This documentary series about Italy unfolds in 4 chapters: territory, design, architecture, and food. Watching it might be a great way to start planning a future trip to this enchanting country.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
The first place we visit is practically a theater on a mountain, designed and built to replicate places with religious significance in the Holy Land. The mountain, aptly named, is Sacro Monte (sacred or holy mountain) and is located in Piemonte, to the northwest of Milan.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
We visit the 28th chapel where the scene of Jesus before Pontius Pilate is depicted. We also learn a little secret about how these statues were created.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
Vennai is the most important marble quarry in Carrara. Luigi Pasquale talks about when he started working there at about 14 years of age.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
A quarryman has to have a passion for his work. Every block of marble is a challenge and has to be observed on all sides and many times to make sure it is good. But succeeding in cutting it and taking it out is an enormous satisfaction.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
Le Cinque Terre — a place so many visitors from other countries put on their must-see lists — is the topic of this segment. It's a marvelous example of the relationship between humankind and nature.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
One way for Le Cinque Terre to accommodate refugees landing in Lampedusa has been to teach them how to build dry-stone walls. This is a much-needed skill in the area and therefore the project is an advantage all around.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
People who want a spiritual but active way to see Italy often choose la via francigena (the road from France), the Italian pilgrimage route from France to Rome that corresponds to the perhaps more famous "Camino de Santiago" from Paris to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
There are different reasons one chooses to walk a path. The important thing is to feel the need to undertake it. It's not like a stroll in the park, but rather a challenge to one's body, mind, and spirit.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
The next stop is Novara, a city near Milan, with an interesting history related to when it was under Spanish rule. See map. The video mentions a special sesini tax, and to learn more, check out this lesson.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
The dome of the San Gaudenzio basilica is for sure the most important symbol of Novara. Now, visitors (who are not afraid of heights) can go up there for a magnificent view, but precautionary measures are taken for safety.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
Italy is known for fashion, and that includes shirts. Angelo Inglese, a shirtmaker from Ginosa, in Apulia, talks about how his shirts stand out for being inspired by local traditions, notably embroidery and crocheting.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
Angelo Inglese talks about how the company got its start, back in the fifties. His widowed grandmother and a next-door neighbor began sewing. Now, the company strives to be an enhancement to the old city of Ginosa.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
Tuscany is famous for its fine leather. The tradition goes back to medieval times and was a way to make use of the byproducts from slaughtering animals for meat, in other words, the hide.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
There are more steps to making these skins into fine shoe leather, with the result of turning waste products into noble ones.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
We move on to Biella, northwest of Milan, where the quality of the water contributes to the excellent quality of the woolen fabrics produced by the historical Zegna company.
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