Invitation to Italy 4 of 7
(Sinopie Museum), and many, many, tourist shops and kiosks, along the inside of the city wall.
DUOMO
The Cathedral is built in the Pisan Romanesque style, using marble of alternating colors. The front is graceful with blind arches, a frieze of carved animals, and small marble columns arranged in four levels. The bronze doors depict the Virgin Mary and the Life of Christ. Inside, the Cathedral measures 380 feet by 114 feet, held in place by sixty-eight columns.
GALILEO
Galileo Galilei attended the University of Pisa in 1581. One day, while in the Cathedral he noticed the huge bronze chandelier swaying in the wind. Galileo conceived his theory of the movement of a pendulum when he discovered that in a quiet breeze or in a strong wind, the time of a complete swing of the chandelier did not vary. (Since he was a medical student he measured time by his pulse rate.) Galileo also used the leaning tower, next to the church, to work out the laws of gravity and the acceleration of falling bodies due to their weight.
BATTISTERO (BAPTISTRY )
The Baptistry is circular in design, built of marble, with an unusual 115 foot diameter dome roof, surmounted by a lantern turret. It’s interesting that the half of the dome roof facing away from the cathedral is covered with red tile, while the half facing the cathedral appears unfinished, or perhaps it’s covered in tile that is more white than red. The impressive interior has a remarkable echo, and the exceptional acoustics of the Baptistry are noticeable on feast days when a children’s choir sings Fugues, by Johann Sebastian Bach.
TORRE PENDENTE, CAMPANILE, LEANING TOWER
Built in the Romanesque style in 1174, the Campanile is of an interesting design. It's round, eight stories, 163 feet high, with a 294 step circular staircase built inside the tower wall. At each floor of Pisa’s Tower we could go outside on the balcony and walk around the tower. We were very careful — there were no handrails, and the marble is extremely slick. The stair steps are well worn, and the worn place changes from the outside, to the middle, then to the inside of the step as we progressed up and around the Leaning Tower. It's a curious feeling to be “drawn” to the lower side of each step, with the extraordinary sensation of circling up and down these steps, alternately too steep and too easy. For some reason, the stairs reminded us of walking up and down an escalator that is stopped. Jim climbed a ladder to the very top of Pisa’s tower, where there is a large bell.
That evening we drove into Pisa (in early June) to see the floodlit tower and Cathedral, but were disappointed to find they don’t turn on the flood lights until July.
As we mentioned in Modena and Bologna, in Rovigo, Venice and elsewhere, Italy is noted for leaning towers. Many were built on a slant so the architect could prove he could do it, and the owners could show they could afford to have it built that way. Most references insist the leaning in Pisa is caused by a settling of the subsoil or a defect in the foundation, but there are still some who maintain it was built on the bias, just because. However, another source states the work was well underway when the whole thing began to tip ominously, and the builders gave up. Many years later stoneworkers completed the structure, counterbalancing the masonry so it wasn’t as perilous as it looked.
Since even minor occasions and happenings over the past centuries, and even past millennia, are noted in great detail in the history of most of these cities, it’s amazing that there appears to be no official notation concerning the construction of this beautiful tower.
Emmy joined the tens of thousands of tourists who have stood with their hand held high, with the palm facing away from their bodies. Jim carefully aligned her hand with the tower in the viewfinder, then took the ten-millionth photo of someone helping to hold up this “falling” tower. But be aware of this: just as a broken clock shows the correct time twice a day, there are two views that show the tower standing straight.
In the early 1990s the powers that be were convinced the tower will fall someday soon, so they closed it for foundation repair. When we visited Pisa in 1995 we could see the construction equipment working on the foundation; this time we could look, but not climb this architectural wonder. (It is scheduled to reopen in 2001.)
CEMETERY, CAMPO SANTO
A city wall surrounds this part of Pisa, and near the Cathedral, Baptistry, and Campanile, there is a large building, the Campo Santo, erected in 1283. The building was built on the burial ground to which fifty-three shiploads of earth had been brought from Jerusalem in 1203. The building had been badly damaged during WW II, but is quite appealing now. Enormous frescoes of various sorts decorate the walls (some still in need of repair), and grave stones can be seen on the floor of one building.
WALL-SIDE VENDORS
On the south side of the Cathedral an uncounted number of vendors display their products in little buildings and sheds built just inside the town wall. In 1995, while Emmy was buying a T-shirt for our granddaughter, Jim was so enthralled by the young lady selling the shirt he neglected to take her photo. She was the most beautiful lady Jim has seen in Italy, except for Emmy of course.
Other vendors, as we have seen in Paris and elsewhere in Europe, spread a blanket on the sidewalk, and display jewelry and other small items. When the police come to chase them away, they just grab the corners of their “display area” then speed down the street with their goods safely gathered in the blanket.
ST. MARY OF THE THORN
The rest of Pisa is interesting, but because of the leaning tower’s notoriety, not much is heard about the remainder of the city. One special oddity is the tiny Church of St. Mary of the Thorn (Santa Maria della Spina), adorned with statues and statuettes, built in 1230 on the quay of the Arno River. We have driven here and there through the city of Pisa, and find it to be quite intriguing. As in most places we’ve seen for only a few minutes, we say, “Just wait ‘till we get the time to see it at our leisure.”
%LIVORNO
As we stated earlier, most Italian city names look familiar in either language, except that the English version for Livorno is “Leghorn.” Where that came from, we have yet to discover.
While in Nice, France, in 1980, we looked at the map of Italy and decided we wanted to visit the complete length of the Italian “boot.” It appeared that if we drove to Livorno, loaded the RV onto the ferry to Corsica, rode another ferry to Sardinia, yet another to Sicily, then still one more ferry to the “toe” of Italy, that would be a lot more fun, a lot more entertaining and educational than just a round trip drive the length of Italy. A better travel decision has not been made. Our only problem was, they persuaded us to buy the ticket and make the first ferry boat reservation while we were in Nice. What this really meant: we had to be somewhere at a certain time, and that’s not our style of travel.
It turns out we arrived in Livorno a couple of days before the paperwork. Since our ticket had not arrived at their office, we couldn’t get on the ferry, it was filled to capacity. We visited Florence (50 miles away) for a couple of days while we waited for the ticket system to work its own way. Usually reservations are not for us — if the ferry’s schedule and ours coincide, we go, otherwise we think of something else. (Almost) never a reservation, (almost) never an advance ticket purchase.
Our visit to Livorno in 1980 was short. We drove around the town a little, found it was interesting enough to deserve a return visit, then boarded the ferry for Corsica. Our adventures in both Sardinia and Sicily will be told later.
