Italy - IT - ITA - ITA - Europe

Stromboli Volcano in the Aeolian Islands in Italy. Mount Stromboli has been in almost continuous eruption for more than 2,000 years; its last serious eruption occurred in 1921. Photo courtesy of NOAA / Michael Theberge.

The Castel Sant'Angelo along the Tiber River in Rome, Italy, is also known as the Mausoleum of Hadrian. The Roman emperor built it as a tomb for himself and his family around A.D. 135. Succeeding emperors were also entombed there. The structure has since served as a fortress, a castle, and a museum.

The Colosseum in Rome, Italy was first used in A.D. 80. and it held 50,000 spectators. The name "Colosseum" was introduced in medieval times and referred to a giant statue of Nero that stood nearby. The arena was a wooden floor covered with sand, with rooms and passageways underneath for performers, sets, and animals and it could be flooded to recreate sea battles. Spectator seating was divided into three sections: ordinary people sat in the upper level, the better-off in the middle sections, and the elite in the lower level.

The Spanish Steps in the Plaza di Spagna in Rome, Italy. The steps were built with a legacy from France in 1725 and lead to a French church, the Trinita del Monti.

The Pantheon in the Plaza della Rotonda in Rome, Italy, dating from about A.D. 126 when the Emperor Hadrian rebuilt it over Marcus Agrippa's original temple dating from 27 B.C. The name comes from the Greek words "pan" (all) and "theos" (god). The Pantheon has been a Christian church since about 608.

Trajan's Column, a triumphal column in Rome, Italy, commemorates Roman Emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars (A.D. 101-102, 105-106).

The obelisk in the Plaza Navona in Rome, Italy, was created in Aswan, Egypt, in the 1st century A.D. at the request of Emperor Domitian and formerly stood in the Circus Maximus. The Fountain of Four Rivers (Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi) surrounds the obelisk and was added by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1651. The fountain's four river gods represent the four continents under papal authority.

The Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy, designed by Nicola Salvi in 1732. It depicts Neptune's chariot being led by Tritons with sea horses -- one wild and one docile -- representing the varying moods of the sea.

The Arch of Septimius Severus, located in the Forum in Rome, Italy, is a triumphal arch built by the Emperor Septimius Severus to commemorate his victory over the Parthian Empire. Completed in A.D. 203, the monument is almost 21 meters high, over 23 meters wide, and faced with white marble.

A nighttime view of Trajan's Market in Rome, Italy. Now a complex of ruins, it was built in A.D. 100-110. Its upper floor was filled with offices, and a road divided it from the lower floor, which held shops.

One of the allegorical statues at the foot of the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II) in Rome, Italy. Victor Emmanuel was the first king of a unified Italy, ruling from 1861-1878.

The Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland) in Rome honors the first King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel II. Designed by Giuseppe Sacconi, the monument was built between 1895 and 1911 and contains a museum dedicated to the history of the unification of Italy, as well as a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

View of Amalfi, Italy, with Mount Cerreto (1,315 m; 4,314 ft) in the background. Amalfi was a maritime power with 70,000 residents until 1343, when an earthquake and subsequent tsunami destroyed most of the city. The tower of the Amalfi Cathedral (Duomo di Amalfi), built in 1208, can be seen in the foreground.

View of homes in Positano on the rugged Amalfi Coast in Italy. The city is about 18 km east of the city of Amalfi and was a prosperous port in the Amalfi Republic during the 16th and 17th centuries.

The Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace), built between 1298 and 1314, is the traditional seat of the Florentine government in Italy. Its Torre d'Arnolfo (Arnolfo Tower) is 94m (308 ft) high and is a symbol of the city. The building, which stands on the Piazza della Signoria, is fronted by several famous statutes.

The Basilica di Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross) in Florence, Italy, is the largest Franciscan church in the world. Construction began in 1294, and it was consecrated in 1442. Many of the basilica’s 16 chapels are decorated with frescos by Giotto and his students, and famous Italians such as Galileo, Machiavelli, and Michelangelo are buried in the basilica. In 1982, the Basilica di Santa Croce became a UNESCO World Heritage site as part of the Historic Center of Florence.

The Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) spans the Arno River in Florence, Italy, at its narrowest point. The current structure dates to 1345 and houses shops on either side of the roadway.

The Battistero di San Giovanni (Baptistry of St. John) in front of the Duomo (Cathedral) in Florence, Italy, is one of the oldest buildings in the city. Its construction dates to between 1059 and 1128.

A view of the dome of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower) in Florence, Italy. Until modern times, the dome -- engineered by Brunelleschi -- was the largest in the world and remains the largest brick dome ever constructed. The bell tower -- designed by Giotto -- appears on the left.

This statue of Galileo Galilei is one of 28 statues in front of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. The statues honor famous people in the arts, politics, science, and religion. Among Galileo's discoveries were the confirmation of the phases of Venus, the discovery of the moons of Jupiter (later named the Galilean moons in his honor), and his observation and analysis of sunspots, all done using a telescope of his design and construction.

The Battistero di San Giovanni (Baptistry of St. John) in Pisa, Italy, dates to 1153. The building on the left is the Camposanto or walled cemetery. To the right is the Duomo (Cathedral) and the Campanile (Leaning Tower).

