Arena Gardens (Giardini dell’Arena) is a public park in Padua, Italy. Other than being a green space, it contains some of the city’s most important landmarks. The gardens are included in the UNESCO World Heritage listing for Padua’s 14th century fresco cycles.
Nobody had a bigger influence on the appearance of Vicenza than Andrea Palladio (1508-1580). He was an artist of architecture and Vicenza was his canvas. With 23 buildings attributed to him, the Renaissance architect is responsible for making the city a UNESCO World Heritage site.
There are some interesting things to see while walking through the historic city center of Vicenza, a UNESCO World Heritage site. This entry covers the things we saw other than Piazza dei Signori, architectural works by Palladio, and other lesser-known palazzos.
After we finished our visit to the Castle of Saint George, we walked over to the entrance of the Old Court (Corte Vecchia) of the Ducal Palace (Palazzo Ducale). It makes up the oldest part of the palace dating back to the late 13th century. We immediately noticed the Gonzaga coat of arms above an entrance.
The Lamberti Tower (Torre dei Lamberti) is an 84m high tower in the UNESCO World Heritage city of Verona, Italy. It sits next to Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza dei Signori.
Castelvecchio is a castle in the city of Verona, Italy. It was built by the Scaligeri dynasty that ruled the city from 1308-1387 and now houses a museum. It’s included in the UNESCO World Heritage listing for the city of Verona. We walked through the castle before getting picked up across the street for our Valpolicella wine tour.
Lower Town (Città Bassa) is the more modern part of the Italian city of Bergamo. It’s not as interesting as Upper Town (Città Alta) but it still has some good attractions, especially for art lovers.
Sforza Castle (Castello Sforzesco) is a large castle in Milan. This residence-turned-fortress sits next to Sempione Park and contains several different city museums.
Sempione Park (Parco Sempione) is a large public park in Milan. It opened in 1888 and sits between the Sforza Castle and the Arch of Peace.
If visiting Milan, one attraction that should not be missed is Leonardo da Vinci’s original painting, The Last Supper (Il Cenacolo). A UNESCO World Heritage site, the painting is located in the refectory of the convent at Santa Maria delle Grazie.