%LUCCA
The couple of times we drove between Pisa and Lucca the twisty road went through a dozen tunnels, and both the road and the tunnels were in need of repair. The first time, we arrived during Lucca’s lunch hour so there were plenty of available parking places. As we walked inside the wall, it appeared Lucca is a typical Italian city — that is, it’s fabulous. The exteriors of the old buildings have been left much as they have developed over the centuries. But again, as we walked down Lucca’s streets, past old, beautiful, but sometimes decrepit looking buildings, we looked in store windows that were filled with well displayed, expensive merchandise — displays that would not look out of place in Beverly Hills.
THE TREE TOPPED TOWER
We climbed the Torre Guinigi, a brick tower on the corner of one building, with hundreds of steps to the top. From there we could look over Lucca, a town of brick buildings, red tile roofs, and tiny narrow streets. At the top of this tower, which is maybe 30 feet square, two or three trees have grown from a clump of grass, all watered by a sprinkler head or two. This tower, with a tuft of grass and trees on top, is a city landmark that is carefully shown on maps and in pictures of Lucca.
CHURCH OF SAN MICHELE
One map shows 31 churches within the city wall, many are architecturally exquisite. Called one of the best examples of Lucca-Pisa architectural style, the Church of San Michele was built in the 1100s using white marble. On the facade are seven tall arches at ground level; the main door is in the middle arch; smaller doors are in the second arch from each side. The next level consists of 14 superimposed arches; the third level has 14 more; with the tops of the three on each side sloping slightly.
The fourth level consists of six arches with a clock in the middle; the top level has six more arches sloped from the middle. The Archangel Michael, with large wings and in the act of slaying a dragon, surmounts this remarkable facade, with a smaller angel standing at each side. San Michele’s campanile is at the right far end of the church, with one more level of arches than the church front. Now that’s a lot of detail, yet it looks marvelous.
THE DUOMO
The Duomo, the Cathedral San Martin, was founded in the 500s AD. While the front looks like pictures of the Pisa architectural style, the guide book says it has important Romanesque parts on the outside, and Gothic features in the inside, all added centuries later. At the ground level of the Cathedral facade there is a narthex behind three large arches. Fourteen superimposed arches are on the second level, the third level has 14 more, with one higher level of 6 arches. Just to the right, the campanile covers the right front corner of the church, and extends well above the roof.
LUCCA’S RAMPARTS
Of the thousand city walls or parts of walls we have seen, Lucca’s three mile rampart is unique; it’s unmatched and unequaled. Lucca was founded several centuries BC. Its first wall was built in two or three hundred BC, another in the 1100s, and this third wall was developed about the time Columbus discovered America. We haven’t researched this in detail, but don’t recall another wall so massive, built in such recent years. Ramparts were designed to require armies to scale the wall to capture a city, so when they developed gunpowder weapons that could throw a cannon ball over the wall and into the town, the defensive value of a wall was diminished.
It’s interesting to see that inside the 500 year old wall, in the middle of the “new” city is the Citta Vecchia, the old city of Lucca. Rather than new and old, it’s old, and much, much older — a stagnation of the Middle Ages inside ponderous ramparts.
Lucca’s wall is built with bricks two inches thick, ranging from about four to ten inches long. We should have had a tape measure with us so that actual measurements of these, and many other massive constructions could be reported. We would guess the wall is three to four stories high, but unlike almost every other wall we’ve seen, is perhaps thirty yards wide on top. There’s room for a two lane road, wide lawns, and huge trees. We especially remember huge magnolia trees with blooming flowers. The inside of the wall is a grassy slope, down to street level.
But the most interesting part of the design are the eleven large defensive positions, perhaps best defined as a large triangle, or perhaps more like a “spade” on a deck of cards, extending many yards from the wall. These defensive constructions permit the defenders to see and protect all parts of the wall; the attackers are visible and in the line of fire at all times. Outside the wall is a broad moat and a wide grassy area, so there is no place for an attacker to hide.
WHO BUILT THE WALLS
Imagine the millions of man-years spent building walls, gates, fortresses, palaces, and cathedrals one and two thousand years ago. Those huge buildings, and walls with defensive features, sometimes took hundreds of years to build. But stop to think about it, what else was there to do? One king, when asked why he built so many palaces, said, “Who else would feed my people?” Even in those days the king knew that workfare was better than welfare.
There has always been a need for housing, clothing, and food, but centuries ago no one spent their time assembling automobiles, airplanes, televisions, computers, and telephone systems; there were no Wal Marts, Sears Roebucks, or Macy’s; no one built airports, railroads, superhighways, and all those other necessities of today, that keep billions of people employed, world-wide.
The old theory of Panem et Circenses (Bread and Circuses, — keep the people fed and entertained and they won’t over-throw the government), was highly promoted by the Romans. When we travel, not only in Italy but in other countries where the Roman Empire was dominant, we find amphitheaters, theaters, and the remains of other forms of entertainment. One reference states there were over 140 annual holidays in the Roman Empire, all those years ago. Well, come to think of it, if their calendar wasn’t organized in weeks as we know it today, perhaps that holiday count includes the 104 days we call weekends, rather than holidays. Add vacation time, holidays, and sick leave, and maybe there’s not such a difference after all!
ANFITEATRO
As we walked here and there through the town during our second visit, we found an enchanting attraction we had missed the first time we were here, the Piazza del Anfiteatro, the old Roman amphitheater. Having been a theater for chariot races in pre-Christian centuries, today it’s a plaza the size and shape of a Roman amphitheater, but instead of seats, it’s now surrounded with 5 to 6 story apartment buildings.
On the first floor of some of the buildings there are restaurants (one named “Spartacus”) with tables and chairs in the “playing field,” and boutiques and stores (one named “Mary Poppins”). The TV aerials ensure the residents can still watch the circus, ball games, horse races, and other forms of entertainment — just like the spectators who encircled the amphitheaters of old. In a place where gladiators once fought, people now sit on summer evenings, sip cappuccino, and listen to music. We have seen over a dozen amphitheaters, and this one is about the most unusual.
THEME PARK PINOCCHIO
We have spent very little time driving through the variety of interesting small towns between Lucca and Florence. One year the weather was terrible, so even when we saw an attractive new shopping mall that we wanted to visit, we had to continue to Florence to find a campsite. We hate to miss the shopping centers, the living museums of Italy.
Somewhere between Florence and Lucca we followed signs that directed us to a theme park, a mini-Disneyland perhaps, dedicated to, and named for Pinocchio.
Chapter 13
Florence, Fiesole, Arezzo
%FLORENCE
Florence lies on the Arno River at the foot of the Apennines mountains. The city was established about 200 BC where the Via Flaminia (Roman Road) crossed the Arno River on the site of the present Ponte Vecchio, the Old Bridge. In 1348 more than 60 percent of the nearly 100,000 inhabitants were killed by the Black Death (Bubonic Plague), temporarily halting the city's growth. Threatened by floods for centuries, Florence was seriously flooded in 1966, and millions of dollars and years of work were needed to salvage the city and its legacy of art and culture.
While we think some cities are overrated, and others are very much underrated, Florence deserves all the good things we read and hear. Sunday is the best time to see larger cities, and Florence is no exception. Most stores will be closed, but window shopping, sightseeing, driving and parking are easier; the police are friendly and more helpful. It’s just simpler and easier to find our way around the city. We’ve spent about three weeks here during five different years and have spent time driving, parking, walking all over Florence, admiring, complaining, enjoying, viewing with alarm — all those emotions we have about this ancient city.
With tourism as its economic mainstay, the treasures and the numerous monuments and museums of Florence attract well over a million tourists annually, many from the United States. Florence is famous for its gold and silver jewelry, leather work, high-fashion clothing, shoes, ornamental glass and furniture. The shopping tourist may decide to visit the jewelry stores on the Ponte Vecchio, luxury stores between Ponte Vecchio and Piazza del Duomo, the Flea Market, the antiquaries, the New Market, and the open-air souvenir stalls that surround the church San Lorenzo. The travel budget trickles away on the shop-crammed Ponte Vecchio, and in the boutiques filled with arts and crafts from skilled Florentine workmen.
PONTE VECCHIO
A bridge built of wood at this crossing point in 977 was destroyed by fire in 1117, and the next bridge collapsed in 1333. The current Ponte Vecchio, the old bridge across the Arno River, is unique in appearance and dates from 1345. Lined with multi-story buildings, the stone bridge is famous for the jewelry stores on both sides of its walkway. Above the shops a long corridor crosses the bridge and links the Galleria degli Uffizi with the Palazzo Pitti, the palace turned museum.
In 1970 during our first visit to the stores on the Ponte Vecchio, Emmy fell in love with an elaborate 18K gold ring that sparkled with 18 emeralds. Jim wasn’t smart enough to take the hint right away, but on our return from Rome a few days later he decided he didn’t want cold “toast” for the rest of the trip, so stopped and made the $70 purchase. Later, unbeknownst to Emmy he arranged for a friend, who visited Florence the following year, to buy the matching 18k gold bracelet with 64 emeralds, for $125. The bracelet was presented in the restaurant at the top of the Bank of America building in San Francisco, on our 20th wedding anniversary.
An appraisal fifteen years later determined the value of the ring and bracelet had increased to more than the cost of that whole 1970 one month trip for four; plane tickets, RV, food, spending money, everything. In 1995, in that same Ponte Vecchio store, a simple 18k gold ring with one small emerald was priced at $1,000. That convinced Jim he couldn’t improve on the 1970 purchase, so why should he try.
ART IN FLORENCE
Florence has about 40 art museums, which house the works of world-class masters. The Pitti Palace (the Boboli Gardens are behind the palace) and the Uffizi museums hold the world's greatest collections of Medieval and Renaissance art. The city's national library and state archives house incomparable manuscript collections. As we leisurely strolled through the famous sixteenth-century Boboli Gardens, we discovered many splendid fountains, statues, grottoes and secluded nooks, as well as beautiful flower beds, formal terraces and a profusion of flowers and trees.
THE MONA LISA, OR LA GIOCONDO,
It took several years, from 1503 to 1506, for Leonardo da Vinci to paint the 20 by 30 inch Mona Lisa, a portrait of the wife of Francesco del Giocondo of Florence. Rather than canvas, the Mona Lisa is painted on a board of Italian white poplar wood. As he did with other paintings, da Vinci used an unproven variety of paint materials, and many of the pigments have deteriorated over the years. He loved the Mona Lisa so much he carried it with him always, until it was sold to Francis I, King of France, and displayed in the Palace at Fontainebleau.
We don’t know when the Mona Lisa was first hung in the Louvre in Paris, but on August 21, 1911 it was stolen by Vincenzo Perugia, an Italian house painter, who thought he would be considered a national hero if he returned this masterpiece to Italy. He hid the painting in his Paris bedroom until the furor of the theft died down, then in December 1913 he took it to Florence, Italy. Instead of being honored for a great deed, he was placed in jail and the Mona Lisa was re-hung in the Louvre just a few days later, on January 4, 1914.
SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE
As found throughout the world, and especially in Italy, most of the best known architectural treasures are religious buildings. The outstanding Gothic Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (Saint Mary of the Flowers), faced on the exterior with white, green and red tile, is one of the world’s largest cathedrals. Construction was begun in 1294 and the place of worship was consecrated in 1436. The huge dome is 348 feet high, and took fourteen years to build. Its interior is graced with a huge fresco of the Last Judgment, and is lit by the sun streaming through the stained glass windows.
There are 464 steps to the top of the Cathedral dome, which, for reasons we never remember, we have not yet climbed. But we have climbed the 412 steps of the bell tower, the 269 foot high Campanile next to the Cathedral. But please, climb one or the other. We were rewarded with views of red tile as far as we could see, every shape of roof and tower imaginable. From high above the city, the narrow congested streets are lined with tall old buildings with green shutters and sloping eaves. In many respects Florence appears to still be a busy mediaeval town.
BATTISTERO (BAPTISTRY)
Just across the Piazza Duomo from Santa Maria del Fiore, is the 82 foot in diameter, several floors-high octagonal Battistero (Baptistry), in the Piazza San Giovanni. It was built in the 400s, extensively renovated in the 1000s, and further modified centuries later. The interior is majestic and grand, decorated in black and white marble with an oriental motif. The three bronze doors come from different periods. The East Door, facing the Duomo, was so beautiful it was called “The Gate to Paradise” by Michelangelo. In it, the artist Ghiberti depicted the Old Testament prophets and sibyls in the ten niches of the door. In one of the medallions, the artist portrayed himself, bald and malicious.
One year Emmy lost her head scarf while walking near the Baptistry and the Duomo. Jim then retraced our steps and found that some reputable mortal, Italian or tourist, had hung it on a low railing in front of a nearby Florence bank. Emmy lost this same scarf at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, and there, some honest soul hung it on a rail near the Cloister Portal. How many lives does that scarf have?
What a difference traffic control makes. Years ago, we drove our RV right through Piazza Duomo, parking beside the Cathedral or wherever we could find space nearby, but we can’t do that any more. Instead, crowds of people enjoy walking in the streets next to the Cathedral, with horse drawn carriages escorting their patrons here and there. Funny thing, in spite of these changes it still seems as if the air is filled with gasoline fumes.
THE SAN LORENZO CHURCH
The facade of San Lorenzo lacks marble facing much like the upper part of the facade of the Cathedral in Bologna, and one of the chapels inside this church was constructed by Michelangelo. One time, what little we could see was magnificent, but like the church in the little town of San Leo, San Lorenzo was filled with scaffolding, and the artwork was being renovated. During another visit to Florence we went inside and looked in awe at the beautiful paintings and sculptures in this ancient building. There’s just so much to see in each city, there’s no end to the time that could be spent.
