0:00:07 > 0:00:12I'm on a journey to see the architecture of pleasure.
0:00:15 > 0:00:20In the middle of the Brazilian rainforest, an opera house!
0:00:22 > 0:00:25In a bustling Indian city,
0:00:25 > 0:00:29an elegant hotel with a taste of the Raj.
0:00:40 > 0:00:41In the Veneto,
0:00:41 > 0:00:47a villa where pleasure was mathematically constructed.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51In southern Italy,
0:00:51 > 0:00:55excess and indulgence in a Roman playground.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04And in the mountains of Bavaria,
0:01:04 > 0:01:07a fairytale castle.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00Mumbai, on the west coast of India.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06One of the great destinations for travellers and traders
0:02:06 > 0:02:12and on the waterfront... The Taj Hotel.
0:02:14 > 0:02:19The Taj in Mumbai is one of the world's great hotels
0:02:19 > 0:02:23and it's long been a symbol of its city.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26It's the first major building you see when arriving by ship
0:02:26 > 0:02:30and its dome has long been a navigation beacon.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32When completed in 1903,
0:02:32 > 0:02:37the hotel was the last word in luxury living in India.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47The streets of Mumbai teem with life.
0:02:47 > 0:02:52Few places on earth are as frantic and noisy!
0:03:04 > 0:03:08Aah, peace. I'm already feeling cocooned.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12I'm checking in to discover how a grand hotel,
0:03:12 > 0:03:15how a palace of pleasure, actually works.
0:03:15 > 0:03:21I should say now that I like my old hotels to feel old, to be old-fashioned.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23I do hope I'm not going to be let down.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31- Hello.- Good evening.- Good evening. I have a reservation here.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33- Please have a seat.- Oh, yes.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35Could I please request for your last name?
0:03:35 > 0:03:37Cruickshank.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56From its earliest days at the dawn of the 20th century,
0:03:56 > 0:04:02this is a building that elevated its guests to the status of royalty!
0:04:11 > 0:04:16The staircase is the hotel's great architectural glory
0:04:16 > 0:04:20and in many ways encapsulates the aspirations of the place.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24The hotel was designed originally by a Hindu architect called Khanderao
0:04:24 > 0:04:26but he died and it was completed by
0:04:26 > 0:04:32a British chap called Chambers, and it's Chambers, of course, who now tends to take the credit for this.
0:04:32 > 0:04:37It is, however, a wonderful fusion, a fusion of European gothic
0:04:37 > 0:04:41with Indian moghul details, a wonderful piece of work.
0:04:41 > 0:04:47And I must say standing here now, I can imagine the ladies in their
0:04:47 > 0:04:51full evening dress sweeping down the staircase on their way to dinner.
0:05:00 > 0:05:07The Taj is home to one of Mumbai's earliest licensed bars, opened in the 1930s.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09- Can I have a vodka Martini, please? - Sure.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13How would you like it? Twist of lime?
0:05:13 > 0:05:15Yes, just a twist.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24That looks very good.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31- That's delicious!- Thank you so much.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34You've made a few things in your time, obviously.
0:05:34 > 0:05:39- I couldn't lie, if that wasn't good I couldn't say it was good, but it is very good.- Thank you so much.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42And thank you very much. Golly!
0:05:42 > 0:05:47In my last 25 years I must have made thousands of these.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49You're practised!
0:06:06 > 0:06:08Dawn next morning,
0:06:08 > 0:06:15and The Taj is already at work to feed more than 1,000 guests.
0:06:17 > 0:06:23And they're all fed from this one busy kitchen!
0:06:23 > 0:06:25One more for cereal!
0:06:33 > 0:06:35Good morning, sir.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38Good morning, breakfast, lovely!
0:06:38 > 0:06:42Ooh, lovely fruit, thank you so much, and coffee. Lovely.
0:06:42 > 0:06:50Of course, all grand hotels are places of fantasy, palaces of pleasure, great escapism.
0:06:50 > 0:06:56One can, while one can afford it, imagine oneself a prince waited on hand and foot.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07To achieve this luxury takes an army of workers...
0:07:07 > 0:07:09One for every guest.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26But many of them exist in a parallel world,
0:07:26 > 0:07:29virtually unseen by visitors.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39I've just entered the bowels of the hotel.
0:07:39 > 0:07:44This is a place where tourists do not penetrate. I've come down here to see how the hotel operates.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48It's a real "Upstairs, Downstairs" world, this.
0:07:48 > 0:07:53Up there - all fantasy and ornament, down here - all functional.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58In the laundry room, you see the scale of the operation.
