Our Trip to Italy, Looking back to September, 2009

September 11, 2009
Leave Calgary International Airport on Royal Dutch Airlines for Amsterdam.  The night before departure this airline offered us an upgrade to Business Class, which my husband gladly purchased for us.  This is the way to fly!  Comfort at its best for the first 8 hour leg of the trip.  The Amsterdam airport is newer and spotless.  We had just enough time for a quick look and a long walk to board our next flight.
Our continuing flight was on Air Alitalia.  We arrived in Rome to find the baggage handlers on strike and spent the next couple of hours waiting for our luggage.  Rome's airport is dirty and sure needs upgrading.
 
This is a map of where we will be touring in Italy with Cosmos:

Sept 12, 2009
"Tutte le strode portano a Roma"  -"All roads lead to Rome".
We arrived in Rome, the "Eternal City".
Population 2.7 million people, with a total of 4 million in the greater metro area.
We are booked into the "Princess Hotel" which is tucked down a little ways off of the main street.  Our room is clean but definitely is not central.  We feel safe and go for a walk up the hill to the main street for supper.  The pizza and spaghetti that we had was excellent.  The hot pizza came with charcoal frayed edges, it was cooked in the traditional "forno a legno", wood oven.  Would definitely go back to the Postiglione Ristorante on Aurelia to eat again.
The spent the time walking back down to the hotel inhaling all the different smells of the night.  There was a light drizzle of rain and everything smelled so fresh.  There was also a pine smell in the air and some wood smoke.  Delightful.
Sept 13, 2009
We met with Maurizio, our Cosmos Tour Guide for a briefing and spent the rest of the day walking around the area, having cappuccino, and re-couping from the flight.

Sept. 14, 2009
Wake up call was at 7:15am.  Depart at 9:00am.
We started our journey northwards to Orvieto, in the province of Umbria.  The drive was fairly short - about one and a half hours.  The hill that Orvieto is on is volcanic in origin and the slopes are covered in vineyards that produce Orvieto`s famous crisp white wines.  Our first stop was at the Orvieto Cathedral. 
This building of this cathedral started in 1290.    The fortified town is very interesting and is spotless and we are so lucky that the height of the tourist season is over and the streets have nearly emptied.

Countryside around Rome

Orvieto Cathedral

Orvieto

We have entered Tuscany or Toscana with its unique landscapes, so admired by generations of artists.  Toscana features hillsides of silver grey olive trees and clusters of dark green cypress trees.  There are old stone houses, different colors of  rich soil in the plowed fields, fields of dried sunflowers, and ancient ruins sitting high on all hillsides...  The colors of the landscape and the glittering light are amazing.  The lighting and the atmosphere are for the painter!!!

Tuscany

"The light in Italy is pale and golden, washed with softness, wrought with desire".

Leaving Orvieto, we drove thru Tuscan countryside, with its hillside towns and villages around the Chianti wine growing region for 2 hours to get to Poggibonsi where we will stay.
Our hotel is the "Toscana Ambassador" which we will stay at for the next four nights. The supper that they served us in the hotel tonight was very good.  It is a clean, quiet, modern hotel convenient to use as a base to travel out from during the day.

Farm houses with terra-cotta tiled roofs and sun-bleached stone walls

Sept 15, 2009
Up at 7:15am to leave and tour the medieval town of San Gimignano.  The tall defensive towers lining the 2 squares at the highest point of the town were built as status symbols rather than for defense purposes.  Of the original 72 medieval towers, only 14 remain.  This was a very interesting town.

and Gelato

Next is Sienna - the jewel of Tuscany.  Sienna sits at the geographical centre of Tuscany.  The medieval core of the city of Sienna is largely traffic free as the allies that thread between the high palaces of rose-pink brick are to narrow for vehicles.  All roads in Sienna eventually lead to the Piazza del Campo, the huge central square,  which is famous for its Palio horse racing event.   Twice a year the Sienese recreate this medieval heritage of the pageant-horse around the Campo.

Campo, Sienna

We walked all around the old town, till it started pouring rain.  So we decided to go indoors for lunch in a place where we could see out onto the Campo.  We tried the picci, a pasta recommended by Maurizio as the "delizioso pasta of the Sienna area".  To tell the truth it was not my favorite as I found it really starchy.  We also shared a pizza that was very good. 

We were lucky that there was a Co-op right close to our hotel.  For supper we decided to purchase some crusty bread, local meat, fruit and drinks for a late supper.  We were tired from walking all over San Gimignano in the morning and Sienna in the afternoon. 
And it is true "All roads lead to Rome".

Sept 16, 2009
8:00am wake-up. 
We left for Florence "Firenze" in pouring rain.  Population of 400,000.

Ponte Vecchio, Florence

We went to the Peruzzi Leather Store for a quick tour.  Then of course we had to have a fresh coffee while we waited for the rain to stop.