SANTA CROCE
The 13th-century Church of the Holy Cross, Santa Croce, has the greatest Cathedral organ in Italy with 7,000 pipes. It has become Italy’s national Valhalla (hall of heroes), where Michelangelo (Renaissance artist), Galileo (astronomer), Machiavelli (political and military theorist), Rossini (composers of opera), and other Italian heroes are buried.
Florence is touted as the city of Dante Alighieri, who was born here in 1265. Dante’s home is located near the Duomo, but he is not buried in this national resting place. Dante held public office until his enemies seized control of the city and sentenced him to permanent banishment from Florence, and to the death penalty should he ever return. Although Dante’s funeral monument is here, he was actually buried in Ravenna.
THE STATUE OF DAVID
The 18-foot Statue of David, commissioned in 1501 when Michelangelo was 25 years old, has been on display at the Galleria dell Accademia since 1873. A copy now stands in front of the facade of the Palazzo Vecchio, and another in the Piazzale Michelangiolo on the hill across the Arno River. The Galleria entrance room is beautifully fashioned with peach and beige colored walls. As we approached the Statue of David we were fascinated to see four statues that were started, but not completed by Michelangelo. These remnants from the ill-fated tomb for Julius II are unfinished, but are beautiful nonetheless. These statues are called “The Prisoners,” because to some observers it appears the partially finished statues are struggling, attempting to escape from the block of marble.
A reference book says Michelangelo visited the huge quarries at Carrara and personally selected the white marble block used for his statue of David. Another reference states he used a huge marble block left by another sculptor 40 years earlier. Yet another story states that after he finished the statue, someone said the nose did not look right. Michelangelo got his hammer, made a few changes, then said, “It’s finished.”
But what did he know, Emmy thinks the right hand, and certain other unmentionable parts of the Statue of David, are still out of proportion to the rest of the body — picky, picky.
PIAZZA DELLA SIGNORIA
The Piazza della Signoria is the political stage of Florence, with the Loggia della Signoria and the fortress-like Palazzo Vecchio, Florence’s best-known landmark. A copy of Michelangelo’s David and many other statues make this virtually an open-air museum of sculpture. Next to the Palace is the Palazzo degli Uffizi, which houses the famous gallery.
The dozens of festivals in Florence include “Calcio Storico Fiorentino,” a Historical Football (soccer) game in Piazza Signoria in June, with the players dressed in elegant costumes from the 1600s.
One year when we visited, the Piazza had been excavated. Foundations of buildings from who-knows-when had been uncovered, but now they were in the process of filling in the excavations, covering those building shards. We talked to a professor from the University in Florence, and he complained that a previous government spent billions of lire to dig it up and find all these exciting things, and now a new government was spending billions more to fill it in, with no provision for the people to be able to see the ruins. He was right, the next time we visited there was no sign of the excavation or the ancient foundations.
But it’s not all bad, in 1995 we ate ice-cream at the Häagen-Dazs store in the Piazza della Signoria, with a replica of the statue of David and the Palazzo Vecchio (the Florence city hall) in view.
SHOPPING IN FLORENCE
In 1970, during our first visit to Florence, Emmy paid $10 for an 18k gold pendant cross. Just a few weeks before our 1995 visit she lost the necklace, so as we walked here and there we looked for a replacement. She found no pendant nearly so desirable, and anything even close to what she wanted, cost much more than she wanted to pay.
By 1995 we had an Italian son-in-law who liked to make expresso coffee. We told this to a waiter in a sidewalk cafe, and he gave us one of his expresso cups. We explained that we needed at least four, so he took that one back, but he gave us directions to a restaurant supply store where we bought four actual, for real, expresso cups from Florence.
A sidebar: In 1980 in a Florence grocery store we found five jars of Planter’s peanut butter, and bought all of them. A few weeks later in Vienna we gave a jar to a Polish family who were camped next to us. This was the first peanut butter their boys had ever tasted. The next year, during the Solidarity problems in Poland, they escaped to Vienna. They wrote us a letter, and we successfully worked to get them to America where they have been wonderful, productive citizens for many years. One never knows what miracle can be worked with a jar of peanut butter from a Florence grocery store. (More on this story in the later chapter about Monte Cassino.)
THE MARKETPLACE
Between the Duomo and the Stazione (the Cathedral and the railroad station), not far from San Lorenzo church, the Piazza Mercato Centrale is a two-story building filled with shops, booths, and stores selling foods and meat of every kind, with the outdoor food market spreading for blocks on the nearby streets. The street market continued to the parish church of San Lorenzo, in Piazza San Lorenzo. As in several other street markets in Florence, a wide variety of clothes and bric-a-brac are for sale. Jim thought the leather belt he bought for only $3 couldn’t be of very good quality, but as the years pass it’s excellent; he wishes he had bought several.
One year, in Chaumont, France, Jim bought a book entitled “L’Italie Illustrée,” with 784 pictures of Italy, all taken at the turn of the 20th Century. Between the pages of the book we found an old city map of Florence and an advertisement for the Hotel Stella d’Italia et San Marco, 200 rooms, Signor Lannetti, proprietor. The Villa was located at 8 Via Calzaioli, a short block from the Cathedral. Some things do change, the price for a room was seven to nine Lira per day, or about $2 per year at today’s rate of exchange. This same hotel, at about this same price, is also listed in our 100 year old guide book, Baedeker’s Italy.
AMERICANS IN FLORENCE
One year we met a lady from San Francisco who had married an Italian from Florence, 16 years earlier. She said living in Florence is pleasant, but it takes getting used to. Another year we met a WW II veteran with his Italian bride of 40 years, and two of their grown children. It was her first visit to her homeland in nearly 40 years, but she wanted no part of it anymore. She was not happy that her sisters still lived much as she had lived 40 years earlier. For one thing, she said that if they bought a larger refrigerator there would be no need to shop for food once or twice each and every day. Italian housewives have always shopped for fresh food each day, but we would find that a bother.
PIAZZALE MICHELANGIOLO
High on the hill overlooking Florence, the Piazzale Michelangiolo affords excellent views of the city. The panorama of towers and domes of several churches is remarkable, and the Arno River is crossed by several bridges, including the buildings and the arches of the Ponte Vecchio. On more than one occasion, in the evening we walked to the Piazzale Michelangiolo from the next door campsite so we could watch the sunset, and see the lights take effect on the city below. We sure weren’t alone. Perhaps a thousand people saw the sunset colors on the city below; watched the streetlights and floodlights take effect; and patronized the dozens of vendors who had goods for sale. In the midst of it all stands a clone of Michelangelo’s statue of David.
The view was beautiful and the pictures and video (our last visit) were well worth the effort. It’s but a short walk to the RV in the campsite, just a hundred yards down the street.
