Italy in Pictures

In mid-July, Gayla and I went to Italy for the first time to visit my grandparents' homeland. Instead of giving you a narrative, we welcome you into a journey of snapshots.

Take-off! Omaha >> Chicago >> Milan

First thing we do in Italy: find dark chocolate gelato.

Milan Duomo - 40,000 people can fit in here

Milan - top of the duomo, viewing the plaza

Milan cathedral (duomo) - built from 1386-1965

Milan - Original mural of The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, 1498

Milan - another view from the top of the duomo

when the chef delivers

Varenna, Italy

Varenna

still Varenna

Varenna once more

Oleggio - found a McDonald's and of course ... they had an espresso bar

arrive in Vercelli - home of my ancestors

This risotto is only found in Vercelli - and. is. awesome.

Riccardo at city hall in Crova helped me find my great-grandfather in the town's birth/marriage records.

met my Camoriano cousins for the first time: Vittorio with Little Daniela, Francesca, Sara and me

beautiful monument in the Crova cemetery - generations of Camorianos

view from our Airbnb in Riomaggiore (Cinque Terre)

Manarola (Cinque Terre)

Manarola (Cinque Terre)

Monterossa al Mare

Learning to make gnocchi in the mountains by the sea

Monterossa al Mare - finished gnocchi

Vernazza, Italy

Vernazza

Riomaggiore

Leaning Tower of Pisa

A farmhouse where we learned to make pasta and tiramisu

Making pasta by hand was a challenge. And a blast.

billed as the best gelato in the world - in San Gimignano

Filling up at Montepulciano

Took some searching, but we found the location of the grass dream scene in Braveheart.

The Piazza del Campo is the main public space of the historic center of Siena, a city in Tuscany, Italy. It's regarded as one of Europe's greatest medieval squares. And it was also 107 degrees the day we were there.

Italy is filled with historic alleys, once passageways inside castles and stone city walls. This maze is in Siena, nestled among olive trees on top of a Tuscany hillside.

After driving nearly 700 miles, we arrive in Florence.

Florence

Florence at night. Aperitifs and friendly chats.

Florence: Stone corridors spilled into a giant, buzzing plaza.

Florence: The Uffizi Gallery - Leonardo da Vinci's painting of the archangel Gabriel's annunciation to Mary

Florence - Uffizi Gallery: Michelangelo's only panel painting