Just before Christmas my first business-route led me to Italy. And, although the shoe-shaped peninsula had never seemed exceptionally tempting to me, the place I was sent to turned out remarkably pretty.
The cozy character of medieval Fabriano is barely describable. The old fountain, the arcades, and churches dating back to the thirteenth and fourteenth century…and the red carpet covering the paved streets of the town-center(!) And everything is surrounded by the mountains. And the omnipresent Christmas decorations... All these made this place look like on a Christmas-card. And as far as cards are concerned, Fabriano for ages has been the seat of the paper-making industry, and today every other shop in the town offers stationery goods of the highest quality, which is reflected in the prices. Yet, it is still possible to see there how paper is made.
Obviously, I could not help seeing Rome, and I don’t think Rome-within-seven-hours would anyhow make me eligible to write anything about it. And maybe that is why I found Colloseum overrated, Piazza di Spagna-overcrowded, and the monumental buildings in Via del Corso–overwhelming. Still, even with the hordes of people, Fontanna di Trevi and the Basilica di San Pietro are, in my opinion, astonishing. Nonetheless, as for the Vatican, I suggest waiting some time after Papa shuts his window, to let the human-mass disperse, and then fully enjoy the exploration of the church-state.
As for further suggestions I do urge you to taste Italian (I won’t be inventive): pasta (with pesto, seafruit, etc, etc), pizza (I’ve never eaten such a pizza before!), a hundred types of cheese, and wines (especially the sparkling ones). I was lucky to have my Italian workmates with me, who really knew where to eat and drink. So the tip is to make some Italian friends, which is not so hard, as the Italians are in most cases helpful, cheerful and amiable people.
Another (good, I reckon ) advice is to learn a bit of Italian. Believe me or not, in this country it often turns out necessary.
Magda
The pictures can be found here:
http://magdaimaciek.geoblog.pl/entry?id=34365