CAMPSITE IN FLORENCE
Our first stay in Florence, in 1970, was at Campeggio Comunale on Viale Michelangiolo, located next to the Piazzale Michelangiolo. The cost was $3 for the RV and four of us (daughter Linda and her friend Pupa), and while the facilities were not very clean, the view was magnificent. We returned to this campsite three different years, and by the time of our last stay here in 1995 (twenty-five years, minus one month since our first visit) the cost had climbed to about $18 for the RV and the two of us. The manager asked what had changed the most. We said that in 1970 we wanted a fire hose to clean the facilities before we used them, and this year they are clean and in excellent condition.
The people next to us in 1970 were from Czechoslovakia, and the woman wanted to know where we were from. She did not recognize the words America, California, or Los Angeles (at least she didn’t recognize our pronunciation), but Hollywood wow — she lit up and said “Hooollllyyywood!” In 1988 our campsite neighbors were Ross and Barbara, Kiwi farmers (the fruit) from New Zealand. A week or so later Ross and Barbara were again our neighbors in Fusina, near Venice. We meet the most pleasant people in a campsite.
CAMPING AT THE FORTRESS
One year we arrived in Florence after dark, in the midst of a heavy rain storm. We always try to make sure we are settled for the night long before it gets dark, but this time we failed. A traffic jam in the rain on the Autostrada, overruled our best intentions. As we maneuvered through the dark, wet, crowded streets, out of the corner of her eye Emmy noticed several RVs parked in a large parking lot. We made a series of left turns completely around the Fortezza da Basso (lower fortress), found an entrance gate, and parked.
This parking lot is near the railroad station, and is used as a place for tour buses to park while waiting for their passengers to sightsee in the city, or for overnight bus parking. Since it was out of the tourist season, no one cared if we spent the night ($9.50), so we did. Often in Florence we can’t park this close to downtown, even when we aren’t looking for a campsite.
FILL THE GAS BOTTLE
One year we were in Florence in November, and a cold November it was. Since we needed to heat the RV we used more bottled gas than planned, and now we needed to fill our German gas bottle at an Italian store. A bigger problem than might be imagined.
The campsite office gave us an address, and we thought this would be easy. We found the proper street on the map, and since it was represented by a wide straight yellow line, we were surprised to find that it twisted and turned and went here and there, at points was barely wide enough for one vehicle, and was one-way the wrong direction part of the time.
An additional problem was that the houses and businesses on this street have different numbering systems. Funniest thing we ever saw. The house numbers were in black, the business numbers were painted red, and there’s just no connection between the two number systems; a red 623 might be next door to a black 245. We finally found the store, then were told they could not fill the bottle until Monday. An English speaking gentleman who owned a laundry nearby, translated for Jim and confirmed the information.
What happened on Monday morning would make a great scene in a TV sitcom. As Jim arrived at the office the man in charge was busy with phone call after phone call. On his desk were two identical telephones, with identical rings. When a phone rang, he picked up one and said, “Pronto,” and at least 70% of the time, found he had picked up the wrong phone, so picked up the other and said, “Pronto!” He would take an order over the phone, and write it on a large piece of paper, then add it to the pile on the side of the desk.
Finally he got a call from a lady who would just not quit talking. He rolled his eyes, made funny faces, then after the other phone had rung at least 20 times, he laid the first phone down on the desk, and said, “Pronto,” into the second. While he continued to do business on call after call on phone number two, every 30 seconds or so he would lean down to the receiver of phone number one, and say, “Si si, si si,” then go back to conducting business on the other phone. After several orders were taken on the second phone, the lady on phone number one gave up, the man shrugged and hung up the phone.
Then his wife came into the office and took over the order taking job, and our hero was ready to fill the gas bottle. He “told” Jim to wait a few minutes, and soon returned driving a very small three-wheel truck, really a three-wheel motorcycle with a tiny cab. He put our gas bottle in the back, then did an imitation of a sardine being put into a can. He was a big man, and as he managed to get inside and close the door, Jim could almost see the door on the other side bulge. Through the windshield, all Jim could see was face and shoulders. The man looked like a kid in a candy shop, with his face against the glass. He just filled the cab completely. In a few minutes the man returned with the bottle filled, and charged about $5 more than the price for the same amount of gas already in an Italian bottle.
When Jim went to the nearby laundry to thank the man for his help, he wasn’t there. His daughter, who also spoke English, had been told the story and was instructed to help Jim if there was a language problem. These Italians are wonderful!
Italy is the home of three-wheel trucks, ranging in size from a small motor scooter with a cab, to rather big trucks, even dump-trucks. It makes it possible for them to make sharp turns, and get into places that would be impossible otherwise.
TRASH DUMPSTERS
In earlier years we saw few garbage cans in Italy, but lately we see thousands and thousands of large dumpsters along country roads and in special reserved parking places in block after block, in big city and small town alike. It makes a difference in the cleanliness of the area, but many bins are filled to overflowing. The Italians forgot to order enough trucks, so it's difficult to coordinate the overflowing bins with the movement of trash trucks. In Germany, Switzerland, and especially Austria, things like this (trash collection, street sweeping) are just so-so, and sometimes even too much so-so, but in Italy, rubbish collection at times seems at best to be a casual hobby.
CIMITERO D. INGLESI
We drove down the hill from the campsite on Viale Michelangiolo and crossed the Arno on the main north-south street just east of downtown Florence. There we found the Cimitero D. Inglesi (a cemetery) in Piazzale Donatello, a large traffic circle that connects Viale Gramsci and Viale G. Matteotti. Cimitero D. Inglesi in Piazzale Donatello is about 10 to 20 feet above the level of the street, and while we could see large trees and many tombstones, we could see no grass and no flowers. What a curious place for a cemetery, or maybe that should be, what a funny place for a traffic circle.
LAUNDRY
Getting laundry done is always an experience in Europe. We’ve been directed to stores that sell washers and dryers, to dry cleaners, and once to a car wash, but we were told by the people in the campsite office where to find a Laundromat in Florence. There was a man who would do the work; the only thing self service was that we got to carry it in and carry it out. He said to be back at 6:00 PM. When we looked shocked, he tried 12:00, then said 11:00, then 10:30, and now at 10:15 the laundry is finished, and we do mean finished. The clothes were left in the dryer so long they were wrinkled, cooked, slightly melted and almost fried, but clean and very, very dry.
GAS STATIONS IN FLORENCE
In 1995 as we drove toward the Auto-Strada from the campsite, there were a couple of blocks that must be called “Gasoline Alley.” Eleven huge gasoline stations lined both sides of the street. We’ve never seen such a concentration of gas pumps. The usual curb-side gas station in Florence has a couple of pumps with hoses long enough to reach to the “other” side of a truck, but these stations each had dozens of pumps and lots of space for vehicles.
%FIESOLE
One year, while visiting Florence, we needed to find a different campsite, and were directed to Camping Panoramico in Fiesole, high on the hill to the north of the city. The four mile drive to Fiesole was narrow, twisty, steep — it’s hard to believe that we never left town. From the campsite we looked over the Arno River Valley with the domes and towers of Florence spread out below, especially the Campanile and the huge dome of Santa Maria del Fiore. We were at least a thousand feet above the city, with a magnificent view.
