Sanfelice’s Baroque Staircase in Naples

18th century Neapolitan Rococo architecture is best illustrated in the work of Ferdinando Sanfelice (1675-1748), who is known for his striking staircases. We especially love the Palazzo della Spagnuolo. Via dei Virgini, 19. Sanfelice’s stairway in this building is distinctive for its height, the large size of its perforations, and the movement of the design. This is a great example of how architecture of the Baroque keeps your eye in movement: notice in this picture how Sanfelice skillfully draws your gaze upward, giving the structure a lightness that would otherwise not exist.

Palazzo della Spagnuolo (Naples)

Cultural Travel Guide to Naples
Check out our PDF guide Approach Guide to Italy: The Italian Baroque, which offers travelers additional information on this and other Baroque architectural gems throughout Italy.

What to Drink in Napoli (by Approach Guides Wine iPhone app)

The region of Campania (which includes the city of Naples) has more to share with the world than just Marzano tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, pizza, Vesuvius and the Amalfi coast; it is also a highlight for wine lovers, producing some of the best wine — both red and white — in all of Italy. We recommend trying a a bold and full-bodied red wine, such as an Aglianico or a medium-bodied and balanced white wine, like a Fiano.

Wine Guide for the iPhone
Learn more about the wines and wine regions mentioned in this post with the Approach Guides Wine iPhone app.

One of the main attractions of Segovia, Spain is its very impressive aqueduct, which runs right through the old city and is staggering in its scale and balance.

Roman Aqueduct in Segovia, Spain

Facts about the Roman Aqueduct in Segovia

• 166 granite arches;
• 29 meters maximum height, 15,000 meters long;
• 28,400 hewn stone granite blocks;
• water was collected from River Frio, 17 km away.

What is perhaps most amazing about this site is the complete absence of any mortar — the structure is held together by gravity acting against the proficiently hewn and placed granite stone.

Another site that should not be missed is La Iglesia de la Vera Cruz (constructed in 1208). This 12-sided church, located outside the city walls, was modelled after the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem by the Knights Templar.

Where to Stay in Segovia

Although Segovia is an easy daytrip from Madrid, we recommend staying overnight and enjoying the city, its sites and, of course, its delicious food.

If you want to stay in town, we recommend Hotel Ayala Berganza (C/ Carretas, 5. Tel +34 921460448), a small modern hotel located walking distance from Segovia’s main sites. The hotel was once a palacio and now has 11 rooms all decorated in a different style. The hotel is quite charming and offers rooms at very reasonable rates.

If you want to spend your holiday like the Madrileños, look into staying at Casa deHechizo, a stunning boutique hotel located just 20 kilometers out of town.

Where to Eat in Segovia

Segovia is famed for its food, especially, its cochinillo (roasted suckling pig). We had our best dining experience at Restaurant Duque (Calle Cervantes, 12. Tel +34 921462487), which not only serves up excellent cochinillo, but also serves other traditional dishes, such as judias con liebre (large white beans stewed with rabbit) and gazpacho. They also have an excellent wine list, full of local, high-quality, well-priced wines.

We also ate at El Bernardino (Calle Cervantes, 2. Tel +34 921462477), but although their cochinillo is good, it does not quite rival Duque. There is, however, outdoor seating, which offers a very pleasant experience.

The Deesis in Hagia Sophia (Istanbul, Turkey)

In Byzantine art, the Deesis is a traditional representation of Christ enthroned, flanked by Mary and St. John the Baptist; these two figures are appealing to Christ for mercy on behalf of the beholder (viewer) on Judgment Day.

In Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia, visitors to the south gallery (upstairs) can find a fantastic mosaic image of the Deesis.  Made in the late 13th century (possibly 1261), this is the highest detail mosaic in the church and one of the most impressive mosaics in the world.

The “Byzantine style” is typically associated with flat two-dimensional, symbolic figuration, emphasized by stylized coloration with golds and blues (after all, the Christians pioneered this style as a rejection of the three-dimensional, naturalistic pagan designs of the Greeks and Romans).  However, this mosaic demonstrates the the “Byzantine Style” was anything but a consistent one; further, there was no evolution in one direction, per se, but rather an ongoing ebb-and-flow, back-and-forth from stylized to naturalistic.

The Hagia Sophia Deesis symbolizes the start of the re-emergence of a highly realistic style (albeit with stylized coloration, a characteristic that would never fade) pioneered during the post-Fourth Crusade, Palaeologan Era (1261-1453).  Although the Byzantine Empire was shaky politically and financially during this period (it had only two hundred years before its fall to the Ottoman Turks), Byzantine mosaic art arguably reaches its apex.

