Florence is such a stunning and grand place with palaces, museums, statues and beautiful buildings all around. I found the most impressive of these to be the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore which took over 140 years to construct during the 13^th, 14^th and 15^th centuries. The facade is uniquely decorated to a neo-gothic design of green, white and red marble which makes the building stand out from all other cathedrals I have been to, but the most prominent and distinguishing feature of this cathedral is the staggering huge dome. It is the largest brick dome ever built and as well as being immense and awe-inspiring on the outside, the fresco on the inside of the cupola is decorated with a 3,600 square meter (38,750 square feet) rendition of The Last Judgement with fantastic, provocative and terrifying images of The 24 Elders of Apoc, Choirs of Angels; Christ, Mary and Saints; Virtues, Gifts of the Holy Spirit and Beatitudes; and at the bottom of the cupola: Capital Sins and Hell. Standing in the Piazza del Duomo outside this great building it is still incredibly intimidating and dominating, but I can’t help wonder how it would have appeared to people that hadn’t grown up in a world where words like ‘skyscraper’ were in common use. Another highlight of my few days in Florence was seeing Michelangelo’s awesome David. It stands at the end of a hall of his unfinished sculptures and dominates the room. He is positioned in such a way that he seems to grow more than he should as you approach, and I easily spent twenty minutes in his presence!

We then went to spend a day and a night in Rome. There was obviously a lot that we wanted to fit into a relatively short period, so we had a packed itinerary. The first evening we checked into a great little hotel and the guy on the door was only too pleased to organise our site seeing for us. He had sent us on an evening excursion past the Piazza del Popolo, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain and a few other nice spots – stopping in between for drinks and food of course; and the following day we visited the Vatican City and the monuments and gardens around the Colosseum.

I had visited the Vatican City before, but I was still in awe of the size of St Peter’s Square as we waiting in line to enter the cathedral. Once inside and up the tower the view out over the square continued to emphasise the size and grandeur that the papal city inspires in all visiting devotees and tourists alike. Imagining giving a public address out over a sea of tiny people gathered in this encircling auditorium conjured up images of power and conquest that many zealots must have experienced time and again. The place was designed to create a feeling of majesty and wonder towards the chosen few that reside within, and that is exactly what it does. Indeed, it not only influences people, but even the weather systems which are marginally different in the Vatican City because of the anomalous bulk of St Peter’s Basilica, the elevation, the fountains and the size of the large paved square.

I was also keen to see the Sistine Chapel which I had missed on my previous trip, and so went to the Vatican Museum. I only wanted to pop in to the chapel, but in order to get to it I had to walk around the rest of the museum, being herded from one room to the next – down insanely long corridors, up and down flights of steps. In fact, you’re so disoriented by the end of the trek you’re actually pleased to get to the more open space of the souvenir shops! There are actually some really interesting things to see in the Vatican Museum though. Most of the rooms are decorated with massive frescoes or tapestries. One of the halls is lined with maps of European countries, states, and kingdoms as they were hundreds of years ago, with intricate patterned ceilings and gilded chandeliers and coving – but it all culminates in the Sistine Chapel; the one place that you aren’t allowed to photograph! And it really is stunning. The ceiling is majestic and as complex as you might expect, and The Last Judgement on the wall above the altar is truly magnificent. I don’t care whether Michelangelo liked it or not; I thought it was great! After the Sistine Chapel we headed to the Colosseum, and then out into the gardens and ruins opposite and wandered through the remains of the ancient houses of great Roman leaders, and the remaining pillars and mighty temples, arches and basilicas that made up parts of the old Roman Forum.

The next stop was further south in Naples. There were three reasons that this place was next on the list: it was somewhere I hadn’t been to, it was close to Pompeii, and if we wanted to make our flight out of Italy we needed to be at Naples’ airport!

I didn’t really know much about Naples, except that it was going to be a city with strong traditionally Italian roots, plenty of good food, and ties to the Mafia! I must confess that travelling on the graffiti-ridden subway, I couldn’t help imagine where all of the tough-looking, sour-faced, beefed up locals had acquired their scars, and was a little relieved when we arrived at our stop having not been mugged.