 
We started in the Santa Croce square, where we met "Martina".  She led our group of 40 walking across the city of Florence to the Duomo.  Here we found the most people gathered in Italy so far.  The Duomo is very impressive.  The domed cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore is constructed of so many different colors of marble.  The impressive bell tour was constructed by Giotto.  The Baptistery is renowned for its carved bronze doors - the original doors were gold.

Duomo, Florence

Then onto the Battistero, Plaza Della Republica Market, Plazza Della Signoria, Uffizi.

Michelangelo`s "David"once stood in the Piazza della Signoria.  This original was moved to the Galleria dell Accademia in 1873.  The copy that now stands in front of the Palazzo Vechio is true to the original.  David and all his statue pals are mixed in with the daily life of an open town square.
Notes:
Artist in the 14th century  included Giotto - frescoes.
Artists in the 15th century included Botticelli.
High Renaissance in the 15th - Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael.
Leonardo paints the Last Supper`` 1495 to 1498.  Michelangelo makes "David" and begins to fresco the Sistine Chapel in 1508.  Botticelli works on frescoes in the Sistine, too.

After our group tour, we were ready for lunch and so we headed to the Yellow Bar and had a Capricciosa Pizza that had meat, cheese, mushroom and red chicory.
We found Florence to be a clean city with lots of leather and gold shops.  It was here that I found an interesting paper shop that carried hand dyed marbleized paper, writing paper, old maps and all sorts of other paper bits.

As it was pouring rain outside, we toured the inside of the Santa Croce Basilica for two hours and found it very interesting.  Michelangelo`s tomb, Galileo, Dante and other famous people are buried here.  There is a great art museum in Santa Croce.

Sept 17, 2009
Pisa Population is 95,000.
Pisa Excursion. It is 113 miles from hotel.
The Field of Miracles has the Leaning Tower, Cathedral, Duomo, Baptistery and Cemetery.  All the buildings are leaning at different angles due to shifting soil.  The Leaning Tower tilts 5.5 degrees to the South. 
Building it started in 1173.  Ten years later work on the 3rd floor was suspended because a slight landslide had caused the building to start leaning.  Construction was renewed in 1275 by Giovanni de Simone, only to be interrupted again in 1284 on the 7th floor due to further leaning.  In the 2nd half of the 14th century Tommaso Pisano built the belfry which raised the  tower to a height of 55.9m.  It is almost as if the tower and buildings were placed in the Piazza as a movie set or staged just for the tourist.

Field of Miracles and the Leaning Tower of Pisa

Sept 18, 2009
We left the hotel early today as we will have a full day of travel and sights to see.  We are driving North through more of Tuscany, into the flat lands of the Po Valley and across its river to Verona on the banks of the Adige River. 
Verona is built in the distinctive local pink marble.  Verona has a rosy hue as if the sun were constantly setting.  We stop at a busy intersection where a lady rides her bike up to, hops off and chains her bike to a lamp post and proceeds to board our bus.  This is our city guide, "Cecelia Castenga or The Crazy Chestnut".  Once off of the bus, she talks into a microphone anchored to her head on a headband, this transmits the facts to us in our earphones.  We can stray a little as we can hear her and she will wave her umbrella above the crowd, a sign that our group is to follow to see the next treasure.  But if you are not paying attention- there are so many groups and clumps of tourists, all with headphones and wireless receivers hanging around their necks, all with guides with the famous retractable umbrella - Lost again  till you recognize someone from your group.
We walked from 10:30 to 2:30 around Verona as there was lots to see.  Our umbrella broke - is this perhaps a sign the rain will end?

Verona

The Roman Arena in Verona holds 25,000 spectators and is still used.

And, of course the famous balcony of "Romeo and Juliet", a typical tourist thing. 

Juliet's Balcony

Sept 18,19th , 2009
Venice population 60,000.
Venice is a city of beauty and and as many entrancing sights.
We will be staying just outside (11.6 miles) of Venice in Mira at the "Poppi at Mira" hotel for two nights.  It is rated as a 4 star hotel on the Internet.  The room is nice and quiet, but very compact. 

Going to Venice

Venice is built on 118 islets, supported by millions of wooden stakes and linked by 409 bridges on 150 canals.  Venice is the only city in the world built entirely on water.  The greatest advantage of this is there are no cars.  The biggest disadvantage of this is that the city is prone to flooding and crumbling into the water.  When will Venice crumble and disappear into the sea.
Another big disadvantage is that everything one needs to live, must be floated in, then carried over bridges, then carried upstairs...
The heart of Venice is the vast Piazza San Marco - St Mark`s Square.  At the end of the square is the Basilica San Marco - St Mark`s Basilica.

