Smart Travels Europe with Rudy Maxa Sicily, Milan & Lake Como
MILAN symbolizes the powerhouse Italy of the 21st century — a European center for finance and fashion. We explore Italy’s most extravagantly decorated Gothic cathedral, look at Leonardo di Vinci’s famous Last Supper and shop, shop, shop. A visit to the Milan Design Museum shows how, for the Milanese, everyday life is art. We take a train north to serene LAKE COMO, where we ferry-hop among lakeside villages, explore elegant villas and stop over at the historic Villa D’Este Hotel. A side trip to the ancient city of Bergamo and an alpine festival in the Valtellina complete our journey. TIPS include train travel and boat itineraries.
We wind our way across this largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Once the hub of the ancient world, SICILY offers up a vibrant, sun-soaked brew of history, tradition, and intense cultural pride. At Palermo, a city bursting with its atmospheric past, we visit the lively market, and marvel at Monreale Cathedral, which shows off remnants of its Arab, Norman, and Byzantine past. The finest classical Greek temples outside of Greece stand near Segesta and Agrigento, while the Villa Romana del Casale houses the most extensive and unspoiled Roman mosaics surviving from the ancient world. Then it’s on to ancient Syracuse, once the rival of Athens for wealth and power. Finally we climb to the top of Mount Etna, for steaming craters and unearthly views. TIPS include getting around the island and when to visit.
The superb visual quality of imagery originally captured in the HDCAM High-Definition format and random access of the DVD format provide a superior means to research your travels! Find just what you’re looking for by location or topic, browse quickly by text or image, and watch in letterbox or enhanced for 16×9 widescreen TV (for those of you with widescreen TVs). Seen nationally on AMERICAN PUBLIC TELEVISION