Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Not a single square meter is ever wasted. Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Ziena, long arrival to Florence, is known as La Mata, the beloved. Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music The ancient hilltop towns of Tuscany nestle, where fortresses once commanded the landscape. Music Music Music Music Music Once a busy commercial port, Pisa is now known for a 12th century bell tower that began to lean only five years after it was built. Now cables hold it in place. Music Music Music Galileo, a native of Pisa, stood atop the tower and discovered the laws of gravity. Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music The walled cities of Umbria, modern as they are, have never lost their medieval aura. Music Music Music Music Music The new and the very, very old stand side by side in this constantly surprising place. Music This is a country that has always known how much to render unto Caesar and how much to render unto God. Music Assisi and the humble Saint Francis. It is impossible to think of one without the other. Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music After so many centuries, it is amazing that the soil still has the power to turn the landscape so green. Music Music Music Grapes and tomatoes. Could there even be an Italy without them? Music Or without that world famous human warmth? Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music But it takes more than a canal to make a town of Venice. Music Music Music Music Music In the whole world there is only one Venice, La Serenissima, the serene one. Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Soaring over the Grand Canal is the moment of a lifetime, matched only perhaps by a romantic midnight gondola ride under the Rialto Bridge. Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Even from this height we cannot begin to see her 150 canals, her 400 bridges. Music Music The Po River cuts across the entire width of Italy from the Adriatic to sources in the French Alps. Music Music Music Music Music For her entire length her waters nourish the land. Music Music Italian ingenuity also helps. Music Music Music Music Music Music More abundant than even the water is that other of life's necessities, the sun, il sole. Where else in the world would they have written a love song to it? Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music In this country you can drive past an old farmhouse or climb over a fertile field and be struck suddenly by the presence of the modern world. Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Genoa is Italy's largest seaport. Through here pass goods from the great industrial cities of the north, Milano and Torino. She once ruled the Mediterranean. From here explorers and traders departed and changed the history of the world. Christopher Columbus was born here. Where would we be without him? Music Speed is illusory when you are bound to the earth. Ours is the freedom to go wherever we wish. And that park over there, those wheat fields, the city beyond the river's bend. Music Music Music Music Music Music Music In old Verona one can still almost hear the clashing swords of Montagues and Capulets. Music Music Elegant Treviso is where the nobility vacationed when the hot moist summers of nearby Venice became unbearable. Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Grapes in La Provincia di Venezia will produce the favorite local wine, the Pinot Grigio. Music The roads narrow and begin to switch back on themselves. These are the signs we are approaching l'Alpi Tirolesi, the Tyrolean Alps. Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Coming into Lake Como, Italy's northernmost lake, is a descent into another time. Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music The villas that touch the water's edge have a dignity, a modest elegance not often seen in the modern world. Music We have seen Italy as few people ever have, and yet it is a beginning only. Like the aroma of a rich chianti before it is sipped, or the intriguing taste of antipasto, the first timid kiss between lovers. To know Italy is to discover her soul, and that, fortunately, takes a lifetime. Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music