0:08:00 > 0:08:05Such a huge hotel was the idea of Jamsetji Tata,
0:08:05 > 0:08:07an Indian industrialist.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11I'm about to come face to face with the man himself. Hello.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14Hi.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18Now, I'd heard of this shrine in the subterranean part of the building.
0:08:18 > 0:08:23It's in the control room, in fact, and here is a portrait
0:08:23 > 0:08:27of Jamsetji Tata, the blessed founder of the hotel.
0:08:27 > 0:08:33And every day, I'm told, the staff put this floral garland in front of the portrait.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47During the Raj, the British dominated the social scene in Mumbai
0:08:47 > 0:08:51and Indians were barred from many of the finest clubs and hotels.
0:08:55 > 0:09:01Jamsetji Tata was determined to construct a place where Indians and Europeans could meet on equal terms.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08The hotel had a peculiar start.
0:09:08 > 0:09:13An astrologist recommended that it open on a particular day in 1903,
0:09:13 > 0:09:17and the opening went ahead despite the fact that the dome
0:09:17 > 0:09:22above the staircase wasn't completed, only two floors of rooms were ready
0:09:22 > 0:09:27for occupation, and there was no electricity, which meant the lifts didn't work.
0:09:40 > 0:09:45But in spite of its clumsy opening, the Taj had towering ambitions.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51It's a glorious marriage of the ornamental and the functional.
0:09:51 > 0:09:56And at the top of the building, you can see the Taj's true brilliance.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03The central dome's not only a great ornamental landmark,
0:10:03 > 0:10:08but it helps the hotel to function, helps it to breathe.
0:10:08 > 0:10:13The dome and the well of the staircase are like a great chimney,
0:10:13 > 0:10:15they ventilate the building.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18Hot air rises and exits through these windows.
0:10:18 > 0:10:27I tell you, it's very hot up here now and as hot air exits it sucks in refrigerated air from down below.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31A very sensible piece of natural ventilation.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47The hotel's an ingenious structure in which modern services
0:10:47 > 0:10:51were very cunningly integrated with the architecture
0:10:51 > 0:10:55and in which, new, pioneering technology was used most creatively
0:10:55 > 0:10:59to form a building that was both comfortable and very solid.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01I love these corner domes,
0:11:01 > 0:11:07very ornamental, but they're there to contain water tanks.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10That was a very brilliant idea - it got round the water shortages
0:11:10 > 0:11:14in the city in the early 20th century and made sure
0:11:14 > 0:11:17that every bathroom in the hotel had water all the time.
0:11:21 > 0:11:29The Taj has modernised over the years. But it's still visited by Mumbai's traditional grandees.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32Is that OK?
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Yes, thank you very much, excellent.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37When did you first come to the Taj Hotel?
0:11:39 > 0:11:43Er, I think I was about 16 when I first... Somebody brought me.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47I used to live outside Bombay, and somebody brought me
0:11:47 > 0:11:52to see this beautiful place, and I was absolutely bedazzled.
0:11:52 > 0:12:00Saturday night here was a very, very grand affair, and sometimes on dress nights, the young men
0:12:00 > 0:12:04would be in their mess jackets and cummerbunds and looking very elegant.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09I also imagine the Taj played an important role as almost the politics of India.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12I mean a lot of people would come here, the Maharajah would come here,
0:12:12 > 0:12:14they could be maybe more liberated here?
0:12:14 > 0:12:20Of course. Especially during the racing season, because a lot of them had their studs
0:12:20 > 0:12:26and their stables, and they would race their horses.
0:12:26 > 0:12:32And after the races they would come here for dinner, especially on a Saturday night.
0:12:32 > 0:12:39The maharajahs lived, they had suites here where they would come regularly, so many months of the year.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41Today it's another big hotel.
0:12:41 > 0:12:46For us, with our links with The Taj, it will always be a second home.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06The Grand Hotel survives as a palace of pleasure,
0:13:06 > 0:13:08but it's no longer quite what it was.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10It's been reinvented.
0:13:10 > 0:13:15It's no longer the preserve of the princes and the aristocracy,
0:13:15 > 0:13:18the rich, the powerful and the famous.
0:13:18 > 0:13:24They're now dominated by well-heeled, demanding, globetrotting tourists.
0:13:24 > 0:13:31So they are rather international in feel but they're still places of pleasure.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59Bavaria, southern Germany.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03People are celebrating the coming of spring.
