Cinque Terre Part 2

At Volastra, 335 m above sea level, we rested for a while in the shade of some huge cypresses next to this small church of Madonna della Salute before continuing on our way to Corniglia. The church is open at all times and since it is a working church we had only a quick peep inside.

The path continued winding through the hillsides and up to about 465 m above sea level before dropping quite steeply down to Corniglia. This is a view looking back towards Manarola.

And there, in the middle distance, is our destination, the village of Corniglia.

We just loved walking through the terraced vineyards. Look at these beautiful autumn colours.

Here is Willem rounding the corner of a curious stone shack in the middle of the vineyard, but it is no longer used - only the ruins remain. Well, maybe this is where the farmer likes to keep his ladder. Note the splashes of red and white paint on the corner. We found these markers very reassuring that we were still on the right track!

A part of the track entered a forested area where a valley cut through the hills. It was a welcome change after the exposed hillside, to be walking under the canopy of the trees, several of them huge old chestnuts planted there by the farmers of long ago. We were delighted by this terraced orchard. The farmer planted a few trees of various kinds, for example lemons, peaches, pears, olives and oranges. From here we looked back at the path we have just followed, on top of the terrace at the base of the tree line behind the orchard.

As the day wore on it was getting quite overcast, making it possible for us to take this magical picture facing the sea and into the sun.

Finally we started the steep descent towards Corniglia and at one tricky spot in the track we had to negotiate down these very narrow stone steps in a rather high terrace. Well, we had no choice, we just had to get down there. It was quite a relief standing at the bottom, being able to take this picture. From there on the track often consisted of steps (thankfully none quite as steep and narrow as these) and our already tired legs began to complain. However, with a few stops here and there we made it!

Corniglia lies directly below us.

Entering Corniglia, looking down on the church steeple.

When we finally reached Corniglia we had to find lunch, since it was already after 2 p.m. and we were absolutely starving. We were lucky to come across the Trattoria La Lanterna on via Fieschi, with a cozy and very homely atmosphere, where I had the most delicious pesto on pasta and Willem had a tomato and anchovy sauce on his pasta. We enjoyed a bottle of white wine form the Cinque Terre Co-operative Winery with our meal.

I read that the Cinque Terre is the birthplace of pesto. Basil, which loves the temperate Ligurian climate, is mixed with cheese (half parmigiano cow cheese and half pecorino sheep cheese), garlic, olive oil and pine nuts. It is typically enjoyed on pasta.

The Trattoria La Lanterna is on a small square and as we left, we walked along the one end of via Fieschi where it was so narrow that one could only walk along there, or perhaps lead a donkey. To reach the homes at the top there was but a stairway cut from the rock cliff for access.

After lunch we decided that was enough walking for one day, and we made our way through the town, down the hill and down a long zig-zag stairway towards the station.

We caught the train back to Sestri Levante from platform two at Corniglia station.

Here is a last look at Corniglia with its buildings stacked one on top of the other.

We returned to the hotel at around 6 pm. Being very tired after the physical exertions of the day, we had a bath and crawled into bed, going to sleep without any supper.

Cinque Terre Part 1

On Thursday 23 November 2006 we had an early breakfast, walked the short distance from the hotel to the Sestri Levante station and caught the train for Riomaggiore, or so we thought. Once again we were on the wrong train - this one whizzed southwards past Riomaggiore to La Spezia. There we finally found a train to take us north again as far as Riomaggiore. However, it was not all bad, because now we had the right tickets for the home journey at the end of the day and we knew exactly where we wanted to be.

The object of the day's excursion was to walk along as much of Italy's Cinque Terre (or Five Lands) as we could manage comfortably. The Cinque Terra covers 18 kilometers of sheer rocky coastline, terraced hills and vineyards sloping steeply down to the sea. Five little villages, Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso (from south to north), are built into the rocks between the beach and the hills. The rare and threatened species of flora and fauna are protected throughout the Cinque Terre nature and marine park.

The villages are but a few minutes apart by train. There are almost no cars as the villages are not easily accessible by road, but the main railway between Rome and Paris runs along the coast, most often in tunnels.

Centuries-old footpaths and mule tracks wind about 200 to 400 m above the sea, leading through olive groves and vineyards, orchards and chestnut woods. You can hike between the villages, following the coastal paths. The hikes range from very easy to difficult.

At Riomaggiore we saw this amazing sea cave where the fishermen store their boats for the winter, hoisted onto racks above the sea.

We started off our walk along the Via dell'Amore (Lovers' Path), cut out of the rocky cliff face, from Maggiore to Manarola.

Here we are walking along the last portion of the Lovers' Path, above the railway lines, towards Manarola.

At Manarola there is only once way to go - up the hill. We were in awe of the houses painted in bright Mediterranean colours (shades of yellow, pink, white and terracotta) and literally stacked one on top of the other on the steep hillsides. Looking down along this street in Manarola it is clear that it is winter, since the boats are parked like cars and covered with tarpaulins, until the next fishing season.

