italy review &people of itlay

Cecilia Bartoli One may need more than half of one’s life to understand, relish and praise the aura of Cecilia Bartoli. To come out of the spell of her music it takes days and months and still one long for more of the heavenly nectar of her music. Yes we are discussing the beautiful and famous mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli. More »

Renzo Piano God created this world and the living beings. Off all wonders created by god not every time he has chiseled himself, but has sent the artists and geniuses to make the wonders. Renzo Piano the 1998 Laureate of Pritzker Architecture prize is one such craftsmen of outer world, for the creation he created demands the attention and respect of the highest order in the field of architecture. More »

Reinhold Messner Reinhold Messner is arguably the most famous name in mountain climbing in history. He was born in South Tyrol in Italy in the year 1944. Climbing since he was just five years old, this 61-year old had the gumption to climb the mighty Everest, solo and without oxygen in 1980. More »

Sofia Loren The life story of Sofia Loren, one of the best-loved and most phenomenal film stars of cinema, reads like a fairy tale. Born with the tag of an illegitimate baby, in a charity ward of a hospital in Naples on September 20, 1934, her childhood was anything but a bed of roses. More »

Enrico Caruso Enrico Caruso was born on February 25th, in the year 1873, in Naples, Italy. Though his impoverished parents were not to know it at that time, Lady Luck had already entered their house with the birth of Enrico, the 18th child, who along with his siblings were the last three to survive out of twenty-one children. More »

Benito Mussolini This world has seen lot many dictators and persons who changed the world the way liked. Leaving apart the atrocities and the marks of cruelties left by these dictators towards humanity, it is very interesting to know the way they achieved the zenith of power and then used it in all possible way to dictate the nation to achieve their goal. More »

Silvio Berlusconi Being a businessman heading varied businesses is hard enough for the toughest of people, but when one imagines handling Prime Ministerial responsibilities as well, it all becomes mind-boggling. More »

Salvador E. Luria Salvador Edward Luria was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine at a formal ceremony on December 10, 1969. The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine annually. More »

Bernardo Bertolucci “This is something that I dream about: to live films, to arrive at the point at which one can live for films, can think cinematographically, eat cinematographically, sleep cinematographically, as a poet, a painter, lives, eats, sleeps painting”. More »

Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti, the prodigy who could charm angels with a melodious voice…the tenor whose arias brought forth nine effortless high Cs…a double Guinness World record holder, one for receiving a record breaking 165 curtain calls and the other for the best selling classical album, ‘In Concert’ by the Three Tenors... More »

Dr. Renato Dulbecco The Karolinska Institute in Stockholm awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine annually on December 10. From 1901 to date there have been five winners of Italian descent. More »

Giovanni Verga Writing is a noble profession of expression of thoughts and ideas with the help of not only intellect, literary expertise and subject knowledge but also with a gross understanding of human life. More »

Franco Modigliani Franco Modigliani is the most famous economist of Italian origin. In 1985 he received the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. The Bank of Sweden in memory of Alfred Nobel instituted the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. More »

Archimedes – The Inventor Give me a lever long enough and a place to stand, and I will move the world. These daring and bold words were quoted by the genius whose contribution in the field of science changed the entire world forever. Yes we are discussing no other than the famous mathematician and scientist Archimedes. More »

Giulio Andreotti The boy who spent a hard childhood in Rome, brought up by his mother under severe financial constraints, evolved into Italy’s world-famous elder statesman and can name several US Presidents and British Prime Ministers among his personal friends. More »

Eugenio Montale Eugenio Montale is one of the most famous Italian poets, prose writer, editor and translator. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1975 at a formal ceremony on December 10. The Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded annually by the Swedish Academy in Stockholm. More »

Neurologist Rita Levi - Montalcini The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. It is awarded annually on December 10 in Sweden, Stockholm. From 1901 there have been five winners of Italian origin who have received this prize. More »

Dario Fo The Nobel Prize in literature is awarded annually on December 10 by the Swedish Academy, Stockholm. Since 1901 there have been six winners of Italian descent. In 1997 Dario Fo was the last Italian to receive this prestigious prize. More »

Noble Laureate Riccardo Giacconi Alfred Nobel the founder of dynamite established the Nobel Prize in 1901. It is awarded to person or persons who have contributed to important modern discoveries and inventions. More »

Giulio Natta Giulio Natta has the singular honour of being the only Italian up to date to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. From 1901 the Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The award consists of a medal, a citation and a cash award. More »

Daniel Bovet Daniel Bovet was a Swiss born Italian pharmacologist who was awarded the prestigious Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1957. He is the fifth Italian who has won this prize awarded from 1901. More »

Emilio Gino Segre Emilio Gino Segre was an Italian American physicist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1959 along with Owen Chamberlain. The Nobel Prize in Physics had been awarded to recipients from 1901. More »

Mario Soldati There are very few people in this world who have the ability and wish to show the immense creativity of imagination in the form of jewels of words. More »

Carlo Rubbia The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awards the Nobel Prize in Physics annually. To date there have been six winners of Italian descent. Carlo Rubbia, who was born in Italy, was awarded this prestigious prize along with Simon van der Meer in 1984 for his contributions, which led to the discovery of W and Z particles. More »

Salvatore Quasimodo Salvatore Quasimodo was one of the most famous Italian poets of the twentieth century. He was honoured with the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature in 1959. More »

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini is considered one of the top film directors of all time, especially in Italy. His films highlighted artistic fantasy and desire and the line between reality and magic vanished in the scenes that he depicted in his movies, thereby creating the surreal imagery that many Italians, and in fact many playgoers around the world, have come to relish. More »

Camillo Golgi Camillo Golgi was the first Italian to have received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1906. The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. This prize has been awarded annually from 1901. More »