0:14:13 > 0:14:18In the 19th century, this was the playground of the Bavarian royal family.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23Danke schon.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26And here, one monarch indulged his wildest passions -
0:14:26 > 0:14:29creating an extravagant and intoxicating building.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33Cheers!
0:14:40 > 0:14:45This is Schwangau, Bavaria, home to a fairytale vision
0:14:45 > 0:14:50created by a man who wanted to turn his dreams into architecture.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54He wanted to build to escape the modern world.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57He wanted to build to escape humanity.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01His name was Ludwig II, the Dream King.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27As a child, Ludwig loved the countryside, especially around here.
0:15:27 > 0:15:32It was the perfect theatre for his lively, romantic imagination.
0:15:32 > 0:15:37He created a fantasy world, based on Bavarian folktales,
0:15:37 > 0:15:41tales of chivalry, and, of course, such tales demanded
0:15:41 > 0:15:43a castle for him to inhabit.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45I understand that.
0:15:45 > 0:15:50As a child I fantasised about a castle, a place of safety, security,
0:15:50 > 0:15:54cosy, a castle with a great tower that I could crawl.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56But for me that remained a fantasy.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00But for Ludwig it became a reality!
0:16:14 > 0:16:17This is the Schloss Neuschwanstein.
0:16:26 > 0:16:32The castle is only 150 years old but it's a vision of medieval romance.
0:16:35 > 0:16:41I've long been intrigued to see this place. This is not just architecture.
0:16:41 > 0:16:46Entering here is like entering the mind, the body, the soul of a man.
0:16:57 > 0:17:02The castle reflects Ludwig's dreams of being an all-powerful ruler.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10Ludwig looked back into history,
0:17:10 > 0:17:15recreating a time when kings were answerable to no-one except God.
0:17:27 > 0:17:32This is the throne room, a model of Ludwig's universe.
0:17:32 > 0:17:39A temple to pure, just and absolute monarchy.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43It's inspired by a Byzantine Christian church,
0:17:43 > 0:17:47and proclaims kingship by Christian virtues.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51Up there we have the six canonised kings,
0:17:51 > 0:17:56standing below an image of Christ in judgement.
0:17:56 > 0:18:02And above me - the starry firmament, the sun under which the king rules.
0:18:02 > 0:18:07And here below me, the image of the earth, the cycle, the wheel of life.
0:18:07 > 0:18:13We have plants, and animals - all of this creates the ideal world
0:18:13 > 0:18:17that Ludwig thought he would rule in an ideal manner.
0:18:33 > 0:18:39To create this fairytale castle, Ludwig embraced modern engineering.
0:18:44 > 0:18:50Neuschwanstein has more in common with a New York skyscraper than a medieval castle.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56Ludwig liked the look of the past but he wanted to utilise
0:18:56 > 0:18:58the technology of the present,
0:18:58 > 0:19:02so the walls are made of brick just clad with a veneer of stone
0:19:02 > 0:19:06and here, you can see the major structure is just made out of steel.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08Steel girders, steel beams.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10Astonishing.
0:19:20 > 0:19:25At the heart of the castle sits the Singer's Hall.
0:19:28 > 0:19:35Inspired by the operas of Richard Wagner, here Ludwig could lose himself in heroic music and legends.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43To bring the music to life,
0:19:43 > 0:19:48Ludwig sought solitude in the most mysterious of places.
0:19:54 > 0:19:59Golly, this must be the most extraordinary room in this extraordinary castle.
0:19:59 > 0:20:05Here, at the upper level, the king created a subterranean grotto.
0:20:05 > 0:20:10It is inspired by the grotto in the Tannhauser saga.
0:20:10 > 0:20:15The grotto in which Tannhauser worshipped and met Venus, the goddess of love.
0:20:40 > 0:20:45And here's the king's bedroom, in a delicate, high gothic style,
0:20:45 > 0:20:48rather like a shrine -
0:20:48 > 0:20:53an exalted, sacred space, a marvellous, monastic cell.
0:20:53 > 0:20:58And here is his bed - an incredible affair
0:20:58 > 0:21:00with a portion
0:21:00 > 0:21:05rather like a medieval tomb.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08Above the bed is an image of love,
0:21:08 > 0:21:13with a bow and arrow aimed directly at the king's heart.
0:21:13 > 0:21:19The whole theme of the bedroom is love, or rather the trials
0:21:19 > 0:21:23and tribulations and complications of earthly love.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26On the walls are a series of paintings, showing the story
0:21:26 > 0:21:31of Tristan and Isolde, set in the court of King Arthur.
