After working for three months in Albania with Kosovar refugees, I was fortunate to be able to take some time off for travel before returning to the U.S. My choice of destination was a no-brainer. Employees of partner agencies with the U.N. could occupy available seats on the World Food Programme flights between Prishtina (Kosovo), Tirana (Albania) and Rome (Italy) for free. My road was leading to Rome! I arrived in Rome and took a train North to Milan where I would meet a friend from home for two weeks of touring this beautiful country. The following photos document my travels.
Photographs of Italy (Italia)
Just outside of Castelrotto, in the Italian Alps, or Dolomites.
Statue of woodchopper in St. Ulrich.
The village of Castelrotto in the Dolomites.
A morning walk just outside of Castelrotto.
Flowered and painted shrines are everywhere in the countryside.
The cemetary behind the Catholic church.
A woodcarver advertising his work with a lifesize statue along the road.
Venice (Venezia)
Florence (Firenze)
The Dolomite region
Siena
Rome (Roma)
Vatican City
Assisi
Of course, pictures of Assisi cannot be shown without mention of Saint Francis of Assisi. He was born in Assisi and lived much of his life there. His remains are buried in the lower church of San Fransesco, pictured above. The fresco on the left can also be found on the wall of the lower church. An extensive biography of this most fascinating saint can be found here.
The Pantheon, above and right, is one of the finest preserved examples of ancient Roman architecture today. Read more about it and other great buildings of the world here.
San Gimignano, Pisa and other miscellaneous
A replica of the Chartres labyrinth, left, is carved on the column of San Martino's church in Lucca. Walking the labyrinth has become a popular meditative practice. For locations in the Twin Cities where you can walk one, click the link below. For more information about labyrinths, see this page.
On the road from Livorno to Pisa.
No caption needed for this famous leaning building which is now being held up by steel cables and lead weights.
In Pisa, next to the leaning tower, the setting sun softly illuminated these buildings.
San Gimignano from a distance.
The towers of San Gimignano.
A lovely courtyard in San Gimignano.
An Assisi street view.
Assisi, a shimmering jewel on the hillside.
A flower-laden street.
The church of San Francesco, under repair from earthquake damage.
Colorful outdoor shrine and fresco.
Saint Francis of Assisi
The courtyard at Vatican Museums.
St. Peter's, largest church in the world, undergoes refurbishing for the Jubilee 2000 celebration.
Inside the dome of St. Peter's.
The columns of St. Peter's square.
St. Peter's Square collonade.
St. Peter's main altar cupola.
The Roman colloseum at dusk.
The Executive Palace, downtown Rome.
The Tiber River.
Looking out from the colloseum.
Statue of the symbol of Rome, Romulus suckling the wolf.
Inside view of Siena's duomo.
Piazza del Palio, Siena's town center.
The narrow medieval streets.
Siena's ornate Duomo.
Michelangelo's David.
The sculpted doors of the Baptistry tower, next to the Duomo.
Statue of Neptune in Buboli Gardens.
An enclosed courtyard structural detail.
View from the Uffizi, looking toward the Duomo.
The rooftops of Florence from atop the Duomo.
Entertaining the pigeons in the Piazza San Marcos.
Detail of San Marcos' marble floor.
View of gondolas from the clock tower in Piazza San Marcos.
The "roads" of Venice. There are no cars allowed.
The roof of San Marcos from the clock tower.
African slave sculpture, supporting the church.
For recent 2005 photos of Udine, Italy, Switzerland, Indonesia and France...
