Campsites,Italy # 7of13

The campsite we found a few miles southeast of Milano was named “Camping Agip” which is the name of one of the large gasoline companies in Europe. Agip started by spending billions of lire to build a nice campground near Milano, but have spent not one lire since. It’s really a mess and there are messy people living permanently in very messy trailers, with messy facilities, in a messy campsite. Seemed like Agip would either want to fix it up, or take their name off the sign.

The campsite in Modena was near the Autostrada, and was not hard to find. The next morning we followed signs to Hotel Agip. We drove all over the place, then had to retrace our drive back past this campsite. The hotel is located along the Autostrada, but beyond a fence. We could walk, but not drive, to get there from here. Stores in Modena (and elsewhere in Italy) have a rolling metal shutter like a rusty, dusty, banged-up garage door, covering the front of the store. A street is alive and colorful with window displays while the stores are open, but it becomes drab and colorless outside of shopping hours.

We arrived at Mestra (near Venice), and when the Autostrada ended, we made two right turns, and were at the campground. Got our spot, hooked up the electricity, walked the 3/4 mile to a bus stop, then rode to Plaza Roma in Venice. Instead of a vaporetto (the boat version of a city bus) at the Plaza, we walked to the Rialto Bridge, then to St. Mark’s.

Camping Fontemaggio, where we have stayed on two of our four visits to Assisi, is miles above the city, reached by an almost impossibly misshapen mountain road. The campsite was fine, but a couple of times we didn’t believe it could still be higher up the hill. Next to the campsite was a very, very busy outdoor restaurant. The next morning the downhill ride was almost as hair-raising as the uphill whirl the night before.

The campground near Rome’s Ring Road, was named “Happy Camping,” and while it’s OK, it’s not exceptional. They have their own bus system to take campers to the nearest public transportation. The Swedish family next door were also our neighbors in Pompeii, a week or so later. They were driving a large 1977 Dodge camper, and have many spare parts with them. The man had owned a restaurant in Sweden, but sold it so the family could travel for a year or two.