0:21:31 > 0:21:35Theirs was an adulterous love, brought on by sorcery,
0:21:35 > 0:21:37that ended in tragic death.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41But why should the king surround himself
0:21:41 > 0:21:43with this story?
0:21:44 > 0:21:48Surely this story of illicit, doomed love spoke to Ludwig
0:21:48 > 0:21:54because his homosexuality filled him with remorse.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58For him, earthly love was a matter of guilt.
0:21:58 > 0:22:03Like Tristan and Isolde, death offered the only salvation.
0:22:20 > 0:22:25Neuschwanstein is Ludwig's greatest achievement.
0:22:25 > 0:22:30Here he could enjoy perfect isolation - liberation, really.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33From this tower he could survey the landscape
0:22:33 > 0:22:37that inspired his romantic imagination since childhood.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43But this peace was not to last.
0:22:57 > 0:23:03Ludwig's extravagance attracted powerful enemies in the Bavarian court.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07In 1886, at the age of 40,
0:23:07 > 0:23:12Ludwig was declared insane and unfit to rule.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16He was dragged from his bed in Neuschwanstein,
0:23:16 > 0:23:19exiled from his fairytale castle.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22One day later,
0:23:22 > 0:23:24Ludwig and his doctor were found dead.
0:23:34 > 0:23:39Their bodies were found here, the site now marked by this cross,
0:23:39 > 0:23:44which seems to be rising rather eerily from the water.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46Was it suicide?
0:23:46 > 0:23:49Was Ludwig, heartbroken,
0:23:49 > 0:23:52seeking salvation through death?
0:23:52 > 0:23:54Or was it murder?
0:23:54 > 0:23:58The whole business remains intensely mysterious.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00But one thing is certain...
0:24:00 > 0:24:04The king's death was very convenient for those in Bavaria,
0:24:04 > 0:24:07who thought his reign bizarre.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17Within weeks of Ludwig's death,
0:24:17 > 0:24:22his castle was opened to the public to recoup its expense.
0:24:22 > 0:24:28Ludwig's eccentric vision would repay its costs many times over.
0:24:31 > 0:24:36And now Neuschwanstein brings pleasure to the world.
0:24:37 > 0:24:42Ludwig made our dream of a magic castle real.
0:25:07 > 0:25:11Modern Pompeii in southern Italy.
0:25:14 > 0:25:20Since the 17th century, we've looked to Italy as a fount of civilisation,
0:25:20 > 0:25:23not only in art and architecture
0:25:23 > 0:25:30but also the art of loving, of eating and drinking...
0:25:33 > 0:25:36And the art of pleasure in the senses.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41But nearly 2,000 years ago
0:25:41 > 0:25:46this was the scene of the most famous disaster in history.
0:25:50 > 0:25:55The volcano Vesuvius erupted in AD79,
0:25:55 > 0:25:58destroying the vibrant city of Pompeii.
0:25:59 > 0:26:08And for 2,000 years, the cataclysm has overshadowed the real story.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12Pompeii, the city of pleasure!
0:26:30 > 0:26:35Excavation of the ruined city started in the 18th century.
0:26:35 > 0:26:41The ashes preserved the way the people of Pompeii lived, even the way they took their pleasures.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47This is quite amazing. The first thing one sees
0:26:47 > 0:26:53on entering this house is an image of a man with a gigantic penis.
0:26:53 > 0:26:59This is the god Priapus, and he is warding off the evil eye of envy.
0:26:59 > 0:27:04He's saying to anybody coming here, "Don't begrude the wealth of the people who own this house,
0:27:04 > 0:27:06"and if you do, get out! Don't come in."
0:27:06 > 0:27:11The gigantic penis represents health, wealth and happiness.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15And it's being weighed on a scale with a bag of gold.
0:27:15 > 0:27:20It's saying, of course, that health is worth its weight in gold.
0:27:20 > 0:27:22If you've got it, flaunt it!
0:27:31 > 0:27:37This was the house of a family of former slaves, the Vettis.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40They had become rich as free men,
0:27:40 > 0:27:45and they spent their new-found wealth on dazzling their guests!
0:27:52 > 0:27:54Golly, just look at this room.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58It would have been used for formal entertaining.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01Just imagine when the frescoes were complete.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03It would have been overpowering.
0:28:03 > 0:28:09Wonderful Pompeiian red, framed by black pilasters and columns.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12Really a splendid interior.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25This room's not only very beautiful,
0:28:25 > 0:28:29it's also very informative because the walls are decorated
0:28:29 > 0:28:33with little scenes that tell us about the great trades
0:28:33 > 0:28:37that flourished in Pompeii just before the city was destroyed.
