Man and His Amazing Flying Machines

'Anything the mind of man can believe it can achiev'’ - a wonderful homily that has led man to conquer the most amazing summits in this wonderful life of ours. But perhaps one of the most significant was the ultimate desire to fly to the moon. Songs were written about this and ever since humankind was aware of the 'man in the moon' he must have wondered what it was like up there.

This must have been one of the catalysts that spurred on Leonardo Da Vinci to design his first flying machine in 1487. At first his designs were based on the way birds flew. Later, he realised this was impractical and produced drawings of machines with fixed wings. He also experimented with what later became known as gliders.

The history of flights in all sorts of craft is littered with the most inspirational events. Francesco de Lana is credited as being the first person to design a lighter-than-air craft based on definite scientific principles. In 1670 he used this information to design a flying boat. The machine was propelled by a sail and lifted by 4 copper spheres from which all the air had been pumped. He speculated that the climbing speed of his airship could be regulated by using small sacks of sand for ballast. Imagine how the first flight of this machine ended! (more...)

Hotels in Rome Bring on Nostalgia

There are a number of hotels which vie for the title of the oldest in Rome. As a city steeped in history, it gives a good feeling of the splendor of Rome to be able to stay somewhere which honours that history and luxuriates in it.

One of the oldest hotels in Rome opened in 1787 and is The Albergo Cesari, having first been given its papal licence to be a hotel in 1787. It remains an island of peaceful elegance in the heart of the city, ideally situated between the Fontana di Trevi and the Pantheon. Another famous resting place is the Hotel Majestic which was the first hotel that was built on the Via Veneto. It was inaugurated in 1889 and its architectural design and modern features revealed its intent to stand out, right from the start, as the leading light of Rome’s accommodation during that era.

Rome hotels effectively became a natural evolution from the original insulae or apartment buildings. Unsurprisingly, the Romans were the first civilisation to utilise flats and apartments and demonstrate how large numbers of people could live in a small area. This move towards city life caused a large demand for housing, so real estate was at a premium. Private houses and villas became a luxury for the wealthy patricians, whereas the lower classes, or plebeians, lived in insulae or apartment buildings. (more...)

Historic Vacation Places in Italy

Italy has long been one of the most visited countries on the planet. With cities that witnessed the rise of the Roman Empire, it is no surprise that Italy welcomes tens of millions of tourists each year. The only problem most folks have when planning a trip to Italy is deciding what to see.

Saint Peter’s Basilica or Michelangelo’s David? A gondola ride in Venice or a walking tour in Tuscany? The sad fact is that is impossible to experience all that Italy has to offer in only a week or two. In this article, however, we are going to discuss some of the most popular and historically important vacation places in Italy .

We will begin with the Eternal City, Rome. Home to the Coliseum, the Sistine Chapel and Vatican City, Rome is one of the most popular destinations for tourists in Europe. As the most powerful city in the Ancient world, its history can be traced back more than two and a half millennia. (more...)