But a pilgrimage through one of the most artistic cultures in the world also requires thorough, insightful journeys through its many sacred and cultural sites. To that end, we will visit multiple UNESCO sites in Italy. We\u2019ll begin with Rome, the vibrant Eternal City, and end in Venice, world-renowned for its outstanding architectural genius. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let’s explore what makes Rome, Venice, and other sites on our list worthy of being coined as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rome<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"UNESCO](\"https:\/\/www.sacredearthjourneys.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/48094478906_f7f00caa53_o-685x496.jpg\")
Rome, Lazio, Italy – September 10, 2017: Scene in Piazza Navona at sunset on a summer day with people strolling<\/em><\/strong>
\u2014<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nRome is among the lively UNESCO sites in Italy. It’s the capital and cultural powerhouse of Italy. Legend passed down through ancient and medieval historians and poets tell of the founding of Rome by twin brothers named Romulus and Remus in 753 B.C. From there, the city was the capital of the Roman Republic 510 BC to 27 BC, then the Roman Empire from 27 BC to 1453, and finally, the center of the Christian world (beginning in the 4th century before the empire\u2019s dissolve). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
UNESCO established Rome as a Cultural Heritage Site in 1980 (and expanded it in 1990) for its \u201cincomparable artistic value produced over almost three millennia of history: monuments of antiquity (like the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the complex of the Roman and the Imperial Forums), fortifications built over the centuries (like the city walls and Castel Sant\u2019Angelo), urban developments from the Renaissance and Baroque periods up to modern times\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a second criterion, the organization goes on to describe Rome as having had a profound influence on urban planning, architecture, the arts, and technology over time. Rome, with its well-preserved archeological and artistic artifacts and sites, bears witness to the cultural and artistic fluctuations that occurred throughout different periods of artistic and political history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On our journey<\/a>, we\u2019ll visit several of Rome\u2019s famous squares and fountains, including the Trevi Fountain, designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi, and made famous in Jean Negulesco\u2019s 1954 film Three Coins in the Fountain as well as Fellini\u2019s La Dolce Vita. Thousands of euros are still tossed every day into the Trevi Fountain, the proceeds of which now help subsidize a food market for the city\u2019s neediest citizens. To round out our tour we will visit the Piazza Navona, the site of an ancient Roman stadium and the Spanish Steps of Rome.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAssisi, the Basilica of San Francesco<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"UNESCO](\"https:\/\/www.sacredearthjourneys.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/48094476886_124516e414_o-685x298.jpg\")
Famous Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi (Basilica Papale di San Francesco) at sunset in Assisi, Umbria, Italy<\/strong><\/em>
\u2014<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nThis is one of the UNESCO sites in Italy that was founded to honor a saint. Francis of Assisi was born in 1181 or \u201882 and was a renowned Catholic friar, preacher, and philosopher. He\u2019s considered one of the most venerated figures in Christianity, being closely connected with the founding of the Franciscan Order. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Basilica of San Francesco was built after the canonization (or, the official declaration of a deceased person as a saint) of Saint Francis Pope Gregory IX in 1228. According to UNESCO, the site \u201crepresents an ensemble of masterpieces of human creative genius, such as the Basilica of San Francesco, which have made it a fundamental reference for art history in Europe and in the world. The interchange of the artistic and spiritual message of the Franciscan Order has significantly contributed to developments in art and architecture in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ll make it to Assisi on day 3 of our journey (April 7). There, among other activities, we\u2019ll climb the precipitous cobblestone streets of Assisi to the Basilica of St. Francis (1182\u20131226), the Patron Saint of Italy and one of the most beloved spiritual leaders in history, to spend some contemplative time. The spectacular two-level basilica is perched on the crescent-shaped mountain, and features frescoes by Cimabue and Giotto, and the saint\u2019s tomb in a stone sarcophagus, in the crypt. We’ll continue to the saint\u2019s birthplace and childhood home, then the bustling Piazza del Comune, or Townhall Square, and finally to one of Italy\u2019s most important goddess sites, the Roman Temple devoted to Minerva, goddess of art, music, and commerce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Historic Centre of Florence<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"UNESCO](\"https:\/\/www.sacredearthjourneys.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/48094463616_b09780b9be_o-685x457.jpg\")
