 1960s, Walter Chiari continued to stare in light comedies by such Italian directors as Steno, Mario Monicelli, Dino Risi and Nanni Loy. Unlike many Italian actors of the time he had a full and fluent command of English that he put to good use in his Broadway spell, which in 1961 saw him performing in The Gay Life (a musical comedy inspired by an Arthur Schnitzler play) for 113 shows. He starred in They're a Weird Mob (Michael Powell, 1966), the last of the Powell and Pressburger films, based on a popular Australian novel by John O'Grady. He also appeared in Orson Welles’ Chimes at Midnight (1966), the Pan-European action-comedy Monte Carlo or Bust! (Ken Annakin, Sam Itzkovitch, 1969) , the Australian film Squeeze a Flower (Marc Daniels, 1970), and the crime film The Valachi Papers (Terence Young, 1972) with Charles Bronson and Lino Ventura. The Valachi Papers tells the true story of Joseph Valachi, a Mafia informant in the early 1960s. In 1969 Chiari had married actress Alida Chelli. They would divorce in 1981 and had one child. <br />
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In 1970 Walter Chiari was arrested and jailed in Rome on suspicion of cocaine possession and trafficking, with 70 days passing before he was bailed. Despite being known in show business as a cocaine user, Chiari enjoyed for years the de facto impunity often accorded to members of his trade (provided he kept his addiction private). The willingness of authorities to prosecute him, mounting a nationwide scandal, was seen by some as an attempt to distract public opinion from the fruitless search for the culprits of the Piazza Fontana bombing, which precipitated Italy in fear. After his release and partial acquittal (he was deemed not guilty of the trafficking count and received a lenient sentence for the charge of drug possession for personal use) his career never completely recovered. According to Wikipedia, the Italian state television was off-limits for him, and all he could aspire to were parts in low-key comedies and local television appearances. He concentrated on theatre and gave some good performances in plays such as Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The Critic, Marc Perrier's Six heures au plus tard and Samuel Beckett's Endgame. <br />
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His final film was the Italian romance-drama Tracce di vita amorosa/Traces of an Amorous Life (Peter Del Monte, 1990) with Valeria Golino, which was in the competition at the 47th Venice International Film Festival. The following year, Chiari died of a sudden heart attack in Milan, at home, in 1991. On that same day he had undertaken a complete, positive medical check-up. Not showing up at a dinner with a theatre manager where he should have discussed his involvement in a new production he was found by his host (who reached the residence where he was living at the time) sitting in an armchair, in front of a functioning television. His gravestone carries the line he once mentioned to director Dino Risi as his favourite choice for an epitaph: &quot;Don't worry, I'm merely catching up with sleep&quot;. His son, Simone Annicchiarico (1970) became the lead singer of an Italian rock band and hosted the TV programs La Valigia Dei Sogni/Suitcase Of Dreams (2008-2009) and Italia's Got Talent (2009).<br />
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Sources: Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Gary Brumburgh (IMDb), Biografieonline (Italian), Wikipedia (Italian and English) and IMDb.</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/leosagnotti/">leosagnotti</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/leosagnotti/55479416867/" title="Sussurri del passato"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55479416867_bc9a85d914_m.jpg" width="240" height="111" alt="Sussurri del passato" /></a></p>

<p>Nell'antico monastero</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/thomaswuestefeld/">thomaswuestefeld</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomaswuestefeld/55480493109/" title="E5 Oberstdorf-Meran, Trans-Alp-Trek"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55480493109_77bf0917aa_m.jpg" width="240" height="148" alt="E5 Oberstdorf-Meran, Trans-Alp-Trek" /></a></p>

<p>tappe 6, von Vent Übergang nach Südtirol am Similaun und Abstieg ins Schnalstal. Vent Gasthof Weißkugel-Schnalstal</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/thomaswuestefeld/">thomaswuestefeld</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomaswuestefeld/55480315046/" title="E5 Oberstdorf-Meran, Trans-Alp-Trek"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55480315046_8a625701dd_m.jpg" width="240" height="142" alt="E5 Oberstdorf-Meran, Trans-Alp-Trek" /></a></p>

<p>Etappe 3 Übergang ins Inntal un d Aufstieg zur Zammer Skihütte. Memminger Hütte-Zammer Skihütte</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/7455207@N05/">SBA73</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/7455207@N05/55480231418/" title="La Torre, inclinada / The Tower, leaning"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55480231418_ac737a2acb_m.jpg" width="237" height="240" alt="La Torre, inclinada / The Tower, leaning" /></a></p>

<p>IN ENGLISH BELOW THE LINE<br />
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Fotografia feta amb la meva Hasselblad SWC, fabricada el 1976; objectiu Carl Zeiss Biogon f4,5 / 38mm, filtre carbassa; pel·licula Ilford FP4+ revelada en XTOL 1+1.<br />
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El molt turistic però no per això meny impresionant conjunt de la catedral de Pisa, amb el seu baptisteri i obviament la seva torre inclinada, que no deixa de ser el seu campanile. Suposo que per molta gent el fet que sigui inclinada és el més rellevant aquí, però jo trobo tot el conjunt, de marbre blanc i ampliament situat sobre una gran gespa verda, únic i insuperable.<br />
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<a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catedral_de_Pisa" rel="noreferrer nofollow">ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catedral_de_Pisa</a><br />
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Picture taken with my Hasselblad SWC, manufactured in 1976; Carl Zeiss Biogon f4,5 / 38mm, with orange filter; Ilford FP4+ film developed in XTOL 1+1.<br />
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The Pisa Cathedral complex—highly touristy, yet no less impressive for it—includes the baptistery and, of course, the Leaning Tower (which is, after all, its bell tower). While the tilt is likely the most notable feature for many people, I find the entire ensemble—crafted from white marble and set amidst a vast green lawn—to be unique and unsurpassed.<br />
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<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisa_Cathedral" rel="noreferrer nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisa_Cathedral</a></p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/thomashawk/">Thomas Hawk</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/55480445730/" title="Had to Find Some Higher Ground"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55480445730_95cb2af753_m.jpg" width="160" height="240" alt="Had to Find Some Higher Ground" /></a></p>


			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/7942705@N05/">Alan Edwards ARPS, EFIAP</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/7942705@N05/55478917017/" title="Venice"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55478917017_650a9572bf_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="Venice" /></a></p>


			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/28432918@N04/">werner boehm *</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/28432918@N04/55478774562/" title="Passo Pordoi-Bike Hero"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55478774562_7a4165a529_m.jpg" width="240" height="150" alt="Passo Pordoi-Bike Hero" /></a></p>

<p>Dolomites<br />
Italy</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/kneebee/">Knee Bee</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kneebee/55479841323/" title="bodies"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55479841323_2fb01f17de_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="bodies" /></a></p>


			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/203303816@N06/">Photon Obsolescence</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/203303816@N06/55480054155/" title="The Bay"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55480054155_7c12ce8bb4_m.jpg" width="240" height="166" alt="The Bay" /></a></p>

<p>Tourism 101:<br />
Manarola  / Manarôa / Manaea,<br />
Cinque Terre,<br />
Liguria,<br />
Italy / Italia,</p>
			<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/peterkelly1/">peterkelly</a> posted a photo:</p>
	
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/peterkelly1/55479217216/" title="Sealed With Wax"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55479217216_4ae242cd23_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" alt="Sealed With Wax" /></a></p>
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