0:28:37 > 0:28:43Here we see cherubs engaged in perfume making.
0:28:43 > 0:28:45Incredible little scene there.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48And here there's cherubs disporting themselves, hunting.
0:28:48 > 0:28:53And now back to business. Here they are making jewellery...
0:28:53 > 0:28:55Goldsmithery going on here.
0:28:55 > 0:29:01Lovely little scene of these cherubs hammering away, making some delightful object.
0:29:01 > 0:29:06And here, almost the best of all, we see the cherubs involved
0:29:06 > 0:29:11in the wine trade - here they are with their little amphorae full of wine.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14And here's a bit of a wine-tasting going on.
0:29:14 > 0:29:18Some wine being poured into a dish to be sampled.
0:29:18 > 0:29:24Incredible because the people that built this house, the Vetti,
0:29:24 > 0:29:27made their wealth through the wine trade, it's very much their emblem.
0:29:39 > 0:29:43This is the triclinium, the dining room.
0:29:43 > 0:29:49There would have been three couches in here and a table in the middle for the food.
0:29:49 > 0:29:54What amazes me about this wonderfully preserved interior
0:29:54 > 0:29:57is the bizarre content of the decoration.
0:29:58 > 0:30:02Here, we see an image from a Greek myth.
0:30:02 > 0:30:10The goddess Pasiphae, there she is, contemplating the white bull, with whom she's soon to mate.
0:30:10 > 0:30:17An incredible thought! The guests and family, sitting here, reclining on their couches,
0:30:17 > 0:30:21contemplating a scene of bestiality!
0:30:26 > 0:30:31In Pompeii, pleasure was raised to the status of a religion.
0:30:45 > 0:30:50This is one of the most enigmatic and beautiful rooms of the ancient world.
0:30:50 > 0:30:56Few people can agree about the precise meaning of these frescoes but it seems certain
0:30:56 > 0:31:03they're to do with initiation into a cult through the stimulation, the liberation of the senses.
0:31:03 > 0:31:07Here we see music, here someone drinking wine...
0:31:07 > 0:31:10intoxication.
0:31:10 > 0:31:14And over here there's pain -
0:31:14 > 0:31:20this young lady being initiated is actually receiving a severe flogging
0:31:20 > 0:31:24and all of this is presided over by Dionysus.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27The god of drunkenness and wine.
0:31:30 > 0:31:35Vesuvius, where the vines grew, that was sacred land to Dionysus.
0:31:35 > 0:31:40He was very much the God of this area, the favoured God of Pompeii.
0:31:48 > 0:31:53The world of Dionysus could be cruel and destructive,
0:31:53 > 0:31:57and there was a bloody side to Pompeii's quest for pleasure.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00This is where gladiators fought.
0:32:00 > 0:32:05This amphitheatre can hold 20,000 people.
0:32:05 > 0:32:10It must've been incredibly daunting to enter this huge arena.
0:32:10 > 0:32:14The Romans were shockingly addicted to blood sports.
0:32:14 > 0:32:19Here, animals fought animals, animals fought men, men fought men...
0:32:19 > 0:32:21to the death!
0:32:35 > 0:32:41In 59AD, the violence in the arena overflowed into the crowd.
0:32:41 > 0:32:44The people of Pompeii had a grudge against the people
0:32:44 > 0:32:48from a neighbouring town, Nuceria, who were also here.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50The two factions started to fight.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53There was a frightful riot.
0:32:53 > 0:32:58People jumped from the seating into the arena and fought alongside the gladiators.
0:32:58 > 0:33:00There were many casualties.
0:33:00 > 0:33:07Rome was shocked and, as a result, banned gladiatorial contests in this arena for 10 years.
0:33:22 > 0:33:27The life of Pompeii has seeped into its very walls,
0:33:27 > 0:33:32and this was particularly true when it comes to graffiti, which is all over the city.
0:33:32 > 0:33:35You can read the city like a book.
0:33:35 > 0:33:40You can tell people's names, their concerns, their passions.
0:33:40 > 0:33:46And here is some graffiti recording the names and appearances of gladiators,
0:33:46 > 0:33:51those men doomed to die were the heroes of the people of Pompeii.
0:33:51 > 0:33:58Here we see a chap called Panacenta, and he's shown in his particular fighting gear, his armour.
0:33:58 > 0:34:02Another fellow called Severus, and here,
0:34:02 > 0:34:08Albanus, and after the name of Albanus is the number 19.
