I have come from the north of Italy down to the south, into the heel if you know your geography. I am in Lecce. Nicknamed the Florence of the south, it’s a small city I have been wanting to come to for a while. It has a historical centre full of winding alleys and roads and you never really know what is around the next corner. The local limestone has been used to build and be carved into the most beautiful buildings. This is full on Baroque.
I am finding my own suburb, Boulogne-Billancourt to be incredible charming. The majority of buildings seem to be from the 1920s and 30s so there is a strong art deco feel. Across the Seine, heading towards Paris is the area of Javel and the Andre Citroen Park. A beautiful park sitting next to the sleek…
Turin is quite a grand city. If you look across the city’s history it starts to make sense. Home to the Duchy of Savoy in 1563 and it was Turin that was Italy’s first capital when it was united into a single country. While it only lasted from 1861 to 1865 the remnants of fortifications,…
Located not far from the Paris city limits (where height restrictions wear off) is an area called La Defense. It has a history as a business centre dating back to 1958. According to Wikipedia: La Défense is Europe’s largest purpose-built business district, covering 560 hectares (1,400 acres), for 180,000 daily workers, with 72 glass and steel…
Continuing on exploring the grandeur of Turin. While I won’t get to all 14 of the residences from the Royal house of Savoy in the area, I did make out to one of the more opulent palaces and gardens. It was a short train ride away from Porta Susa, the train station I find I…
A quick train ride from Bari (and a seven minute train ride between each other) are the seaside towns of Monopoli (no relation to the game) and Polignano ad Mare. Monopoli has that port / fishing village feel. Great buildings and narrow streets to wander. Less expected was Monopoli’s cathedral. It was a masterpiece of…
