Whats newly scrubbed, restored, and coming out from behind scaffolding in Italy in 2012?

The Rome Colosseum is being cleaned from top to bottom, and is also receiving permanent lighting. For the first time, tours are being offered to previously restricted areas, underground passageways and the third-floor parapet. You can view the underground chambers where the ancient city’s famous warriors prepared themselves for battle. Behind-the-scenes tours are available only by booking at least a day in advance.

At Rome’s Palatine Hill, you can now tour the House of Livia, the home of the wife of Emperor Augustus. Guided visits, which are included with admission, take 20 people in every half-hour to tour the site and its newly restored frescoes.
As surviving Roman wall paintings are rare (these date back to the first century B.C.), it’s worth the trouble.

Renovations continue in Venice at the Accademia, showcasing the city’s top collection of Venetian paintings.  Be aware that there are some major canvases now out of view and some rooms are closed entirely.

The dramatic bell tower on St Mark’s Square, the Campanile, still has scaffolding around the base.  However, great news –  the three-year restoration of the little Bridge of Sighs – popular with romantics – is now complete.

In Florence the big news for visitors is that they will no longer take their lives into their own hands when wandering around the sights.  The historic centre is now a traffic-free zone.

Florence’s Duomo Museum completes its restoration of the original panels of Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise. The famous panels are being reinserted in their door frames and should be back on display for a formal inauguration on June 24, 2012, the feast day of Florence’s patron saint, John the Baptist.

And Florence’s Galileo Science Museum, which was in a jumble of restoration for years, is now complete and ready for visiting.

Posted by Admin1 on Jan 4, 2012