St Mark's Square, Venice

The Palazzo Ducale - "The Doge`s Palace" flanks the eastern side of the Piazzetta.  The grandest examples of Venetian Gothic was the official residence of the dodge and the seat of government during the Republic, it stands today as evidence of the power and pomp of Venice in its heyday.  Adjoining the palace is the prison.  Once tried and convicted in the palace, the prisoners were led across the covered bridge to their cell.  Since the windowed bridge offered the captive his last glimpse of freedom, it was called the "Bridge of Sighs".

The Doge`s Palace

The St Mark`s Basilica

The Bridge of Sighs is currently being restored.

Gondola Ride on a Busy Afternoon

Gondola Ride down a quieter canal

Gondolas in Venice

Rialto Bridge

Venice`s other famous bridge the Ponte di Rialto is a single span, balustrade bridge.  It was built between 1588 and 1592.  By 9:00pm, most of the gondolas are moored at their docks and the canals and the city becomes quiet.  We go for a walk after supper with Maurizio and a couple other people to find the Rialto Bridge.  We walk down the dimly lite street (callis).  There is no traffic, no vehicles, very few people and hardly any noise.  Just the echo of our foot steps.  We turn a corner and the sign says Rialto to the left and then the next sign says Rialto to the right.  A confusion of signs and allies.  We pick up our pace as we only have till 9:30pm.  In all the dark passage ways we are lost!  It is oddly silent out here now.  For a few minutes there is a sense of tension as we only have only a short time to get back and catch our ride back across the water to our hotel.  Finally, we turn a corner and there is the Rialto Bridge.  It was worth the experience of seeing it at night.

There are some 200 canals in total.  The Grand Canal winds for 3.5 kms and average depth is 9ft.  It winds through the city, with pastel colored palaces in a mixture of Byzantine, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles on its sides.  These were built mostly in between the 13th and 18th century.

Places along the canals

After seeing the main sites, we started wandering around aimlessly thru the streets and over bridges looking for a peaceful corner away from the tourist crowds and the heat of the day.  We finally stumbled upon a quiet piazza where the locals sit and chat in the shade.  We needed more time to spend here away from the crowds to appreciate the quiet and romantic side of Venice.  This quiet hour spent soaking up the sun in the local atmosphere with no cultural agenda was perhaps one of the most valuable times after all.

Note:  The movie "Summer Time" filmed in Venice in 1955 is a must to watch.  No matter how many pictures I took, I still could not capture the essence of Venice as this movie does - the piazzas, the canals, the gondolas, the architecture and the life here.  The plot is somewhat weak but Katherine Hepburn portrays a lonely spinster who finally gets her long awaited dream vacation.  I have never seen a city filmed so beautifully as Venice in this film. 

This was written in 1818, by Shelley:

Sun girt City, thou has been
Ocean's Child, and then it's queen;
Now is come a darker day,
And thou soon must be his prey.

The sea has been steadily claiming more of Venice as time passes.

To the Venetians, flooding is normal.  Regular flooding is caused by the rising tides.  Nearly every corner that you turn you will see signs of a sinking city, sinking foundations, partly submerged first floor foyers and sitting rooms that were abandoned years ago as the rising water forced residents to flee upstairs.

But the guides fail to tell us that this is the time of the year that the square will flood and we come back on the second day from walking around the city to find unexpected water rising in St Mark`s Square.  Passerelle - an elevated boardwalk is set up and life goes on.

Flooding in St Mark`s Square

Venice

We were leaving Venice to go back to our hotel on the bus tonight when we seen several women standing on the side of the road on the outskirts of the city.  The prostitutes were unmistakable in their crude makeup, short skirts and high heels.  These women were posing alongside the road waving and flashing at the oncoming traffic as the sun set in its deep hues of red and pink.  We teased our guide that perhaps they were his friends just looking for a ride home.

Sept 21, 2009

South 162 miles today to Ravenna.  We walked around Ravenna this morning.  Most everyone is in mass this morning, but then all of a sudden the village is filled with people.  Locals and tourists.  It seems that most locals ride bicycles and have a dog.  There are no vehicles in the centre of Ravenna.  It is sunny out today.

We tried lasagna for lunch at S. Apollinare Ristorante.  It was good, but not as spicy or as garlicky as I would have thought.

After lunch we continue onto the hilltop Republic of San Marino, a  pocket-sized republic, self-governing state within Italy that has remained independent for 1,700 years.  It sits on the peak of Monte Titano and has sweeping views of Rimini and the Adriatic.  San Marino has its own money, police, passports, and lower tax.

We are staying in the Grand Hotel Primavera, a 4 star hotel which is very nice and impressive.

Sept 22, 2009

We left San Marino this morning to go to Urbino, an eerie town whose buildings are set high amid spectacular mountains.  The original old city remains "unimproved".  We walked uphill, struggling with the steep slope to the centre and then further up to see the Ducal Palace.  Puffing along the way.   Lots of art!  Lots of stairs! Great views of the valley. 

