TANKS Travel Tales - a travelogue.......

The Palazzo d'Accursio (a.k.a. Palazzo Comunale), located on the Piazza Maggiore, is the Town Hall of the city of Bologna. Also housed here is the Civic Art Collection which showcases paintings from the Middle Ages to as late as the 19th century. Palazzo d'Accursio, Bologna,  Emilia-Romagna, Italy (2022)

The Tower of Pisa, more famously known worldwide as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, is located next to the Cathedral of Pisa in Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa, Italy. The Tower was completed in the year 1399. However, its original construction started much earlier, around the year 1173. Although its original height was 60m, the current height of the Tower is now lower, at about 56.6m at its highest point.  The Tower of Pisa is part of a group of four elements of the complex of  monuments in Piazza dei Miracoli ( Square of Miracles). The other three elements in this group are the Cathedral of Pisa, the Baptistry and the Monumental Cemetery.  An interesting fact not known to many casual visitors is that apart from the Tower of Pisa, both the Cathedral and Baptistry are also sinking. The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Pisa, Italy (2007)

Commissioned and built in the first century A.D. by the Emperor Vespasian, the Colosseum was opened in the year A.D. 80 by Vespasian's successor and son, the Emperor Titus, as the Flavian Amphitheater. The Colosseum, Rome, Italy (2007) For almost four centuries after its opening, the Colosseum was actively in use before it fell into neglect. Devastated by an earthquake in 1349, the entire outer south side of the Amphitheater's structure collapsed. Its stones were subsequently used as building materials for Rome's infrastructures including palaces and churches. At its peak, the Colosseum could hold up to 80,000 spectators for public events including gladiatorial battles as well as animal hunts and fights. On the less gory side, the Colosseum was also used to stage dramas based on classical mythologies. Today, the Colosseum lies in substantial ruins relative to its heydays. But it remains an iconic symbol of Rome in its imperial days and a major tourist att