Guglielmo Marconi In 1907 Guglielmo Marconi was the first Italian to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics. The Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded annually from 1901 by the Royal Swedish Academy of Science. It is awarded at a formal ceremony held on December 10 at Stockholm, Sweden. More »

Ernesto Teodoro Moneta The Nobel Prize is an international award, which is given annually since 1901 for outstanding achievements in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and for Peace. In 1968 the Bank of Sweden instituted a Prize in Economic Sciences in Honour of Alfred Nobel. More »

Luigi Pirandello Almost all humans in this globe have a different set of mind and every mind in different from the other in not only the capacity but also in content thus creating the possibility of enormous, never ending storehouse of creations. More »

Giosue Carducci Giosue Carducci was the first Italian to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. The Nobel Prize has been awarded from the year 1901 and there have been six winners of Italian descent. More »

Enrico Fermi Enrico Fermi was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in the year 1938 for his discovery of the existence of new radioactive elements produced by neutron irradiation and also for his discovery of nuclear reactions brought about by slow neutrons. More »

Grazia Deledda Grazia Deledda was the first Italian woman to win a Nobel Prize. Since 1901 she has been the only woman to win a Nobel Prize in Literature. More »

Luigi Amedeo Giuseppe Maria Ferdinando Francesco Luigi Amedeo Giuseppe Maria Ferdinando Francesco (January 29, 1873 – March 18, 1933), popularly called Luigi Amedeo, Duke of Abruzzi, was an Italian mountaineer and was the first to climb Mount Saint Elias in 1897. More »

Gonzaga Family One of the well-known historical families of Renaissance Italy is the Gonzaga family who ruled Mantua from 1328-1708. Mantua, known to Italians as Mantova, is a city in the Lombardy region of Italy and a capital also of a province that goes by the same name. More »

Isabella Rossellini An actor, a model, a businesswoman and a person who is passionate about wildlife conservation. That’s Isabella Rossellini for you. More »

Alhambra, the Harem

Granada:
Alhambra, the Harem


Alhambra, Granada, Spain

The Harem of Alhambra springs out of the Lions' Court, and consists of a nice selection of rooms and one bath. To the south of the court is the Hall of the Abencerrajes with the most fantastic ceiling in the entire Alhambra. The ceiling is 16-sided with stalactite decorations, lit by windows in the dome itself, with light that is reflected by the fountain on the floor.
As your neck is already bent back, you might continue into the Hall of the Two Sisters. The ceiling here is made up of more than 5,000 honeycomb cells.
In the Hall of the Kings you will find a very unusual form of art: Lifelike representations of humans, which is forbidden by Islamic law. While the artist most probably was a Christian, it was the Muslim Nasrid rulers ordering the decorations. And they let it stay.
The last important sight of the Harem are the Baths, which cannot be entered, but rather seen through the doorways.

Alhambra, Granada, Spain

The ceiling of the Hall of the Two Sisters. Almost impossible to give justice on photo.

Alhambra, the Lions' Court

Alhambra, the Lions' Court



Once you made it to the Lions' Court, you should sit down, to relax and bring your mind into the right mood. With the Church of la Familla Segrada, this must be Spain's no. 1 tourist and cultural attraction. How many times every angle, every detail of the Lions' Court have been photographed nobody could ever estimate.
As a matter of fact the Lions' Court was neglected for centuries, and as in almost every other country in the world, it was a foreigner who first appreciated its value. But the man in question, the American writer Washington Irving, was far from the first foreigner to arrive here. In 1812, the French forces of Napoleon had stayed here, and in other parts of the Royal Palace, and all they could contribute was the looting of everything nice and moveable. But when Irving arrived in Granada in the late 1820's the story would change. His Tales of the Alhambra has more than anything else contributed to the fame of Moorish Spain and Granada, as well as the saving of the legacy of Alhambra.
Irving wrote about the the Lions' Court: "It is impossible to contemplate his scene, so perfectly Oriental, without feeling the early associations of Arabian romance, and almost expecting to see the white arm of some mysterious pricess beckoning from the gallery, or some dark eye sparkling though the lattice. The abode of beauty is here as if had been inhabited but yesterday."



The Lions' Court was built in the second half of the 14th century during the reign of Muhammad 5. It opens up to 3 beautiful rooms, the Hall of the Two Sisters, the Hall of the Abencerrajes and the Hall of the Kings. Together with the Lions' Court do they make up the Harem of the Royal Palace.

Alhambra, the Serallo

Granada:
Alhambra, the Serallo

The Patio of Mytles, seen in direction south. The Patio of Myrtles, seen in direction north, with the Comares Tower in the back. Inside this lies the Hall of the Boat and the Hall of the Ambassadors. The Hall of the Ambassadors.

The Serello was mainly built during the reign of Yusuf 1 in the middle of the 14th century. It was largely decorated thanks to serving as the reception area of embassies and distinguished guests.
It consists of a selection of very attractive rooms and courtyards. The most appealing is the Patio of Myrtles (Patio de los Arrayanes), with its pool flanked by myrtle bushes. At its northern end lies the Comares Tower (Torre de Comares) within the Hall of the Boat (Sala de la Barca) lies. The Hall of the Boat has a fabulous ceiling, though it is a copy of the original following a fire in the 19th century.
Further into the tower, lies the Hall of the Ambassadors, which is the largest and possibly the finest room in the entire Royal Palace. It is a perfect square, and has a esquisite wooden dome, which was meant to symbolize the seven heavens. This hall was the staging ground for Sultan Boabdil's signing of Granada's surrender to the Catholic king and queen, as well as the place where King Fernando later the same year discussed the voyage of Columbus to find the sea route to India.