Colossal Rome

Rome has been called the Eternal City. Its citizens are surrounded by centuries of history. From ancient ruins to the splendour of Baroque artwork there's something special around every corner, like Largo di Torre Argentina where Julius Caesar was assassinated or the fountains in Piazza Navona. So why haven't I bonded with this great city?

Largo di Torre Argentina, Rome

The Via Veneto, Rome

La dolce vita. The sweet life.

You're probably familiar with the phrase even if you've never seen the iconic Fellini film of the same name. La Dolce Vita depicts the hedonism of 1950s Rome. It also made the Via Veneto famous.

The Palazzo Vecchio, Florence

One of my favourite spots in Florence is Piazza della Signoria, a busy square dominated by the fortress-like Palazzo Vecchio. As a fan of Dan Brown's novel, Inferno, I toured the palazzo's museum to see some of the items mentioned in the book for myself, like the Hall of Five Hundred, the Mappa Mundi and Dante's Death Mask.

The Palazzo Vecchio, Florence

Dan Brown's Inferno: More Florence in Photos

My trip to Italy last month took me back to Florence and Venice, two major locations in Dan Brown's novel, Inferno. Earlier blog posts included photos of some of the sites in Florence and Venice featured in the story but after reading the book, I was eager to visit the sites I hadn't explored before. My first stop was Florence, centre of the Renaissance and birthplace of Dante Alighieri.