Exclusive historical villa for sale near Turin | Piedmont, Italy - Ref. 3847
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This exclusive luxury villa for sale is on a high position on Cimena hill, a few kilometers from Turin.
Overlooking the Po plain and offering a stunning view over Turin, this villa is a true gem of the real estate market.
Surrounded by a park of rare beauty, this villa in Piedmont was built in the mid-1600s and reached its peak in the 19th century, when the counts Thaon de Revel saw its complete restoration, commissioning royal architect Carlo Sada, who transformed it into an big Neoclassical villa.
This monumental and majestic villa features a Neoclassical façade with a double colonnade, In Ionic style on the lower floor and Corinthian style on the upper one. Both porticoes have a high triangular pediment adorned with statues above them.
This complex is composed of the main villa, which measures approximately 1,600 sqm and several annexes that bring the total surface area to approximately 2,500 sqm.
This villa's entrance welcomes guests with its beautiful, elegant and spacious halls. On the ground floor there are a wonderful, well-stocked library, a billiard room, a private chapel, a spacious kitchen and big state halls designed with great attention to detail. On the first and second floors there are several halls and bedrooms.
This villa has been designed with great attention to detail and its rooms tell us about the important artist that created its Palladian floorings, frescoed ceilings and its majestic collection of refined works of art.
Its luxuriant leafy park was made in 1847 by Marcellino Roda, gardener and landscape artist of the Savoy royal family; it measures approximately 98 hectares and is eclectically adorned with statues, steps and small walls. It is also home to several plants such as cedars, oaks, maples, sophoras, and cherry trees and also features a small lake surrounded by centuries-old trees, azaleas and rhododendron.
Another important and exclusive feature of this estate are its two heliports.
Turin in 4K
Turin (torino), located mainly on the western bank of river Po and surrounded by the western Alpine arch and Superga hill, is a very important business and cultural centre in Italy.
Turin is known for its numerous art galleries, restaurants, churches, palaces, opera houses, piazzas, parks, gardens, theatres, libraries, museums and other venues. The architecture in this city is a combination of Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neo-classical, and Art Nouveau.
But take a look by yourself by watching Torino in 4K and enjoying the beautiful footages made by the team of Cities in 4K.
In the video Turin in 4K you can find Palazzo Madame, Royal Palace of Turin, Palazzo Reale, Mole Antonelliana , Turin Egyptian Museum, Cathedral of San Giovanni Battista, National Cinema Museum, Basilica di Superga, Piazza San Carl, Piazza Castell, Juventus Stadiu, A part of the historical center of Turin was inscribed in the World Heritage List under the name Residences of the Royal House of Savoy.
Torino in 4K Filmed and Edited by Amir Kulaglic using:, GH5, Canon Mark III , Sony a7r II and Sony a7r III for Timelapse, Hyperlapse and DJI Mavic Pro 2 drone. All turin in 4k Stock Footage are available for licensing in HD, 4K and 8K , contact me here: citiesin4k@gmail.com
House of Turin
5 Star Luxury Accommodation near Forfar, Angus
Savoy | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Savoy
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The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Savoy (; Arpitan: Savouè [saˈvwɛ]; French: Savoie [savwa]; Italian: Savoia [saˈvɔːja]; Piedmontese: Savòja [saˈvɔja]; German: Savoyen [zaˈvɔʏ̯ən]) is a cultural region in Central Europe. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps between Lake Geneva in the north and Dauphiné in the south.
The historical land of Savoy emerged as the feudal territory of the House of Savoy during the 11th to 14th centuries. The historical territory is shared among the modern countries of France, Italy, and Switzerland.
Installed by Rudolph III, King of Burgundy, officially in 1003, the House of Savoy became the longest surviving royal house in Europe. It ruled the County of Savoy to 1416 and then the Duchy of Savoy from 1416 to 1860.
The territory of Savoy was annexed to France in 1792 under the French First Republic, before being returned to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1815. Savoy, along with the county of Nice, was finally annexed to France by a plebiscite, under the Second French Empire in 1860, as part of a political agreement (Treaty of Turin) brokered between the French emperor Napoleon III and King Victor Emmanuel II of the Kingdom of Sardinia that began the final steps in the process of unification of Italy. Victor Emmanuel's dynasty, the House of Savoy, retained its Italian lands of Piedmont and Liguria and became the ruling dynasty of Italy.
Castle of Racconigi | Wikipedia audio article
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Castle of Racconigi
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language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
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This video uses Google TTS en-US-Standard-D voice.
SUMMARY
=======
The Royal Castle of Racconigi is a palace and landscape park in Racconigi, province of Cuneo, Italy. It was the official residence of the Carignano line of the House of Savoy, and is one of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy included by UNESCO in the World Heritage Sites list.
CASTELLO DUCALE DI AGLIÈ (Torino, Piemonte) interni (UNESCO Regge Sabaude) - videomix (1/2)
Il Castello ducale di Agliè (in piemontese ël Castel d'Ajè) è un'elegante ed imponente costruzione situata nel comune di Agliè, in provincia di Torino.
