Milan's layout, with streets either radiating from the Duomo or circling it, reveals that the Duomo (means Cathedral), occupies what was the most central site in Roman Mediolanum, that of the public basilica facing the forum.

Saint Ambrose's 'New Basilica' was built on this site at the beginning of the 5th century, with an adjoining basilica added in 836.

When a fire damaged both buildings in 1075, they were later rebuilt as the Duomo.

The interior of the cathedral includes a huge number of monuments and artworks. These include:

  • The Archbishop Alberto da Intimiano's sarcophagus, which is overlooked by a Crucifix in copper laminae (a replica).
  • The sarcophagi of the archbishops Ottone Visconti and Giovanni Visconti, created by a Campionese master in the 14th century.
  • The sarcophagus of Marco Carelli, who donated 35,000 ducati to accelerate the construction of the cathedral.
  • The three magnificent altars by Pellegrino Pellegrini, which include the notable Federico Zuccari's Visit of St. Peter to St. Agatha jailed.
  • In the right transept, the monument to Gian Giacomo Medici di Marignano, called "Medeghino", by Leone Leoni, and the adjacent Renaissance marble altar, decorated with gilt bronze statues.
  • In front of the former mausoleum is the most renowned work of art of the cathedral, the St. Bartholomew statue by Marco D'Agrate.
  • The presbytery is a late Renaissance masterpiece composing a choir, a Temple by Pellegrini, two pulpits with giant telamones covered in copper and bronze, and two large organs. Around the choir the two sacristies' portals, some frescoes and a fifteenth-century statue of Martin V by Jacopino da Tradate) can be seen.
  • The transepts house the Trivulzio Candelabrum, which is in two pieces. The base (attributed to Nicolas of Verdun, 12th century), characterized by a fantastic ensemble of vines, vegetables and imaginary animals; and the stem, of the mid-16th century.
  • In the left aisle, the Arcimboldi monument by Alessi and Romanesque figures depicting the Apostles in red marble and the neo-Classic baptistry by Pellegrini.
  • A small red light bulb in the dome above the apse marks the spot where one of the nails from the Crucifixion of Christ has been placed.
  • In November-December, in the days surrounding the birthdate of the San Carlo Borromeo, a series of large canvases, the Quadroni are exhibited along the nave.


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Italy has 43 recognized World Heritage sites and 50 registered on a proviisonal list.

This is a heritage that the Italian Commissioner for Unesco, Giovanni Puglisi, wants better protected and managed.

UNESCO'S.

  • 1979 Rock Drawings in Val Camonlca
  • 1980 Milan, Church of S. Maria delle Grazie with "The Last Supper" by Leonardo da Vinci
  • 1982 Fìorence, Historic Centre
  • 1987 Vertice and its lagoon
  • 1987 Pisa, Cathedral Square
  • 1990 San Gìmignano, Historic Centre
  • 1993 The Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera
  • 1994 Vicenza and the Palladian villas of thè Veneto
  • 1995 Siena, Historic Centre
  • 1995 Naples, Historic Centre
  • 1995 Crespi d'Adda, Historic Centre
  • 1995 Ferrara, City of the Renaissance and its Po Delta
  • 1996 Castel del Monte
  • 1996 The Trulli of Alberobello
  • i 996 Early Christian buildings in Ravenna
  • 1996 Pienza, Historic Centre
  • 1997 The Royal Palace at Caserta, the Park and the San Leucio complex
  • 1997 Turin, The residences of the Savoy dynasty
  • 1997 Padua, Botanical Garden
  • 1997 Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and their Islands (Paìmaria, Tino and Tinetto)
  • 1997 The Cathedral, Torre Civica and Piazza Grande, Modena
  • 1997 Archaeological areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunzìata
  • 1997 Amalfi Coast
  • 1997 Archaeological area of Agrigento
  • 1997 Piazza Armerina, Villa of Casale
  • 1997 The Su Nuraxi complex in Barumini
  • 1998 Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park with the Archeeological sites of Passtum and Velia, and the Certosa di Padua
  • 1998 Urbino, Hisforical Centre
  • 1998 Patriarchal Basilica of Aquileia
  • 1999 Vi'lla Adriana (Tivoli)
  • 2000 The Aeolian Islands
  • 2000 Assisi, Basilica of San Francesco and Other Franciscan Sites
  • 2000 City of Verona
  • 2001 Villa d'Este (Tivoli)
  • 2002 Late Baroque towns of the Val di Noto
  • 2003 Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy
  • 2004 Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia
  • 2004 Val d'Orda
  • 2005 Siracusa, Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica
  • 2006 Genoa, le Strade Nuove and the System of the Palazzi dei Rolli
  • 2008 Mantova e Sabbioneta

ITALY/VATICAN (THE HOLY SEE):


  • 1990 Rome, historic centre and thè Properties of thè Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights, and Basilica of Saint Paul Outside he Walls

ITALY/SWITZERLAND:



  • 2008 Raetian Railway (shared with Switzerland)
Properties submitted on the Tentative List :
 