I had chosen a hostel close to one of the stations out of the centre of the city and close to the waterfront. After carrying our big bags around for several weeks, I was getting tired of it and thought the closest hostel would probably be the best choice at this stage in our trip. Unfortunately, although the hostel appeared very close on the map it didn’t account for the relative mountain that we had to climb before we got to the entrance! The hostel wasn’t exactly very pleasant either, especially after such a nice hotel in Rome or staying with our friends in Florence. We pulled the paper-thin mattresses off the bunk beds and tried to make something more closely resembling a real bed on the floor, and then showered and went out to find some decent Italian food.

As soon as we reached the first strip where food was being sold we were accosted by a variety of waiters and restaurateurs competing for our custom and also in some personal competition to see who could be the most bombastic and enthusiastic to see another hungry tourist. It was a struggle to fight past the first few, but eventually we had done a short circuit of the restaurants and decided where to get some dinner. It was a little family-run place with four generations of the family running around serving, cooking, hosting, or kicking a football about. The food was delicious and when we had finished we went exploring a little further. Being on the waterfront there were lots of cafes and cocktail bars by the sea, with tacky swing chairs and neon lights to lure in the would-be drunken passersby.

Naples seemed to be a place of variety and contradiction. There were beautiful little lanes filled with hanging baskets, families and neighbours socialising with one another, little trattorias, and stray dogs; and there was also the side of the city which was loud, dirty, and at times obnoxious. Fresh fish was being sold on the shores, straight from the small fishing trawlers, and the locals chattered and haggled over the prices of octopus, squids, lobsters and all manner of little fish. I loved the white-stone that was used on some of the buildings or around the ports, and a great almost glowing yellow/white castle built on a headland. Vesuvius could be seen in the distance, especially from the castle keep – and that was where we were heading next.

Pompeii is now split into two towns. The new town is quite large, but it is dwarfed in scale by the old now uncovered ruined city preserved from nearly 2000 years ago. It has slowly been excavated and uncovered since it’s rediscovery in 1748 and the amount of history and insight that can be absorbed just by setting foot in the streets is not something I know I will not be able to accurately convey with my completely inadequate words. What I will say though is that the place is like a giant museum; and not a hotchpotch collection of relocated relics like most galleries or museums are, but this was a look at how something was in its ancient environment on a scale that must surely be unmatched throughout the world. There are of course displayed collections of preserved pots, bowls, tools, cadavers, and everything you would expect to find in a once lively town, but the real pleasure was to simply walk through the houses, shops, and streets.

As you stroll from one of the town’s focal points to another, such as between temples, theatres, or villas, it is easy to get lost in the imagined bustle of an ancient roman city. The people wandering around beside you may be wearing modern clothes, carrying cameras and guide books, and talking in all manner of dialects – but it’s easy to forget that: You are in an ancient Italian city, with the bustle of dozens of people going about their daily business.

Even when you are in an unremarkable street you can stumble across real archaeological treasures in any hidden corner. Every single inhabitant of ancient Pompeii had a house with a garden, and even when these buildings were small you could imagine the feeling of status and worth that this gesture would give the populous. In the grander houses the gardens would have pools and pillared courtyards, and in the smaller ones there may be stone benches, patios, or maybe places where they would grow some vegetables and fruit. The walls in even the most humble house still often had glorious frescoes of landscapes, people, or fantastical scenes from a long-forgotten story. In the brothels the pictures on the walls and in the small stone chambers were just as detailed and artistic – though followed a theme very much of their own! Several of the streets were also adorned with crude graffiti, Roman slang, and political propaganda relating to the upcoming election that would have happened if the city hadn’t been buried under tonnes of ash.

There were lots of interesting buildings which gave an insight into the everyday life of the people that lived there; thermopoliums – pubs with marble-topped bars; bakeries with old stone mills, ovens and shelves for the recently baked goods; there are elegant villas, including one with controversial frescoes depicting a rite from the outlawed Special Cult of Dionysus; communal baths; an amphitheatre and forum. All with their own stories of mystery and history, and all overlooked by the monstrous hulk of Vesuvius.

I have pictures from Italy of course, so take a look!