Italy is one of the most popular destinations in the world for travelers. Famous cities – Rome, Florence and Venice – bring thousands of travelers to the country but many miss out on some Italian gems that are off the beaten track. Not far from Naples is a picturesque coastal town called Sorrento and not far off its shore is the famous island of Capri. This beautiful region is characterized by rocky cliffs and mountains overlooking the sea dotted with quaint towns and villages. Travelers do not forget the breathtaking views from these two Italian destinations. Grab your passport and join us on a journey to Italy!

Sorrento can be described as one of Italy’s best kept secrets. Just over 30 miles from Naples, Sorrento sits atop a stunning cliff overlooking the Bay of Naples. Lemons and olives are produced here and the vibrant trees can be seen all over town. In town, travelers can wander through the streets and piazzas to small shops, restaurants and cafes. Just a short drive away is famous Mount Vesuvius, a day trip that many take when visiting Sorrento.

The island of Capri is one of Italy’s most famous vacation destinations. Many recognize the well-known photos from the island’s Blue Grotto, a legendary cave just off Capri’s coast. Humans have traveled here to experience the beauty of the island since Roman times, when travelers bathed in the blue waters of The Grotto. A walk around the island takes visitors past beautiful gardens, chic shops and cafes and to various vista lookouts that provide stunning views of the island’s coast.

Visiting Italy & Sorrento on an Italian vacation are a must for any traveler who wants to escape the cities and experience Italy’s natural beauty. A visit here will create unforgettable memories that last a lifetime.

You may be wondering while winter is hitting the United States what the weather is like in Rome, Italy. Here are the monthly average temperatures you can expect on a vacation to Rome.

January: 53˚F

February: 56˚F

March: 61˚F

April: 66˚F

May: 74˚F

June: 81˚F

July: 88˚F

August: 87˚F

September: 81˚F

October: 72˚F

November: 62˚F

December: 55˚F

Source: www.weather.com

While wandering the superbly preserved streets of Pompeii, keep an eye out for the cauponae, early fast-food restaurants loved by the ancient Romans. Located on several corners and looking like open-air bars, these one-room establishments were where busy citizens could grab a quick meal and glass of wine on the run. They were identified by colorful signs over their doors (one place excavated in Pompeii had a Phoenix; another sported an elephant and pygmy). And like modern coffee bars in Italy today, customers stood at an L-shaped brick counter to order. There were jars full of hot and cold food, as well as amphorae of wine, which they could consume on the spot, take out to a few wooden seats provided on the street, or, in some cases, to a small back garden.

The atmosphere at these take-out joints was casual. Dining out was only for the plebs; wealthy Romans ate at home, their banquets prepared by private cooks. The cauponae were mom-and-pop operations. For example, we know that the stall on the Via dell’Abondanza was owned by a certain Vetutius Placidus and his wife, Ascula. The décor also was simple. There were usually a few paintings of gods on the wall—often of Mercury, god of commerce, or Bacchus, the cheery god of wine.

The menus were straightforward. Favorites included fried fish, pork sausages, partridge stew, fried eggs, and boiled green vegetables, which diners would saturate with a pungent fish sauce called garum, a condiment the Romans used as often as ketchup. Coarse bread was available, and garnishes included raw garlic and fresh figs. The wine was cheap and quite sweet by modern standards—Romans drank it mixed with water.

And not everyone rushed off after the quick meal. Locals would hang out for hours to gossip. Many fast food bars even doubled as gambling spots, where men crowded around tables playing dice. The upstairs was sometimes used as a brothel, which implies an ambiance raunchier than the average fast food emporium today. Even in Roman times, customers fretted about the quality of fast food. There were rumors of human flesh, even fingers, being found in cauponae meals.

In the early 1500s, Rome was littered with ruins from the days of the ancient Empire, including great artworks buried amongst the rubble. The Renaissance had seen a sudden growth of interest in all things classical, and the popes were the richest and most cultivated art collectors in Italy. They began offering cash rewards for sculptures, until Rome was scoured by freelance treasure hunters on the prowl for pagan masterpieces.

