Questions for Italians (or anyone who went to Italy)?

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ontheroadagainwithoutyou

Best place for pizza is Napoli (Naples)!
Just hop on the train in Roma and shoot down!

martox45

You've got already yr answers (as vague as yr question is..!!) but I would recommend you not to blindly believe the
" little history lesson" given above by the answerer FORZAAZZURRI06.
The origin of Italian pizza is absolutely not definite and it's backdated abt 3000 years and not not just 150 years, at the Queen Margherita's ( not Margarita) times. The fact here above posted is referred just to the pizza Margherita and is correctly describing the origin of this particular topping of pizza but not its origin in general.
All this above for the truth's sake ...!!
Enjoy yr next trip to Italy !.

FORZAAZZURRI06

There is great pizza mostly everywhere in Italy, But Pizza was created in Napoli when Principessa Margarita was visiting (i.e. Pizza Margarita) and It was designed to have the Italian Flag colors...Green, White and Red........I dont know why I am telling you this, but you just got a little history lesson. Obviously,in Rome see the Vatican, Fountain of Trevi, Spanish Steps, Collisium, Sistine Chapel..In Florence .Canal...., Il Duomo, Galleria Uffizi, Ponte Vecchio (First Bridge)...Piazza San Lorenzo FOR SHOPPING.

Buon Viaggio!

nickisbox

i honestly dont remember the name of any of the places we had pizza at. on our trip we did pizza every day for lunch and made sure we had something different at a different place every time. the two we ate at in rome, one was near the pantheon and another was around the corner from the vatican. a word of advice, get the pizza to go and eat outside. you can keep walking or just sit somewhere and enjoy the view passing in front of you. also, get gelato every day!!

also, avoid anything resembling a mall. not to say they are bad, but whats the point of getting an authentic experience if you are just going to a mall? hit up the stores throughout the cities and really explore the outdoor markets. if you do a bit of research, you can figure out where and when the markets happen.

in rome, everything is great to see, just use your time wisely and try to plan your sightseeing in a path through the city instead of back and forth. get the subway pass to help you get across the city faster. in florence, just enjoy florence. i thought this was one of the most beautiful places i have ever seen! my fav things were the boboli gardens, strolling the streets and popping into stores. also, pay the few euros and climb those 400+ steps to get to the top of the duomo. the view on top beats anything you can see from the inside of a sky scraper. you are actually standing on the building, on the outside!!

best of luck and have fun!!

Mario

In Florence, the best pizza (from wooden oven) I had been in trattoria (restaurant) Beccofino adress Piazza degli Scarlati 1, centre of town.

FLORENCE - You must see:

The Duomo- Gothic cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore
The fourth largest cathedral in the world, it is the spiritual heart of Florence. The building work took around 200 years, and its green, pink and white marble fasade contributes to the chromatic harmony of the square; its imposing dome is visible for miles around. The interior houses many masterpieces including frescoes by Paolo Uccello and Andrea del Castagno rub shoulders with terracottas by Luca Della Robbia and the sarcophagus of Saint Zanobi. It is possible to climb up to the top from where there is an extraordinary view over Florence.

The Piazza della Signoria
Florenceâ€™s most famous square, it was used for centuries as a backdrop by artists, then by film-makers. The former political centre of the city, it includes some of Florenceâ€™s main historic buildings and contains the most admired sculptures in the world.

Palazzo Pitti
One of the most visited sites on the southern bank of the Arno, this palace was designed by Brunelleschi for the Pitti family, rivals of the Medicis. It's a huge and imposing building, and a treasure house of the Medici family's massive art collection including works by Raphael, Filippo Lippi, Tintoretto, Veronese and Rubens, all hung in lavishly decorated rooms.The palace also houses a gallery of modern art and a costume collection.

Ponte Vecchio
Old Bridge, has been built in 1345, this beautiful bridge, is only one who survived second word war, and it is the oldest bridge in Florence, souranded with many shops and goldsmiths. There is a secret passageway which is connected with Uffizi Gallery and the Pitti Palace, today big touristic attraction.

The Basilica of Santa Croce
Geometrically coloured marble decorates the building's fasade, but the real treats lie inside, where many famous Florentines lie in peace. The walls are lined with tombs, and 276 tombstones pave the floor. The church's most famous inhabitants are Michelangelo, Macchiavelli, Galileo and Bardi. Its various chapels feature works of art by Giotto and della Robbia, and the serene cloisters were designed by Brunelleschi.

The church of San Lorenzo
The former parish church of the Medici family in Florentine Renaissance style, built from 1420 by Brunelleschi. Donatello, who designed the bronze pulpits, lies in one of the chapels. Passing through the cloister, you reach the Laurenziana Library, commissioned to house the family's huge collection of books and featuring a sublime staircase by Michelangelo. The Medici Chapels are sumptuously decorated with precious marble and semiprecious stones; the most powerful Medicis were buried here. The New Sacristy was designed by Michelangelo and contains his Night and Day, Dawn and Dusk sculptures.

