One Sunday I spent visiting three Serbian monasteries: Ravanica, Saint Roman and Djunis. Of these, the most famous monastery is Ravanica near Cuprija, known as endowment of Prince Lazar who was buried here. Monastery of Saint Roman, located on the right bank of the South Morava River, is one of the oldest monasteries in Serbia. Djunis, near Krusevac, is the monastery for nuns known for its spring of holy water which is believed to have healing properties.
Monasteries and churches are fascinating to me primarily because of their aesthetic appeal, and in comparison with other countries Serbia definitely has some of the most beautiful Orthodox churches. See below the pictures of these three monasteries...

Jedan nedeljni dan provela sam u obilasku tri srpska manastira, a to su Ravanica, Sveti Roman i Djunis. Od njih najpoznatiji manastir je Ravanica u blizini Ćuprije, inače zadužbina kneza Lazara koji je ovde sahranjen. Manastir Sveti Roman, koji se nalazi na desnoj obali Južne Morave, je jedan od najstarijih manastira na prostoru Srbije za kojeg je vezano verovanje o ostvarenju svih želja. Manastir Djunis, u blizini Kruševca, je ženski manastir poznat po izvoru svete vode za koju se veruje da leči.

Meni su iskreno manastiri i crkve fascinantni pre svega zbog estetskog izgleda, a u poredjenju sa ostalim državama Srbija definitivno ima jedne od najlepših pravoslavnih crkava. Pogledajte u nastavku slike sva tri manastira...

RAVANICA

DJUNIS

SVETI ROMAN

After a morning visit to the city of Padua (read about that here), around noon we went to Vicenza. Visiting this, in my opinion, extremely charming little town marked the end of our fast but incredibly eventful 72-hour tour of the northeastern part of Italy. Vicenza is, due to the richness of the cultural heritage, on the UNESCO list, and many call it "a pearl of Renaissance". Historical center and everything that symbolizes Vicenza is located inside the medieval walls that have been preserved to this day. Exactly in this part we've spent a couple of hours strolling down the streets on a sunny day...

Nakon jutarnje posete gradu Padova (pročitajte o tome ovde), oko podneva krenuli smo ka Vićenci. Poseta ovom, po mom mišljenju, izuzetno šarmantnom gradiću označavala je kraj naše brze ali neverovatno sadržajne 72-časovne ture severno-istočnim delom Italije. Vićenca se zbog bogatstva kulturne baštine nalazi na UNESCO listi, a mnogi je nazivaju i "perlom renesanse". Istorijski centar i sve ono što simboliše Vićencu se nalazi unutar srednjovekovnih zidina koje su sačuvane i do dan danas. Upravo u tom jezgru smo i mi proveli neka tri sata šetajući uličicama po sunčanom danu...

Church of San Vincenzo

San Vincenzo crkva

The man who is "responsible" for Vicenza's look is famous Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio who also built 23 villas around the town. Interesting fact: the houses that are shown in the film "Gone With the Wind" were built after the designs of Palladio. 

Čovek koji je zadužen za izgled Vićence je čuveni renesansni arhitekta Andrea Paladio koji je izgradio i 23 vile oko samog grada. Zanimljivost: kuće koje su prikazane u filmu "Prohujalo sa vihorom" su sagradjene baš po nacrtima Paladia.

Palazzo del Capitaniato, also known as Loggia del Capitanio

Palazzo del Capitaniato, poznata i kao Loggia del Capitanio

One of the most famous and most beautiful buildings is Palladian Basilica (Basilica Palladiana), which is considered to be a symbol of Vicenza. It's located on Piazza dei Signori (most Italian cities have their own squares called Piazza dei Signori), which is the center of all gatherings and the heart of the city. On the roof of the basilica is a terrace with a beautiful panoramic view of the whole Vicenza, and also one coffee bar that is opened during the spring and summer. Drinking coffee and enjoying the view surrounded by unique architecture- is there anything nicer?

Jedna od najpoznatijih i najlepših gradjevina je Bazilika Paladiana (Basilica Palladiana), po mnogima simbol Vićence. Nalazi se na Trgu Gospode odnosno Piazza dei Signori (većina italijanskih gradova ima sopstveni Trg Gospode) koji je središte svih okupljanja i srce samog grada. Na krovu ove bazilike se nalazi terasa sa koje se pruža predivan panoramski pogled na čitavu Vićencu, a na kojoj postoji i kafe bar otvoren tokom proleća i leta. Pijete kafu i uživate u pogledu okruženi jedinstvenom arhitekturom- ima li šta lepše?

San Filippo Neri Church

crkva San Filippo Neri

Piazza dei Signori and winged lion

Piazza dei Signori i krilati lav

monument at the entrance of Olympic theater

spomenik ispred ulaza u Olimpijski teatar

Olympic Theater (Teatro Olimpico) is the latest masterpiece of architect Palladio and he built it inspired by the ancient Greek and Roman theaters. Today, this theater hosts many musical events and festivals.

Olimpijski teatar (Teatro Olimpico) je poslednje remek-delo arhitekte Paladia, i sagradjen je po uzoru na antičke grčke i rimske teatre. Danas se u unutrašnjosti ovog teatra održavaju brojni muzički dogadjaji i festivali.

statues at the courtyard of Olympic theater
statue u dvorištu Olimpijskog teatra

And after all, in the late afternoon hours we all gathered as it was time to go back to Serbia. I think this tour might be the most beautiful one for me, at least until now. Most probably thanks to the richness of the program and generally lack of time, which was completely suitable as I adore active vacations and tours! So we finished with northeastern part of Italy and now it's time to visit her other parts...

I nakon svega, u kasnim popodnevnim časovima krenuli smo nazad, ka Srbiji. Mislim da je meni ova tura bila možda i najlepša, barem do sada. Verovatno zbog bogatog sadržaja i generalno manjka vremena, što je u potpunosti odgovaralo jer ja volim aktivne odmore i turističke programe! Završili smo sa obilaskom severno-istočnog dela Italije, i sad je vreme za obilazak drugih njenih delova...

behind these walls is the historical center of Vicenza

iza ovih zidina se nalazi istorijski centar Vićence