L'edificazione del suo nucleo centrale, del quale sono tuttora identificabili le tracce, è iniziata nel XII secolo per conto della famiglia comitale dei San Martino, originari del Canavese.
Nel 1939 lo Stato acquistò dalla Casa Reale il castello che venne adibito a museo. Negli anni ottanta è stato oggetto di un ulteriore delicato restauro. Attualmente è stato sottoposto ad importanti lavori di consolidamento statico e restauro che impedivano la visita a buona parte delle sale.
Fa parte del circuito dei castelli del Canavese e, dal 1997, è parte del sito UNESCO Residenze Sabaude.
LE SALE DEL CASTELLO.
Sala delle Colonne, oggi vi è posta la biglietteria per i visitatori del castello;
Salone di Caccia, attribuito a Birago di Borgaro, con stucchi che raffigurano scene e trofei di caccia, contiene due tele del pittore francese Berger (1816) del re Carlo Felice e della regina Maria Cristina di Borbone;
Sala dei Valletti
Biblioteca
Sala degli antenati
Galleria d'Arte
Teatrino
Sala del Biliardo
Sala d'Angolo
Studio del Duca di Genova
Salone da Ballo
Sala Tuscolana, contiene reperti provenienti dal territorio dell'antica città di Tuscolo, presso Frascati.
Sala Gialla
Cappella di S. Massimo
Galleria Verde
Sala della Musica
Sala d'Attesa
Sala degli Stucchi
Sala Bleu
Camera da letto della Regina
Sala di Toeletta della Regina
Ospedaletto (1ª Guerra Mondiale)
Appartamento del Sopr. Chierici
Galleria delle tribune con i dipinti dei cavalieri dell'Ordine dell'Annunziata: vi sono 72 ritratti di Cavalieri dell'Ordine Supremo della Santissima Annunziata, commissionati dalla regina Maria Cristina tra il 1845 e il 1847. Sono opere per la maggior parte del pittore astigiano Michelangelo Pittatore e dei pittori Frigiolini, Malnate e Pratesi (che eseguirono ciascuno sei tele).
Architectural and Cultural Heritage of Italy, Torino
Architectural and Cultural Heritage of Italy, Torino
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Kingdom of Sardinia | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Kingdom of Sardinia
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
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The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
The Kingdom of Sardinia was a state in Southern Europe which existed from the early 14th until the mid-19th century. It was the predecessor state of the Kingdom of Italy.When it was acquired by the Duke of Savoy in 1720, it was a former Iberian state with weak institutions. However, the Savoyards united it with their possessions on the Italian mainland and, by the time of the Crimean War in 1853, had built the resulting kingdom into a strong power. The composite state under the rule of Savoy in this period may be called Savoy-Sardinia or Piedmont-Sardinia, or even the Kingdom of Piedmont to emphasise that the island of Sardinia was of secondary importance to the monarchy. The formal name of the entire Savoyard state was the States of His Majesty the King of Sardinia. Its final capital was Turin, the capital of Savoy since the Middle Ages.
The kingdom initially consisted of the islands of Corsica and Sardinia, sovereignty over both of which was claimed by the Papacy, which granted them as a fief, the regnum Sardiniae et Corsicae (kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica), to King James II of Aragon in 1297. Beginning in 1324, James and his successors conquered the island of Sardinia and established de facto their de jure authority. In 1420, after the Sardinian-Catalan War, the last competing claim to the island was bought out. After the union of the crowns of Aragon and Castile, Sardinia became a part of the burgeoning Spanish Empire. In 1720 it was ceded by the Habsburg and Bourbon claimants to the Spanish throne to Duke Victor Amadeus II of Savoy. The Kingdom of Sardinia came to be progressively identified with the states ruled by the main branch of the House of Savoy, which included, besides Savoy and Aosta, dynastic possessions since the 11th century, the Principality of Piedmont (a possession built up in the 13th century), and the County of Nice (a possession since 1388). While in theory the traditional capital of the island of Sardinia and seat of its viceroys was Cagliari, the Piedmontese city of Turin was the de facto capital of Savoy.
When the mainland domains of the House of Savoy were occupied and eventually annexed by Napoleonic France, the king of Sardinia made his permanent residence on the island for the first time in its history. The Congress of Vienna (1814–15), which restructured Europe after Napoleon's defeat, returned to Savoy its mainland possessions and augmented them with Liguria, taken from the Republic of Genoa. In 1847–48, in a perfect fusion, the various Savoyard states were unified under one legal system, with the capital in Turin, and granted a constitution, the Statuto Albertino. There followed the annexation of Lombardy (1859), the central Italian states and the Two Sicilies (1860), Venetia (1866), and the Papal States (1870). On 17 March 1861, to more accurately reflect its new geographic extent, the Kingdom of Sardinia changed its name to the Kingdom of Italy, and its capital was eventually moved first to Florence and then to Rome.
Nice, France, along the Côte d'Azur - the complete movie
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We are taking you to Nice along the beautiful shores of the French Riviera. We will walk the little lanes and look at some shops, we will show you the beach, the open market Cours Saleya and bring you on a walking tour through the old town. We will be spending three days in Nice, because there is so much to see in the city and also in the nearby towns along the Côte d'Azur. This is a longer version of three previously uploaded movies.