0:34:08 > 0:34:1119 victories in the arena.
0:34:11 > 0:34:15One must assume this graffiti was scratched just days
0:34:15 > 0:34:21before the eruption of Vesuvius, a moment frozen in time.
0:34:28 > 0:34:32Pompeii also had a popular red light district.
0:34:32 > 0:34:38A carving in the road points me in the right direction!
0:34:52 > 0:34:59I'm going to the Lupanari, the house of the she-wolf, the Roman slang for prostitute.
0:34:59 > 0:35:05This is the only purpose built brothel known to survive from the Roman world.
0:35:13 > 0:35:16The hall here is amazing.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19A series of frescoes on the wall up here,
0:35:19 > 0:35:25showing scenes of couples engaging in various sexual activities.
0:35:25 > 0:35:29I suppose these were to titillate the customers,
0:35:29 > 0:35:33although I don't imagine that they needed much titillation.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36Or simply showing the services offered by the prostitutes.
0:35:40 > 0:35:44These rooms are not only small, but very closely packed together.
0:35:44 > 0:35:48And over here is...a lavatory.
0:35:49 > 0:35:57Imagine the noise in this place when business was brisk, the smell, the atmosphere!
0:36:04 > 0:36:09And here is one of the prostitutes' rooms, a sort of cell really,
0:36:09 > 0:36:14with at one end a bed made of stone with a stone pillow.
0:36:14 > 0:36:16I guess there would have been a mattress on this.
0:36:16 > 0:36:21Amazing to sit in this space and contemplate the life
0:36:21 > 0:36:24going on here 2,000 or so years ago.
0:36:50 > 0:36:56Vesuvius destroyed the life in Pompeii but, ironically,
0:36:56 > 0:37:03this very act of destruction, preserved the fabric of Pompeii for posterity,
0:37:03 > 0:37:08opening a window into the ancient world...
0:37:08 > 0:37:12a moment frozen in time.
0:38:02 > 0:38:06The Amazon in the Brazilian rainforest.
0:38:11 > 0:38:16The river that will lead me to one of the world's great opera houses.
0:38:19 > 0:38:24My first stop is to see where the money came from.
0:38:47 > 0:38:54Mauricio's family have been rubber-tappers for three generations.
0:38:54 > 0:38:58It was money from the rubber trade that paid for the opera house.
0:38:58 > 0:39:02Mauricio's found his tree and I see it's a young tree.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05It hasn't been cut yet, so I suppose therefore...
0:39:05 > 0:39:07Oh, he's cutting it now...
0:39:07 > 0:39:09It's richer latex.
0:39:09 > 0:39:12Here we go, diagonal cuts, so...
0:39:12 > 0:39:18By gravity, the sap of the tree, the latex, will seep out and run down.
0:39:18 > 0:39:23Oh, look, my goodness me, it's coming out already, straight away.
0:39:23 > 0:39:26A tree full of life... Here it comes.
0:39:28 > 0:39:33In the late 19th century, this sap transformed the Amazon.
0:39:33 > 0:39:39A boom in demand made fortunes for the rubber barons who controlled the industry.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44Oh, look, there you are, elastic, brilliant.
0:39:45 > 0:39:49There it goes. It's a wonderful example of elastic...
0:39:51 > 0:39:53It works!
0:39:53 > 0:39:55Yes, and into there.
0:39:57 > 0:40:01So it's congealed, this, into a rubber band.
0:40:01 > 0:40:04Actually, I need a rubber band, that's rather handy.
0:40:07 > 0:40:11But for the workforce, life was grim.
0:40:11 > 0:40:14Trapped into debt and treated brutally.
0:40:15 > 0:40:21I'm keen to know what Mauricio makes of the opera house paid for with their toil.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26Have you ever been inside it?
0:41:32 > 0:41:37My journey takes me to the point where the Amazon is joined by two mighty rivers.
0:41:37 > 0:41:39I'm at the meeting of whe Waters, where the Rio Negro, on my right,
0:41:39 > 0:41:43meets the Rio Solomoes, flowing in here from my left.
0:41:48 > 0:41:53The amazing thing is, these rivers have different coloured waters, as you can see.
0:41:53 > 0:41:59Rio Negro, the waters are inky black, and the Rio Solomoes are light yellow.
0:41:59 > 0:42:07And just upstream of this extraordinary crossroads is the great inland port Manaus.