Deesis (Christ Pantocrator) Mosaic in Hagia Sophia

Learn more about the mosaics in Hagia Sophia and the Mediterranean
Check out our PDF travel guides to Istanbul:

Hagia Sophia and its Architectural Legacy, a detailed travel guide to Hagia Sophia

Ancient Mediterranean Mosaics, which offers an overview of the art of mosaics in Istanbul, Italy and the Middle East.

Recently we had the opportunity to chat with Dr. Jessie Voigts at Wandering Educators about our guides, their inspiration and creating meaningful travel experiences.

We were so flattered when Jessie wrote, “Perfect for the thinking traveler, Approach Guides are one of the best travel guides I’ve ever found.“

Visit WanderingEducators.com to read the interview and learn more about Approach Guides. Jessie will also be reviewing several of our travel guides on the site over the next month. While you are on the site, take some time to browse through their immense library of articles. Wandering Educators is a wonderful resource for travelers who want to explore new cultures and discover extraordinary destinations, fascinating people, and global artists, photographers and experts.

Restaurants in Venice can really be hit-or-miss, so you have to choose wisely.  But when you hit on a good one, it rivals the best that Italy has to offer.

Here is a list of our favorite four restaurants in Venice (we usually name our top 3, but we could not leave one of these out) — we have eaten at each of them, conservatively, 5-10x:

• Antiche Carampane. Rio Terra Rampani (San Polo) 041/524-0165. Great seafood, focused on home-style preparation with high quality ingredients. Excellent, slightly out of the way place for dinner, with a solid friendly staff and a classy, casual atmosphere. Best overall.  Antiche Carampane is a great experience, one of our favorite in Italy.  Closed Sunday and Monday.
• Alle Testiere. 5801 Calle del Mondo Novo (Castello). tel 041/522 7220. Excellent seafood restaurant. Good food, cool vibe, and the best wine list. The most elegant dining of all of the restaurants on this list. The only negative is that the seafood can be a bit over-prepared, meaning that the sauces can sometimes overwhelm the more delicate flavors of the seafood. Only 9 tables, so you have to reserve. 2 seatings: 7:30 and 9:30. Closed Sunday and Monday.
• Al Covo. Campiello della Pescheria (Castello). 041/522 3812. Delicious, very high quality Venetian seafood. Right up there with Antiche Carampane and Alle Testiere, however, we would argue that the energy level and feel are superior at the other two. Further, prices here are at least 10-20% higher than the other restaurants. However, this is the best option for dining on a Sunday or Monday, when the other top two are closed (Al Covo is closed Tuesday and Wednesday).
• La Corte Sconta. (Calle del Prestin, Castello, 3886. Near the Arsenale. tel. 041-522-7024; closed Sunday and Monday; also from 7 January to 7 February, and from 15 July to 15 August. ). An old-school seafood-oriented trattoria, that has a slightly simpler décor than the others on the list (tables topped with butcher paper and red napkins); the seafood quality is like Antiche Carampane and Alle Testiere, but it is more casual and offers simpler preparations. They base their daily menu on whatever the Chioggia fish market has to offer. We do find the service rushed, a bit pushy and prices (food and wine) higher than its peers. Although still a good dining experience, the food is the weakest of the top three.

What to Order in Venice

Seafood is definitely the way to go in Venice. Some things to look for that are particularly good and typically Venetian:

• Seppie (cuttlefish, which is basically squid, but a little larger, and with darker ink).
• Cappelunghe (razor shell clams).
• Canestrelli (Venetian scallops).
• Moeche (tiny soft shell crabs, usually fried).
• Branzino (sea bass).
• Razza (ray/skate) – although we enjoy this dish (pan sautéed) in the States, sadly, we never found the dish to be appealing in Venezia.

Like this information?
Check out our PDF guide to the Foods of Italy.

What to Drink in Venice (by AG Wine)

The Veneto produces some excellent wines. However, while we would certainly recommend going with the Veneto’s signature sparker, prosecco (particularly from the Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene DOC), the region’s vast and impressive red wine repertoire is not going to work with Venice’s seafood-based cuisine. Since the Veneto’s whites are generally disappointing (based on the trebbiano and garganega varieties), we would suggest looking to the nearby Friuli region. Friuli’s whites are probably the best in Italy. Look for the wines based on the friulano, sauvignon, ribolla gialla grape varieties. Keep in mind that the wines from the Collio and Collio Orientali DOC zones set the standard for the region.

Like this information?
Check out Approach Guides Wine, our new wine app for the iPhone!

Travelers to Buddhist and Hindu countries might find a review of AUM valuable, as it exemplifies many of the fundamental tenets of these faiths.

The symbol of AUM consists of three curves, one semicircle, and a dot; these are symbols of each person’s self and his potential:

• The large curve (in the lower left corner of the image) symbolizes the waking state.  Perhaps it is best to think of this curve as symbolic of the “ego”, our outward persona, the person we think we should be, that identity that we consciously associate with the “self”.
• Moving clockwise, the upper curve (upper left corner) symbolizes the unconscious state, that part of the “self” that is hidden to the one’s consciousness but is equally part of the “self”.
• The middle curve, which extends to the right side, symbolizes the dream state. This dream state, positioned vertically between the conscious and unconscious elements of the “self” serves as a means to connect the two, a means for the conscious and unconscious to interact.  This is certainly what we do when we dream…the unconscious becomes conscious, affording a more complete view of the “self”.
• The semicircle or crescent symbolizes symbolizes illusion, specifically in this case, the illusion that the self exists as a separate entity at all.  Notice that the crescent separates the dot from the other three curves.  It is this illusion that separates the individual from becoming one with his infinite self, beyond boundaries.
• The dot signifies the infinite, absolute self, hidden from the individual by illusion; this is what the Eastern faiths of Hinduism and Buddhism consider God.   Dispelling the illusion and becoming one with this infinite self is the ultimate experience of life and the experience of the divine.

One of our favorite descriptions of AUM, which touches on many of the symbols described above, can be found in Joseph Campbell’s book “The Hero with a Thousand Faces“.  Campbell breaks down each of AUM’s three phonemes, a, u and m:

• The A representing the realm of waking experience: “cognitive of the hard gross facts of an outer universe, illuminated by the sun, and common to all”
• The U representing the realm of dream experience: “cognitive of the fluid, subtle forms of a private interior world, self-luminous and of one substance with the dreamer.”
• The M representing the realm of deep sleep: “dreamless, profoundly beautiful” (the person unified with the unconscious and the greater self).

For Campbell, the most profound element of AUM is not the sound, however, but the silence: “The silence surrounding the syllable is the unknown: it is called simply ‘the fourth’.  The syllable itself is God as creator-preserver-destroyer, but the silence is God Eternal, absolutely uninvolved in all the openings-and-closings of the round.”

Experience the silence!

Learn More with Approach Guides Cultural Travel Guidebooks

Religion: Buddhism

Buddhism began as a rebellious offspring of Hinduism in India, “Hindu Protestantism”, if you will, and migrated out of India to the rest of Asia via the Silk Road and other trade routes. This guide seeks to provide a framework for understanding the faith and help readers gain an understanding of this religion’s rich, global cultural legacy. Learn more about Buddhism…

Religion: Hinduism

This document is designed to provide a comprehensive background on the history of the Hindu religion, a discussion of the primary Hindu gods (and how to recognize them), the central tenets of the faith, the history of and thoughts espoused in the primary Hindu religious texts, the relevant religious symbolism, and the primary related religious movements. Learn more about Hinduism…

Deep relief of Stela B (731 CE), Copan

Copan, in western Honduras on the border of Guatemala, is one of the premier Mayan sites; the ruined city (a thriving center from 426-822 CE) hosts more hieroglyphic inscriptions and sculpted monuments than any other Maya site.

The carved stelae are certainly one of the highlights. Stelae are single stone (green volcanic tuff at Copan) blocks. At Mayan sites, they were generally carved to celebrate “period endings”, which occurred upon completion of 360-day cycles; these cycles emphasized the cyclicality of life and the ruler’s role in the process of creation and destruction.

From stucco to stone

Copan’s first stelae appear under Ruler 11 (563-628), who initiated the change from modeled stucco decoration (adhered to the walls of architecture) to free-standing stone stelae; stelae construction gained momentum under Ruler 12 (628-695). While this move from stucco to stone might have been driven by purely cosmological or aesthetic reasons, deforestation was certainly a contributor (trees were needed as fuel to burn the limestone and create the lime needed from the stucco).

Ruler as divine intervener

Stelae were sponsored by the ruler and carved to depict his role as a divine intervener on behalf of his people. The vertical stelae linked the celestial (the residence of gods responsible for life and sustenance) and underworld (the residence of ancestors) to the world of the living – rulers were depicted at the center of the stelae, bridging the gap between these two worlds.

Low relief of Stela P (623 CE), Copan

The sculptural style

Copan is known for the high-relief, naturalistic representations of its rulers sculpted on its many stelae. The stelae created during the reign of Rulers 11 and 12, while they still exhibit a degree of three-dimensionality, are relatively flat and two dimensional, compared to those created under Ruler 13 (695-738); this difference is clear in two exhibits (the first from Ruler 13 and the second from Ruler 11). Ruler 13’s stelae are nearly sculpted in the round, with tremendous depth and naturalism. These stelae represent the high-point of Mayan sculptural art.

Where to stay

Hacienda San Lucas. With just eight rooms, the Hacienda San Lucas is an excellent hotel, with an engaging owner, delicious homemade Maya and local Copan cuisine, friendly staff, and views overlooking the ruins. Highly recommended!

Below is an article we wrote for Travel-Writers-Exchange.com, a community of travel writers, bloggers, and journalists that exchanges tools, tips, and resources designed to help members expand their online reach and find new opportunities.

_________

Finding a research approach that allows you to deliver fresh, unique, and thoughtful content is one of the greatest hurdles for travel writers.

Whether you only have a few days in one location or are embarking on an extended RTW trip, conducting some preliminary research on your destination will enhance your travel experience and your travel writing.

While writing the content that would eventually become Approach Guides, we spent 75% of our time “on location” and 25% researching our upcoming destinations at our home base in Milan, Italy. To accommodate this extreme travel schedule, we developed a streamlined research process that allowed us to create unique content.

Step One: Plan Your Itinerary

To help us form a preliminary itinerary, we consult a few sources that highlight the key cultural sites (our niche) in a given destination:

• A traditional travel guidebook, such as Lonely Planet or Rough Guides
• An online travel guidebook, although there are many choices, wikitravel.org is a good place to start.
• Tour company itineraries. For our purposes, we look to tour companies that target our niche, such as Archaeological Tours;

Step Two: Focus Your Research

The remainder of this article can be viewed on Travel-Writers-Exchange.com.

Below is an article we wrote for The City Traveler, an online magazine written and edited by experienced travel journalists for readers who love exploring the world’s great urban places.

Beijing’s quiet hutong neighborhoods are about as close as you can come to experiencing what everyday life was like in the city more than 700 years ago.

Narrow lanes or alleys that traditionally consist of several squat buildings (homes, stores, public restrooms, etc), hutongs are built so closely together that they form a nearly continuous wall, broken only by doorways leading into a residential area or store.

Residences in the hutong are typically courtyard houses (siheyuan), which contain several buildings grouped around one or more open air courtyards. These courtyard homes, which traditionally housed several generations of a single family, functioned as a very private and personal mini “walled city”.

The remainder of this article can be viewed on The City Traveler’s website.

A visit to Uzbekistan is a must if you want to see its beautiful Timurid architecture, the pinnacle of which was reached in the Silk Road city of Samarkand’s Registan Square.  Timirud architecture went on to exert significant influence on the Islamic architecture of India, most notably the Taj Mahal.  You can explore this historical architectural connection in our Approach Guide to “India Art & Architecture: Islam”.

The starting point for most visitors is its capital city, Tashkent. Here are some recommended places to stay and eat in this city.

Where to Stay

• Hotel Elite.  This clean and comfortable hotel is located near Bobur Park. The staff here is super friendly and is willing to accommodate you in any way possible. Telephone: +998 71 1208829

Where to Eat

Women Serving Lunch in a Tashkent Market

• Local Markets. Experience the real Tashkent by join local families for lunch in their local market. You will find Uzbek women serving traditional dishes and chatting with their customers. This is a great experience and one we highly recommend!
• Cafe Caravan. Lucky for us, this Westernized-Uzbek restaurant was located near to Hotel Elite and serves late, so we were able to get a bite to eat after our late-arrival flight into the city. The atmosphere was great as was the food. We highly recommend trying their Uzbek dishes, especially the plov (rice with lamb) and the manty (dumplings).
• Home Restaurants. These restaurants offer an excellent experience – the restaurant is seemingly located in someone’s home and serves traditional Uzbek food. They are open for lunch and dinner, which are served in a large courtyard that contains a few plastic tables. There are no signs or indications to mark these restaurants, but rather they rely on local children to pull you in. To find the area in which several of these restaurants are located, go to the Tinchlik metro station and from there, walk to the closest traffic signal and turn right.
• Local Markets. Alternatively, you can join Tashkent families for lunch in the local market. This is a great experience and one we highly recommend!