The most dramatic discovery occurred in 1506, when a father-and-son team of excavators reported a find near the ruined Baths of Titus. Michelangelo himself excitedly hurried over to help with the work, followed by the pope’s official agent, Guiliano da Sangallo. When the excavators brushed away the dirt of 1,000 years, they found an enormous marble sculpture, perfectly intact, of a muscular Trojan hero being attacked by giant snakes. Guilano cried out in amazement, “This is the very Laocoön described by (the ancient Roman author) Pliny!” The spectacular image was carted off to the Vatican, and the lucky discoverers were awarded a lifetime pension of 600 ducats a year – the equivalent of approximately $75,000 a year now. Today, the Laocoön can still be seen in Octagonal Court of the Vatican Museums, where it graced the new art collection of Pope Julius II (the man who also commissioned the Sistine Chapel). The displays were greatly expanded by the next Pope, the young, art-loving Leo X, who appointed the painter Raphael as superintendent.

These early 1500s would be remembered as a golden age of discovery in Rome, with hundreds of pagan sculptures saw the light. Julius and Leo were also responsible for another revolutionary move, for which we can all be grateful – they were the first to open their private art collections in the Vatican and nearby Campidoglio to public visitors, thus creating the first “museums,” designed to encourage the appreciation of beauty and culture.

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Rome, Italy is home to some of the world’s most famous sights – the Colesseum, the Vatican, the Spanish steps & many more! As your strolling along the ancient streets of Rome, admire the breathtaking views of Rome!

In the film The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965), Michelangelo locks heads with his patron, Pope Julius II, over painting the ceiling of Sistine Chapel. Their battle of wills is not exaggerated.

On the surface, the pair could not have been more different. Michelangelo was only 33 years old when he began. He wore old clothes until they were rags, rarely washed, and lived in rustic simplicity. The 60-year-old Pope Julius II, on the other hand, was a brilliant soldier who rode at the head of his successful army all over Italy, the father of three illegitimate daughters, and would never allow his foot to be kissed, because it had been disfigured in his youth by syphilis. But both men shared uncontrollable tempers—as well as a deep passion for art.

Michelangelo tried to refuse the huge task of the chapel’s ceiling, but he eventually took the job because he needed the money. He soon scrapped Julius’ plan to depict only the Twelve Apostles, choosing instead a sprawling pageant of Judgment Day that reflected his own belief in the corruption and weakness of mankind. Michelangelo loathed Julius’ impatience to have the painting finished, his penny-pinching on art materials, and his late payments.

The Pope was exasperated by the artist’s slow pace and many changes of plan. When he came to inspect the work after several years, Michelangelo winched the old Pope up to the rickety scaffold. “When will it be finished?” asked Julius. “When I have done what I think necessary to satisfy art,” Michelangelo replied. The Pope bellowed in fury, “Do you want me to throw you from this scaffold?”

Michelangelo finished five years after he started, just before his 38th birthday. He was prematurely aged by the grueling project, his eyes so accustomed to the dark chapel that he could no longer bear sunlight, and he could only read by holding books above his head. Still, Michelangelo had 50 years more of life in him. Julius died shortly after the project’s completion, remembered more for that ceiling than all his brilliant Italian wars.

On a vacation to Italy, make sure to check out these must see sights in Rome!

Pantheon and Piazza Navona

See Piazza Navona, the church of San Luigi dei Francesi with its paintings of Caravaggio, the Pantheon, Spanish Steps, and Piazza del Popolo.

Ara Pacis and Spanish Steps

See the Ara Pacis, Borghese Park, and the Spanish Steps—the longest and widest staircase in Europe.

Castel Sant’Angelo and Trastevere

This is another possibility for a walking route to discover more of Rome’s splendors. See Castel Sant’Angelo, piazza Farnese, and the district of Trastevere with the Basilica of St. Maria in Trastevere.

Capitolini Museums and Picture Galleries, Borghese Gallery and Museum

Rome has many museums and galleries.

Church of Santa Maria – Bocca della Verità

Dare to put your hand in the Bocca della Verità (Mouth of Truth), the marble disk presumed to be the face of a river god that, legend has it, will bite off a liar’s hand.

Jewish Roman Synagogue

Visit the imposing Jewish Roman synagogue, which includes a small museum of Roman Jewish life and ritual. Also see the Jewish Quarter with its Tortoise Fountain.

Tiber Island

Cross the oldest surviving bridges, Ponte Fabricius or Ponte Cestius, to explore boat-shaped Tiber Island, which has long been associated with healing.