From the church square one can choose to continue along the more level coastal path, or to climb up the winding path to a higher level with more spectacular views. We were keen on this higher path, but were told there would be a bus along shortly to take us up to Volastra. When we discovered it would be another hour before the bus arrived we decided to walk.

The route of the walking track is marked with red and white paint splashes on walls and trees. We soon found ourselves walking between a house on the left (the down-hill side) and its vegetable garden on the right. The owner's access to his garden is via this extremely narrow dry-stone staircase, with only a rope as hand-hold.

During the first part of the walk it was quite shady among the buildings close to Manarola, but as we progressed up the hill we started feeling the heat, even though it was cloudy most of the time. We were rather lucky with the weather that day, since it rained the day before and the day after!

A unique characteristic of the area is the terraced vineyards supported by dry walling, a perfect example of landscape architecture created by man in inaccessible surroundings.

We found this low-growing wild pitcher plant along the edges of the path in semi-shade areas.

As we progressed up the hill and got closer to Volastra the path wound between the olive groves. It was interesting to see how olives are harvested. The farmer ties nets between the trees to catch the olives as they ripen and fall, and to keep the olives off the ground. Apparently the quality of the olives deteriorate quickly if they are left lying on the ground for longer than 24 hours.

Coming from New Zealand we associate kiwi fruit with New Zealand and Asia, so we were surprised to see this kiwi fruit crop next to the farmer's house. Another interesting sight was these mushrooms, carefully set out in the sun to dry.

This up-hill walk was quite tough, but well worth it. We could stop and enjoy the stunning scenery at our leisure all along the way. And so we arrived at Volastra. The walk continues...

Sestri Levante

On the morning of Wednesday 22 November 2006 we said good-bye to the delightful Florence and set off on our train journey to Sestri Levante. At Pisa we had to change trains - there-in lies potential disaster.

The trip from Florence to Pisa went without a hitch. We arrived there at lunchtime, checked in our bags at the station, and set off on foot in search of lunch. We were not impressed by Pisa near the railway station, at the opposite end of the city from the leaning tower. We never got to see that hallowed tower - not enough time. However, we stumbled across a yummy and reasonably priced lunch at the Trattoria Bandini on Via San Paolo. It struck us once again that most restaurants and trattorias in Italy use good linen and napkins in their table settings.

Then it was back to the station for the next leg of the journey. We were not used to the split-second accuracy of the arrival and departure times of the Italian trains, so we happily got onto a train which arrived at our designated platform 5 minutes before it was supposed to depart, only to find it was the wrong one - we should have waited another 3 minutes for the Milan train! This meant the train whisked through Sestri Levante without stopping and we had to go all the way to Genova and from there catch another train back to Sestri Levante. It took 45 minutes on the fast train from Sestri Levante to Genova, but 90 minutes in the opposite direction on the all-stops run.

We stayed at the Hotel Grande Albergo, a four-star hotel that wants to be thought of as very grand, from the haughty receptionist to the hand-painted tiles on the bathroom floor. When we arrived, travel weary and a bit scruffy in our walking shoes and backpacks after a day on the trains, the receptionist peered at us down her nose when she at last decided to notice us. We suspect that if we had been dressed in pearls and bow tie the reception would have been warmer. We thought they were trying to compete with the ambience of the Italian Riviera which lies a bit to the north of Sestri Levante.

So once we were able to dump our bags and freshen up we rewarded ourselves with a nice dinner at the restaurant Il Brigantino down the road from the hotel.

Sestri Levante is an ancient merchant and maritime centre in Liguria, Tuscany, Italy, on the Gulf of Tigulli. It is approximately 56 kilometers south of Genova. Like so many villages of the Liguria, it is surrounded by an enchanting landscape of sea and mountains.

The original settlement of Sestri Levante was actually on a peninsula, with the beautiful Baia del Silenzio (or Bay of Silence, also known as "Portobello") on one side and Baia delle Favole (or Bay of Fables) on the other. The Bay of Fables was named in honour of Hans Christian Andersen, who lived in Sestri Levante for a short time.

The ruins of an old castle on the peninsula, dating back to 1440, are now incorporated in a hotel. Although the current castle was built only in 1920, it was built using the remains of older constructions. This castle also had a tower in which Marconi performed his experiments with radio signals.

The Bay of Silence was named by the poet Giovanni De Scalzo. This bay, because of the transparency of the sea, the natural beauty of its position and the picturesque houses which surround it, was the favourite resort of many famous visitors, among them Lord Byron, Goethe, Wagner and Hans C. Andersen.

