Posts

Showing posts with the label Italy

Size isn’t everything…

Image
Welcome to the Republic of San Marino: the fifth smallest country in the world and sole survivor of Italy's once powerful city-state network. According to tradition, it was founded by a Christian stonemason named Marinus in 301 and it's the world's oldest republic.   The site "San Marino: Historic Center and Mount Titano" has become part of the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2008. All lovers of history, and those who love picturesque panoramas, must visit this tiny nation.  Three fortresses - Guaita, Cesta, and Montale - crown the long ridge of Mount Titano; they are linked by a paved path and each of them has a tower from which there are splendid views of the Apennines, the coastal plain, Rimini and the sea. The capital, San Marino city, is set high on the western side of Mount Titano, beneath the fortress, and is encircled by triple walls. Borgo Maggiore, further down, was for centuries San Marino's commercial centre, and Serravalle, beneath its...

Abruzzo Trabocchi

Image
ABRUZZO TRABOCCHI By Morena Giannascoli Long time ago, on the Adriatic coast, fishermen erected wooden constructions clinging to the rock to capture the best of the marine fauna. These fishing machines made of logs and ropes are called trabocchi, and they follow each other with the joy and whim of youth from Ortona to Fossacesia, a coastline that today represents one of the wonders of the Mediterranean: the Coast of Trabocchi. From the hills above them, among scented brooms, olive groves and vineyards rich in their precious fruits covering the landscape, you can see these strange creatures that from the coast stretch out to the sea through a wooden pier. They seem like spiders intent on running their feet in blue waters and with antennas protruding forward to find the best fish. Over the years, many artists have represented the trabocchi in their works: painters, writers, photographers. Gabriele D'Annunzio also wrote: "The machine seemed to live a life of its own, to h...