(exciting orchestral music)
- [Narrator] The open road
has always been an open invitation to me.
Winding through new adventures, and personal experiences.
And nowhere does this happen more often,
than along the yellow roads.
On a Michelin map,
one will find many different colored roads.
While red are the major highways,
it's the yellow roads I'm chasing.
The more scenic roads.
Winding through country,
through cities and towns,
and never knowing what lies just beyond the horizon.
Salud. - Salud.
It's these roads that are calling me
on a journey unlike any other.
My name is Paulino Duran,
and I travel the world looking for
exotic and unique experiences.
I'm always up for making new friends,
listening to tall tales,
and trying fantastic cuisine.
(big band music)
so I planned out my trip,
my agenda is set.
And I'm ready to explore the yellow roads.
- [Announcer] Funding for Music Voyager
provided in part by,
Celebrating Culture,
encouraging communication,
Create For Change, a nonprofit
for bridging cultures through film.
Look, listen, learn.
- [Announcer] Tauck, guiding travelers around the world
since 1925.
Because we believe that once in a lifetime
only happens once.
How you see the world matters.
- [Announcer] Additional funding for this season
of Music Voyager provided by,
Prom Peru, commission for travel and tourism Peru,
Atalnta Convention and Visitors Bureau.
(soft classical music)
- [Paulino] I find myself in a private concert,
in one of the most amazing music rooms I've ever seen.
(violin and piano music continues)
Alla Posta de Donini is a 17th century residence
turned luxurious hotel.
Elegantly decorated with beautiful gardens,
it's a picturesque villa against a lush backdrop
of medieval Umbria, in central Italy.
(singer joins music)
But I find one of the treasures of the hotel
to be this room,
where every note I hear explodes with color
and acoustic clarity.
(classical music continues)
Few countries in the world fuse art and life
in a way that feels effortless.
From the intricate frescoes of the Renaissance,
(string music begins)
to a simple glass of wine,
Italy's beauty and romance is everywhere.
The Lungarotti Vineyard and Winery is just outside
the small town of Torgiano.
Here, I'm invited to a personal experience.
A wine tasting, in the middle of the Lungarotti vineyard.
- I grew up, Paulino, as a wine maker.
I grew up walking in the vineyards,
and my father made me, walking with bare feet,
to feel the soil, to feel the earth.
- [Paulino] Chiara Lungarotti now runs the winery
her visionary father began over 60 years ago.
- It's a family tradition in my father's family since ever,
and I'm very proud to continue that.
And I hope to pass over into the next generation,
because wine doesn't stand only for a glass.
But it stands for many other things,
history, tradition, but, first of all, friendship.
Amicizia, as we say in Italy.
- Well let's go make some more friends,
and get ourselves in front of some wine.
- Let's go. Andiamo.
- Okay, andiamo.
I make some new friends
while tasting Lungarotti's flagship red, rubesco.
(soft classical music)
- We've traveled in Italy several times,
but not this particular region.
It's absolutely beautiful,
and it's nice to go to the smaller towns.
- Yeah, the smaller towns, I think,
are the true gems of any country you visit.
I agree. - It's really nice.
- I agree. - And the wine is delicious.
- Well, salud. - Salud.
- Grazi.
Thank you for having me and inviting me, I appreciate it.
Cheers. - Cheers.
- Anytime.
(soft classical music)
- My journey through Italy continues,
to Umbria's capital city, Perugia.
(soft classical music)
- Built on a hill overlooking beautiful valleys,
the city is a blend of past and present.
It is also the birthplace
of some of Italy's most famous artists.
(instrumental music)
A private tour is waiting for me,
which will take me around the city.
(relaxing classical music)
I'm given an earpiece so I can hear
what the guide is saying as I check out the sites.
- Okay, so let's start our tour.
(camera clicks)
I soak in the experience of this beautiful city,
and the fantastic friends I meet.
- [Guide] But Perugino was one of the greatest painters
of this country.
I'm talking about the 1500s.
So, he was the one who could compete
with Leonardo da Vinci and also Michelangelo.
Rafael was Perugino's student.
- [Paulino] Realizing the history of the Renaissance
like this, as the yellow roads guide me
not just through the country, but also through history,
is starting to paint a beautiful picture of the past.
(easy listening classical)
Our tour ends at the famous Collegio del Cambio.
(slow orchestral music)
- [Guide] That is really important,
to see the Cambio, because I told you,
it's the second most important artwork in the country.
- Romana tells me that the Collegio del Cambio
is where lenders would exchange money,
and it was at the guild's request
that the great artist Perugino decorate the hall.
(soft instrumental music)
Here, the masterpieces of Perugino are on display.
I learn from Romana that the only other artwork in Italy
more important is the revered Sistene Chapel.
(inspirational instrumental music)
My journey along the yellow roads continues,
to the city of Orvieto.
(smooth instrumental music)
(singing in Italian joins music)
Rising above the city's cobblestone streets
and tiled rooftops,
is the Gothic Duomo di Orvieto.
On the outside, the facade is a visual feast
of jewel-like mosaics.
While inside, is the great Renaissance artist,
Luca Signorelli's masterpiece, The Last Judgment,
which is considered his finest work.
While one might consider the Duomo to be the jewel
of this charming city,
I find it to be the endearing restaurant,
Trattoria la Grotta, where the owner,
Franco, is waiting for me.
(speaking Italian)
(soft piano music)
- Franco tells me that for over 50 years,
he and his family have cooked some of Italy's best cuisine.
- I'm invited to a table to try some
of Franco's delicious food.
- And the food's amazing.
- Yeah, oh, the food's fantastic.
