Pienza Was Pope Pius II’s Idea of the Perfect City: From our base in the spa town of Chianciano Terme, we took an excursion to Pienza, a small town in the Val d’Orcia in Tuscany. Pienza was Pope Pius II’s idea of the perfect Renaissance city and it is also famous for its pecorino cheeses. […]
The Dolomites: Live from Cortina d’Ampezzo
Winter sports, Apres-ski, James Bond film set – but even in Summer Cortina is not to be missed Cortina d’Ampezzo is the jewel of the Dolomites, the Italian mountain range that’s just a few hours away from Venice. More famous as a winter ski resort and setting for James Bond films, Tony and Helen Page […]
Burano: Live from the Island of Technicolor Houses & Lace
Burano’s Brightly Coloured Houses are a Photographer’s – and Dulux’s – Dream Burano’s No.1 tourist attraction is the eye-dazzling, brightly coloured terraced houses lining its canals, but its mask and lace shops, not to mention its restaurants, also draw the visitors in; Tony and Helen Page braved the crowds to see whether it was all […]
Murano: Live from the Island of the Glass Makers
Murano Glass is world-famous, but does the island match up to the Chandeliers? Murano’s reputation as a centre for glassmaking dates from 1291, when the Venetian Doge, frightened that the foundries’ fires would destroy the city’s largely wooden buildings, ordered the glassmakers to move to the island. Murano glass is still synonymous with Venetian glass, […]
San Gimignano: Live from its Tallest Tower
Don’t miss this walled medieval hill town with its famous towers in beautiful Tuscany San Gimignano in Italy is famous for its tower houses, and here, 54 metres up on top of the tallest one, the Torre Grossa, built in 1311, Tony Page gives you a 360 degree panorama of this famous walled medieval hill […]
Siena – Famous for its Medieval Heritage and the Palio
Siena – Home of the Palio and Panforte Capital of Italy: At the heart of central Tuscany lies Siena, a hill town that is famous the world over for its Palio and the Siena cake or panforte. Siena was built on three ridges which converge into the famous scallop-shaped central square, the Piazza del Campo. […]
Assisi: Live from the Rocca Maggiore
See the Basilica of St. Francis from the Rocca Maggiore tower, high above Assisi The Basilica of St. Francis is not the only thing to see in Assisi: high above the town is the mighty castle of Rocca Maggiore, a medieval fortress that was built almost a thousand years ago, and from its Eastern Tower, […]
Castel Gandolfo: Live from the Pope’s Summer Residence
Overlooking beautiful Lake Albano, Castel Gandolfo has both the Pope and Porchetta He missed seeing the Pope, or sampling the famous “porchetta“, and was nearly trampled underfoot by pilgrim hordes, but Tony Page enjoyed his visit to this friendly little town occupying high ground on the Alban Hills overlooking Lake Albano, site of the rowing […]
Cortona, A Medieval Town Under the Tuscan Sun
Cortona, Frances Mayes’ Town Under the Tuscan Sun Has Very Interesting Etruscan History: Cortona is one of the oldest hill-towns in Tuscany and its history can be traced back to the time of the Etruscans. In the past many writers have written about Cortona, but in more recent times, it was Frances Mayes’ “Under the […]
Orvieto: Live From The Moro Tower
A Bird’s Eye View of This Famous Etruscan City in Southwestern Umbria, Italy High above Orvieto atop the Moro Tower, Tony Page gives you a bird’s eye view of this famous mediaeval city in southwestern Umbria, Italy. Populated since Etruscan times, it’s built above almost vertical cliffs and dominates the road from Florence to Rome. […]