The Duomo (Cathedral) and Campanile (Leaning Bell Tower) in the Cathedral Plaza in Pisa, Italy. Because of a poorly laid foundation, the tower began to lean soon after construction in 1173.

Construction of the 55.9 (183.3 ft) high Campanile (bell tower) of the Duomo (cathedral) in Pisa, Italy -- popularly known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa -- began on August 9, 1173. Because of unstable subsoil and a shallow foundation, the tower began to lean five years later. To try to compensate for the tilt, medieval engineers built the upper floors with one side taller than the other, so that the tower is curved.

Fortrezza Nuova at the harbor in Livorno, Italy, on the west coast of Tuscany. The fortress was built for the Medici family in the late 16th Century.

A view of the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute (Basilica of St. Mary of Health) in Venice, Italy, a church constructed as a votive offering for the city's deliverance from a particularly devastating plague in 1630. Construction began in 1631 but was not completed until five decades later, in 1681.

Looking down on St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice, Italy, from the campanile (bell tower).

View of St. Mark's Square in Venice, Italy, showing the famous Greek horses and the astronomical clock. The bronze horses were originally installed at the Hippodrome in Constantinople and date back to at least the 4th century. In 1254, they came to Venice, where they remained until Napoleon took them to Paris in 1797. In 1815, the horses were returned to Venice, and the originals are now in St. Mark's Museum. The original astronomical clock was built between 1496-99.

The gondolas of Venice, Italy, have been city icons since they first were introduced in the 11th century. A gondola is a flat-bottomed rowing boat made of 280 pieces handmade from eight types of wood (lime, oak, mahogany, walnut, cherry, fir, larch, and elm).

A view of San Giorgio Maggiore Island in Venice, Italy, showing the Benedictine monastery established in 982 and the church of San Giorgio Maggiore (St. George the Great) designed by Palladio, which was begun in 1566 and completed in 1610.

The Rialto Bridge was one of the first to span the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. The structure was originally built of wood, but after it collapsed twice under the weight of residents watching boat races, a stone bridge replaced it in 1591.

The Grand Canal, one of the major water-traffic corridors in Venice, Italy, as seen from the Rialto Bridge.

The Bridge of Sighs over one of the many canals in Venice, Italy, was built in 1602 and connects the old prisons with the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace.

The building of Castle Tyrol in Italy began in the 11th century, and construction continued for the next two centuries. The fortress was the residence of the Counts of Tyrol until 1363, when the Hapsburgs took possession. It is now home to the South Tyrol Museum of History.

A view of a vineyard in Tuscany in Italy.

Mount Etna in Sicily, Italy, is Europe’s most active volcano (erupting for 500,00 years) and one of the largest volcanoes in the world. Its fiery lava flows have created fertile soils that support extensive agriculture, with vineyards and orchards spread across the lower slopes of the mountain.

The city of Naxos in Sicily, Italy, lies at the foot of Mount Etna. The resort city of Taormina is 7 km (4.5 mi) in the distance.

View of the town of Savoca in northeast Sicily, Italy.

View of the town of Savoca, Italy, from the Church of Saint Nicholas.

Arab watch tower outside the town of Savoca in Sicily, Italy.

A view of Canopus, a sanctuary to the god Serapis, located in Tivoli, Italy, at the villa of Emperor Hadrian (also known as Villa Adriana). The villa complex was created as a retreat for the emperor.

A view of Canopus, sanctuary of the god Serapis, at Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli, Italy.

Statue of Saint Benedict at the Abbey of Monte Cassino, about 130 km (80 mi) southeast of Rome, Italy. Benedict established his first monastery here in about 529.

View inside the caldera of Mount Vesuvius in Italy.

Inside the caldera on Mount Vesuvius in Italy.

A view of some of the ruins at Pompeii, Italy, buried in the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79 and not rediscovered until the 18th century.

The forum at Pompeii, Italy, with Mt. Vesuvius in the background.

The First Greek Temple of Hera at Paestum in southern Italy. Paestum was a major ancient Greek city on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea in Magna Graecia (southern Italy). The ruins of Paestum are famous for their well-preserved ancient Greek temples -- including two dedicated to Hera -- dating from about 550 to 450 B.C.

The Second Greek Temple of Hera at Paestum in southern Italy dates to circa 450 B.C.

A view of the Greek Temple of Athena at Paestum, Italy, which dates to circa 500 B.C.

La Scala (Teatro Alla Scala) in Milan, Italy, is one of the most famous theaters in the world and is known as the "Temple of Opera." The theater was built in 1778 on the former site of the Church of Santa Maria alla Scala, from which it draws its name.

In 1872, this monument honoring Leonardo da Vinci was erected in the Piazza della Scala in front of the La Scala Theater in Milan, Italy. Designed and sculpted by Pietro Magni, the statue depicts da Vinci on a pedestal, with statues of four of his favorite students at his feet.

View of the east side of the Piazza de Ferrari, the main square of Genoa, Italy. The huge plaza is renowned for its beautiful fountain, behind which is the Palace of the New Stock Exchange. Photo courtesy of NOAA / Michael Theberge.

Stromboli Volcano in the Aeolian Islands in Italy. Mount Stromboli has been in almost continuous eruption for more than 2,000 years; its last serious eruption occurred in 1921. Photo courtesy of NOAA / Michael Theberge.