  • Lake Maggiore and Lake D'Orta lakelands (2006)
  • Historic centre of Pavia and Chartreuse (2006)
  • The city of Bergamo (2006)
  • Hanbury botanical gardens (2006)
  • Historic Centre of Lucca (2006)
  • Orvieto (2006)
  • Via Appia "Regina Viarum" (2006)
  • Villas of the Papal Nobility (2006)
  • Medici Villas (2006)
  • Historic Centre of Parma (2006)
  • Salento and the "Barocco Leccese" (2006)
  • Cattolica Monastery in Stilo and Basilian-Byzantine complexes (2006)
  • Ponds in the Bay of Oristano and the Sinis Peninsula island of Mal di Ventre (2006)
  • Scrovegni's Chapel (2006)
  • Fortress Town of Palmanova (2006)
  • Romanesque Cathedrals in Puglia (2006)
  • Monte Sant' Angelo and the Via Sacra Langobardorum (2006)
  • Taormina and Isola Bella (2006)
  • Archipelago of La Maddalena and Islands of Bocche di Bonifacio (2006)
  • Mothia Island and Lilibeo: The Phoenician-Punic Civilization in Italy (2006)
  • Bradyseism in the Flegrea Area (2006)
  • Cascata delle Marmore and Valnerina: Monastic sites and ancient hydrogeological reclamation works (2006)
  • Pelagos: The Cetacean Sanctuary (2006)
  • Wine Grape landscapes: Langhe, Roero, Monferrato and Valtellina (2006)
  • Island of Asinara (2006)
  • Sulcis Iglesiente (2006)
  • The Marble Basin of Carrara (2006)
  • The Transhumance: The Royal Shepherd's Track (2006)
  • Volterra: Historical City and Cultural Landscape (2006)
  • The Aniene valley and Villa Gregoriana in Tivoli (2006)
  • The Murge of Altamura (2006)
  • The Porticoes of Bologna (2006)
  • Karstic caves in prehistoric Apulia (2006)
  • Citadel of Alessandria (2006)
  • The Lower Palaeolithic Palaeosurfaces at Isernia-La Pineta and Notarchirico (2006)
  • Massif du Mont-Blanc (inscription comme patrimoine naturel transfrontalier, avec France et Suisse) (2008)
  • Arab-Norman Palermo and the cathedral churches of Cefalù’ and Monreale (2010)
  • The Prosecco Hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene. (Le Colline del Prosecco di Conegliano e Valdobbiadene (2010)
  • Mount Etna (2011)
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Venice: the most beautiful city in the world, the place to be seen, photographed, but specially, to be admired.

Where the traditional costumes - Harlequin, Briguella and Pantalone - have now been substituted by an ever ingreasing, phantasmagorical series of disguises that have fast become "traditional".

The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century B.C.

The city historically was the capital of the Venetian Republic. Venice has been known as the "La Dominante", "Serenissima", "Queen of the Adriatic", "City of Water", "City of Masks", "City of Bridges", "The Floating City", and "City of Canals". Luigi Barzini described it in The New York Times as "undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man".

Venice has also been described by the Times Online as being one of Europe's most romantic cities.




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The city stretches across 118 small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy.


The saltwater lagoon stretches along the shoreline between the mouths of the Po (south) and the Piave (north) Rivers.

The population estimate of 272,000 inhabitants includes the population of the whole Comune of Venezia; around 60,000 in the historic city of Venice (Centro storico); 176,000 in Terraferma (the Mainland), mostly in the large frazione of Mestre and Marghera; and 31,000 live on other islands in the lagoon.

The Republic of Venice was a major maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and a staging area for the Crusades and the Battle of Lepanto, as well as a very important center of commerce (especially silk, grain and spice trade) and art in the 13th century up to the end of the 17th century. Venice is also famous for its musical, particularly operatic, history, and its most famous son in this field is Antonio Vivaldi.

Venice is one of the most important tourist destinations in the world, due to the city being one of the world's greatest and most beautiful cities of art. The city has an average of 50,000 tourists a day (2007 estimate). In 2006, it was the world's 28th most internationally visited city, with 2.927 million international arrivals that year.

Tourism has been a major sector of Venetian industry since the 18th century, when it was a major centre for the grand tour, due to its beautiful cityscape, uniqueness and rich musical and artistic cultural heritage.

In the 19th century, it became a fashionable centre for the rich and famous, often staying or dining at luxury establishments such as the Danieli Hotel and the Caffè Florian. It continued being a fashionable city in vogue right into the early 20th century.

In the 1980s the Carnival of Venice was revived and the city has become a major centre of international conferences and festivals, such as the prestigious Venice Biennale and the Venice Film Festival, which attract visitors from all over the world for their theatrical, cultural, cinematic, artistic and musical productions.

Today there are numerous attractions in Venice, such as St Mark's Basilica, the Grand Canal, and the Piazza San Marco, to name a few. The Lido di Venezia is also a popular international luxury destination, attracting thousands of actors, critics, celebrities and mainly people in the cinematic industry.

However, Venice's popularity as a major worldwide tourist destination has caused several problems, including the fact that the city can be very overcrowded at some points of the year. It is regarded by some as a tourist trap, and by others as a 'living museum'.

The competition for foreigners to buy homes in Venice has made prices rise so highly, that numerous inhabitants are forced to move to more affordable areas of Veneto and Italy, most notably Mestre.




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