The villages and suburbs of Italy are postcard perfect, literally. All roads lead to Rome, so to speak. But once youre in the country and only make a beeline for the major cities, you are missing out on a lot of singular sights. Paintings of Italian Villages are a going proof of the beauty of these often missed out locations.

After all, youd expect nothing less from the birthplace of the Renaissance, that glorious rebirth of culture and the arts. Italy was the provenance of masters known to the present day, such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael. Really, if these names just mean the ninja turtles to you, you should really take up cultural studies, and fast. Our agenda for today, though, is about landscape painting, and that of villages, in particular. This snippet will just walk you through some remarkable works of art and their just as remarkable painters. Buckle up and take a vicarious trip to Italy through looking at these marvelous creations.

Ponte Vecchio by Antonietta Brandeis is a homage to the famous opera by Giacomo Puccini, GiannaSchicchi. In this world famous opera, the heroine sings in a classical aria her intention to throw herself over the Ponte Vecchio if it turns out her love is in vain. Thats some schmaltzy feels over there. The painting is more easygoing however. It depicts the old bridge in all its daytime golden glory.

Another titular painting in this thread is An Italian Village by a Lake by Carl Gustav Rodde. The diurnal soft hues of the artwork are reminiscent of a peaceful hamlet where the portrayed cherubic denizens are living out their normal, workaday lives. It is set in a golden field imposed with stone houses, beset by a dark blue lake and mountains at the background.

Robert Duncansons A Dream of Italy is a provocative one. Duncanson is not a native Italian, that much is obvious. Maybe he has been to Italy, maybe not. The moot point is that it is not known if his paradisiacal painting is inspired by a real setting or not. As per the name, it could well be a product of his dream. The artwork has a dreamlike quality to it, with its lushly painted vegetation overpowering the distantly obscured village in the far background.

In Giovanni Canals Padua, the focal point is on a small and tenuous tree leaning towards a lake and a village of sorts. The Capriccio Ruins is another painting that portrays an ancient, moss covered arch superimposed in a bleak background. This artist, also known as Canaletto, was an in demand artist during his prime, with his works being vied for by the great rulers of his day.

If you are a history buff, you might want to run your eye over Frederick BridellesTheColosseum. The chiaroscuro technique is effectively used in this one to highlight the contrast of dark and light. In this painting, the sun is shown to shine over the arena, symbolic of both gore and glory that happened in equal instance in that place.

There is also Verona, A View of the River Adige at San Giorgio in Braida by Caspar Adriaans Van Wittel. This is a seemingly commonplace painting actually, with a nearly uniform bluish veneer. Thats good, however, because it leaves much room to the imagination. And that wont be hard especially once you recall that this is the setting of Romeo and Juliet, then your imagination can just wildcat all over the place.

This has been a teensy list for starters. There is a whole array of other famous paintings you can feast your eyes over. Any day is arts appreciation day, so go on and find marvelous picks to which you can admire your heart out.