San Lorenzo Maggiore,
Milan
A statue of Constantine, apparently robbed of his umbrella,
stands with sixteen Roman columns, a reminder that this
area was once the centre of Mediolanum, a vital strategic
outpost of the Roman Empire. The statue commemorates
the Edict of Milan in AD 313, which established Christianity
as the unifying religion of the Empire.
Birches, Mantua Province
Plantations like this are seen all over central Italy,
but, however modern they may be, walking through them
at dusk gives one an eerie sense of timelessness.
Torre degli Asinelli,
Bologna
The twelfth-century tower affords a wonderful view of
the city from its 318-foot (97-metre) summit, which
is reached by 500 steps periodically illuminated by
small windows. This is one of a pair of towers, the
Torre Pendenti, but in the twelfth century the skyline
of Bologna bristled with around 200 such towers.