The town of Fiesole is intriguing in its own right. They have an archaeological site next to the market square, which includes a Roman theater dating from about 80 BC. It’s well preserved, and plays are still performed there. The Romanesque Cathedral was founded in the 11th century, enlarged in the 13th and 14th, and restored in the late 1800s. A delightful town.
%AREZZO
Although we know better, we headed toward Arezzo before we read about the town or studied the map, and that is usually a mistake. We try to stay off the Autostrada unless we really must get somewhere in a hurry, and although our drive to Arezzo from Florence started on the “little roads,” the road condition, the traffic, and the weather combined to persuade us to get on the Autostrada after all. (Arezzo was to be a stop on a day trip from Florence, to Siena, to San Gimignano, then return to Florence.)
As we approached the city we passed through a couple of miles of auto dealers, factories, and industrial areas. For reasons we don’t remember, the old town of Arezzo was hard to find, then hard to drive through, then we found no parking place, then saw no place that looked worth our effort to park and walk a long distance on the cold, cold windy day we were there. We usually look for a place to park within a distance that appeals to our spirit of adventure, as modified by our gumption for walking. We demand some reasonable association between effort and excitement.
That doesn’t mean Arezzo isn’t interesting and well worth a visit. Some days the weather, how we feel, and who knows what else, determines how much time and effort we will spend to see a city, so we can’t say how much “good,” and “not so good” there is to see in Arezzo. More times than we care to admit, in more than one city the second or third visit reveals exciting goodies we missed the first time around. A quick look at a city map and the guide book assures there should be a next time, if only to see Arezzo’s Anfiteatro Romano that until now, we didn’t know existed.
Chapter 14
San Gimignano, to Siena
%SAN GIMIGNANO
City of towers, a town rich in atmosphere, San Gimignano’s medieval architecture is almost intact, and fourteen of the original seventy-two medieval towers are still standing. While the towers seem to stick up in the air for no good reason, they were built by noble families for use as protection at times, and for reasons of prestige. Ivy, shrubs, and grass grow from the moist chinks and crevices of the towers, so they seemed molded with age. The city is still enclosed within venerable walls and is guarded by three fortified gates.
We walked from tower to tower, and Emmy wanted to see all fourteen. Jim said if we saw all four sides of three of them, plus two sides of another, we wouldn’t be able to tell the difference anyway. Each tower may be unique, but the eyes and the memory are fallible.
As seen throughout Italy, in the town square they had a stage and benches in preparation for musical concerts or other artistic presentations. It seems the poet Dante really got around. In the Palazzo del Popolo, the city hall built in the 1200s, there’s a room called the Dante Room, where he spoke on May 8, 1300. San Gimignano’s historian sure keeps detailed records, while the historian in Pisa forgot to note if the tower was built straight or slanted.
One time we stopped and watched skilled woodworkers as they carved doors and constructed special items of furniture. We didn’t watch close enough or long enough to determine if they were building new items, or if they might be “creating” brand new antiques, as we think we saw one other place.
One visit was on a hot day, and although we arrived at San Gimignano at “nap time” the town was flooded with travelers, and it was impossible to find a parking place with any shade. When we visited on a cold windy day in another year, the long narrow hill-side streets and alleys, lined with five story stone buildings and fourteen high towers, let us know where they invented the wind-tunnel. Bright sun, but a strong cold, cold wind.
By our last visit the tourist business had grown so much that they charged to park in lots that were free in previous years. Since we needed to buy groceries for the RV kitchen and refrigerator, we parked at a supermarket and walked a couple of blocks to the walled city.
Near San Gimignano another year, we stopped for fuel at a couple of stations and found they were closed for lunch. We finally found a station that was closed, but would dispense about two gallons of Diesel for each 10,000 Lira note we inserted in the money machine. It was years before we saw a money machine in gas stations in the US.
%COLLE VAL D’ELSA
We have driven past this interesting looking town two or three times. Colle val d’Elsa is divided into two parts, Colle Basso (lower), and Colle Alto (higher), and Alto is the more interesting of the two. (Jim wondered if there was also a Colle Soprano and a Colle Tenor.) The first time, we really didn’t notice the town until we were almost past it. The next time, we tried to enter the gate but the street was under construction and we didn’t feel safe in proceeding. Yet another time we did drive through a fortified gateway, but it was so cold and windy that day we did not feel like finding a parking place and walking any distance, so drove a few blocks, then left.
But we’ll say this about Colle val d’Elsa, it’s a delightful town to drive past at least, and will be a good place to visit on our next trip.
%MONTERIGGIONI
Nine miles north of Siena is the tiny walled village of Monteriggioni. The castle was built in 1213 to defend Siena, and a one-third of a mile wall with fourteen towers, encircles the town. Dante used those towers as a simile for the giants in the “Inferno,” Canto XXXI.
On our first visit we drove up the hill, parked just outside the wall and walked into this delightful little village. It was a warm day, and since it was their lunch hour we were the only people in Monteriggioni’s Piazzale Roma. This is a colorful place, but the most exciting thing that day was the tiny grocery store that was open and had cut watermelon on ice; ice is almost unheard of in Italy. We sat on a bench in Monteriggioni’s Piazzale Roma and ate ice-cold watermelon. Magnificent, outstanding.
The next time we were in town we found no watermelon, but there were many people sitting in an outdoor cafe, a cafe we didn't remember from the previous trip. Maybe they were guests of the hotel we saw in a newly renovated ancient stone building. The cost (in 1995) was 260,000L ($170) for a double room, and 150,000L ($100) for a single. We still prefer the RV and a $10 or $20 campsite.
Our walk around the town on the old stone streets, and along the wall, was delightful.
%SIENA
A lady we met in France, a world traveler, said that Siena is the most beautiful city in the world. We wouldn’t go that far, but it sure is a special place to visit. The neighboring hills contain mercury mines, quarries of travertine, and a special kind of marble known as Sienese. The scenic drive to Siena is dotted with hill-towns, and when we approached from the south we could see the Torre del Mangia (the Siena town-hall tower), and the skyline of the city, from miles away. To preview Siena: the Plaza del Campo is incredible; the Torre del Mangia is astonishing; the Palio delle Contrade is phenomenal; the Duomo is remarkable; the streets are exhilarating.
In most ancient cities the area inside the protective walls is jammed packed with buildings, usually overflowing into the adjoining area. In Siena it seems they built more wall than needed, and while the city extends over a large area outside the wall, there are still open spaces inside that red brick wall. Inscribed on the Camollia Gate, the northern most gate, visitors are welcomed with Siena’s motto: “Cor magis tibi Sena Pandit” — Siena opens its heart to you.”