The following day, Thursday, we spent walking along the Cinque Terre, but more about that in the next installment. While we are talking about Sestri Levante, here are a few more pictures we took on Friday, our last day here. We were quite exhausted after the walk along the Cinque Terra the day before, so Friday was basically a day of rest and gentle strolls through the older parts of Sestri Levante, and lunch at the very quaint Trattoria Millelire with the friendliest waiter. We liked this establishment so much that we went back there for lunch on Saturday before we left for Switzerland.

Once again there were the typically narrow streets, like this one in the centre of the old town.

An interesting difference between the buildings in the old part of Sestri Levante is that the embelishments on the buildings are painted on (rather than sculpted) to look three-dimensional. Have another look at the buildings in this picture of Portobello - these are not built of huge stone blocks; the blocks are painted onto the smoothly plastered wall surface. This technique is known as "chiaroscura"l;

We thought this building was very quaint - those are vines trained up the side of the building, to bear grapes on the roof garden above. What a clever idea!

Throughout our travels in Italy we noticed elaborate roof gardens wherever the buildings are crowded closely together and there are no gardens at ground level.

Lastly, here is the town square, which is not much of a square at all, but it seems to be the centre of activity.

Boboli Gardens

Even though it was raining softly most of the time on that Tuesday 21 November 2006, we were determined to take a walk through the extensive Boboli Gardens behind the Palazzo Pitti.

Land on the hill called Boboli at the rear of the Palazzo Pitti was acquired in order to create a large formal park, the Boboli Gardens. The original design of the gardens centred on an amphitheatre, directly behind the main block of the palazzo, in which the classically-inspired plays of Florentine playwrights such as Giovan Battista Cini were performed for the amusement of the cultivated Medici court.

The Amphitheater was built by Giulio Parigi between 1630 and 1634. It was inaugurated in 1637 on the occasion of the coronation of Vittoria della Rovere, wife of Ferdinand II, as Grand Duchess of Tuscany. There are 24 statuary niches topping the seating area.

The Egyptian Obelisk in the amphitheatre has a fascinating history. It was originally erected in Heliopolis by Ramses II, who reigned from 1279 to 1212 BC. At some point it was transported to Rome and erected at the Temple of Isis. Sometime prior to the 17th century it was unearthed and moved to the Medici Villa in Rome. The Medici moved it to the Amphitheatre in 1790. In front of the obelisk is a granite tub designed by Pasquale Poccianti and placed there in 1840.

The Forcone Basin is considered by some to be the masterpiece of Zanobi del Rosso. The basin itself was built in 1777-78, while the terraces surrounding it are from the 17th century. This was originally a nursery for the gardens. The pond collects water from an aqueduct and the water is used to irrigate the gardens. In the middle of the pond is a bronze statue of Neptune by Stoldo Lorenzi, dating from 1571. This view is from the top of the Forcone Basin, throught the Amphitheatre to the back of the Palazzo Pitti.

Right at the top of the hill in line with the Amphitheatre and the Forcone Basin stands the statue "Abundance". It was started by Giambologna in 1608 and completed by Pietro Tacca and Sebastiano Salvini in 1636. It is sculpted of white marble, while the sheaf of wheat is made of bronze.

The statue has an interesting background. It was originally intended to be a representation of Johanna of Austria, wife of the Medici Grand-duke Francesco I, and it was supposed to be placed on a column in Piazza San Marco. It was transferred to the Gardens in 1636 to commemorate the prosperity of Tuscany.

Johanna was very short, so the story goes, and the courtiers referred to her as, "Her Shortness".

We were delighted to come across several Ginkgo biloba trees still showing beautiful yellow autumn leaves, although they were dropping fast. The Ginkgo is one of our personal favourites among trees, since it can be called a living fossil. It has no close living relatives.

On the way towards the Viottolone one passes through the "Prato dell'Uccellare" (Birding Field). This area signifies the beginning of the second phase of the development of the Gardens under Cosimo II (1609-1621). Before this time the Gardens ended here at a city wall erected during the war against Siena. From here we enjoyed a fine view overlooking Florence.

The father-and-son team of Giulio and Alfonso Parigi also established the Viottolone cypress alley and the Isolotto fountain. The Viottolone (Italian: large path) was intended as a carriage lane. Once you have walked from the Gardens entrance to the far end of the Viottolone you'll understand the need for wheels! The cypresses flanking the lane were planted in 1612.

Along the Viottolone one encounters various classically-themed statues, generally dated from the late 1500s and early 1600s.

Running parallel to the lane is the "Cerchiata", a long path with a kind of continuous awning formed by pruned holm oaks and dating from the Parigi renovations of 1612 to 1614.

The "Vasca dell'Isola" (Island Basin) contains the magnificent Isolotto at its centre, a small island full of citrus plants and roses. Rising above it all is the Fountain of the Ocean, executed in 1576 by Giambologna (also the creator of the Statue of Abundance). It was originally placed in the Amphitheater and relocated here in 1636.

The Ocean statue itself is an early 20th century copy of the original, which now resides at the Bargello museum. The smaller statue in the water is Andromeda by Giovan Battista Pieratti, made of white marble and bronze.

