Rome is a City of Rich History and Ancient Ruins

Rome is the capital city of Italy as well as one of the most famous cities in the entire world. One of the things that makes it so unique from other cities is the fact that within its walls is the smallest nation in the world, the State of the Vatican City, a sovereign territory of the Holy See.

Within the Vatican City is Saint Peter's Square and Saint Peter's Basilica. Between the years 1656 and 1667, the open area in front of the basilica was redesigned so that it could accommodate the largest number of people possible during blessings given by the Pope. In addition to surrounding the Vatican, Rome has an extremely long and interesting history. The legend of its founding says that Romulus and Remus, twins who were supposedly raised by wolves, established the city. However, the archaeological evidence indicates that Rome developed out of pastoral settlements and became a city around the 8th century BC.

For around one thousand years, Rome was very important in the political world and was considered the largest and richest city in the Western world. It remained an important power even after the Roman Empire began its decline. However, it did eventually lose its status as a capital city to Milan and then to Ravenna. One of the things Rome is known for today are the ancient structures that still exist there. The Roman Colosseum has become a symbol of the Roman Empire and of Rome itself. It was the largest amphitheatre ever built by the Roman Empire and was capable of seating 50,000 people. Its original use was as a venue for staging combats between gladiators, which was a popular spectator sport of the time.

Rome is also home to many beautiful villas and gardens. The center of the city is surrounded by many green areas and gorgeous old villas. Among them is the Villa Borghese, which has a large, landscaped garden constructed in the 19th century naturalistic English style. The villa also has a number of buildings, museums, and other attractions. For the many tourists vacationing in Rome, there are a number of lovely places to stay, including both hotels and holiday apartments.

Examples of hotels in Rome, Italy are:

Hotel Aldrovandi Palace: This historical hotel was built in 1899 and remodeled in 2004. It is located between the Villa Borghese Gardens and the Borghese Gallery in a quiet, upscale residential area. It is also very close to the Spanish Steps. The hotel features an outdoor pool, private park, and garden dining.

Examples of holiday apartments in Rome, Italy are:

Casa Cesi: This two bedroom apartment sleeps up to six people and is located between the Vatican and the Spanish Steps. It's a spacious apartment that has been carefully decorated to make guests feel at home. The kitchen is modern and fully equipped and the master bedroom has an en suite bathroom.

Frattina Beauty: This stylishly decorated apartment has bright, cheery colors to welcome its guests. It's just minutes from the Spanish Steps in the historical centre. It's on the second floor of its building and has an elevator to get you there comfortably. The famous old structures of Rome make it an exciting place for any traveler to visit. While its sites may be ancient, its hotels and holiday apartments are comfortably modern to accommodate even the most discerning of vacationers.

Five Things To Do In Lombardy and Italian Lakes

A country of pasta and wine, sunshine and snow, renaissance palaces and roman ruins, Italy is as beautiful as it is complex, making this region of Italy so popular for people to come and have a self catering holiday here in a rental villa or a rustic rural house. Lombardy is an Italian region which occupies a major part of Po Valley.

Orobic Alps, Rhaetian and Lepontine form its northern borders and it has a hilly district having major Italian lakes from lakes of Iseo, Como and Varese to Easter slopes of the Lago Maggiore. This area is rich in water mainly because of Po and the affluents. The capital of the region is Milan and the major cities are Brescia, Bergamo, Varese, Mantua, Pavia, Cremona, Sondrio and Como.

The first thing you can do in Lombardy is to view its Romanesque architecture. Each major city of Lombardy has beautiful examples of this type of architecture and the most stunning monument from the Gothic period remains the Cathedral of Milan.

The period of Renaissance has left some sumptuous churches and splendid palaces in Lombardy that are worth seeing if you have visited the place. The Lombard paintings received their greatest splendor in the 15th century.

There are several art museums in Lombardy which include several sections dedicated to applied arts, sculpture and painting. The Brera Gallery exhibits some of the all-time painting masterpieces and the Poldi Pezzoli museum has a rich collection of paintings from great masters, art objects, fittings and jewelry. Painting masterpieces can also be seen in the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana.

The second thing that you will not resist from doing in Lombardy is participating in activities such as skiing and snowboarding. Being a region of snow, these activities are an all time favorites for the visitors of Lombardy.

There are even institutes that provide instant training to people who do not know how to ski or snowboard. Other activities that you will love to do include cycling, hiking, trekking, camping and wildlife viewing.Rental accommodation can be found in the towns or a chalet in one of the sky resorts.

Shopping is the third thing you will love to do in Lombardy as a visitor. Apart from Milan, there are other places also that provide great shopping facilities for the shopper's minds. Bergamo has the biggest shopping center of Italy named as Oriocenter and it offers everything that you can shop for including foot stuff, jewelry, clothes and Italian leather goods.

Bellagio also has several stores in its central district where you can buy some expensive leather and fashion goods. Visit the Strada Nuova area of Pavia which is a major pedestrian and shopping area of the town.

Some of the major Italian lakes include Lake Garda, Lake Como and Lake Maggiore. The fourth thing you can do here is to be on a steamer that cruises between stately gardens and resort towns. Also visiting the famous gardens of Isola Bella, Isola Madre and Borromean Islands is worth it.

The fifth thing you must do in Italian Lakes is to become a part of the film and music festivals, sporting competitions and local events that are held in the area all year through.

There are also several villas, villages and historic towns that are able to satisfy you if you are interested in exploring the culture of the area. The diversity of this region make it so accessible and easy for families to have a self catering holiday here.