Siena takes work to see, but it’s worth the effort. Like Venice, no vehicles are permitted in Siena, but unlike Venice, there are no canals. We must park on the edge of town, then walk. Twice we parked the RV in near-downtown parking lots, and twice we went to the campsite first, then rode the city bus to a plaza near the city center. Siena invites a stroll through its narrow Gothic streets, lined with palaces and patrician mansions.
As we rambled through this fascinating city we were amazed to see streets so narrow and buildings so tall, there are places where the sun never shines. The usually steep streets in Siena are not built for large vehicles — an occasional motor scooter, but no cars. We remember a young lady in the uniform of the Post Office, who turned off the engine on her little Post Office motor scooter and coasted down a long, long, Siena street.
PIAZZA DEL CAMPO
The Piazza del Campo, Siena’s civic center, must be the most outstanding city “square” in Europe. It’s best to come upon the Campo suddenly, to be swept at once into its elegant beauty. Eleven streets lead into the sea shell, or fan shaped plaza, and it slopes down toward Palazzo Pubblico, Siena’s city hall with its attractive tall, thin tower, Torre del Mangia. In the center of the square is the Fonte Gaia, or Fountain of Joy, and the paving stones and the buildings surrounding the Piazza, form a monumental ensemble of almost matchless harmony.
There are many sidewalk cafes, or rather Piazza cafes, with dozens of tables and hundreds of chairs, and the last time we were there several were occupied by people using cellular telephones. It seems to us that more cellular phones are in use in Italy than in other countries. Someone told us the regular telephone system doesn’t work too well, and these phones bypass part of that system.
TORRE DEL MANGIA
The fairest tower in Italy has borne witness to six centuries of Siena’s history. Like no tower in the world, a graceful flight of fancy caught in brick and stone, Torre del Mangia soars above the Palazzo Pubblico (Town-hall), in Plaza del Campo. At the ticket booth we found an informational sign in English, telling about the 400+ steps we had to climb. It was interesting to see those instructions had been translated and hand-printed into 65 different languages, all decorously displayed on the walls at the entrance to the tower.
The climb was well worth the effort. From the top of the 286 foot tower, the view is exceptional. We, and especially Jim, have climbed a hundred and more towers in various parts of the US and in many countries in Europe, and Torre del Mangia must be number one in all around “climability.” The view is down into the Plaza del Campo, and the narrow streets that are bordered by tall buildings. Both the climb and the view are impeccable. From the top of the tower we can survey the city, including what looks like miles of the city wall. Siena extends over three red clay hills, from which the color “burnt sienna” is named. A picture is worth a thousand words; a visit is worth a thousand pictures; the video is priceless.
A few blocks away we can see the Cathedral, built with alternating layers of marble that look black and white from the distance, (but aren't).
PALIO DELLE CONTRADE
Traditional festivals in Italian cities have their origin in remote events of local history, and recall the glories of the past. Splendid spectacles spring to life once more as costumes and arms from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance are donned and paraded against a background of beautiful monuments. The name “palio” comes from a corruption of the Latin word that described the prize, originally a bolt of cloth, later a banner. The “palio” races are not a Sienese invention; in the thirteenth century they were common in Italy. Several were run in Florence, others in Bologna, Ferrara, Lucca and Padua. In 1335 Perugia ran a “palio” of naked prostitutes on the town square. Now that would be a tourist attraction.
The most famous of these festivals is the “Palio delle Contrade” at Siena, held as two separate festivals; on the second of July in honor of St. Mary of Provenzane; and on the sixteenth of August in honor of the Patron Saint of Siena. After a procession in which centuries-old costumes are worn and festive banners of the different wards of the city, known as Contrades, are borne aloft, an exciting bareback horse race runs three times around the Campo Square, bright with colors and crowded with people.
A stranger race track would be hard to imagine. Fourteen-century palaces curve graciously at the corners of the Piazza. The clay-covered, snail-shaped race track rolls up and down the stone paved Campo, with the two right-angle corners and other sharp places, padded with mattresses during the race.
Before the plague in 1348 decimated four out of five of Siena’s citizens, there were about sixty Contrade, or districts; for the past two centuries there have been only seventeen. Ten take part in the race; seven run “by right,” three more are selected by lot a month before each race. The Contrades have picturesque names; Aquile (Eagle), Bruco (Caterpillar), Chiocciola (Snail), Civetta (Owl), Drago (Dragon), Giraffa (Giraffe), Istrice (Porcupine), Leocorna (Unicorn), Lupa (Wolf), Montone (Ram), Nicchio (Shell), Oca (Goose), Onda (Wave). Pantera (Panther), Selva (Forest), Tartuca (Turtle), and Torre (Tower). In Italian, perhaps they look more exotic to Americans.
Grandstands are erected around the race track, and what appear to be bleachers seem to be hung on the facade of some of the buildings surrounding the Piazza. A few days before the race, ten horses are selected and assigned by lot to the ten Contrade. Clay is spread on the paving stones, then several trial races are run. The “Provaccia,” the last trial race, is run on the morning of the Palio. The official race is run at 7:30 PM. Jockeys wear period costumes, and in this race a horse can win if he comes in first, even without a jockey.
One year we were at Siena a few days before the race. Now why didn’t we stay? We often wished we had, but when we see photos or video of the Palio we see crushing crowds, people jammed cheek to cheek from head to toe just to be in the Piazza del Campo during the very short duration of the race. We have watched this race on a TV travelogue, and it showed dangerous, crowded conditions for both participants and observers.
In the TV mini-series “Winds of War” and “War and Remembrance,” one of the main characters, Aaron Jastrow who lived in Siena, fell and was almost trampled in the press of the masses. One year we got here a few days after the race. The city had returned to normal, but photographs displayed on store fronts showed the crowded Plaza filled beyond capacity, with throngs of people
SIENA’S CATHEDRAL
We walked the few blocks to the Cathedral (started in the 1100s, completed in the 1300s), built with horizontal dark green and white stripes. From a distance it may look black and white like a prisoner’s suit, but close up it is dark green and white. We don’t remember Cathedrals built with horizontal stripes anywhere except in this part of Italy, where we have seen more than one.
The outside is interesting, and a visit to the inside is very worthwhile. The floor paving is unique. Several artists created the mosaics and graffiti (niello-work) that depict Allegories, Virtues, Sibyls, and scenes from the Testaments. The Cathedral floor contains so much artwork that much of it is roped off, protected from the feet of the hoards of tourists.
THE HOSPITAL
As Jim stood across the Piazza Duomo from the Cathedral, trying to get video of the whole facade, he noticed an open door that led into another church or chapel. The guide book identifies this building as the Santa Maria della Scala Hospital, part of which dates from the 1200s. Inside, there’s beautiful artwork, and at that moment the organist was playing with triumphant abandon. Serendipity — an accidental discovery of glorious art and wonderful music.
