After Stabiae was razed to the ground in a war, the Romans decided to build some luxury villas in the area. Luckily, some archeological digs led by archeologist Libro D'Orsi were effectuated in the 1950s, and 3 villas came to light.

The Villa San Marco is an amazingly well-preserved luxury villa from the Augustan period, with a wonderful panoramic view of Vesuvius and the gulf of Naples. Marika shows us around the four nuclei of the villa.

The name of the villa was inspired by the story of Dionysus who watched Ariadne while she slept. It was excavated first by the Bourbons but was buried again. Later in the 50s, digs were resumed and now, it can be visited in all its glory.

The Abruzzo Region, sometimes known as the Abruzzi with an i in older publications, is the area of interest for this six-segment video. This segment concentrates on the Piccolomini Castle in Marsica.

Highlights include a church straddling the Romanesque and Gothic in Celano, and Massa d'Albe (the Roman city of Alba Fucens), where there is an amphitheater excavated from rock. The word arena comes from the Latin word harena, or sand. Sand was used on arena floors to catch the blood lost during gladiator games and the like.

The segment highlights two medieval churches near the ancient site of Alba Fucens. Both churches display ornamental facings made from pieces of colored marble that are intricately pieced together, what is known as Cosmatesque work.

Abruzzo churches built by order of Saint Francis of Assisi (1226–1330) or dedicated to him, are featured in this segment.

The segment features the Oratory of San Pellegrino and the Church of St. Mary of the Assumption in Bominaco. These, together with the Marian church in nearby Fossa, are considered the finest examples of Medieval art and architecture in the Abruzzo Region.

The tour of the Abruzzo Region concludes with sights near l'Aquila, the region's capital.

Terre d'acqua means water-lands. We are talking about the once marshy area which has now become the fertile Po valley. Gualtiero Marchesi is considered to be the founder of the new Italian cuisine, and is perhaps the best known Italian chef in the world. He begins telling us his story.

World famous chef, Gualtiero Marchesi talks about his career, his search for a total cuisine, an authentic cuisine.

Our famous chef talks about the town where he spent much of his childhood, San Zenone al Po, where two rivers meet, and where flooding has always been part of life.

Gualtiero Marchesi recalls his childhood, living along the banks of the River Po. His memories are as diverse as milking cows and seeing German bombers taking out bridges.

Gualtiero Marchesi recalls the early years of his friendship with Aldo Calvi, when the would hunt and fish together along the Po.

Pre-war and wartime cooking, when fuel for cooking was in short supply, made raw recipes come to the fore.