The Florence Cathedral, which is also known as The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is known for its dome that was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi.

St. Marks Basilica (Basilica di San Marco a Venezia) is a Byzantine style church located in Venice, Italy.  The church was originally built in 832 and has been rebuilt numerous times.  It is known as the “Church of Gold” because of it’s status of Venice’s wealth and power.

You can also see the St. Marks Bell Tower above.  It was built in the ninth-century.  It collapsed in 1902 because of structural ”repairs” and was rebuilt by 1910.

The Trevi Fountain is the largest of the Baroque fountains in the city of Rome, Italy.  Construction on the fountain started in 1732 and was completed by 1762.  It was refurbished in 1998.

Legend has it that throwing three coins over one’s left shoulder into the Trevi Fountain leads to luck.  Over 3,000 Euros are thrown in the fountain each day and is collected at night.

There is a smaller replica of the fountain located outside the Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Il Duomo di Milano is the 2nd largest church in Italy behind St. Peters Basilica in Rome.  It is also the second largest Gothic cathedral in the world after the Cathedral of Seville in Spain.

In the picture above, the front of the church is covered by scaffolds during a renovation. 

The Ponte Vecchio (Italian for Old Bridge) dates back to the 14th century.  It spans the Arno river in Florence and is filled with shops.  It is said that the concept of bankruptcy originated on the Ponte Vecchio.  When a merchant could not pay his debts, the table where he sold his items (“banco”) was broken (“rotto”) by soldiers.

The Sistine Chapel was built between 1475 and 1483 during the time of Pope Sixtus IV.  It is the Pope’s chapel and the location of papal elections.  One of the most famous features of the chapel is the ceiling which was painted by Michelangelo before his death and the Last Judgement which was painted over the altar. 

The Temple of Saturn is located in the western end of the Forum Romanum (Roman Forum).  It was built as a monument to the agricultural deity Saturn.  It has the oldest surviving foundation in the area and dates back to approximately 500 BC.  It was used as a storage place the Roman Emperor’s gold and silver.

Santa Maria delle Grazie (St. Mary of Graces) is a famous church in the Italian city of Milan.  It is most well known as the site of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper.  The mural is in the refectory of the convent.  During World War II, the church was bombed and the refectory was grounded except for some walls including the walls where the Last Supper is painted

The Doge’s Palace is a gothic palace in Venice (Italian Palazzo Ducale di Venezia). The current palace was largely constructed from 1309 to 1424 on 9th century origins, designed perhaps by Filippo Calendario. Giovanni and Bartolomeo Bon created the so-called Porta della Carta, a monumental late-gothic gate on the Piazzetta side of the palace.

The Colosseum or Coliseum, originally known as the Flavian Amphitheatre (Latin: Amphitheatrum Flavium, Italian Anfiteatro Flavio or Colosseo), is a giant amphitheatre in the center of the city of Rome. Originally capable of seating 45,000–50,000 spectators, it was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. It was built on a site just east of the Roman Forum, with construction starting between 70 and 72 AD under the emperor Vespasian. The amphitheatre, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire, was completed in 80 AD under Titus, with further modifications being made during Domitian’s reign.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italian: Torre pendente di Pisa) or simply The Tower of Pisa (La Torre di Pisa) is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa. It is situated behind the Cathedral and it is the third structure in Pisa’s Campo dei Miracoli (field of Miracles).

Although intended to stand vertically, the tower began leaning to the southeast soon after the onset of construction in 1173 due to a poorly laid foundation and loose substrate that has allowed the foundation to shift.

The Basilica of Saint Peter, officially known in Italian as the Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano and colloquially called Saint Peter’s Basilica, ranks second among the four major basilicas of Rome (St John Lateran, St Peter’s, Santa Maria Maggiore and St Paul outside the Walls). It is the most prominent building inside the Vatican City. Its dome is also a dominant feature of the Roman skyline.

The Spanish Steps (Italian: Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti) is a set of stairs in Rome, ramping a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti, with the church under the patronage of the Bourbon kings of France, Trinità dei Monti, above.

The square in an 18th century etching by Giuseppe Vasi, seen from south. The street on the left is Via del Babuino, leading to Piazza del Popolo.

The monumental stairway, of 138 steps, was built with French diplomat Stefano Gueffier’s funds (20,000 scudi) in 1723–1725, linking the Bourbon Spanish embassy to the Holy See, today still located in the piazza below, with the Trinità dei Monti church above.

The Pantheon (Latin Pantheon, from Greek Πάνθεον Pantheon, meaning “Temple of all the Gods”) is a building in Rome which was originally built as a temple to the seven deities of the seven planets in the state religion of Ancient Rome, but which has been a Christian church since the 7th century. It is the best-preserved of all Roman buildings. It has been in continuous use throughout its history. Although the identity of the Pantheon’s primary architect remains uncertain, it is largely assigned to Apollodorus of Damascus.