THE SIENA CAMPSITE
On three different years we spent a night or two in the Siena Colleverde, the campsite on Strada di Scacciapensieri. It’s a nice campsite, and after the floodlights come on in Siena’s Plaza del Campo, the view from the campsite is electrifying. Another year we were staying in Florence, and visited Siena only for the day.
Chapter 15
FROM MONTALCINO TO ROME
%MONTALCINO
Montalcino has town walls built in the 1200s. It’s an interesting hilltop town with very special churches including one with white travertine marble on the floor, with a decided slope going up toward the altar. On top of the hill another church with huge marble columns, had a fancy inscription in large letters, extending completely across the front, but we couldn’t read what it said. The very interesting architectural style of the exterior of the church building, really didn’t prepare us for the glorious art and design of the interior.
A craftsman in a shop on Montalcino’s main street assumes the role of Geppetto, and makes six-inch copper Pinocchios with movable arms. Copper is different from the wood used by the original Geppetto, but they are well made. (Carlo Collodi, the author of Pinocchio was born and raised in nearby Florence. The story first appeared in book form in 1883.)
Today’s lunch was in a shaded park above the town, with a beautiful panoramic view of hills beyond. Many olive trees in this part of Italy appear to have died. We were told there had been a bad freeze in Italy the previous winter, and it will take years to replace all the damaged and destroyed olive trees. We have seen a lot of sunflowers, so maybe they are replacing the missing olive oil with sunflower oil. (Jim’s not enough of a cook to know if that makes sense or not.)
%PIENZA
We drove around, but not through Pienza, another walled hilltop town, with towers and churches visible from the highway. This is one of the hundreds of little hill towns that we wish we could have experienced, but WCSTA. (We Can’t See Them All.)
%CHIANCIANO TERME
Chianciano Terme is an important health spa and resort, with many new and large hotels and what looked like dozens of restaurants. The old town of Chianciano Terme didn’t look too noteworthy, and while we drove through part of the town, when we were greeted by a do-not-enter sign, turned and went on our way.
%CHIUSI
We drove up an almost impossibly steep hill to Chiusi, a town that looked spectacular from the distance, and was more so up close. Since it was the middle of the day “nap time,” we had no traffic problems on the narrow streets.
After finding a place to park next to a low wall on the arduous street near the town center, we had a snack of ice cold Coke and some peanuts in our RV, while through our dining room window we had a view of the town below, and the countryside beyond.
As we were leaving our “snack spot” we met a large group of American tourists plodding, trudging up the hill to Chiusi. Their large tour bus would not fit on these streets, so was parked well below the town. They didn’t know what they were going to see, but we assured them it was worth their effort. We jokingly refused when they jokingly (we think!) asked for a ride.
%ORVIETO
Both times we visited the hill-top town of Orvieto, we first stopped at the base of the hill, just below the Cathedral, at the convenient, well-stocked supermarket. The second time, there was a steady rain storm that increased to a downpour just about the time they closed the store for noon-time siesta. Wow, did we get soaked. No way they were going to delay closing the store until the rain slackened or stopped.
Orvieto is located on top of a 600 foot pedestal of volcanic rock, an almost impregnable plateau, so we drove up the steep almost precipitous street, to the center of town. In the years since, Central City traffic control has been in effect in many Italian cities, so it’s very likely no vehicle traffic would be permitted up the hill these days, but one reference mentions a funicular (that we didn’t see) for this short trip.
THE STRIPED CATHEDRAL
The famous gray and white basalt and travertine Cathedral, with an exposed timber roof, dominates the surrounding countryside. Some museum buildings house beautiful works of art, Orvieto’s Cathedral building itself is a beautiful work of art. Like the Cathedral at Siena, Orvieto’s horizontal stripes, both inside and out, are so very different from what is seen in most Cathedrals in the world. Usually a buttress is just a buttress, but at Orvieto the powerful buttresses dominate the vertical structure, and seem to enclose and border the horizontal stripes.
No Cathedral — make that no building — that we have seen displays such detail of art and structure. There are three portals, each with a rounded, then a pointed arch above, with colorful pictures. Arch and gable, rose-window, gallery, buttress and pinnacle, the richness of forms and decoration in marble, bronze, and mosaic, all combine successfully, and glow with a brilliance in the setting sun.
Inside, the polished pink marble paving of the nave gleams like a beacon, and draws the eye to the apse where the stained glass, the frescoes and the choir stalls form an unusually harmonious ensemble. Truly a beautiful, exceptional cathedral.
POZZO DI SAN PATRIZIO, ST. PATRICK'S WELL
The Pozzo di San Patrizio, St. Patrick's Well, was built on the orders of Pope Clement VII in the early sixteenth century, to provide fresh water if the hilltop town were besieged. The 200 foot water level is reached by descending the wide, gradual, double-spiral, interleaved staircase with 248 steps. It is built so a continuous file of water-laden donkeys could make the ascent without meeting the descending donkeys with empty jugs.
A VIEW OF ORVIETO
When we tried to leave town, at one place the street was so narrow we had to drive the wheels up and over the stones protruding from the corner of building’s foundation, and that’s too narrow.
As is true so many times, as we were driving away there was a striking view of Orvieto planted on its rock, dominated by its towers and the Cathedral. The vista was superior to what we had seen when we were in town. The Michelin Guide mentions the striking view of Orvieto from a hairpin bend on the road to Montefiascone — and they weren’t kidding.
%MONTEFIASCONE
Montefiascone is perched on the edge of a crater, and faces Lake Bolsena. The countryside is covered with vineyards that produce a famous wine with the legendary name of Est, Est, Est. The German Cardinal Fugger, who was traveling through Italy, sent a servant ahead with instruction to label the best wine he found as “est.” (“is” in Latin, Vinum est bonum; the wine is good.) The servant found a wine so good he labeled it “est, est, est.” The Cardinal enthusiastically agreed, and drank such vast flagons of the wine that he died. No better publicity could befall a wine in those days, and it still clings to that legendary name.
We didn’t drive or walk around much of the town, but from a distance we could see the huge Cathedral dome, designed in 1519, that dominated the sky line.
%VITERBO
Near Viterbo we saw a large cash-and-carry wholesale market. We let the man know we just wanted to look at his operation, so he let us visit, but Emmy had to lock her large purse in a locker before we went inside. This store had everything people could want to buy, then re-sell in their grocery or variety store, or use in their restaurant. People used huge carts to carry whatever they were buying.
At one time Viterbo was the home of the Pope, during friction between the Papacy and Roma. Its mediaeval quarter, encircled with ancient walls and seven gates, includes fountains, Treatro Comunale, a Gothic Cathedral, and several churches dating from centuries ago. Boy, we are either jaded, or very tired when we can drive through something lik
Tidbit by Jim and Emmy HumberdSimilar tidbits in: Book = Invitation to Italy, Travel Tidbits
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