The south coast of France along the sunny Mediterranean Sea is one of the world’s most beautiful destinations dotted with colorful seaside towns and inland villages. You'll find that Nice makes the perfect home base from which you can easily reach those other destinations like Cannes and Monaco. Nice has got the biggest collection of hotels, it's got a wonderful old town, a very attractive new town, great transportation with the tram and the major train station and just a beautiful place to be.
One of the great street markets of France is located here in the wide Cours Saleya. This plaza features fresh produce and flowers throughout the day and many the stalls are open right into the early evening, except on Mondays when it becomes an antique market and some other used goods peddled by colorful vendors.
Just inland from the Cours Saleya you'll find the Old Town of Nice. For many visitors it will be the highlight of the city, wandering through these narrow pedestrian lanes lined with historic buildings and shops, lots of restaurants, bars, town squares with fountains and statues, a church here and there. It's just a great spot to explore and hang out. The old town consists of narrow labyrinths, not really streets, more of a maze with blocks of shops of every kind along these narrow twisting lanes.
The old town of Nice is something very special - not so much because of historic monuments or great churches or important single buildings that are inside the old town, but just the total atmosphere, the environment, the simple walking lanes, the shops and the people. There are actual locals living here, there are kids out playing, the residents are upstairs looking down from their windows and you really get a feeling of community here, of authenticity, especially in the off-season when it's not too crowded with tourists walking through the lanes - that helps quite a bit.
You'll find souvenir shops with the typical Provençal items especially the colorful fabrics and the pottery. There's also lots of food in the stores, go for the cookies maybe. We’re just rolling along together, this is part of our visit to the south of France a small group of us traveling together and sharing in the sites.
We especially enjoyed the local cuisine of this casual restaurant. They specialize in crepes and socca and salads and that's really all you need for a very nice lunch. Creperie Breton.
We're also going to have a look at the very attractive downtown of Nice. We'll take you down the main shopping street, show you some of the side lanes and do a little winetasting.
You'll obviously take time to explore Nice’ s main commercial Street, Avenue Jean Medicin, stretching about 10 blocks from Place Massena north to the train station and packed with many boutiques and anchored at the lower end by the large department store, Galleries Lafayette.
This is the kind of really local and authentic neighborhood that's often overlooked by typical guidebooks and video tours, but this is really part of the heart and soul of Nice. This is where locals hang out, where they go shopping, where they get a bite to eat, go to the café, have a beer, which makes it a good place for shopping and for people-watching.
It's so amazing how these pedestrian streets have transformed the cities of Europe. Just a decade ago these kinds of streets would've been filled with cars and trucks in pollution and noise, and the movement swept through the continent to convert these little streets in the heart of the town into pedestrian malls.
Then we're taking you to an evening viewpoint to watch the sunset along the shore, and then up to the top of Castle Hill for a spectacular view looking down over the town.
To get this view you walk along the east end of the waterfront promenade on the Quais des Etats Unit, and to the end you'll have this rocky outcrop with a terrace, with a commanding view looking back along the pebbly beach of Nice.
See more Nice movies in our playlist
Papal States | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Papal States
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
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The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
The Papal States, officially the State of the Church (Italian: Stato della Chiesa, Italian pronunciation: [ˈstaːto della ˈkjɛːza; ˈkjeː-]; Latin: Status Ecclesiasticus; also Dicio Pontificia), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the Pope, from the 8th century until 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from roughly the 8th century until the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia unified the Italian Peninsula by conquest in a campaign virtually concluded in 1861 and definitively in 1870. At their zenith, the Papal States covered most of the modern Italian regions of Lazio (which includes Rome), Marche, Umbria and Romagna, and portions of Emilia. These holdings were considered to be a manifestation of the temporal power of the pope, as opposed to his ecclesiastical primacy.
By 1861, much of the Papal States' territory had been conquered by the Kingdom of Italy. Only Lazio, including Rome, remained under the Pope's temporal control. In 1870, the Pope lost Lazio and Rome and had no physical territory at all, except the Basilica of St Peter and the papal residence and related buildings around the Vatican quarter of Rome, which the new Italian state did not occupy militarily. The head of the Italian government, at the time the Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini, ended the crisis between unified Italy and the Holy See by negotiating the Lateran Treaty, signed by the two parties in 1929. This recognized the sovereignty of the Holy See over a newly created international territorial entity, the Vatican City State, limited to a token territory.
Napoleon III | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Napoleon III
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
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The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Napoleon III (born Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 1808 – 9 January 1873) was the Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870 and, as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, the President of France from 1848 to 1852. He was the only president of the French Second Republic and the founder of the Second French Empire.
The nephew and heir of Napoleon I, he was the first head of state of France to hold the title of president, the first elected by a direct popular vote and the youngest until the election of Emmanuel Macron in 2017. Barred by the Constitution and Parliament from running for a second term, he organized a self-coup d'état in 1851 and then took the throne as Napoleon III on 2 December 1852, the forty-eighth anniversary of his uncle's coronation. He remains the longest-serving French head of state since the French Revolution. His downfall was brought about by the Franco-Prussian War in which France was quickly and decisively defeated by the North German Confederation, led by Prussia.