The Isolotto is at the far end of the gardens, so we had to find our way back to the Pitti Palace. On the way we passed some more delightful statues, like this terracotta dog, and the father and son making wine. The excitement of the winemaking clearly showed on the face of the young boy.

Closer to the palace we found this beautiful marble Pegasus. By then the afternoon was just about gone and we still had to walk all the way back to the hotel. You can believe we were two very tired, but satisfied, bunnies that night. What a wonderful conclusion to our stay in Florence!

Palazzo Pitti

On Tuesday 21 November 2006, after crossing over the river Arno along the Ponte Vecchio, we walked the short distance to the Palazzo Pitti (or Pitti Palace). The core of the present palace dates from 1458 and was originally the town residence of Luca Pitti, an ambitious Florentine banker. It was bought by the Medici family in 1539 as the official residence of the ruling families of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

In the 19th century, the palazzo, by then a great treasure house, was used as a power base by Napoleon, and later served for a brief period as the principal royal palace of the newly-united Italy. In the early 20th century, the palace and its contents was given to the Italian people by King Victor Emmanuel III. Subsequently its doors were opened to the public as one of Florence's largest art galleries.

The rusticated stonework gives the palace a severe and powerful atmosphere, reinforced by the three times repeated series of seven arch-headed apertures, reminiscent of a Roman aqueduct. This original design has withstood the test of time, and its influence has been maintained and continued during later additions to the palace.

When Cosimo de Medici moved into the palace, he had Vasari enlarge the structure to fit his tastes. The palace was more than doubled in size and Vasari also built the above-ground walkway from Cosimo's old palace, the Palazzo Vecchio, through the Uffizi, above the Ponte Vecchio to the Palazzo Pitti.

There are 140 rooms in the palace that are open to the public, some of them large halls so, to fit a realistic viewing experience into the time available, we decided to sample only four of the galleries.

Palatine Gallery
The Palatine Gallery contains a collection of over 500 principally Renaissance paintings, which were once part of the Medici’s and their successors' private art collection. The gallery, which overflows into the royal apartments, contains works by Raphael, Titian, Correggio, Rubens, and Pietro da Cortona. Also very impressive were the marble-topped tables dotted here and there in nearly every room. Marbles of different colours were inlaid, sometimes in the most intricate and delicate designs.

The rooms are richly decorated and have painted ceilings. We particularly enjoyed the room of Hercules where this strong man was depicted in various battles with centaurs, lions and so forth.

Royal Apartments
The Royal Apartments is a suite of 14 rooms, formerly used by the Medici family, and lived in by their successors. These rooms were last redecorated in the 19th century. They contain a collection of Medici portraits, many of them by the artist Giusto Sustermans.

In contrast to the great salons containing the Palatine collection, some of these rooms are much smaller and more intimate, and, while still grand and gilded, more suited to day to day living requirements. Period furnishings include four-poster beds and other necessary furnishings not found elsewhere in the palace. Each room is decorated in a different colour, with all the furnishings and drapes matching the main colour theme.

The Kings of Italy last used the Palazzo Pitti in the 1920s. By that time it had already been converted to a museum, but a suite of rooms (now the Gallery of Modern Art) was reserved for them when visiting Florence officially.

Silver Museum
The Silver Museum, sometimes called "The Medici Treasury", contains a collection of priceless silver, cameos, and works in semi-precious gemstones. These rooms, formerly part of the private royal apartments, are decorated with 17th-century frescoes, the most splendid being by Giovanni di San Giovanni. The Silver Museum also contains a fine collection of German gold and silver artefacts purchased by Grand Duke Ferdinand after his return from exile in 1815, following the French occupation.

Costume Gallery
This gallery contains a collection of theatrical costumes dating from the 16th century until the present. In addition to the theatrical costumes the gallery displays garments worn between the 18th century and the present day, giving a good impression of Italian fashions of that period.

This delightful fountain decorated with a plenitude of cherubs sits on a balcony at the back of the Pitti Palace.

This picture is a view of a portion of the Pitti Palace from the back of the building. We still don't know what the purpose is of this huge marble tub, but we guess it may have been intended as a planter. To give you an idea of the scale of this tub, look closely and you'll see Willem standing in the middle distance towards the building.

Ponte Vecchio

On Tuesday morning of 21 November 2006 we once again took to the streets and walked from the hotel all the way to the New Market and beyond, to where one gains access to the walkway that leads onto the Ponte Vecchio. Our photographs are arranged here in the order in which we encountered the views as we walked along towards and onto the bridge.

Note the beautiful red autumn colours on the leaves of the vines growing on the bank of the river. Although it was already winter, the weather has been so mild that the deciduous plants were late in dropping their leaves.

The Ponte Vecchio (Italian for "Old Bridge") is a famous medieval bridge over the Arno River, noted for having shops (mainly jewellers) built along it. It is Europe's oldest segmental arch bridge.

