I didn’t waste much time, once that I woke up, on my second day in Gallarate.  I had a quick breakfast, and then began to explore, wanting to discover more of what this city had to offer!  The Chiesa di San Francesco is one of the newer churches in the area, dating back only to 1906.The…

I didn’t know much about the city of Gallarate when I chose it as the last city on my fall trip.  I did know that it had a couple of museums, a few parks, and a nice selection of restaurants to dine in.  And it was close to Malpensa Airport ( approximately 15 minutes by…

Rome is a city full of treasures!  People from all over the world flock here to see the art and architecture that only this city contains.  One of those treasures, not often found on the list of “must see” attractions of the usual tourist, is Villa Farnesina.  Located on the Lungotevere, next to John Cabot…

The Chiesa di Santi Claudio e Andrea dei Borgognoni dates from 1728.  It is dedicated to the two saints, Claudius of Besancon and Andrew.  The exterior of the church is decorated with statues of the two saints.  Facing the church, the statue of Saint Andrew, by Luc Breton, is on the left, while the statue…

No matter how many times I visit the city of Rome, or Roma, as it is called by the Italians, as soon as my feet hit the soil, I fall instantly in love with both, the place and the people that live there!  It is a beautiful city!  Like any large urban center, Roma has…

The Chiesa di Sant’Erasmo, or the Church of Saint Erasmus, as we see it today, dates back to the 1500’s.  Saint Erasmus, also known as Saint Elmo, was a Christian martyr who died in 303.  He was the acting bishop of Formia.  When the prosecution of Christians began, he fled to Mount Libanus, but returned…

Founded by the Laconi in ancient times, the Romans gave the city the name of Formiae.  It became a popular tourist destination, luring both those in political power, as well as those in the arts, to its coastline, as well as to the Historical Center, which at the time, had an arena, theater, and everything…

We couldn’t check into the apartment in Formia, our next destination, until mid afternoon, so we decided to take a last walk around Gaeta.  History is everywhere, in Italian towns and cities.  All one has to do is to walk through a town center, and you will come across something that is worth seeing, and…

Whenever I walk through the centro storico, or historical center, of an Italian town, I feel as if I’ve been taken back in time.  And Gaeta is no exception!  Near the Cathedral is Palazzo Arcivescovile.A little further down Via Bausan, you will find the Church of San Giovanni Evangelista a Mare.  This church dates from…

I awoke the next morning to the sound of, first the American, and then the Italian National Anthems.  Wondering what was going on, I looked out the window, to see that across the street from the hotel, in the naval yard, the sailors were beginning their day, and this was how it apparently started.  The…

The Ex-Chiesa di San Biagio or, as it was known before, the Chiesa di Sant Antonio Abate, was destroyed during World War II.  Today, all that remains of this ancient structure is a sole altar wall.  Those of us living in places like the United States read about the great wars in our textbooks, and…

Not having a car ourselves, we arranged for a driver to pick us up in Sperlonga, and then take us to our next destination, the city of Gaeta.  There, once again, we had booked a one-bedroom apartment to stay in, right in the historical center of the city. For the first part of the day,…