During the first years of the Empire, Napoleon's government imposed censorship and harsh repressive measures against his opponents. Some six thousand were imprisoned or sent to penal colonies until 1859. Thousands more went into voluntary exile abroad, including Victor Hugo. From 1862 onwards, he relaxed government censorship and his regime came to be known as the Liberal Empire. Many of his opponents returned to France and became members of the National Assembly.Napoleon III commissioned the grand reconstruction of Paris, carried out by his prefect of the Seine, Baron Haussmann. He launched similar public works projects in Marseille, Lyon and other French cities. Napoleon III modernized the French banking system, greatly expanded and consolidated the French railway system and made the French merchant marine the second largest in the world. He promoted the building of the Suez Canal and established modern agriculture, which ended famines in France and made France an agricultural exporter. Napoleon III negotiated the 1860 Cobden–Chevalier free trade agreement with Britain and similar agreements with France's other European trading partners. Social reforms included giving French workers the right to strike and the right to organize. Women's education greatly expanded as did the list of required subjects in public schools.In foreign policy, Napoleon III aimed to reassert French influence in Europe and around the world. He was a supporter of popular sovereignty and of nationalism. In Europe, he allied with Britain and defeated Russia in the Crimean War (1853–56). His regime assisted Italian unification and in doing so annexed Savoy and the County of Nice to France—at the same time, his forces defended the Papal States against annexation by Italy. Napoleon doubled the area of the French overseas empire in Asia, the Pacific and Africa. His army's intervention in Mexico which aimed to create a Second Mexican Empire under French protection ended in failure.
From 1866, Napoleon had to face the mounting power of Prussia as Chancellor Otto von Bismarck sought German unification under Prussian leadership. In July 1870, Napoleon entered the Franco-Prussian War without allies and with inferior military forces. The French army was rapidly defeated and Napoleon III was captured at the Battle of Sedan. The Third Republic was proclaimed in Paris and Napoleon went into exile in England, where he died in 1873.
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
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The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was ruler of both the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and the Spanish Empire (as Charles I of Spain) from 1516, as well as of the lands of the former Duchy of Burgundy from 1506. He stepped down from these and other positions by a series of abdications between 1554 and 1556. Through inheritance, he brought together under his rule extensive territories in western, central, and southern Europe, and the Spanish viceroyalties in the Americas and Asia. As a result, his domains spanned nearly 4 million square kilometres (1.5 million square miles), and were the first to be described as the empire on which the sun never sets.Charles was the heir of three of Europe's leading dynasties: Valois of Burgundy, Habsburg of Austria, and Trastámara of Spain. As heir of the House of Burgundy, he inherited areas in the Netherlands and around the eastern border of France. As a Habsburg, he inherited Austria and other lands in central Europe, and was also elected to succeed his grandfather, Maximilian I, as Holy Roman Emperor. As a grandson of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, from the Spanish House of Trastámara he inherited the Crown of Castile, which was developing a nascent empire in the Americas and Asia, and the Crown of Aragon, which included a Mediterranean empire extending to southern Italy. Charles was the first king to rule Castile and Aragon simultaneously in his own right (as a unified Spain), and as a result he is often referred to as the first king of Spain. The personal union under Charles of the Holy Roman Empire with the Spanish Empire was the closest Europe has come to a universal monarchy since the time of Charlemagne in the 9th century.
Because of widespread fears that his vast inheritance would lead to the realization of a universal monarchy and that he was trying to create a European hegemony, Charles was the object of hostility from many enemies. His reign was dominated by war, particularly by three major simultaneous prolonged conflicts: the Italian Wars with France, the struggle to halt the Turkish advance into Europe, and the conflict with the German princes resulting from the Protestant Reformation. The French wars, mainly fought in Italy, lasted for most of his reign. Enormously expensive, they led to the development of the first modern professional army in Europe, the Tercios.
The struggle with the Ottoman Empire was fought in Hungary and the Mediterranean. The Turkish advance was halted at the Siege of Vienna in 1529, and a lengthy war of attrition, conducted on Charles' behalf by his younger brother Ferdinand (King of Hungary and archduke of Austria), continued for the rest of Charles's reign. In the Mediterranean, although there were some successes, he was unable to prevent the Ottomans' increasing naval dominance and the piratical activity of the Barbary pirates. Charles opposed the Reformation, and in Germany he was in conflict with Protestant nobles who were motivated by both religious and political opposition to him. He could not prevent the spread of Protestantism and was ultimately forced to concede the Peace of Augsburg of 1555, which divided Germany along denominational lines.
While Charles did not typically concern himself with rebellions, he was quick to put down three particularly dangerous rebellions; the Revolt of the Comuneros in Castile, the revolt of the Arumer Zwarte Hoop in Frisia, and, later in his reign, the Revolt of Ghent (1539). Once the rebellions were quelled the essential Castilian and Burgundian territories remained mostly loyal to Charles throughout his rule.