Dome of Baptistery San Giovanni, Florence Italy<\/em><\/strong>
\u2014<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nForbes<\/em><\/a> has ranked Florence as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It\u2019s often called \u201cthe Athens of the Middle Ages\u201d and is today, among scholars, considered the center starting-point of the Renaissance. Florence has hosted a remarkable number of influential artists, most notably Dante Alighieri, the Italian poet and author of the Divine Comedy<\/em>. His work helped establish the Florentine dialect as a primary foundation for the modern Italian language. <\/p>\n\n\n\nFlorence stands as a chief example of the flourishing of Italian literature, yes, but of other arts as well. For example, in 1982, UNESCO declared Florence a Cultural Heritage Site for its \u201cpredominant influence on the development of architecture and the monumental arts \u2013 first in Italy, and throughout Europe: the artistic principles of the Renaissance were defined there from the beginning of the 15th century by Brunelleschi, Donatello, and Masaccio. It was in the Florentine milieu that two universal geniuses of the arts \u2013 Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo \u2013 were formed and asserted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Day 6 of our Journey<\/a>, we\u2019ll take a walking tour of Florence to see the Duomo di Firenze, the Cathedral of Florence, designed by the famous Italian architects Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi, and constructed between 1296 and 1436, when the spectacular dome by Filippo Brunelleschi was completed. Afterward, we\u2019ll follow in the footsteps of Dante Alighieri, the father of the modern Italian language and author of the Divine Comedy, by visiting his thirteenth-century home-museum, where he met the love of his life and his muse, Beatrice Portinari, who inspired his book Vita Nuova<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nCity of Verona<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"UNESCO](\"https:\/\/www.sacredearthjourneys.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/48094473801_286e40e931_o-685x428.jpg\")
Panorama of Verona in the morning haze, Italy<\/em><\/strong>
\u2014<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nVerona is an old, picturesque medieval city in northern Italy that\u2019s widely regarded (and visited) for its many shows, operas, and other artistic and cultural delicacies. Verona is also known for its setting in two of Shakespeare\u2019s plays, The Two Gentlemen of Verona<\/em> and Romeo and Juliet<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThough UNESCO declared Verona a Cultural Heritage Site primarily due to its architecture, the organization comments on its historical integrity as well: \u201cVerona today contains elements representing its 2,000-year history: the Roman period, Romanesque, Middle Ages and Renaissance which have survived intact until the 19th century. The walls surrounding the city prevented 19th-century development such as industry and railroads within the historic city. The urban structure, as a result, shows exceptional coherence and a large degree of homogeneity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our time in Verona, on day 7 (April 11) will consist of eating in the heart of the town and a visit to the Arena with its magnificently restored first-century Roman Amphitheater. This is followed by a literary pilgrimage to the stone balcony of the famed Gothic-style House of Juliet Capulet, built in the 1300s, and immortalized in Shakespeare\u2019s play, Romeo and Juliet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Venice and its Lagoon<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"UNESCO](\"https:\/\/www.sacredearthjourneys.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/48094576147_803fc847c6_o-685x457.jpg\")
Grand Canal in Venice with Santa Maria Della Salute Basilica in the background<\/em><\/strong>
\u2014<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nVenice is the final of the UNESCO sites in Italy that we’ll visit. The city attracts many pilgrims who specifically travel to Italy to see it. Located in the Veneto region of Northeast Italy, Venice was founded and spread over many islands in the 5th century AD. The city is undoubtedly a unique artistic achievement, an exemplary architectural example of how humans interact with their ecosystems to thrive. Highly technical and creative skills were needed for the formation of Venice’s hydraulic and architectural works. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to UNESCO, \u201cIn the Mediterranean area, the lagoon of Venice represents an outstanding example of a semi-lacustral habitat which has become vulnerable as a result of irreversible natural and climate changes. In this coherent ecosystem where the muddy shelves (alternately above and below water level) are as important as the islands, pile-dwellings, fishing villages and rice-fields need to be protected no less than the palazzi and churches.