This view is of the Arno looking back in the direction from where we came, with the Ponte alle Grazie in the distance.

Believed to have been first built in Roman times, the Ponte Vecchio was originally made of wood. After being destroyed by a flood in 1333 it was rebuilt in 1345, this time in stone.

This view of the river Arno is taken from the Ponte Vecchio, with two other bridges visible in the distance. The first is the Ponte Santa Trinita and the second is the Ponte alla Carraia.

Most of the design of the Ponte Vecchio is attributed to Taddeo Gaddi. The bridge consists of three segmental arches, the main arch has a span of 30 meters and the two side arches each span 27 meters. The rise of the arches is between 3.5 and 4.4 meters.

The Ponte Vecchio has always hosted shops (legend says this was originally due to a tax exemption) and the merchants displayed their goods on tables after obtaining authorisation from the Bargello (a sort of a lord mayor, magistrate and police authority).

It is said that the economic concept of bankruptcy originated here. When a merchant could not pay his debts, the table (banco) on which he sold his wares was physically broken (rotto) by soldiers, and this practice was called "bancorotto" (broken table). Not having a table anymore, the merchant was not able to sell anything.

In order to connect the Palazzo Vecchio (Florence's town hall) with the Palazzo Pitti, Cosimo I de Medici had Giorgio Vasari build the famous "Vasari corridor" above it in 1565. To enforce the prestige of the bridge, in 1593 he prohibited butchers from selling their goods there, and their place was immediately taken by gold merchants. The association of butchers had monopolised the shops on the bridge since 1442.

During World War II, the Ponte Vecchio was not destroyed by Germans during their retreat in 1944, unlike all other bridges in Florence. This was allegedly because of an express order by Hitler.

This statue of Cellini stands guard at the one end of the Ponte Vecchio. Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571) was an Italian goldsmith, painter, sculptor, soldier and musician of the Renaissance. Remember, we saw his statue of Perseus with the Head of Medusa in the Loggia dei Lanzi earlier on.

In a recent tradition for the Ponte Vecchio, many padlocks were locked to various places on the bridge, especially to the railing around the statue of Cellini. The custom was perhaps introduced by the padlock shop owner at the end of the bridge. It is popularly connected to the idea of love and lovers: by locking the padlock and throwing the key into the river, the lovers became eternally bonded.

This is an example of the negative impact of the mass tourism (thousands of padlocks needed to be removed frequently, spoiling or damaging the structure of the centuries-old bridge). However, it seems to have decreased after the city administration put a sign on the bridge warning of a 50 Euro penalty for those caught locking something to the fence.

Chianti

On Monday 20 November 2006 we joined an afternoon bus excursion to the Chianti region in Tuscany. The trip there took us through the beautiful countryside where woods alternate with vineyards and olive groves in a landscape dotted with Romanesque churches, farmhouses, villas and castles.

We stopped at the Fattoria Castello Il Palagio, called a factory castle since the estate produces wines and extra virgin olive oil, for a tour of the wine cellar followed by a tasting of the wines and olive oil. And of course we had to buy a couple of bottles of the very pleasant wines before we departed from Il Palagio.
The very first mention of the castle Il Palagio dates back to 1252, though it is thought to be much older. The proportions and impregnability of the castle have enabled it to hold out against several raids during the centuries.

In 1260 the Ghibellini plundered the area and destroyed Campoli, but Il Palagio remained undamaged, as in 1312 during the expedition of the Emperor Henry VII, prince of Orange. The year 1320 was the year of raids by Castruccio Castracani, while in 1381 John Hawkins' army was stopped in the neighbourhood by Buondelmonti's troops coming from Il Palagio. By that time the fortress, thanks to its impregnate walls, had become a place of defence or a base for actions of attack. At the end of the 15th century onwards the castle was owned by the Florentine Republic and was transformed into a fortress. Two centuries later the city of Florence gave Il Palagio to the Barons Miniati because of their military history. The current owners of the castle are the family of the Marquis Goretti Miniati.

The building, which originally had only one storey, has undergone many changes. In ancient times, the tower used to be lower and without any battlement (this was a feature of many other castles of the Chianti area).

The gardens of Il Palagio were built in the 18th century by the Grand Duke Asburgo-Lorena. It is believed that the splendid Cyprus of Lebanon at the main entrance to the castle was planted nearly 200 years ago by a Napoleonic official during the French Occupation in the late 18th century.

The present battlement was restored in 1910. From the 16th century Il Palagio grew rich with many works of art. Portraits of Florentine nobles, pictures with hunting or battles scenes, and Terracotta from the school of Della Robbia were brought to the Palagio to adorn the great halls. The Gothic chapel is a real treasure of the castle, with frescoes on every wall.