Charles's Spanish dominions were the chief source of his power and wealth, and they became increasingly important as his reign progressed. In the Americas, Charles sanctioned the conquest by Castilian conquistadores of the Aztec and Inca empires. Castilian control was extended across much of South and Central ...
Napoli la Storia Vol. II Un Nuovo Regno - Eng. Sub.
E' stato scritto che vi sono due storie: la storia ufficiale, menzognera, che ci viene insegnata, e la storia segreta dove si trovano le vere cause degli avvenimenti; una storia spesso vergognosa.
Qual'è la vera storia di Napoli?
Un Nuovo Regno è un racconto che parte dalle trasformazioni urbanistiche della città, per diramarsi ed intRecciarsi con gli aspetti storici, artistici, antropologici e filosofici. Gli fà da sfondo la cornice storica europea e italiana.
Si realizza così la seconda parte di un'opera didattica e rigorosa, realizzata in grafica 3D, che la rende giovane, fruibile ed affascinante. Dal 1650 all'unità d'Italia.
It has been written that there are two stories: the official, lying story, which is taught to us, and the secret history where the true causes of events are found; an often shameful story.
What is the true story of Naples?
A New Kingdom is a story that starts from the urban transformations of the city, to branch off and intertwine with the historical, artistic, anthropological and philosophical aspects. The European and Italian historical frame is the background.
Thus the second part of a didactic and rigorous work is realized, realized in 3D graphics, which makes it young, usable and fascinating. From 1650 to the unity of Italy
Regia/Director Luciano De Fraia
Musiche/music Christof Unterberger
Paolo Frascani, Storico dell'economia
Alfredo Buccaro, Storico dell'Architettura
Leonardo Di Mauro, Storico dell'Urbanistica
Paolo Mascilli Migliorini, Architetto
Nicola Spinosa, Storico dell'Arte
Peppe Barra, Artista
Renato Ruotolo, Dir.libreria/archivio Accademia dell'Arte
Attrice/actress Sara Missaglia
Ricostruzioni grafiche 3D/ 3D graphic reconstructions Luciano De Fraia
Una produzione/Production Pixel 06 anno 2008
Copyright Pixel06 All rights reserved
- Questo film non usufruisce di finanziamenti pubblici, della politica, dei partiti. -
Florence | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:01:38 1 History
00:03:23 1.1 Roman origins
00:04:43 1.2 Second millennium
00:05:57 1.3 Middle Ages and Renaissance
00:06:06 1.3.1 Rise of the Medici
00:08:09 1.3.2 Savonarola, Machiavelli, and the Medici Popes
00:09:54 1.4 18th and 19th centuries
00:11:32 1.5 20th century
00:13:50 1.6 21st century
00:14:11 2 Geography
00:14:34 2.1 Climate
00:15:21 3 Government
00:17:01 4 Main sights
00:21:07 4.1 Monuments, museums and religious buildings
00:27:34 4.2 Squares, streets and parks
00:29:21 5 Demographics
00:31:19 6 Economy
00:32:12 6.1 Industry, commerce and services
00:33:46 6.2 Tourism
00:36:30 6.3 Food and wine production
00:37:19 7 Culture
00:37:28 7.1 Art
00:42:40 7.2 Language
00:43:31 7.3 Literature
00:45:24 7.4 Music
00:47:43 7.5 Cinema
00:48:12 7.6 Cuisine
00:49:38 7.7 Research activity
00:50:02 7.8 Science and discovery
00:51:03 7.9 Fashion
00:52:19 7.10 Historical evocations
00:52:27 7.10.1 iScoppio del Carro/i
00:53:10 7.10.2 iCalcio Storico/i
00:54:19 7.11 Sport
00:55:43 8 Transportation
00:55:52 8.1 Cars
00:56:30 8.2 Buses
00:57:58 8.3 Trams
00:58:49 8.4 Florence public transport statistics
00:59:28 8.5 Railway station
01:00:36 8.6 Airport
01:00:57 9 International relations
01:01:06 9.1 Twin towns and sister cities
01:01:17 10 Other partnerships
01:01:26 11 Notable residents
01:04:18 12 In popular culture
01:04:34 13 See also
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I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Florence ( FLORR-ənss; Italian: Firenze [fiˈrɛntse] (listen)) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with 383,084 inhabitants in 2013, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Florence was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of that era. It is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, and has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages. A turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family and numerous religious and republican revolutions. From 1865 to 1871 the city was the capital of the recently established Kingdom of Italy. The Florentine dialect forms the base of Standard Italian and it became the language of culture throughout Italy due to the prestige of the masterpieces by Dante Alighieri, Petrarch, Giovanni Boccaccio, Niccolò Machiavelli and Francesco Guicciardini.
The city attracts millions of tourists each year, and the Historic Centre of Florence was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. The city is noted for its culture, Renaissance art and architecture and monuments. The city also contains numerous museums and art galleries, such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Pitti, and still exerts an influence in the fields of art, culture and politics. Due to Florence's artistic and architectural heritage, it has been ranked by Forbes as one of the most beautiful cities in the world.Florence is an important city in Italian fashion, being ranked in the top 15 fashion capitals of the world; furthermore, it is a major national economic centre, as well as a tourist and industrial hub. In 2008, the city had the 17th highest average income in Italy.