0:42:32 > 0:42:36The rubber boom transformed Manaus from a shabby backwater
0:42:36 > 0:42:39into a heaving centre of commerce.
0:42:41 > 0:42:47At last - I'm about to reach my destination, the Teatro Amazonas.
0:43:00 > 0:43:06It was built in 1896 - a piece of Paris in the heart of Brazil.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20After my journey up river,
0:43:20 > 0:43:23I approach the building with some trepidation
0:43:23 > 0:43:27but, my goodness, it is rather wonderful.
0:43:27 > 0:43:30The approach is very dramatic -
0:43:30 > 0:43:34sweeping staircase up to this terrace,
0:43:34 > 0:43:38and in front of me looms this powerful portico.
0:43:38 > 0:43:44Corinthian colonnade, a great semi-circular pediment above.
0:43:44 > 0:43:47WOMAN SINGING
0:44:43 > 0:44:46The auditorium is sensational.
0:44:46 > 0:44:52It's so special - very fragile, very, very wonderful.
0:44:52 > 0:44:57I love these tiers of galleries with their iron fronts.
0:44:57 > 0:45:01It's all to do with the pleasure of the arts
0:45:01 > 0:45:08and also has much to do with the veneration, in a way, of that great city of pleasures - Paris.
0:45:08 > 0:45:13Because standing here looking up, the ceiling is a wonderful conceit.
0:45:13 > 0:45:17The idea is one's standing below the Eiffel Tower, looking up.
0:45:17 > 0:45:24There are the tower's four legs, which was a new wonder of the age when the theatre was being designed.
0:45:24 > 0:45:30And the four legs frame four paintings showing the arts.
0:45:30 > 0:45:35Dance, over there, frolicking maidens, music...
0:45:36 > 0:45:41..tragedy and, above the proscenium, the great epitome of all the arts...
0:45:41 > 0:45:43opera.
0:46:08 > 0:46:13Elaine Martorano is a soloist at the Teatro Amazonas.
0:46:13 > 0:46:17She grew up in a wooden shack in a poor part of town.
0:46:17 > 0:46:23But her life changed when she heard a performance on this square in front of the opera house.
0:46:45 > 0:46:50When the Opera House was built, it was for the elite of Manaus. Have times changed?
0:46:50 > 0:46:57Do you think the opera, classical music, now brings people together, makes all people feel as one?
0:47:25 > 0:47:29Tonight Elaine is going to perform on stage,
0:47:29 > 0:47:32realising her dream of bringing opera to the people.
0:47:59 > 0:48:07This opera house may have been built on the pain and suffering of the rubber tappers still felt today.
0:48:11 > 0:48:16But, at the same time, the building now inspires rich and poor alike.
0:49:02 > 0:49:07My final destination, and it's back to Italy.
0:49:07 > 0:49:10A true indulgence for a lover of architecture.
0:49:10 > 0:49:17I'm on the trail of one of the most influential and imitated architects of the Western world.
0:49:19 > 0:49:22Andrea Palladio.
0:49:24 > 0:49:27Palladio was born 500 years ago,
0:49:27 > 0:49:34yet his architecture continues to inspire, astonish, to delight.
0:49:34 > 0:49:38He believed that he possessed the key to beauty, and he used it
0:49:38 > 0:49:43to create buildings that are the ultimate in visual pleasure.
0:49:43 > 0:49:50I'm on my way to see one of his most exquisite pieces of work, to try and discover its secrets.
0:50:11 > 0:50:16One of his finest creations was built in the 1550s,
0:50:16 > 0:50:17the Villa Barbaro.
0:50:28 > 0:50:32Gosh, this villa has immense architectural presence.
0:50:32 > 0:50:38Sitting on this high bit of land in front of me, commanding all before it.
0:50:38 > 0:50:44The first thing that strikes one is a rigid symmetry, suggesting order, balance, harmony.
0:51:07 > 0:51:15The central section of the villa is topped with a triangular pediment supported on giant columns.
0:51:15 > 0:51:21It's a temple front. It's meant to invoke the gravity, the dignity, of the golden age of Rome.
0:51:30 > 0:51:37The focus of the villa is this mighty cube, which defines the whole design.
0:51:39 > 0:51:44Every detail of the wings and pavillions is proportionate to this cube.
0:51:46 > 0:51:53The result is harmony and timeless beauty, commissioned by the Barbaro brothers of Venice.
0:51:55 > 0:51:58This magnificent front suggests the location of the main rooms
0:51:58 > 0:52:05of the villa or at least the largest rooms but, rather surprisingly, it doesn't contain the main door.
