While traveling to go site seeing and staying in a hotel is always a fun experience while on vacation, I can say that going to visit Sicily time after time and staying with family is a completely different experience. Some places I have visited in Sicily have been…
City of Palermo City of Catania City of Corleone City of Marineo City of Bolongetta
In the summer of 2014 I also visited Rome while on my vacation in Italy. While I only visited Milan for two days, from there we took a 4 hour train ride down to Rome, where we were going to be for four days. As I did for Milan, I studied all about Rome and what there was to see.
Our first location was Saint Peter’s Basillica, which is the Italian Renaissance church in Vatican City. This church hold thousands of years of articles, artifacts, sculptures, paintings and so many more things that symbolize the catholic faith.
Second place we visited was the Colosseum
Next was the Trevi Fountain, its said that if you throw a coin in the fountain you will return back to Rome.
We spent the next couple of days touring the Vatican Museums, which are filled with almost everything that demonstrates the catholic faith and the culture of Italy.
One of the most memorable vacations I have experienced was during the summer of 2014, my family and I planned a normal trip to Italy like we normally would. When we normally travel to Italy we fly from JFK airport in New York into Palermo, Sicily. Like all other times I expected to be seeing my family right when we arrived and to be staying at their homes. I was told a surreal surprise when my parents told me that we were visiting Milan before we flew down to Sicily. I had always dreamed of visiting Milan and seeing all the beautiful things the city holds. Milan is considered one of the largest fashion capital in the world, it hold so many important things to the fashion and arts culture and community.
Right as I was told we were going to Milan, I began to look up everything I could possibly learn about the city, things such as good well know restaurants, famous museums, fashion studios and so much more. Learning and educating myself before my visit there was extremely helpful and helped me see all the things in full depth especially when knowing more about their background and history.
When we first arrived in Milan we go on a bus that gives tours around the city and can drop you off at different locations. From their we went to almost every location I had marked off that I wanted to visit.
First place we visited was Duomo di Milano, which is the cathedral located in the city. This cathedral is a historical place not only for the catholic faith but for Italy’s culture.
The second place we visited was the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, which is Italy’s oldest shopping mall and it is a known trademark of Milan. It holds many store such as Gucci, Prada, Tiffany & Co. and many more. This shopping center has astounding architecture inside that is build from hundreds of years ago.
Lastly in Milan we visited the Teatro alla Scala, which is an opera house. Most of the greatest all time performers have preformed there.
Sicily is known as one of the twenty different regions in Italy and it is known to be one of the largest islands of the Mediterranean Sea. Sicily is considered a somewhat triangle shape. It is located apart from the mainland of Italy, it is separated by the Strait of Messina. mount Etna is located in Sicily and is known as one of the most important land marks. Mount Etna is considered the tallest active volcano in Europe. Sicily doesn’t normally endure the four seasons it mostly has a Mediterranean climate, experiencing warmer temperatures for the most part.
Mount Etna
Soon after the fall of the Roman Empire which took place in the 5th century AD, Sicily was being ruled in the Early Middle Ages by four different empires, all being different and unique in their own way.
Sicily has a very rich and unique culture between its famous works of arts , beautiful architectural buildings, music, literature, famous foods and wines.
Italy is a country located in the South- Central area of Europe. The peninsula is surrounded by many different islands and is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Italy is bordered by Switzerland, France, Slovenia and Austria. As of January of this year (2019) Italy holds a population of 62 million people.
Map of Italy
Besides Italy being known for its infamous historic sights, tasty food and beautiful waters it is heavily known for its capital Rome. Italy has a long history beside it as from when Rome was founded in 753 BC. In 395 AD after the Roman Empire broke down there were a lot of different separations between city states and kingdoms. In 1861 Italy became one single nation. From the time of becoming a single nation it includes the islands of Sicily and Sardinia in it. The country of Italy holds so many historical backgrounds and is included in so many important historical events, such as the second World War, which lead Italy to form its own Republic in 1946. The national holiday for Italy is celebrated on June 2nd and is known as the”festa della Republica.”
Before I get into talking about my experiences traveling to Italy I want to give you a little bit of a background about myself. Both of my parents were born in Italy, my father is from a small town called Bolongetta which is in Sicily. He moved to the United States when he was 13 and attended high school and college here. My Mother is from a small town called Marineo which is also in Sicily. Both towns are located next to each other. My mom moved to the United States when she was in her thirties, when her and my father decided to get married. You can only imagine that I come from a very heavy Italian background, this meaning that I have a lot of family in Italy such as my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. From a very young age I learned to speak Italian, which helped me communicate and talk to my relatives. Knowing the language has helped me in so many ways not only to fully understand the Italian culture, but to experience and see many different things. For as long as I can remember my family and I have always taken vacation trips to Italy. The first time I went to Italy I was 9 months old after that, every couple years my family and I would go back to visit. From 9 months old up until currently being 18 years old I have seen and experienced so much of Italy and I am always excited to go back and visit and see more of the beautiful country.