Italy (Ⅱ)

Italy (Ⅱ) 

Source: CCTV.com

08-02-2006 11:59

take a round trip all the way from upnorth to the south end of sicily! The trip has just begun!

It takes about one hour to fly from the Capital of the ancient Roman Empire to unified Italy’s first capital Turino.

Lying on the strategic location by Alps, Turino was an important military outpost set to guard the Roman empire’s northern boarder since 2500years back.

The city flourished in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries as the centre of the Savoy Kingdom, and capital of the Baroque.

Right in the centre, dominating the cityscape is Turin’s extravagant and famous Palazzio Reale, the royal palace. House of Savoy’s opulent home.

The royal dynasty dates back to the 11th century. The Savoy Family ruled this region in varying capacity until it gave up control of a unified Italy at the end of World War II.

The duke of Savoy moved from France to Italy in the 16th century and built this styles.

Wondering through the palaces 350 lavishly decorated rooms, one room in particular caught my attention….

Even under the Royal rule, Turino has always inherited a parliament political system of the Roman tradition.

The Cultural Minister of Turino, one of the politicians who also initiated city’s “Cultural Olympiad Program” were kind enough to give me grand tour in his working space.

today’s turin is a vibrant multifaceted metropolis. it appears to be also getting “higher quicker and stronger” in many aspects of city life, after have successfully hosted Winter Olympic Game 2006.

The a –year- long Cultural Olympic program initiated by the city counsel is a rather ambitious undertaking, that brings turino to the center of attention of the art world.

The program encourages non-conventional exploration and contemporary creations, laboratory work and a new relationship between art, the city and its people. ..

the city now is bursting with life and constantly on the move. It has become Italy’s modern and contemporary art capital and home to Italian cinema.

turino acclaims itself as the capital of the seventh art, when you visit the cinema museum, you understand why!

the National Museum of Cinema is located inside the Mole Antonelliana, the historic building representing the city of Turin.

The only one in Italy and among the most important ones in the world, The Museum has a uniquely comprehensive collection of cinema artifacts handled with an inventive flair.

designed by the great mind of Alessandro Antonelli, and was inaugurated in July 2000.The layout and details of the whole display bring smiles of wonder and amusement to visitors as soon as they set foot in any of the theme rooms.

Wondering through the history of moving images, starting with Chinese shadow puppet, each aspect of movie making is illustrated with original material from films that have become part of our collective culture. It is like a slow wander down memory lane or time travel ride.

For any movie goers and movie lovers, this is the most exciting ride!

Draws from the wealth and fabric of its history, keeps a finger on the pulse of new forces in all various theatrical expressions, the theatre scene in Turino has also caught attention around the world lately and this gentleman is one of the heavy- weight cultural figure of the city who can take credit for that.

As the director of Teatro Stabile di Torino, Walter Le Moli And believes that art is not only an reflection of life, also can be a driving force towards social and human growth.

actively participates in the development city’s newly- revived artistic dynamism.

Sicily.

200years ago, Goethe acclaimed that : Those who haven’t set foot in Sicily, haven’t been to Italy. It is still a valuable advice today for any tourist who hesitates to fly from the mainland. Washed by three different seas, standing in the crossroad of east and west. North and south, between Europe and Africa, latin west and Byzantine east, Sicily is a melting pot of civilizations, a land of multi- layered living history,

. Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans Byzantines, arabs… Normans germnas French and Spanish….A half dozen separate civilizations have grown, flourished and left their remanmnts for us to contemplate…

Known as one country within an island, in sicily you will discover a land of extremes: breathtaking mountains and active volcanoes, pristine beaches and ancient temples, Moorish cities and sleek resorts, whatever you fancy you will find your spot.

Located at the east side of Sicily, Catania was the most prosperous port city in Roman sicily since ancient time. Although continueally menaced by lava flows volcanic erauptions and earthquasl on secerl occasions,

Today Catania thrives as Sicily's second largest city, after the capital city perlamo. Located under the foot of Mount Etna, Catania is the must stop by hub for travelers on the way visiting Sicily’s most famous active volcano.

For me, actively doing sth while sightseeing always feels like a better combination.

Standing as high as 3342 meters, Mount etna is the highest peak and Europe’s largest active volcano.

lava flows of Mount Etna have shaped the land of Southern Sicily. Its fickle temperament may have destroyed many villages and towns in the history but today it also draws tourists from all over the world that contributes to catania’s prosperity.

has been damaged by lava flows and earthquakes on several occasions, most deadly during late 17th century, Catania extensively rebuilt on Baroque and neo-classical models, the oldest part of the cathedral (duomo) was constructed in 1092. Several royal personages are entombed here.

The Greek mythology and folklore assert the greatest influence on sicily there is no better place to marvel that part of history than paying a visit in Agrigenno. Kicated ib a okateay iverkiijubg sucukts siytgerb ciastm agrigento was founded as akragas around 5692 BC by greek. It was describe dby6 the Greek poet pindar as “ the most beautiful city of the mortals:”

Agrigento roman ruler Thero crowned his career with a victory in the chariot race at the Olympic games in 476BC.

Surprisingly, the art of making Sicilian chariots is astonishingly alive after 2000 years.

Of course today it is seen as a local cultural heritage than a racing vehicle

Chariots painting is a unique Sicilian local art of its own. It tells historical stories in colorful Sicilian style. The entire production is done by hands so it usually takes months to finish one chariots like this.

I wonder if Marco Polo also found something similar between his home country and the golden kingdom as he called it like I did today—both are people with a sense of profound pride about their history and culture, with a sense of strong family bond and the blood tie.

What strikes me most is “So is father so is son”, the common phrase in both countries has a particular meaning in Italy. Particularly in places like here. A job is seen as a obligation to carry on heritage and tradition rather than only a living bread.

kolymbetra garden was once a garden with an artificial lake, to provide fish for Theron’s dinners. Now it is taken care of by passionate volunteering workers from a non profit foundation, My guide Angela doesn’t see this as a job, but a pleasure taking care of this what she calls “magic garden of history”…

It was during the Arabic rule that orange and lemon was introduced to Sicily. But apparently there have been some other visitors from much more remote places….

Not often people would take two Italy’s biggest islands in one trip. but if you do like what I did , you will be surprised how distinctively different the two are.

It is neither a coincidence nor a fashion that nowadays Sardinia is the preferred destination for many tourists. The sea around this large Mediterranean island is among the most beautiful in the world

Calgary entry point to Sardinia for tourists. Besides it crystal clear sea water and on the most beautiful and longest beaches in the Mediterranean Calgary offers an unspoiled natural environment consisting of lagoons bird sanctuary and wildlife reserview which are unique in Europe.

Inland safaris

The Sardinian people are renowned for their spontaneous hospitality and like lall islanders thirst for contact with the outside world.

Rood…. Sardis offers an array of gastronomic specialty from the ancient cooking traditions of the shepherds to the sea food specialty of the coast.

The pond of moeltargius covers more than 1000 acres is border by Calgary. It used to be used as Sardinians’ salt mine. The exploitation of the pond as a source of salt is said to have started as early as a thousand years ago. Today, it is more known for its new visitors….

Editor:Wang Ping