The food's dangerously fantastic.
I feel like I could eat, like, five meals a day.
- Yeah. - All pasta,
and just drink wine, and leave Italy at like 700 pounds.
- Yeah, definitely. - I'm glad I could eat,
(all laughing)
(soft violin music)
There is a saying.
All roads lead to Rome.
And on this adventure, that rings true.
(soft violin music)
While Italy is known for its romance,
Rome is specifically known for its scale and grandeur.
This was the center of the world for centuries.
(violin continues)
(camera clicks)
and while in Rome, the Grand Hotel de la Minerve
is a perfect spot to begin.
- This used to be an aristocratic mansion,
transformed in the 18th century into a hotel,
and it was totally refurbished, of course,
and we tried to maintain the atmosphere of the old times.
(cheerful string music)
- What is your favorite part about the hotel?
- My favorite part is the roof garden, of course,
because above there, you really feel to be in Rome.
You really feel that you are in the heart of Rome.
(exciting string music)
you can see practically everything,
because you have a view on 360 degrees.
(camera clicks)
So from the hotel you can walk everywhere,
you can go to the Pantheon,
which is just in front of the hotel,
you have the Trevi fountain,
Piazza Navona, and the Colliseum,
all walking distance.
(exciting instrumental music)
- Elena introduces me to Olga,
who offers me a one on one personal tour
of the eternal city.
Just one block away is the Pantheon,
where we start to explore Rome.
(slow classical music)
- Here we are, in front of the Pantheon,
the most mysterious building we have in Rome,
and it's almost 2,000 years old.
It was built in the second century,
and that's basically the only thing
we know about it for certain.
(a capella singing)
- [Paulino] I learned that the Pantheon
inspired some of the greatest Renaissance masters.
- And this is where Brunelleschi,
the Florentine architect,
actually came to study the dome
when he preparing his project
for the famous dome of the duomo in Florence.
And even Michelangelo, when he came here for the first time,
he said, this must have been built by angels.
(singing continues)
and talking about angels,
the painter who was most famous for his beautiful,
chubby little angels, and the madonnas with the babies,
Rafael, this is his tomb, on that side.
There are many important tombs in the Pantheon,
but Rafael attracts most attention.
- [Paulino] Back outside, I take advantage
of one of Rome's great resources.
- [Olga] Water has always been free in Rome.
That's what you do.
(laughs)
- Delicious. - It is delicious.
Water is one of the main reasons
why Rome became what it became.
And the abundance, exactly.
(soft instrumental music)
(singing in Italian)
(camera clicking)
- [Paulino] We end our adventure through Rome
in the Piazza Navona.
(soft music)
and we grab a bite to eat at Tre Scalini,
with the restaurant's owner, Antonio Tuchi.
(soft instrumental music)
From the architecture and design of the Forum,
with its majestic ruins,
to the Coliseum, and its history of gladitorial battles
and life and death matches,
Rome sets a benchmark for the world.
With its art, architecture, culture, and even religion.
Across the Tiber River is the seat
of the Roman Catholic religion.
(exciting classical music)
A tour of the Vatican Museum
is an experience on a grand scale.
Up to 20,000 visitors a day
explore one of the largest collections of art in the world.
This evening, I will get a once-in-a-lifetime
up close and personal experience.
(exciting classical music)
Inside the museum, I walk through the hallways
where history's greatest artifacts are on display.
It's an extraordinary collection
built by the popes throughout the centuries.
Here I'll find some of the most renowned
classical sculptures and most important masterpieces
of Renaissance art.
I also take the opportunity to make some new friends.
(classical singing)
At last, I find my way into Michelangelo's masterpiece.
Inside the Sistene Chapel, it's quiet and peaceful.
My new friend Giorgio shares with me some interesting facts
about Michelangelo's most revered masterpiece.
- The fortune to be able to spend that much time
looking at it and hearing about it
with the guide right in front of you.
- The experience that I had tonight,
there was a big difference.
Most other people, everybody,
is doing this during the day.
They cannot see the Sistene Chapel the same way.
Like tonight, it sounds like the Vatican belongs to us.
- To look at things for a long time,
really take your time to look at all the details
in Michelangelo's work.
- My grandfather was saying when he was here before,
there was so many people he wasn't able to appreciate it
as much as he could today,
and just being able to stand there and look up
and listen to our tour guide,
and see the work and imagine him painting there
for years and years and years,
you were able to appreciate it much more, I think.
(exciting classical music)
- [Paulino] It took Michelangelo four years
to paint his masterpiece on the ceiling
of the Sistene Chapel.
- Because when you're in that kind of a space,
and there's nobody else around,
not just from the physical point of view,
but just partially because of the nature of it
being so grand, even in the sense of,
not just spacially but the importance of it.
- 500 years later, it's an experience
that I'll never forget.
(organ music)
my journey across Italy along the yellow roads
has been an incredible experience.
And as I reflect on my adventure,
I also realize a new one is about to start.
(exciting instrumental music)
I don't quite know what lies beyond the horizon,
but taking the yellow roads promises
it will be a journey unlike any other.
(majestic instrumental music)
(camera clicking)
(energetic instrumental music)
- [Announcer] Funding for Music Voyager
provided in part by,
Celebrating culture,
encouraging communication,
create for change.
A nonprofit for bridging cultures through film.
Look, listen, learn.
- [Announcer] Tauck, guiding travelers
around the world since 1925.
Because we believe once in a lifetime only happens once.
How you see the world matters.
- [Announcer] Additional funding for this season
of Music Voyager provided by Prom Peru,
commission for travel and tourism, Peru.
Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau.