Sunday, October 26, 2008

Alberobello/Tivoli Italy (Day 5)


We decided to put Alberobello on the list of things to see from the picture in the guidebook. Its stunning houses with their conical stone roofs looked really intriguing and they did not disappoint. There are over 1400 stone roofs in the city and clustered together. They are a treat for the eyes. After a REALLY long drive, we arrived in Tivoli which is only 15 miles outside of Rome. There are several things to see here, but the most recommended sight is Villa Adriana. This complex was built by Hadrian in the early second century to represent the best that he had seen in his travels across the Roman empire. Stunning does not even come close to describing this place - we were both amazed at the size, scope and luxury that would even today be considered jaw dropping. After dark we picked our way through the traffic and darkness to arrive at the small village of Anticoli Corrado where our hotel was located. We weren't exactly sure where to find the hotel, but a local restaurant owner saw that we needed help and came to our rescue - in spades: he had a local move his car so we had a space to park, he closed his restaurant so he could show us to the hotel and then he carried one of our bags for us! The hotel owner didn't speak English so he contacted someone else from the village to come to the hotel to translate everything we needed to know...talk about hospitality! See the pictures of Alberobello, Villa Adriana and Anticoli Corrado here.

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