0:52:05 > 0:52:07That's somewhere else.
0:52:30 > 0:52:34Guests would enter the villa by walking along this arcade.
0:52:34 > 0:52:39It's very impressive. Rather formal for the countryside, indeed quite urban.
0:52:39 > 0:52:41I feel like I'm entering a public building.
0:52:55 > 0:52:57This is sensational.
0:52:57 > 0:53:02This part in front of me, this was the public world
0:53:02 > 0:53:06where the Barbaro brothers entertained in great style, great state.
0:53:06 > 0:53:14It does look rather like a sort of great basilica, a great church, a great hall. Fantastic!
0:53:16 > 0:53:21The walls are decorated by Paulo Veronese, in a trompe l'oeil 3-D effect.
0:53:26 > 0:53:32Painted figures and architectural details enhance the proportions and sense of space.
0:53:35 > 0:53:39And here one has evidence that there was a door -
0:53:39 > 0:53:44built into the fabric of the structure, there's a recess to the door and here's a hinge.
0:53:44 > 0:53:51This door separated the public world here from the very private world here.
0:53:53 > 0:53:56This salon is shaped like a cube.
0:53:56 > 0:54:02Its ceiling is covered with 3-D decoration that makes the room appear more lavish.
0:54:05 > 0:54:10The rooms each side of this cubical hall show in a very direct way
0:54:10 > 0:54:16how Palladio would relate the different parts of a building in a most harmonious manner.
0:54:16 > 0:54:21This room is double square in plan, a double cube.
0:54:21 > 0:54:24It's twice as long as it is wide,
0:54:24 > 0:54:29and the double square was one of Palladio's ideal, divine proportions.
0:54:37 > 0:54:41The proportions of the villa are like musical notes.
0:54:41 > 0:54:46This whole building resonates like a carefully composed piece of music.
0:54:46 > 0:54:51All of this - the precise proportions, the carefully considered relationships
0:54:51 > 0:54:57between the different parts - was intended to give an intense sense of pleasure.
0:55:00 > 0:55:05As well as proportions, Palladio embraced symmetry.
0:55:05 > 0:55:09Doorways mirrored doorways in perfect alignment.
0:55:14 > 0:55:18The dining room is, quite simply, a Palladian jewel box.
0:55:34 > 0:55:41One's drawn out of the private part of the villa by this fantastic, exuberant confection.
0:55:41 > 0:55:43It's called a nymphaeum,
0:55:43 > 0:55:46and is decorated with images from classical mythology.
0:55:46 > 0:55:52It's as if the Barbaros are inviting the gods to join them in their pleasure ground.
0:55:55 > 0:55:58The nymphaeum is the villa's final triumph.
0:56:00 > 0:56:05A mixture of the decorative and the divine.
0:56:16 > 0:56:19Throughout the centuries, people have tried to understand
0:56:19 > 0:56:23just how Palladio's buildings give such pleasure.
0:56:28 > 0:56:31Nearby Vicenza holds the key.
0:56:36 > 0:56:43The city's still dominated by Palladio's genius, and enjoyed today for its beauty.
0:56:53 > 0:56:57And it's here you can see a book that's become an architectural bible.
0:57:02 > 0:57:08In front of me is a first edition of Palladio's Quattro Libri, the four books of architecture,
0:57:08 > 0:57:15published in 1570, well over 400 years old, published of course during his lifetime.
0:57:15 > 0:57:20This is an amazing document to handle.
0:57:20 > 0:57:27It's one of the most inspirational and profoundly influential architecture books ever published.
0:57:32 > 0:57:35No detail is left out,
0:57:35 > 0:57:37from floor plans to facades,
0:57:37 > 0:57:40capitals to colonnades.
0:57:47 > 0:57:51But what is the secret of Palladio's architecture?
0:57:56 > 0:58:00Clearly, it's to do with the use of particular proportions,
0:58:00 > 0:58:07which he believed were divine in origin, used in very precise relationships.
0:58:07 > 0:58:14But will these proportions and relationships always lead to beauty and pleasure in architecture?
0:58:14 > 0:58:19Well, of course, pleasure is a very personal matter.
0:58:19 > 0:58:23But what one can say though, with certainty,
0:58:23 > 0:58:29is that Palladio's architecture has given pleasure to many people for over 400 years.
0:58:29 > 0:58:32It's certainly stood the test of time.
0:58:32 > 0:58:37I personally find it incredibly stimulating.
0:58:59 > 0:59:03Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd - 2008
0:59:03 > 0:59:08E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk