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Posted by Barbara Rogers Sep 30, 2007 |
In the article Northern Italy’s Top 10 Sights, I talk a bit about the importance of seeing the great icons of travel, even though they may have long lines of other tourists and be suggested by every guidebook. Usually this popularity is because these places really are worth seeing. They are the great artistic, architectural, cultural or religious treasures of our world.
While seasoned travelers may brag that they avoid the places everyone else goes, it’s usually because they have already been there. Travelers who have not, probably should, if for no other reason than to compare the great and well-known sights to the smaller secret ones they will discover on their own.
But it’s important to distinguish between sights and experiences, because a perfect trip balances these two elements. The best experiences in Northern Italy are quite different than the best sights, even though they may involve the same places.
For example, seen on a tour, St. Mark’s is a sight; attending mass there on Sunday morning is an experience. The Arena of Verona is a sight, while seeing an opera performed there on a summer evening is an experience. Blending these onto a trip that includes magical experiences for our senses along with the great sights that well-traveled people have seen over the past centuries requires a bit of planning and a lot of just being ready to seize the moment – to sit on the stone steps around piazza San Marco and listen to the orchestras play, to feed the pigeons, to waltz in the parlor of Bellagio's Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni, to sip a bicerin in a Turin café. Those experiences – especially those you share with local people -- will help put all the great sights into perspective, framing them in your mental scrapbook.