I knew which of Bologna’s top sights I wanted to see during my two-day break en-route to Rimini. Piazza Maggiore was high on the list as were the medieval twin towers and the charming hidden canals of the city. Food, of course, was a huge draw and I was keen to indulge in some serious gelato tastings. But the sight that captivated me most was the city’s intricately decorated porticoes. I was constantly drawn back to the colonnades and pillars which filtered the sunlight and drew shifting shadows across the marble walkways creating an ever-changing perspective as the sun crept across the city.
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When a boat made up of over 1,200 wooden items donated by the people of the South East, stopped off at The Stade in Hastings last weekend I dropped by to take a look. One of 12 artistic commissions across the UK to celebrate the London Olympics ‘Collective Spirit’ has to be one of the most unusual and, I thought, surprisingly beautiful creations.
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A highlight of our trip to the Campania region of Italy was a visit to the excavated city of Pompeii. The town was buried under 6 metres of ash when Mount Vesuvius furiously erupted on 24th August 79AD. Re-discovered in the 16th century the excavations began in 1748 although less than 70% has since been uncovered. A walk through the city showed us that all those years ago the way people lived wasn’t so very different from today.
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