St. Peter's Basilica-Rome
Its roots began with the first Christian emperor,
Constantine, in A.D. 324. By 1400, the Roman
basilica was in danger of collapsing, prompting
the Renaissance popes to commission plans for
the largest, most impressive, most jaw-dropping
cathedral the world had ever seen. Amid the
rich decor of gilt, marble, and mosaics are
countless artworks, including Michelangelo's
Pietà. Other sights here are a small
museum of Vatican treasures and the eerie underground
grottoes containing the tombs of former popes.
An elevator ride (or a rigorous climb) up the
tower to Michelangelo's glorious dome provides
panoramic views of Rome.
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The Duomo of
Florence
Begun in the late 1200s and consecrated 140
years later, the pink, green, and white marble
Duomo was a symbol of Florence's prestige and
wealth. It's loaded with world-class art and
is one of Italy's largest and most distinctive
religious buildings. A view of its red-tiled
dome, erected over a 14-year period in what
was at the time a radical new design by Brunelleschi,
is worth the trip to Florence. Other elements
of the Duomo are Giotto's Campanile (bell tower)
and the octagonal Baptistry (a Romanesque building
with renowned bronze doors)
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The Duomo of
Siena
Begun in 1196, this cathedral is one of the
most beautiful and ambitious Gothic churches
in Italy, with extravagant zebra-striped bands
of marble. Masterpieces here include a priceless
pavement of masterful mosaics, an octagonal
pulpit carved by master sculptor Nicola Pisano,
and the lavishly frescoed Piccolomini Library.
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Basilica di San
Francesco- Assisi
St. Francis, protector of small animals and
birds, was long dead when construction began
on this double-tiered showcase of the Franciscan
brotherhood. Giotto's celebrated frescoes reached
a new kind of figurative realism in Italian
art around 1300, long before the masters of
the Renaissance carried the technique even further.
Consecrated in 1253, the cathedral is one of
the highlights of Umbria and the site of many
religious pilgrimages. It took a direct hit
from the 1997 earthquakes but has miraculously
made a recovery
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The Duomo of
Orvieto
The work for "Duomo" construction
started in 1263 under the pontificate of Urbano
IV.
The Pope wanted to consecrate in this way the
so-called "miracolo del sangue": during
a Mass officiated by a Bohemian priest in the
Saint Cristina Church in Bolsena, during the
Eucharest, blood gushed out from the broken
Bread and fell on the body, now sealed into
a beautiful Gothic Reliquary. The visitor’s
attention is immediately drawn by the wonderful
Gothic facing, on which one notes a polyptych
decoration of mosaic works and bas-reliefs .
Inside, some chapels are structured with cross
vaults, some of which embellished by very important
frescos painted by Frà Giovanni from
Fiesole and by Luca Signorelli. In the transept
one may admire a Pity from the 16th Century.
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St. Mark's Basilica-
Venice
Saint Mark's Basilica is a monument made unique
by both its wealth of history and the magnificence
of its façade and interior. In essence,
it is a splendid workshop, where, through the
centuries, worked great Italian and European
artists.
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The Duomo of
Milan
It took 5 centuries to build this magnificent
and ornate Gothic cathedral, the third-largest
church in the world. It's marked by 135 marble
spires, a stunning triangular facade, and thousands
of statues flanking the massive but airy, almost
fanciful exterior
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