Then we travel thru more mountains, long tunnels, and finally reach Gubbio.  Once known as the `City of Silence` because of its desolate position in the Umbrian backwoods.  Gubbio clings to the side of Monte Ingino and its major buildings just fit on the narrow terraces that step up the mountainside.  Gubbio`s population is 33,000.  We did climbed enough stairs this morning so we opted out for the elevator to take us up to see the basilica.  On the way back down we stopped for a very tasty pizza, while it started to rain again.  We had to buy another umbrella as the first one had broke.  It turned out to be just a short shower.  

Then we continued on with our drive to Assisi, the birthplace of St. Francis. 

We end the day by staying overnight in nearby Foligno at the "Holiday Inn Express".

Sept 22, 2009

In the province of Umbria, Assisi lies perched on the slopes of Mount Subasio and overlooks the peaceful Umbrian landscape.  The greater Basilica of St Francis began in 1228.   Despite the damage caused by the earthquake in 1997, it is an inspiring and spiritual city.  Te Basilica is decorated with Giotto`s famous fresco the "Life of St Francis", which was restored in 1997 after the earthquake.  

We then travelled across the Apennine mountains to Montecassino.  Here we are going to see the Benedictine monks abbey.  We drove for half an hour up a steep switch back road to reach the top of the mountain and the monastery.  There are beautiful views of the city of Montecassino and the valleys from the top. 

During World War 11, Montecassino was bombed, resulting in total destruction.  Today, one sees a faithful reconstruction of what existed before the catastrophe.  The big main chapel has been restored with marble in various colors, inlaid in patterns and is beautiful.

 

Next, we continue on to Naples. 

Sept 23, 2009 

We are staying three nights in Naples at the "San German Hotel" as a base to travel from.  I would not recommend this hotel as we did not feel safe to walk around this area.  For a hotel rated as a 3.5 star it only has one 2-3 person elevator which gets very busy at times.

Naples -"Napoli"- is noted as the "Black Sheep" of Italian cities, but has a long Italian cultural heritage.  Pizza was originally born in Naples.  Other local specialties include "polpo"octopus, spaghetti's made with fish sauce, such as "spaghetti alla pescatora" (fish wife`s spaghetti).

"Naples is a big, brawling city that exists for nobody, but itself`". 

"All that is best and all that is worst in Italy".

"Naples is power, money and blood.  A city built by crime, poisoned by corruption, nobody is innocent, nowhere is safe".

We watched the movie "Gomorrah"  by Martin Scorcese before leaving home. 
Driving in this city is scary.  These drivers do what they please and are lawless.  It is a miracle the way the motorcycles charge carelessly in and out of traffic from all sides.  We see small children riding between their adults on scooters without helmets.

The noise of Naples is jarring, impatient cars and scooters constantly honk their horns, people yell and argue loudly.  The city has a feeling of utter chaos, congestion and frantic activity.  Buildings are covered in graffiti. Naples is a place to see, but definitely not a place I would recommend.

Naples

Sept 23, 2009

We left Naples for a day trip to the Isle of Capri. 

Taking a ferry across the blue sea for an hour we reached Capri.  Beautiful translucent blue coves, look-outs, cobblestone paths and flowers.

Capri is also an island of many switch back roads that wind to the top.  It makes you wonder how the buses pass by each other on this one lane narrow road.   No roller coaster can compare to this ride of stomach clenching, terrifying beauty, where you are inches away from careening into the dazzling blue Kool-Aid of the Mediterranean Sea hundreds of feet below.

Isle of Capri

We also took the chair lift ride to the top.  It was well worth the trip as there were beautiful views of the other side of the island.

Capri

This would be a great place to spend more time to relax, enjoy and soak up the sun.  This is a magnificent blue cove - but it has a rocky beach.
Capri grow huge lemons to make Limoncello an after dinner drink.

Capri Lemons for Limoncello

 Sept 24, 2009

Day excursion to tour City of Naples, then Pompeii, and on to Sorrento.

Time stopped for the aristocratic town of Pompeii with the terrible eruption of Vesuvius in 79A.D.

Sept 25, 2009
We travel back 150 miles North to Rome this morning.  Glad to be leaving Naples.
St Peter`s Square, Roman Forum and the Colosseum were on the list to see.

Colosseum in Rome

"Roma, non basta una vita" -  "Rome, a life time is not enough". So many sights it is impossible to see them all.
Even after all the good meals we have had in Italy, a corner of my hunger remains unsatisfied, as I haven't tasted fresh pasta loaded with fresh tomatoes and lots of garlic.  This was one of my visions of Italian food.

Sept 27, 2009
Leaving Italy for home.  Seen so many sights, statues, paintings, cities...
I've got over-load.  Time to go home and relax...Maybe do a painting of Tuscany or two.