Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
What's so special about Lecce? It has something to do with the kind of stone found there. And masters of art and architecture knew how to make beautiful buildings with it, giving rise to the Lecce Baroque.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
Visiting Piazza Falconieri makes you feel as if you were in a fairytale. The stone used for these beautiful buildings and decorations has a particularly interesting story.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
In addition to its Baroque art and architecture, Lecce has a rich ancient history, underscored by a Roman amphitheater, in part still standing, right in the middle of the city. But Lecce's history goes even further back than that.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
We visit a famous monastery near Lecce, which got its name from the Olivetan monks who lived there. They had come from another famous monastery in the province of Siena, the Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore. Alberto Angela describes the symbolism of the beautiful, mid-sixteenth century canopy well in the cloister. Today, the monastery houses the University of Salento.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
The monastery boasts a beautiful, wide staircase from the first half of the 18th century, with some curious charcoal drawings whose purpose remains a mystery. The monastery went through several transformations before becoming what it is today, the seat of the University of Salento.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
We're back in the center of Lecce, where there's one of the most beautiful piazzas in Italy, the Piazza Duomo (cathedral square). It can be described as theatrical and eye-poppingly stunning, but it also had an important practical function in its past.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
In 1693, there was a terrible earthquake in the south-eastern part of Sicily, and much of it was razed to the ground. The subsequent rebuilding of the cities followed the tenets of the Baroque style that had already taken hold during the Spanish reign.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
In Noto, there are two churches facing each other, with the interesting characteristic of having being built to house Benedictine nuns. One of them, the church of Santa Chiara (Saint Clare), went on to become one of the most important examples of Baroque architecture in Sicily.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata is one of the largest private residences in all of Noto. Built in the eighteenth century in Baroque style, it was the urban residence of the noble Nicolaci family. Its splendid Baroque balconies, together with the façade of the Church of Montevergine, contribute to creating one of the most characteristic corners of all Noto.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
There are a good ninety rooms in Palazzo Nicolaci. As on the outside of the building, symbolism pervades every space, as if there were the fear of emptiness. And, in true Baroque style, it was all created to amaze the eye of the beholder.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
Our journey takes us to Modica, in Sicily, where the historic center of the city had to be rebuilt entirely because of an earthquake in 1693. There was also a great flood in the twentieth century, resulting in some other major changes in the layout of the city. It remains a beautiful Baroque city, full of wonders.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
By observing the damage wrought by earthquakes, architects were able to figure out the best way to build churches to withstand future seismic events. So, in addition to the Baroque style present in cities like Ragusa, in Sicily, practical considerations were also at the source of certain architectural choices.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Italy
Our final stop in the Baroque south of Italy is the church of San Giorgio, a masterpiece of architecture, admired by the entire world. The cathedral appears in the opening credits of the Italian TV series "Inspector Montalbano," and it also features in some episodes.
Difficulty: Advanced
Italy
Naples was chosen for the Earth Day Italy celebration. The choice had special meaning in light of the problems Naples has had in the past regarding waste management.
Difficulty: Adv-Intermediate
Italy Neapolitan
The Naples Christmas market from up close. It's a rowdy scene, and there's a lot going on all at once. The famous horn shaped talisman called the cornetto is taken quite seriously as well as other instruments for keeping away the malocchio (evil eye). For more information about the cornetto, and the three r's referred to in the video, see this article in Italian.
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