Boboli gardens
Adjacent to the Palazzo Pitti, this garden is one of the most famous in the world. It was created from 1549 by Tribolo then by Vasari, Ammannati and Buontalenti. Its fountains, lakes, geometric flowerbeds and terraces lined with trees wonderfully represent the Renaissance style. At the top of the hill stands the Forte di Belvedere built in a star shape by Michelangelo with a magical view over Florence.

Museums & Galleries:

Galleria degli Uffizi
This former palace of the Medici houses one of the most impressive art collections in the world. It shows the evolution of Italian painting from the primitives to the 17th century. Worth seeing: Botticelliâ€™sâ€™ Birth of Venus, Titianâ€™s Venus of Urbino, Michelangeloâ€™s Holy Family or the Portrait of the Duke of Urbino by Piero della Francesca.

Museo Nazionale del Bargello
It houses sculptures by Michelangelo, Donatello, Verrocchio and various collections of enamelware, jewellery, weapons ...

Galleria dellâ€™Accademia
19th century statues, Byzantine paintings, Russian icons, paintings by Florentine Renaissance painters, notably Botticelliâ€™s Madonnas and above all sculptures by Michelangelo, including the original of the famous David.

Galleria Pitti
Gallery of modern art, museum of silverware and Galleria.

Museo della Casa Fiorentina Antica in Palazzo Davanzati
A museum of Florentine domestic life: furniture, fabrics, domestic objects from the 14th to 18th century.

In addition:
You can reach Piazza Michelangelo and the Basilica of San Miniato on Monte alle Croci on foot or by bus.
The Piazza itself overlooks one of the most famous and magnificent city views in the world: from here you can see the whole of Florence at a glance; there is also copy of David.

More about Florence:
http://www.tuscanweb.com/news/?ID=51

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BIG shopping malls no, in towns you can find shoping streets (Via Tornabuoni, Florence), you can find Outlet Village outsiede of Florence with 90 shops http://www.valdichianaoutlet.it there is bus connection from Florence Santa Maria Novella direct to the outlet.

generalteh

ive been to all places, eatting is going to depend on the section of town. but rome i didn't get to really eat anything in rome that was exciting, in florence we had some good pizza right on Piazza Santa Croce, there is also a genuine italian leather maker right there. when looking at the church leather and gold place is on the right side midway down the piazza, and pizza place was on left 3/4 the way towards the church i believe it might have had blue thing out front, verona we were only in for 2hrs or so, there im not sure, in venezia right off piazza san marco there is a small corner shop they have good pizza its fairly cheap and its kinda popular go to left of saint marks and go down small alley way thing next to the little statues, as for big malls there aren't many some in the more suburbran area we went to one near Perugia. but not many in the actual cities. when in venice try to go to Murano Glass either on the small island to the north of venice or in venice itself for gondolas go into the island more and u will find a cheaper price than right near saint marks.

Oyibo

1 Well just to add on what said on the pizza, I doubt you can find a good place where to eat it in the cities you mentioned, in fact, as said, the pizza is typical of Napoli; maybe in Rome you may find some pizzeria which can make something near to the real one, definitly not in Venice or Verona, where are more use to the piadina, or Florence.

All said if you have never tasted the real one probably you will still enjoy it.

2 What to see? just look around and whatever you see is worthwhile to see

3 Even if you don't find malls, there are plenty of shops on the streets

amanda

There surely will be some very good pizza places in those cities, along with very bad ones. I suggest you to ask a similar question in Yahoo Italy - risposte (answers).
You can ask: cerco l'indirizzo della migliore pizzeria di Roma, Firenze, Verona e Venezia. (I'm looking for the adddress of the best pizzeria in...)
As for the shopping mall, try with "La Rinascente", Piazza Fiume o Piazza Colonna in Rome, Piazza della Repubblica in Florence.

Bill

Hi, I'm from Italy........so......you can't find a good pizza in Venice, because like all the touristic place they change the food for them, (for example I love Pepperoni's Pizza here in US, but in Italy it doesn't exist).
You are going to love the pizza in Rome and Naples, but they are different, thin and crunched in Rome (I love it) and soft and high and with Parmesan cheese in Naples.
Take the Pizza margherita n Rome.
We don't have mall in Rome, there are some outlet but out of the city and you can find the same things here.
I suggest you to enter for example in Venice (in Mestre) or Rome into a COIN, or LA RINASCENTE.
Both the shop are in the center of Rome so during a break you can enter there.

www.rinascente.it
www.coin.it

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