The wine cellars are located under the castle. Part of the cellar was originally a medieval dungeon. The wines are matured in huge oak barrels, while the olive oil is stored in terracotta containers.

From Il Palagio our bus tour continued on to Greve (the full name of the village is Greve in Chianti), but we did not stay there for long since it was already getting dark. Greve, 26 km from Florence, developed predominantly as a market town. Apparently a large, lively market is regularly held in the unusual triangular piazza lined with porticoes.

This tour was well worthwhile and we certainly enjoyed the experience tremendously.

Uffizi Gallery

At the end of our tour of Florence we stopped at the Uffizi Gallery (Italian: Galleria degli Uffizi) for a guided walk through this awesome collection of artworks.
Building of the palace was begun by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 for Cosimo I de' Medici as the offices for the Florentine magistrates - hence the name "uffizi" (offices). Construction ended in 1581.

Over the years, parts of the palace evolved into a display place for many of the paintings and sculpture collected by the Medici family or commissioned by them. After the house of Medici was extinguished, the art treasures remained in Florence, forming one of the first modern museums. The gallery had been open to visitors by request since the sixteenth century, and in 1765 it was officially opened to the public.

This statue of Galileo can be found in one of the pillar alcoves on the outside of the gallery.

The problem with a visit to one of these magnificent European art galleries is that you see so much that in the end you cannot retain much at all. And of cource one is not allowed to take pictures inside these galleries. What follows are but a few of the artworks we saw and that we could recall afterwards.

Fra' Filippo Lippi (1406-1469), also called Lippo Lippi, is a well-known Florentine painter of the Italian 15th century school. His work is remarkable for the fact that he, though a monk, liked women very much, so that

(a) he had a son who himself became a famous painter, Filippino Lippi, and

(b) in his paintings the women were markedly prettier than had been customary.

One can see it in some of his Madonnas, like in this one, the "Madonna and Child with two Angels".

We particularly liked Botticelli's famous paintings of Aphrodite. He made a similar point of making the faces of female subjects look beautiful, in this case by giving a clear and well-shaped outline. Here is "The Birth of Venus" which Botticelli painted in about 1485.

The story goes that, born from a union between Heaven and Earth, there came forth a goddess with such beauty and charm that the seasons rushed to greet her. Her name was Aphrodite, which in Greek means "born of the sea foam". She was also known as "Aphrodite Pandemos" which means goddess "among all the people". Her Roman name was Venus.

Caravaggio"s paintings showing chiaroscuro (meaning strong contrasts in illumination between light and dark areas in the artwork) alerted us to the use of chiaroscuro to paint false beams and domes on ceilings that were so realistic that it was very hard to detect that it was two-dimensional.

We found Canaletto's (1697-1768) ordered and "architectural" paintings of Venice most appealing. This one is the Palazzo Ducale in Venice. Canaletto's views always fetched high prices, and as early as the 18th century Catherine the Great and other European monarchs vied for his grandest paintings.

We were surprised to learn how few paintings by Leonardo da Vinci existed, and how few of them were in Florence - just the "Annunciation" (shown here) and the unfinished "Adoration of the Magi". Da Vinci had quarrelled with Lorenzo de Medici and gone to France (where he died in 1519), so that the Mona Lisa is legitimately in the Louvre.

There is only one painting by Michelangelo in the Uffizi, this one of the Holy Family painted in about 1506 for the merchant Angolo Doni and his wife Maddalena Strozzi. The frame is original and was also designed by Michelangelo.

Loggia dei Lanzi

The Loggia dei Lanzi, also called the Loggia della Signoria, is a building on a corner of the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, adjoining the Uffizi Gallery. It consists of wide arches open to the street, three bays wide and one bay deep. The arches rest on clustered pilasters with Corinthian capitals. The wide arches appealed so much to the Florentines, that Michelangelo even proposed that they should be continued all around the Piazza.

It was built between 1376 and 1382 to house the assemblies of the people and hold public ceremonies. Today it is effectively a marvellous open-air sculpture gallery of antique and Renaissance art.

In this first picture the statue in front depicts the Rape of the Sabine Women by the Flemish artist Jean de Boulogne, better known as Giambologna. This impressive work was made from one imperfect block of white marble, the largest block ever transported to Florence.

On the steps of the Loggia are two Marzoccos, marble statues of lions, heraldic symbols of Florence. This one on the left was sculpted by Flaminio Vacca in 1598. It was originally placed in the Villa Medici in Rome, but found its final place in the Loggia in 1789.

Beyond the lion we can see the front of the Palazzo Vecchio.

Underneath the bay on the far left is the bronze statue of Perseus by Benvenuto Cellini, the most famous work in the Loggia, and probably his best bronze sculpture. Beyond the sculture we see the corner of the Uffizi Gallery (Galleria degli Uffizi).

