Great Big Story (February 29, 2024); The Italian Alps, home to countless quintessential Italian villages…and one not-so traditional. Welcome to Gurro, the Scottish village in Italy.
So what actually makes this village Scottish? Legend has it that the population descended from Scottish soldiers, who stumbled across the area whilst fleeing a battle 500 years ago.
But it’s not just their supposed ancestors flying the Scottish flag – the inhabitants today wear traditional tartan, grab drinks in their local Scottish bar and they even mix Scottish into their language…Ay, can you believe it! These are the Italian locals keeping this delightfully unexpected Scottish tradition alive.
VIRTUAL TOUR (February 25, 2024): Verona is a city in northern Italy’s Veneto region, with a medieval old town built between the meandering Adige River. It’s famous for being the setting of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.”
A 14th-century residence with a tiny balcony overlooking a courtyard is said be “Juliet’s House.” The Verona Arena is a huge 1st-century Roman amphitheater, which currently hosts concerts and large-scale opera performances.
Timestorm Films (February 24, 2024): The Dolomites, also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range in northeastern Italy. They form part of the Southern Limestone Alps and extend from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Valley in the east.
VIRTUAL TOUR Films (November 6, 2023) – Villa Monastero is located in Varenna, Province of Lecco, on the shore of Lake Como. The villa lies south of the village, halfway between Varenna and Fiumelatte, and includes a botanical garden, a museum, and a convention center.
Villa Monastero is an eclectic villa built in the Nordic style. The site was originally a Cistercian convent, founded at the end of the 12th century in Varenna, which now lies beneath the modern building. The convent grew in importance and wealth, purchasing many properties, especially around Lierna, but eventually declined to only six mothers, and was closed by papal bull in 1567.
The whole estate was purchased by Paolo Mornico in 1569, using his fortune amassed through iron mining in Valsassinia. In the 17th century the Mornico family incrementally rebuilt and decorated it in the eclectic style.
Lionard Luxury Real Estate (October 20, 2023) – A luxurious villa of very ancient origins, among the most famous by Lake Maggiore, is for sale in the stunning town of Belgirate, on the border with Stresa.
Its exclusive position directly by the lake, its 1,700 sqm of internal surface divided between the main house and the outbuildings, the private beach connected directly by an underground passage and the pier for private use contribute to the uniqueness of this property that belonged to the family of Napoleon III. Dating back to the early 19th century, the villa was built in a late neoclassical style on the walls of a previous religious building for Mathilde Laetitia Wilhelmine Bonaparte, daughter of Jerome, Napoleon’s younger brother.
Subsequently passed into the ownership of the Russian prince Vladimir Andrevic Dolgorukij, the property was remodeled only at the end of the last century, while the big park that surrounds it has remained intact in its original design, conceived by Anatoly Demidov, husband of Mathilde and well-known enthusiast and builder of gardens, especially in Tuscany. Its convenient natural location, in one of the towns of the Piedmontese shore of Lake Maggiore, ensures an always pleasant microclimate, while its strategic exposure, slightly oblique to the coast, has been designed to improve the panoramic view from any internal environment, rooms included.
Italy Together (October 16, 2023) – A picturesque town on the shore of Lake Maggiore north of Stresa, Baveno faces the romantic Borromean Islands and backs to the green hills surrounding the lake. The town of about 5,000 residents has seen a very long history, starting with prehistoric human existence. The many archeological finds testify to the many millennia that have touched this area.
The Romans left evidence in the way of necropoli, domestic wares, funerary items and coins. The town was along a crossroads between Ossola and the Alps, and later between Genova and Venzia, making it stragetically important with a once-flourishing commercial port.
The Flying Dutchman (October 8, 2023) – In Pera di Fassa, there is the little valley station of the two-tier Vajolet chairlift, taking us to the meadows of Pian Pecei (1,800 m). This is the starting point of the Vajolet Towers hike.
The gently rising Via delle leggende (legend’s trail) takes us to the hamlet of Gardeccia at almost 2,000 m asl. The route takes us deeper into the Valle di Vajolet, across the rocks of the Dolomites, up to the Rifugio Vajolet and the nearby Preuss mountain hut (2,210 m). Now we are directly at the famous Vajolet pinnacles, the rock towers that make up the striking shilouette of the Catinaccio mountain range. From here you can walk to the Rifugio Re Alberto or the Rifugio Passo Principe mountain huts.
Due to the changing weather situation we decide to do a shorter tour, the panoramic trail, stretching at the foot of the Larsec pinnacles on the east side of the valley, ending at Gardeccia. There are some slippery and steep point along this trail, but in general it is rather easy for those who are experienced mountianeers. The view ranges to the southern Catinaccio mountain range, from the Vajolet pinncales to the Croda di Vaél. After the way down to Gardeccia via the Via delle Leggende, we take the chairlift that takes us back to the Val di Fassa.
Moveora Films (August 4, 2023) – Verona is a city in northern Italy’s Veneto region, with a medieval old town built between the meandering Adige River. It’s famous for being the setting of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.”
A 14th-century residence with a tiny balcony overlooking a courtyard is said be “Juliet’s House.” The Verona Arena is a huge 1st-century Roman amphitheater, which currently hosts concerts and large-scale opera performances.
Tourister (April 20, 2023) – The historic city of Verona was founded in the 1st century B.C. It particularly flourished under the rule of the Scaliger family in the 13th and 14th centuries and as part of the Republic of Venice from the 15th to 18th centuries. Verona has preserved a remarkable number of monuments from antiquity, the medieval and Renaissance periods, and represents an outstanding example of a military stronghold.
The Traveler (Uploaded April 17, 2023) – Bellagio is a village on a promontory jutting out into Lake Como, in Italy. It’s known for its cobbled lanes, elegant buildings and Villa Serbelloni Park, an 18th-century terraced garden with lake views.
Nearby are the Tower of the Arts, a venue for exhibitions and performances, and the Romanesque San Giacomo Church. Close to rocky Loppia Beach, the Museum of Navigational Instruments displays sundials and compasses.
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