Venice, the River Brenta: the ancient and noble Villa Pisani

Villa Pisani, River Brenta, Venice

Welcome, my friend!
I'm so happy to stay with you and share my personal emotions and experience in My Own Italy! 

Villa Pisani (Venice)

Today I'd like to introduce you to a magic and romantic place:
Villa Pisani.

Villa Pisani, also named The Nazionale, is certainly one of the most famous examples of Venetian Villa along the Brenta banks. It is situated in the municipality of Stra, in the province of Venice.

The Pisani of St. Stephen, who were responsible of the construction of this villa, were an important branch of the family Pisani, an ancient Venetian noble family.  

The bedroom of Napoleone

They were enriched enormously during the fourteenth century thanks to the trade and real property gains. 

In 1807 Villa Pisani became Napoleone Bonaparte’s property, in fact he bought it from the Pisani family and sold it then to the Italian Viceroi Eugène de Beauharnais.

Carlotta @ Villa Pisani

If you want to visit this masterpiece of eighteenth-century, I suggest you to expect at least half a day of quiet time to visit the interior of Villa Pisani and enjoy the pleasure of the beautiful garden: the park of Villa Pisani as been awarded in the 2008 as “the most beautiful park in Italy”.

The Orangerie, Villa Pisani

The park offers incredible scenarios, original architectures, green houses and also the famous labyrinth.

At the end of the park there is the "orangery". In fact, according to mythology, Hercules was so strong because he ate citrus.

For this reason, each Doge or the King wanted to eat citrus all year also in cold climates: they  created the greenhouses in winter to keep the lemon and orange trees!

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Ciao, Carlotta

Piedmont: Lake Orta, The most romantic Lake in Italy

San Giulio Island, Lake Orta (Italy)

Hello my friends, Welcome again in My Own Italy !
Today my personal suggestion is  The Orta Lake, in Piedmont.

Sacro Monte d'Orta

Lake Orta, known as one of the most romantic lakes in Italy, is situated in the Cusio area, which extends from the lower area of the Ossola valley to the western shore of the lower Lake Maggiore area. 

 Once arrived in Orta you can not miss a visit to the Sacro Monte .  

A Chapel of Sacro Monte d'Orta

The sacred place comprises a total of 20 chapels (originally the project envisaged 36) that illustrate the life of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Also the convent of the Capuchins connected to the church, which was still dedicated to Saint Nikolaos in the beginning, but also to Saint Francis whose extraordinary vicissitudes impregnate the itinerary and also its peak.

Chapel XX of St. Francis

The church also has a precious wooden statue depicting the Pietà, which in 1538 was at the centre of a miracle: the wooden Madonna became the subject of worship and perhaps this boosted selecting this place as the location of such an important spiritual project.

Inside the Chapel XX

The Sacro Monte of Orta was mostly built between the 16th-17th centuries and the chapels were also decorated by the most important artists of the time.
  

This is me looking the St Giulio Island

The path unwinds uphill on the slopes of the hill enclosing Orta from behind, whose starting point is just a few minutes from the centre of town. The path and its chapels reach approximately 400 metres asl at the summit and churchyard, where there is a breathtaking view of an unexpected thrill and not just for pilgrims!


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Ciao, Carlotta

Valle d'Aosta: the Impressive Fortress of Bard

Fortress of Bard, Valle d'Aosta (Italy)

Welcome, my friends!
Very happy to have you here again on my blog My Own Italy , to discover Italy with my personal touch!
Today I'd like to introduce you to Fortress of Bard.

View from the lift, Fortress of Bard

The Fortress is an impressive work of barrage, built to the Valle d'Aosta , in the north west of Italy.
This Savoy fortress fully occupies the strategic rocky outcrop that blocks access through the valley.  

The current fort was built between 1830 and 1838 on the ruins of a castle destroyed in 1800 by the troops of Napoleon. 

The Fortress of Bard, Italy

The fortress is a perfect example of military architecture of the time, possessed of powerful artillery housed in bunkers placed on different levels.  

It could accommodate 416 men and had stocks to withstand a siege of three months. We must say that this fortress was never the scene of clashes and was then preserved virtually intact!
  

The Fortress of Bard

Some numbers are enough to give you an idea of ​​the size of this bastion: 14.467 square meters, 283 rooms, 106 m altitude, 806 steps, 2.036 square meters of courtyards, 9.000 square meters of roofs, 1.295 square meters of corridors, 385 doors, 323 windows and 296 slots!!
 

The Museum od The Alpes, Aosta (Italy)

Since the end of the nineteenth century the fort gradually lost its importance war and was sent first to prison and then to military munitions depot.
Today you can visit the Fortress and the Museum of The Alpes .

You can discover the Alpes and get to know the mountain in an interactive, multimedia and multidisciplinary journey.

The Fortress of Bard, entrance (Italy)

It is an avant-garde museum space telling the story of a living, breathing mountain transformed in the hands of mankind.

Tradition and modern technology are fused together to take you on a voyage into time and space where the sets are brought alive through visual projections, sounds and interactive multimedia games. 

My sons and I at The Fortress of Bard

It was a so exiting experience for me, and I enjoyed it very much.
Will you enjoy too? 
Let me know :-)

Ciao, 
Carlotta