Padlocks on the Ponte Milivio: Symbol of True Love, or Public Nuisance?

by Willy Volk on

Every week, teenage couples from all over Italy travel to Rome’s oldest bridge — Ponte Milvio — write their names on a padlock, clip it to a chain wrapped around the bridge’s lampposts, and throw the keys into the Tiber. This fad has become so popular, in fact, that it has been immortalized in I Want You, a romantic novel that’s just been made into a film.

Some politicians are demanding the locks be removed. Not only are the lampposts cluttered, but they fear the release of the film will mean even more padlocks will appear. One politician, Massimo Denaro, is suggesting that a new structure be built next to the bridge to hold all the padlocks. Hilariously, Denaro’s opponents are accusing him of being “anti-romance.”

It isn’t just the politicians, though, who are harshing on love. Last week, some of the chains and padlocks were found smashed on the ground. Only a few remained at the top of one of the lampposts, which led police to assert that the person(s) responsible must have either been “very short” or “afraid of climbing on the balustrade to get all the chains.”

[Via Archaeology in Europe; Photo: Mjilla]

Drive Italy in a Ferrari

by Justin Glow on

Our friends over at the Autoblog wrote about Red Travel, a “stuff-that-dreams-are-made-of tour operator based in Turin,” Italy, who specializes in ultra-luxurious travel packages that pair you up with a bright red, brand-new Ferrari to cruise around the Italian countryside.

Noah writes, “Itineraries range from one day to eight, hitting such locations as Rome, Florence, Maranello, Sicily, Venice and Lake Como. You can opt for more countryside or more metropolitan destinations and the packages are completely flexible according to your specifications, even including trips outside Italy to London, Barcelona, Monte Carlo… the open road’s the limit. Your own personal concierge will even follow (or forge ahead) by GPS with your bags.”

Personally, I’d pick a more metropolitan destination, because if I dropped a large amount of cash to rent a Ferrari, I’d want to make sure more than just a few farmers saw me driving it. That’s right, I’d be that guy cruising around with the windows down in winter and sunglasses on at night. I can see it now…

The World’s Sexiest Penthouses

by Willy Volk on

Private, elegant, and with a hint of superiority, penthouses are, by their very definition, sexy. Way up high, looking down on all the little people scurrying about like so many ants, penthouse users seem eternally to be sipping cold drinks (brought to them by their in-house butler) and snuggling by the fire (sparked by the aforementioned butler). Though I like my adventure a bit more rough-and-tumble, I could certainly enjoy a night or two of high class in a penthouse. Don’t agree? Check out the view from Trump Towers’ Penthouse, and your opinion might change. Golden…and dizzying.

If you’d like to try a night of living large, then check out Concierge’s list of the top 10 sexiest penthouses. From Miami to St. Barths, from Australia to the Maldives, the list is To Do List for people who love Big Pimpin’.

Generally, penthouse luxury doesn’t come cheap, however. The costliest penthouse profiled (the Hong Kong Intercon) runs a hefty $11,215 per night. Yikes. For the rest of us, Milan’s The Gray runs a more affordable $648 a night — and, frankly, looks way cooler. Now you just have to get to Italy.

Gadling Video of the Week: Solidworking in Italy

by Justin Glow on

This week’s video comes from YouTube user utubenerd, who filmed a Veneziani twisting and tugging a flaming ball of red-hot glass into the shape of a delicate cat — all in under two minutes. The process is called solidworking, a method of sculpting where, according to this site, “glass is gathered from the furnace on the end of a solid metal rod called a puntil, or punty, and shaped into a sculpture,” in this case a cat. Quite extraordinary.


If you’d like to have your travel-related video featured on Gadling’s Video of the Week, please join our YouTube group and add a clip to the pool.

Seven Wonders of the World: Bollywood Style

by Jamie Rhein on

Can you name the Seven Wonders of the World? I made it through a partial list before I became stumped. Here’s a refresher course. In true Bollywood fashion, a musical number is linked with gorgeous costumes, scenery — and a bit of name-that-place. All are rolled into one fun package of a tour around the world to seven of it’s most famous places.

This montage is from the Indian movie, Jeans. Aishwarya Rai, actress and former Miss World, sings and dances with a mighty handsome male partner to the song “Ajooba.” They start dancing at the Great Wall of China and don’t stop until they do a dance segment at the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Okay, that’s two of the wonders. What are the other five? Check the first comment to find out.

Thanks to Fahed Zariwala, uk2k4u, for sharing this on You Tube.