Italian people | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Italian people
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The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
The Italians (Italian: Italiani [itaˈljaːni]) are a Romance ethnic group and nation native to the Italian peninsula and its neighbouring territories. Most Italians share a common culture, history, ancestry or language. Legally, all Italian nationals are citizens of the Italian Republic, regardless of ancestry or nation of residence (Italian nationality largely being based on jus sanguinis) and may be distinguished from people of Italian descent without Italian citizenship and from ethnic Italians living in territories adjacent to the Italian Peninsula without Italian citizenship. The majority of Italian nationals are speakers of Italian, or a regional variety thereof. However, around half also speak another regional or minority language native to Italy; although there is disagreement on the total number, according to UNESCO there are approximately 30 languages native to Italy (often misleadingly referred to as Italian dialects).In 2017, in addition to about 55 million Italians in Italy (91% of the Italian national population), Italian-speaking autonomous groups are found in neighbouring nations: almost a quarter million are in Switzerland, a large population is in France, the entire population of San Marino, and there are smaller groups in Slovenia and Croatia, primarily in Istria and Dalmatia. Because of the wide-ranging diaspora, about 5 million Italian citizens and nearly 80 million people of full or partial Italian ancestry live outside their own homeland, most notably in parts of Europe bordering Italy, South America, North America, Australia, Zealandia, and The Middle East.
Italians have greatly influenced and contributed to diverse fields, notably the arts and music, science and technology, fashion, cuisine, sports, jurisprudence, banking and business both abroad and worldwide. Furthermore, Italian people are generally known for their localism (both regionalist and municipalist) .
Naples | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Naples
00:02:53 1 History
00:03:01 1.1 Greek birth and Roman acquisition
00:05:07 1.2 Duchy of Naples
00:07:39 1.3 Kingdom of Naples
00:07:47 1.3.1 Norman to Angevin
00:09:41 1.3.2 Aragonese and Spanish
00:13:12 1.3.3 Independent Two Sicilies
00:13:39 1.4 Italian unification to the present day
00:17:57 2 Architecture
00:18:06 2.1 UNESCO World Heritage Site
00:19:42 2.2 Piazzas, palaces and castles
00:22:14 2.3 Museums
00:24:02 2.4 Churches and other religious structures
00:24:46 2.5 Other features
00:25:39 2.5.1 Subterranean Naples
00:26:55 2.5.2 Parks, gardens, villas, fountains and stairways
00:28:02 2.5.3 Neo-Gothic, iLiberty Napoletano/i and modern architecture
00:29:13 3 Geography
00:30:13 3.1 Quarters
00:30:32 3.2 Climate
00:31:36 4 Demographics
00:33:54 5 Education
00:36:23 6 Politics
00:36:32 6.1 Governance
00:37:39 6.2 Administrative subdivisions
00:37:49 7 Economy
00:39:40 8 Transport
00:43:14 9 Culture
00:43:23 9.1 Art
00:44:52 9.2 Cuisine
00:47:43 9.3 Festivals
00:49:29 9.4 Language
00:50:39 9.5 Literature and philosophy
00:54:11 9.6 Theatre
00:56:04 9.7 Music
00:59:06 9.8 Cinema and television
01:01:59 9.9 Sports
01:03:51 9.10 Tailoring
01:08:42 10 Neapolitans
01:08:51 10.1 Honorary citizens
01:09:04 11 International relations
01:09:13 11.1 Twin towns and sister cities
01:09:35 11.2 Partnerships
01:09:44 12 See also
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
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- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
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The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Naples (; Italian: Napoli [ˈnaːpoli] (listen); Neapolitan: Napule [ˈnɑːpələ] or [ˈnɑːpulə]; Latin: Neapolis; Ancient Greek: Νεάπολις, lit. 'new city') is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest municipality in Italy after Rome and Milan. In 2017, around 967,069 people lived within the city's administrative limits while its province-level municipality has a population of 3,115,320 residents. Its continuously built-up metropolitan area (that stretches beyond the boundaries of the Metropolitan City of Naples) is the second or third largest metropolitan area in Italy.
First settled by Greeks in the second millennium BC, Naples is one of the oldest continuously inhabited urban areas in the world. In the ninth century BC, a colony known as Parthenope or Παρθενόπη was established on the Island of Megaride, later refounded as Neápolis in the sixth century BC. The city was an important part of Magna Graecia, played a major role in the merging of Greek and Roman society and a significant cultural centre under the Romans. It served as the capital of the Duchy of Naples (661–1139), then of the Kingdom of Naples (1282–1816) and finally of the Two Sicilies until the unification of Italy in 1861.
Between 1925 and 1936, Naples was expanded and upgraded by Benito Mussolini's government but subsequently sustained severe damage from Allied bombing during World War II, which led to extensive post-1945 reconstruction work. Naples has experienced significant economic growth in recent decades, helped by the construction of the Centro Direzionale business district and an advanced transportation network, which includes the Alta Velocità high-speed rail link to Rome and Salerno and an expanded subway network. Naples is the third-largest urban economy in Italy, after Milan and Rome. The Port of Naples is one of the most important in Europe and home of the Allied Joint Force Command Naples, the NATO body that oversees North Africa, the Sahel and Middle East.Naples' historic city centre is the largest in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with a wide range of culturally and historically significant sites nearby, including the Palace of Caserta and the Roman ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Naples is also known for its natural beauties such as Posillipo, Phlegraean Fields, Nisida, and Vesuvius.Neapolitan cuisine is synonymous with pizza – which originated in the city – but it also includes many lesser-known dishes; Naples has the greatest number of accredited stars from the Michelin Guide of any Italian city.The best-k ...
Benito Mussolini | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Benito Mussolini
00:05:30 1 Early life
00:07:28 1.1 Emigration to Switzerland and military service
00:09:41 1.2 Political journalist, intellectual and socialist
00:13:32 1.3 Expulsion from the Italian Socialist Party
00:19:51 1.4 Beginning of Fascism and service in World War I
00:25:43 2 Rise to power
00:25:52 2.1 Formation of the National Fascist Party
00:33:42 2.2 March on Rome
00:34:48 2.3 Appointment as Prime Minister
00:37:25 2.4 Acerbo Law
00:38:03 2.5 Squadristi violence
00:39:36 3 Fascist Italy
00:39:45 3.1 Organizational innovations
00:41:17 3.2 Police state
00:44:51 3.3 The Pacification of Libya
00:46:45 3.4 Economic policy
00:49:55 3.5 Propaganda and cult of personality
00:52:53 3.6 Culture
00:56:40 3.7 Foreign policy
01:12:30 4 World War II
01:12:39 4.1 The gathering storm
01:19:49 4.2 War declared
01:22:04 4.3 Path to defeat
01:26:19 4.4 Dismissed and arrested
01:31:05 4.5 Italian Social Republic (Salò Republic)
01:35:10 5 Death
01:36:43 5.1 Mussolini's corpse
01:39:13 6 Personal life
01:40:40 7 Religious views
01:40:49 7.1 Atheism and anti-clericalism
01:43:09 7.2 Lateran Treaty
01:46:27 8 Mussolini's views on antisemitism and race
01:54:55 9 Legacy
01:55:04 9.1 Family
01:56:10 9.2 Neo-fascism
01:57:06 10 In popular culture
02:01:11 11 See also
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
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The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; Italian: [beˈniːto mussoˈliːni]; 29 July 1883 – 28 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who was the leader of the National Fascist Party (Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF). He ruled Italy as Prime Minister from 1922 to 1943; he constitutionally led the country until 1925, when he dropped the pretense of democracy and established a dictatorship.
Known as Il Duce (The Leader), Mussolini was the founder of Italian Fascism. In 1912, Mussolini had been a leading member of the National Directorate of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI), but was expelled from the PSI for advocating military intervention in World War I, in opposition to the party's stance on neutrality. Mussolini served in the Royal Italian Army during the war until he was wounded and discharged in 1917. Mussolini denounced the PSI, his views now centering on nationalism instead of socialism and later founded the fascist movement which came to oppose egalitarianism and class conflict, instead advocating revolutionary nationalism transcending class lines. Following the March on Rome in October 1922, Mussolini became the youngest Prime Minister in Italian history until the appointment of Matteo Renzi in February 2014. After removing all political opposition through his secret police and outlawing labor strikes, Mussolini and his followers consolidated their power through a series of laws that transformed the nation into a one-party dictatorship. Within five years, Mussolini had established dictatorial authority by both legal and extraordinary means and aspired to create a totalitarian state. In 1929, Mussolini signed the Lateran Treaty with the Vatican, ending decades of struggle between the Italian state and the Papacy, and recognized the independence of Vatican City.
After the Abyssinia Crisis of 1935–1936, Mussolini invaded Ethiopia in the Second Italo–Ethiopian War. The invasion was condemned by the Western powers and was answered with economic sanctions against Italy. Relations between Germany and Italy improved due to Hitler's support of the invasion. In 1936, Mussolini surrendered Austria to the German sphere of influence, signed the treaty of cooperation with Germany and proclaimed the creation of a Rome–Berlin Axis. From 1936 through 1939, Mussolini provided huge amounts of military support to Franco's forces in the Spanish Civil War. This active intervention further distanced Italy from France and Britain. Mussolini had sought to delay a major war in Europe, but Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, resulting in declarations of war by France and the UK and the start of World Wa ...
Napoleon III
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the first President of the French Second Republic and, as Napoleon III, the Emperor of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I. He was the first President of France to be elected by a direct popular vote. However, when he was blocked by the Constitution and Parliament from running for a second term, he organized a coup d'état in 1851, and then took the throne as Napoleon III on 2 December 1852, the forty-eighth anniversary of Napoleon I's coronation.