The scuplture shows the mythical Greek hero holding his sword in his right hand and holding up triumphantly the Medusa's decapitated head in his left. The well-proportioned muscular body of Perseus stands poised on the right leg. Perseus is subdued, holding back his emotions. Blood is gushing from the head and the neck of the dead Medusa. The richly decorated marble pedestal, equally by Cellini, shows four graceful bronze statuettes of Jupiter, Mercurius, Minerva and Danae.

And here we have Hercules killing that mythical beast, a centaur, and another view of the Rape of the Sabine Women.

The name Loggia dei Lanzi dates back to the reign of Grand Duke Cosimo I, when it was used to house his formidable landsknechts (in Italian: "Lanzichenecchi", corrupted to Lanzi), or German mercenary pikemen. After the construction of the Uffizi at the rear of the Loggia, the Loggia's roof was modified and became a terrace from which the Medici princes could watch ceremonies in the piazza.

Tour of Florence

On Sunday afternoon, 19 November 2006, we joined a guided tour to see more of Florence. The city is built on rather flat ground, so it is not easy to get a good view over Florence. The tour started with a brief visit to the town Fiesole, 8 km to the north-east of Florence, to take in this famous view over the city and the Arno Valley. Fiesole is a beautiful town and we were pleased to see the many large cypresses looming in the mist.

The tour continued to the old city centre for a visit to the Basilica of Santa Groce, followed by a walk to the Piazza della Signoria, the Loggia dei Lanzi, and a guided walking tour through the Galleria degli Uffizi. It was a very worthwhile tour, with loads of architecture and artworks to see and much history to learn about.

The Basilica di Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross) is the principal Franciscan church of Florence. Legend says that Santa Croce was founded by St Francis himself. It was built Arnolfo di Cambio in the pure Gothic style. Work started in 1294 and continued until 1443 when the church was consecrated by Pope Eugene IV.

The vast structure is the largest Franciscan church in the world. Its most notable features are its sixteen chapels, many of them decorated with frescoes by Giotto and his pupils, and its monumental tombs.

On the left is a view of the Capella Maggiore and on the right is the Capella Peruzzi. The chapels inside the Basilica di Santa Groce were for the exclusive use of the important families of Florence at that time.

The monumental tombs for Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo and Rossini are but of few of those to be found in the church. As an example of the ornate work on these tombs, here is the tomb of Galileo Galilei.

On the next blog entry we'll have a look at the Loggia dei Lanzi and the Galleria degli Uffizi.

Piazza della Signoria

On Sunday morning, 19 November 2006, we walked from our hotel near the central station all the way to the Piazza della Signoria. We spent some time there looking at the Palazzo Vecchio, the Neptune Fountain, the Loggia dei Lanzi, and the outside of the Uffizi Gallery. All of these marvels are to be found side by side on this piazza.

The Neptune Fountain is quite elaborate, and the longer you look at it, the more you discover. These amazing "sea horses" actually have lower bodies like those of fish. The marble statue of Neptune was sculpted by Bartolomeo Ammannati (1575). He took Grand Duke Cosimo I as model for Neptune's face. When the work on the ungainly sea god was finished, Michelangelo scoffed at Ammanati that he had ruined a beautiful piece of marble. The bronze statues which decorate the fountain (satyrs, tritons and nereids) are the work of the Flemish artist Jean de Boulogne.

Here is the Palazzo Vecchio with Neptune's Fountain at the left corner of the building. The Palazzo Vecchio is the town hall of Florence. This massive gothic, crenellated fortress-palace is among the most impressive town halls of Tuscany. Overlooking the Piazza della Signoria with its famous David statue as well the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi, it is one of the most significant public places in Italy.

Originally called the Palazzo della Signoria, it served as the home of Cosimo I de' Medici from 1540 to 1550, who had the palace enlarged to fit the delicate tastes of the grand-ducal court.

The name was officially changed after Cosimo moved to the Pitti Palace, renaming his former palace the Palazzo Vecchio, the "Old Palace", although the adjacent town square, the Piazza della Signoria, still bears the old name. Cosimo I also moved the seat of government to the Uffizi.

The palace gained new importance as seat of United Italy's provisional government from 1865-71, at a moment that Florence had become the capital of the kingdom of Italy.

Although most of the Palazzo Vecchio is now a museum, it remains the symbol of local government and still houses, since 1872, the office of the mayor of Florence and is the seat of the City Council.

The Markets in Florence

Our favourite spot for lunch was at the Trattoria ZaZa, a few steps away from our hotel and next to the central city market on the Piazza del Mercato Centrale. Outside the door and projecting into the piazza was a large open-air seating area under cover of a canvas awning. We particularly liked the atmosphere out there, but it was a little tricky when the rain came down quite hard on one occasion while we visited the establishment. The food was delicious, the wine superb and the waitresses very friendly.

Even the little birds hopping between the tables looking for crumbs were a delight. Not quite so delightful were the pigeons that tried the same stunt. One even had a cripple foot (perhaps some cat nearly got him), but still managed to get along well.