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Venice is the final city we visit on our journey through Italy and its cities and delicacies that make up \u201cthe sweet life.\u201d Our walking tour will begin in the fairy-tale splendor of St. Mark\u2019s Square, the true heart of Venice, and our cultural pilgrimage includes a visit to St Mark\u2019s Basilica, founded in 852 as the burial site of St. Mark himself, whose body had been pilfered from Alexandria, Egypt. The basilica is a treasure trove, including the Bronze Horses of St. Mark, brought from Turkey after the Sack of Constantinople, and a beautiful mosaic of The Pharos Lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u2014<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Rome is among the lively UNESCO sites in Italy. It’s the capital and cultural powerhouse of Italy. Legend passed down through ancient and medieval historians and poets tell of the founding of Rome by twin brothers named Romulus and Remus in 753 B.C. From there, the city was the capital of the Roman Republic 510 BC to 27 BC, then the Roman Empire from 27 BC to 1453, and finally, the center of the Christian world (beginning in the 4th century before the empire\u2019s dissolve). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
UNESCO established Rome as a Cultural Heritage Site in 1980 (and expanded it in 1990) for its \u201cincomparable artistic value produced over almost three millennia of history: monuments of antiquity (like the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the complex of the Roman and the Imperial Forums), fortifications built over the centuries (like the city walls and Castel Sant\u2019Angelo), urban developments from the Renaissance and Baroque periods up to modern times\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a second criterion, the organization goes on to describe Rome as having had a profound influence on urban planning, architecture, the arts, and technology over time. Rome, with its well-preserved archeological and artistic artifacts and sites, bears witness to the cultural and artistic fluctuations that occurred throughout different periods of artistic and political history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On our journey<\/a>, we\u2019ll visit several of Rome\u2019s famous squares and fountains, including the Trevi Fountain, designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi, and made famous in Jean Negulesco\u2019s 1954 film Three Coins in the Fountain as well as Fellini\u2019s La Dolce Vita. Thousands of euros are still tossed every day into the Trevi Fountain, the proceeds of which now help subsidize a food market for the city\u2019s neediest citizens. To round out our tour we will visit the Piazza Navona, the site of an ancient Roman stadium and the Spanish Steps of Rome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is one of the UNESCO sites in Italy that was founded to honor a saint. Francis of Assisi was born in 1181 or \u201882 and was a renowned Catholic friar, preacher, and philosopher. He\u2019s considered one of the most venerated figures in Christianity, being closely connected with the founding of the Franciscan Order. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Basilica of San Francesco was built after the canonization (or, the official declaration of a deceased person as a saint) of Saint Francis Pope Gregory IX in 1228. According to UNESCO, the site \u201crepresents an ensemble of masterpieces of human creative genius, such as the Basilica of San Francesco, which have made it a fundamental reference for art history in Europe and in the world. The interchange of the artistic and spiritual message of the Franciscan Order has significantly contributed to developments in art and architecture in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ll make it to Assisi on day 3 of our journey (April 7). There, among other activities, we\u2019ll climb the precipitous cobblestone streets of Assisi to the Basilica of St. Francis (1182\u20131226), the Patron Saint of Italy and one of the most beloved spiritual leaders in history, to spend some contemplative time. The spectacular two-level basilica is perched on the crescent-shaped mountain, and features frescoes by Cimabue and Giotto, and the saint\u2019s tomb in a stone sarcophagus, in the crypt. We’ll continue to the saint\u2019s birthplace and childhood home, then the bustling Piazza del Comune, or Townhall Square, and finally to one of Italy\u2019s most important goddess sites, the Roman Temple devoted to Minerva, goddess of art, music, and commerce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Forbes<\/em><\/a> has ranked Florence as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It\u2019s often called \u201cthe Athens of the Middle Ages\u201d and is today, among scholars, considered the center starting-point of the Renaissance. Florence has hosted a remarkable number of influential artists, most notably Dante Alighieri, the Italian poet and author of the Divine Comedy<\/em>. His work helped establish the Florentine dialect as a primary foundation for the modern Italian language. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Florence stands as a chief example of the flourishing of Italian literature, yes, but of other arts as well. For example, in 1982, UNESCO declared Florence a Cultural Heritage Site for its \u201cpredominant influence on the development of architecture and the monumental arts \u2013 first in Italy, and throughout Europe: the artistic principles of the Renaissance were defined there from the beginning of the 15th century by Brunelleschi, Donatello, and Masaccio. It was in the Florentine milieu that two universal geniuses of the arts \u2013 Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo \u2013 were formed and asserted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Day 6 of our Journey<\/a>, we\u2019ll take a walking tour of Florence to see the Duomo di Firenze, the Cathedral of Florence, designed by the famous Italian architects Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi, and constructed between 1296 and 1436, when the spectacular dome by Filippo Brunelleschi was completed. Afterward, we\u2019ll follow in the footsteps of Dante Alighieri, the father of the modern Italian language and author of the Divine Comedy, by visiting his thirteenth-century home-museum, where he met the love of his life and his muse, Beatrice Portinari, who inspired his book Vita Nuova<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Verona is an old, picturesque medieval city in northern Italy that\u2019s widely regarded (and visited) for its many shows, operas, and other artistic and cultural delicacies. Verona is also known for its setting in two of Shakespeare\u2019s plays, The Two Gentlemen of Verona<\/em> and Romeo and Juliet<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though UNESCO declared Verona a Cultural Heritage Site primarily due to its architecture, the organization comments on its historical integrity as well: \u201cVerona today contains elements representing its 2,000-year history: the Roman period, Romanesque, Middle Ages and Renaissance which have survived intact until the 19th century. The walls surrounding the city prevented 19th-century development such as industry and railroads within the historic city. The urban structure, as a result, shows exceptional coherence and a large degree of homogeneity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our time in Verona, on day 7 (April 11) will consist of eating in the heart of the town and a visit to the Arena with its magnificently restored first-century Roman Amphitheater. This is followed by a literary pilgrimage to the stone balcony of the famed Gothic-style House of Juliet Capulet, built in the 1300s, and immortalized in Shakespeare\u2019s play, Romeo and Juliet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Venice is the final of the UNESCO sites in Italy that we’ll visit. The city attracts many pilgrims who specifically travel to Italy to see it. Located in the Veneto region of Northeast Italy, Venice was founded and spread over many islands in the 5th century AD. The city is undoubtedly a unique artistic achievement, an exemplary architectural example of how humans interact with their ecosystems to thrive. Highly technical and creative skills were needed for the formation of Venice’s hydraulic and architectural works. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to UNESCO, \u201cIn the Mediterranean area, the lagoon of Venice represents an outstanding example of a semi-lacustral habitat which has become vulnerable as a result of irreversible natural and climate changes. In this coherent ecosystem where the muddy shelves (alternately above and below water level) are as important as the islands, pile-dwellings, fishing villages and rice-fields need to be protected no less than the palazzi and churches.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Venice is the final city we visit on our journey through Italy and its cities and delicacies that make up \u201cthe sweet life.\u201d Our walking tour will begin in the fairy-tale splendor of St. Mark\u2019s Square, the true heart of Venice, and our cultural pilgrimage includes a visit to St Mark\u2019s Basilica, founded in 852 as the burial site of St. Mark himself, whose body had been pilfered from Alexandria, Egypt. The basilica is a treasure trove, including the Bronze Horses of St. Mark, brought from Turkey after the Sack of Constantinople, and a beautiful mosaic of The Pharos Lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Assisi, the Basilica of San Francesco<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u2014<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nHistoric Centre of Florence<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u2014<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nCity of Verona<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u2014<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nVenice and its Lagoon<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u2014<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n