Veneto: Soave

The town of Soave gave its name to a famous white wine from the Veneto, but this was not the reason for us to go there. After visiting Custoza, we continued to Soave, some twenty kilometres east of Verona, to see the historical centre of the town. This centre is…

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Rome: Santa Bibiana

The church of Santa Bibiana has one of the ghastliest locations in all of Rome. The building is hemmed in between the Via Giovanni Giolitti, the Via Santa Bibiana and the railway tracks starting at Rome’s Central Station (Roma Termini). The church has no neighbours, so it is extremely isolated.…

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Bologna: Santo Stefano

The complesso di Santo Stefano is a very special complex of churches, chapels, a courtyard and a cloister. Although the complex adjoins the Piazza Santo Stefano and a street named the Via Santo Stefano runs alongside the buildings towards the Porta Santo Stefano, the complex rather surprisingly does not have…

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Rome: San Cesareo in Palatio

A short version of the history of this church could be something along the lines of: “It survived in the past because it was mistaken for another church, and it survives in the present because it is a popular wedding location”. But that does not do the San Cesareo in…

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Rome: The Pantheon

The Pantheon is one of Rome’s most famous landmarks. In its current form, it dates from the second century. What is special, is that it is still more or less in one piece and that it has never been substantially modified. Rome does have a few other buildings from the…

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Siena: Libreria Piccolomini

The Piccolominis were a prominent and influential family from Siena. Their influence was not confined to the city itself: two of the family’s most famous members became popes. Enea Silvio Piccolomini (1405-1464) was elected Pope Pius II in 1458 and held that position until his death in 1464. His nephew…

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