Marcello Theater

See this Roman theater later converted into a residence.

Giancolo Hill

Families may wish to spend some time at the Gianicolo Park, with its wonderful panoramic views of Rome, carousels, and puppet shows.

Villa Borghese

When in Rome, do as the Romans do and stroll in this vast green area, a combination of old and new parks. Admire its fountains, monuments, and sculptures.

Via Condotti

Shop on Via Condotti, which ends at the Spanish Steps. Here you will find boutiques of many world-famous designers. Italian craftwork and religious artifacts also make good buys.

Pasta and Gelato

Try some special pasta dishes, such as pasta alla carbonara, bucatini all’amatriciana, and lasagna. Also, enjoy memorable gelato and the white Frascati wine made in the Roman Hills for 2000 years.

Rome is an ancient Italian city that is home to some of the most famous and well known sights in the world. Centuries ago, the Roman Empire called this city its home and the remains of their power and eventual fall are frozen here in time. In Rome, you’ll explore ancient structures such as the Coliseum and Roman Forum and be taken aback by the magnificence of some of the world’s most famous churches. Grab your passport and get ready to “do like the Romans do” in Rome!

In Rome you will discover stories from the past about some of history’s most well known places and people. The Vatican Museum is a must see in Rome, but not many know much of the art housed in this enormous museum was once covered in the rubble and dust of the remains of the fallen Roman Empire. Learn about the discovery and excavation of many famous pieces of art during the Italian Renaissance! You’ll also learn about the grueling 5 years that Michelangelo spent painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and how he and the Pope clashed over what this famous ceiling would depict. After much debate and hard work, this fresco of the Last Judgment will take any visitors breath away.

A trip with Globus will ensure you see all of Rome’s must see sights during your trip. You won’t want to miss any of the sights on this list! Stroll down Rome’s streets to the Spanish Steps, head to St. Marks Square to marvel at the vast columns and statues, and stop in the Pantheon, a tribute to the gods of ancient Rome.

After you’ve finished sightseeing, make sure to wander down some of Rome’s famous streets of boutiques and designer shops, stop into a restaurant for a bowl of pasta, and don’t forget to save room for gelato! Book your trip today with Globus to discover the “Eternal City”—culture, history, architecture, and art await in Rome!

For one of the world’s most beautiful cities, Venice has certainly been featured in its share of melancholy movies: a morbid strain seems to flow through most of the films shot there. Perhaps this is an echo of the ambivalence felt by many 19th-century writers who came to Venice for spiritual rejuvenation but found the sumptuous decay of the city an inescapable reminder of mortality. Even the purportedly giddy Hollywood comedy Summertime (1955) has a bitter undercurrent, as Katherine Hepburn plays a lonely American spinster discovering an all-too-short romance in Venice.

The most haunting vision of the city is the art-house classic Death in Venice (1971), directed by Luchino Visconti from Thomas Mann’s famous novel. In the film, an ailing composer (Dirk Bogarde) comes to a grand hotel on Venice’s Lido beach in the early 1900s and becomes fixated on an angelic, golden-haired Polish boy. He finds himself obsessively wandering the crumbling, plague-ridden canals of the city, pondering his own lost youth and missed opportunities. A similar dark mood suffuses The Wings of the Dove (1997), based on the Henry James novel and starring Helena Bonham Carter. Here, a wealthy American heiress who discovers she has a fatal disease takes her friends to Venice for one last celebration of life, throwing herself into the carnival, a rented palazzo, and the joys of Italy before finally succumbing.

For many directors, the tranquil, picture-book quality of contemporary Venice seems to be a provocation to depict violence and criminal chaos. In Nicholas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now (1973), a murderer stalks Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie, with bodies popping up in many a lovely canal. Naturally, Venice has appeared in three James Bond movies: From Russia With Love (1963), Moonraker (1979), and Casino Royale (2006), where an entire palazzo collapses into the Grand Canal, boiling like a Venetian fish stew, and the film’s heroine goes to a watery, if suitably picturesque, grave.

On a Venetian vacation, any traveler will be simply amazed by Venice‘s views of winding cobblestone streets, hundreds of bridges, colorful gondolas, and luxurious palaces. Discover the breathtaking views of one of Italy‘s most beautiful and unique cities–Venice!