Tag Archives: Italian Villages

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Village Walks: Manarola In Cinque Terre, Italy (4K)

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Manarola is the second-smallest of the five towns of the Cinque Terre (after Corniglia), and the second town (after Riomaggiore) that you’ll encounter if you’re coming up the coast from the south. The colorful houses of Manarola seem to tumble down to its small harbor on the bright blue Ligurian Sea, making it one of the most photographed of the Cinque Terre’s picturesque villages.

Likely founded by the Romans, Manarola was built along a freshwater creek—its name is thought to refer to an ancient, large waterwheel (magna rota in Latin), a reproduction of which stands in the town. The current town dates to the 1300s, making it arguably the oldest of the Cinque Terre towns. Once part of the powerful Republic of Genoa, Manarola was once home to a castle and watchtower built to protect against marauding pirates. Historically and today, Manarola is known for Sciacchetrà, a sweet, highly-coveted dessert wine.

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Village Walking Tours: Pienza In Tuscany, Italy (4K)

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Pienza is a town in Tuscany, Italy. The central Piazza Pio II is framed by 15th-century buildings like the Pienza Cathedral and Piccolomini Palace. The latter was Pope Pius II’s summer residence and features a roof garden with valley views. Flemish tapestries and the pope’s embroidered cape are on display at the Diocesan Museum. West is the Pieve di Corsignano, a Romanesque church with a circular bell tower.

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Walks: Santo Stefano di Sessanio In Southern Italy

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Santo Stefano di Sessanio is a comune and hill town in the province of L’Aquila in the Abruzzo region of southern Italy. Located in the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park, in the highest region of the Apennines, this medieval hill town sits adjacent to the high plain of Campo Imperatore.

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Walking Tours: Ravello On The Amalfi Coast, Italy

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Ravello has been named the City of Music and is home to the Villa Cimbrone, Villa Rufolo, the striking Oscar Niemeyer Auditorium and a vibrant cultural scene: Ravello Festival, Ravello Concert Society.

Thousands of years of history, an enchanting mountaintop setting on Italy’s most beautiful coastline and views that have captivated countless souls, inspired artists and filled hearts with passion. Yet it’s just the beginning of what you will find in this charming village on the Amalfi Coast. There are still stories to be uncovered along its medieval streets, garden villas and ancient stone pathways.

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Hilltop Village Walks: San Gimignano, Tuscany, Italy

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San Gimignano is an Italian hill town in Tuscany, southwest of Florence. Encircled by 13th-century walls, its old town centers on Piazza della Cisterna, a triangular square lined with medieval houses. It has a skyline of medieval towers, including the stone Torre Grossa. The Duomo di San Gimignano is a 12th-century church with frescoes by Ghirlandaio in its Santa Fina Chapel.

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Village Walks: Capalbio In Grosseto, Western Italy

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Capalbio, in the province of Grosseto, is called the small Athens, due to its position and the historical and artistic importance assumed in the Renaissance era. Located in the south of Tuscany, Capalbio stands on a hill covered by the typical Maremma scrub. The municipality was awarded with the 5 sails and it is in first place in the Blue Guide for the reception and quality of its area.

Video Timeline: 0:00 – [Drone intro] 3:00 – [Walking tour begins / Start at Piazza Giordano⛲] 4:50 – [Porta Senese (Siena Gate)☀️🏰] 6:20 – [History of Capalbio…more later…at 11:10] 9:34 – [Piazza Magenta⛲] 11:00 – [Panorama and tour around the walls👣] 11:10 – [📋𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆📋] 14:50 – [Via delle Campane (Bells’ Alley)] 20:30 – [Piazza della Chiesa (Church Square)] 21:40 – [Aldobrandini Castle / Collacchioni Palace🏰] 22:10 – [Church of St.Nicola – *tour inside*☀️⛪] 26:10 – [D’Annunzio’s poem of Capalbio🎼] 27:50 – [Northern Gate🏰] 28:35 – […touring the narrow medieval alleys of Capalbio…👣] 53:20 – [Walking along the walls – history of the walls☀️🏰] 1:01:00 – [☕️…some relax after this beautiful walk!…minutes of Ambient Sounds☕️]

Its history is closely connected to the Tre Fontane Castle of Rome, which today dominates the valley below. The different and characteristic neighboring hamlets make the village very famous. All small and characteristic, some of the hamlets are also known for the wonderful beaches, which offer numerous services and are suitable for families with children and for young people looking for fun.

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Village Walks: Rocchetta Nervina In Liguria, Italy

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Rocchetta Nervina is a small village in the province of Imperia in Liguria (Italy) with 291 inhabitants. It is built at an altitude of 235 meters, at the bottom of the Barbaira valley, a tributary of the Nervia coming down from the ridge separating the valleys of Nervia and Roya.

Surrounded by mountains, Monte Abelio (1015m), Monte Terca (1070m) and Monte Morgi (870m). Its French twin locality is Sospel. They are located at the same level and at an equal distance (approximately 10 km) on each side of the border.

Rocchetta means small rock or fortress, citadel.Nervina is derived from the name of Nervia. Old fortified town in the 12th century, it was called “Castrum Barbairre”, it was destroyed by the Marquis of Dolceaqua (the same as that of the michettes).

In the middle of the 16th century the castle of Monte Abelio controlled the Roya valley Rochetta is isolated and in a cul-de-sac, its defensive system is particular, access is allowed there thanks to two bridges from medieval times called “humpbacks”.It is still inaccessible today except on foot and of course by Vespa!!!

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Village Walk: Dolceacqua In Northwestern Italy (4K)

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Dolceacqua is a comune in the Province of Imperia in the Italian region Liguria, located about 120 kilometres southwest of Genoa and about 35 kilometres west of Imperia, on the border with France.

The first official document that quotes Dolceacqua dates back to 1151, when the accounts of Ventimiglia had the first heart of the castle built at the top of the rocky speron overlooking the creek where the valley tightens and forks: the Roja valley on one side, the Val Nervia on the other.

In 1270 Dolceacqua was purchased by the Doria of Genoa and over the centuries the “Earth” was developed in the town that stands at the foot of the castle.

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Village Walks: Varenna On Lake Como, Northern Italy

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Varenna is a very romantic and suggestive place, overlooking the waters of the Lario. In Lombardy, it is perhaps the most suitable destination if you want to treat yourself to an alternative weekend. Varenna, just over 700 inhabitants, is a village located in the province of Lecco, about 20 minutes from the city.

The beating heart of the village is its central square, overlooked by the Church of San Giorgio. The building, dating back to the thirteenth century, was built on the foundations of an ancient Roman temple and is a splendid example of medieval Lombard architecture. A few steps away, on the opposite side of the square, we can admire the Church of San Giovanni Battista, dating back to the 11th century. Both religious buildings preserve, inside them, precious frescoes and some pictorial fragments of ancient origins.

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Village Walks: Guarcino In Lazio, Central Italy (4K)

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A walking tour in Guarcino, region 𝗟𝗮𝘇𝗶𝗼, central Italy, province of Frosinone, a small town of about 1.500 inhabitants.

The origins of Guercino date back to the 8th century BC, when it was a settlement with the name of Vercenum of the Ernici, a pre-Roman Italic people, and strategic point in the valley of the Aniene river. Nowadays it is a favorite starting point for excursions into the limestone mountains, amid age old trees, spring waters and picturesque grottos.