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Milan | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Milan
00:02:45 1 Toponymy
00:04:20 2 History
00:04:29 2.1 Prehistory and Roman times
00:07:17 2.2 Middle Ages
00:09:33 2.3 Early modern
00:11:42 2.4 Late modern and contemporary
00:16:30 3 Geography
00:16:39 3.1 Topography
00:18:33 4 Climate
00:21:25 5 Government
00:21:33 5.1 Municipal government
00:23:15 5.2 Metropolitan city and regional government
00:25:13 6 Cityscape
00:25:22 6.1 Skyline
00:25:53 6.2 Architecture
00:32:11 6.3 Parks and gardens
00:33:30 7 Demographics
00:34:30 7.1 Ethnic groups
00:36:59 7.2 Religion
00:39:12 8 Economy
00:43:12 9 Culture
00:43:20 9.1 Museums and art galleries
00:48:16 9.2 Music
00:49:42 9.3 Fashion and design
00:51:32 9.4 Languages and literature
00:53:44 9.5 Media
00:55:17 9.6 Cuisine
00:57:23 9.7 Sport
01:00:48 10 Education
01:04:31 11 Transport
01:08:24 12 International relations
01:08:34 12.1 Twin towns – sister cities
01:09:12 12.2 Other relations
01:09:23 13 Honorary citizens
01:09:37 14 See also
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
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The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Milan (, Milanese: [miˈlãː]; Italian: Milano [miˈlaːno] (listen)) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city in Italy after Rome, with the city proper having a population of 1,372,810 while its metropolitan area has a population of 3,242,820. Its continuously built-up urban area (that stretches beyond the boundaries of the Metropolitan City of Milan) has a population estimated to be about 5,270,000 over 1,891 square kilometres (730 square miles). The wider Milan metropolitan area, known as Greater Milan, is a polycentric metropolitan region that extends over central Lombardy and eastern Piedmont and which counts an estimated total population of 7.5 million, making it by far the largest metropolitan area in Italy and the 54th largest in the world. Milan served as capital of the Western Roman Empire from 286 to 402 and the Duchy of Milan during the medieval period and early modern age.
Milan is considered a leading alpha global city, with strengths in the field of the art, commerce, design, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, services, research and tourism. Its business district hosts Italy's stock exchange and the headquarters of national and international banks and companies. In terms of GDP, it has the third-largest economy among European cities after Paris and London, but the fastest in growth among the three, and is the wealthiest among European non-capital cities. Milan is considered part of the Blue Banana and one of the Four Motors for Europe.
The city has been recognized as the world's fashion and the design capital thanks to several international events and fairs, including Milan Fashion Week and the Milan Furniture Fair, which are currently among the world's biggest in terms of revenue, visitors and growth. It hosted the Universal Exposition in 1906 and 2015. The city hosts numerous cultural institutions, academies and universities, with 11% of the national total enrolled students. Milan is the destination of 8 million overseas visitors every year, attracted by its museums and art galleries that boast some of the most important collections in the world, including major works by Leonardo da Vinci. The city is served by a large number of luxury hotels and is the fifth-most starred in the world by Michelin Guide. The city is home to two of Europe's most successful football teams, A.C. Milan and F.C. Internazionale, and one of Italy's main basketball teams, Olimpia Milano.
Louis XIV of France | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Louis XIV of France
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The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 1638 – 1 September 1715), known as Louis the Great (Louis le Grand) or the Sun King (Roi Soleil), was a monarch of the House of Bourbon who reigned as King of France and Navarre from 1643 until his death in 1715. Starting on 14 May 1643 when Louis was 4 years old, his reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest recorded of any monarch of a sovereign country in European history. In the age of absolutism in Europe, Louis XIV's France was a leader in the growing centralisation of power.Louis began his personal rule of France in 1661, after the death of his chief minister, the Italian Cardinal Mazarin. An adherent of the concept of the divine right of kings, which advocates the divine origin of monarchical rule, Louis continued his predecessors' work of creating a centralised state governed from the capital. He sought to eliminate the remnants of feudalism persisting in parts of France and, by compelling many members of the nobility to inhabit his lavish Palace of Versailles, succeeded in pacifying the aristocracy, many members of which had participated in the Fronde rebellion during Louis' minority. By these means he became one of the most powerful French monarchs and consolidated a system of absolute monarchical rule in France that endured until the French Revolution.
Louis encouraged and benefited from the work of prominent political, military, and cultural figures such as Mazarin, Colbert, Louvois, the Grand Condé, Turenne, Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, André Charles Boulle, Molière, Racine, Boileau, La Fontaine, Lully, Marais, Le Brun, Rigaud, Bossuet, Le Vau, Mansart, Charles, Claude Perrault, and Le Nôtre. Under his rule, the Edict of Nantes, which granted rights to Huguenots, was abolished. The revocation effectively forced Huguenots to emigrate or convert in a wave of dragonnades, which managed to virtually destroy the French Protestant minority.
During Louis' reign, France was the leading European power, and it fought three major wars: the Franco-Dutch War, the War of the League of Augsburg, and the War of the Spanish Succession. There were also two lesser conflicts: the War of Devolution and the War of the Reunions. Warfare defined the foreign policy of Louis XIV, and his personality shaped his approach. Impelled by a mix of commerce, revenge, and pique, Louis sensed that warfare was the ideal way to enhance his glory. In peacetime he concentrated on preparing for the next war. He taught his diplomats that their job was to create tactical and strategic advantages for the French military.