We thought their logo was amusing - the little bee going zap zap on the buttocks of the chef.

We also paid a visit to the Central Market. This is the view from the back, as one sees it from the Trattoria ZaZa. It is huge and the range of goodies on offer is astounding. The breads, pastas, sausages, meats, cakes, sweets, wines and much more all looked quite delectable. Most of the wares are in the food line, but other goods like clothing and leather items are also on sale there.

The new market on the Piazza de Mercato Nuovo was another lovely street market for browsing and finding gifts to take home. The leather wallets, handbags, jackets and coats were to die for. The vendors are happy to negotiate the price and one comes away feeling that you have got a bargain, but who knows? Maybe this tourist got fleeced after all.

This statue of the Little Pig, Porcellino, at the Mercato Nuovo is a bronze copy of the sculpture "Wild Boar" now on display in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, but it originally came from the house of Paolo Ponti in Rome. They say you should rub Porcellino's nose for luck, so that must be why it is so shiny.

The Duomo

Right next to the Baptistry, on the Piazza del Duomo, is the famous Duomo (cathedral) of Florence. The full name of this cathedral is Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore.

Its name (Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower) refers to the lily, symbol of Florence, or to the old town name Fiorenza, but a 15th century document states that the "flower" refers to Christ.

The church was designed by Arnolfo di Cambio in 1296 to be the largest Roman Catholic church in the world, and when it was completed, had room for 30,000 people. It is now only exceeded in size by Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City, Saint Paul's Cathedral in London, the Seville Cathedral, and the Milan Cathedral.

Several architects worked on the building project, which was also interrupted by the Black Plague of 1348. The nave was finished by 1380, and by 1418 only the dome was left uncompleted. Work started on the dome in 1420 and was completed in 1436.

The walls are covered in alternate vertical and horizontal bands with many-colored marble from Carrara (white), Prato (green), Siena (red), Lavenza and a few other places. These marble bands had to repeat the decorations of the Baptistry and the belltower.

The cathedral was consecrated by Pope Eugene IV on 25 March 1436 (the first day of the year according to the Florentine calendar).

The Baptistry

It was just a short walk from our hotel to the Baptistry of Saint John on the Piazza san Giovanni. The Baptistry is relatively small in size, but we were most impressed by the beautiful brass panels and other ornamentation on the main door.

In Christian architecture the baptistry is the separate centrally-planned structure surrounding the baptismal font. In the early Christian Church, the catechumens were instructed and the sacrament of baptism was administered in the baptistry.

The sacramental importance and sometimes architectural splendour of the baptistry reflect the importance of baptism to Christians. The octagonal plan of the Lateran Baptistery, the first structure expressly built as a baptistry, provided a widely-followed model, also used for this baptistry in Florence.

In a narthex or ante-room the catechumens were instructed and made their confession of faith before baptism. The main interior space centered upon the baptismal font, in which those to be baptized were immersed thrice. Baptistries belong to a period of the church when great numbers of adult catechumens were baptized, and when immersion was the rule.

The Eastern door, the third set of bronze doors for the Baptistry of Florence, has ten panels depicting scenes from the Old Testament. This is the masterpiece of Lorenzo Ghiberti, who worked on it for 27 years. It was completed in 1452. Michelangelo defined the door as fit to be the "Gate of Paradise". At the centre of the door at left is the self-portrait of Ghiberti. The door's original gilding has recently been recovered from beneath the patina formed over the centuries.

The brass strip surrounding the larger panels on each door we found notable because of the heads of various historical figures that literally projected out from the surface of the door.

We did not see the inside. This information about baptistries is from the Wikipedia, and that about Ghiberti comes from Web Gallery of Art.

Arriving in Florence

After lunch on Saturday 18 November 2006 we hopped on the train to Florence. This was the first time we used our Eurail Pass and all went well. From the central station in Florence it was a short walk to the Hotel Botticeli.

The hotel, on a narrow street away from the main roads, was cozy and the staff friendly. However, just down the road there was about five trattorias and the noise from these eateries carried on until about 3 a.m. every night, and after that the rubbish trucks started their rounds, with numerous wine bottles being thrown out with many a mighty crash. After the rubbish trucks followed the street-sweeping trucks, so our nights were not very peaceful, but we survived. It was simply a matter of getting used to the ambient noises.

As soon as we were settled in the hotel we ventured forth, found the Museo di San Marco (Museum of Saint Marcus) and spent a delightful afternoon there enjoying the artworks.

We were particularly impressed by panels illustrating the key Bible stories, by the Miraculous Supper of Saint Dominic, and by the collection of bells.

The museum of San Marco in Florence comprises a church and an old Dominican monastery, restored and enlarged by Michelozzo under orders from Cosimo I de Medici.

During the 15th century the monastery was home to two famous Dominicans, the painter Fra Angelico and the preacher, Girolamo Savonarola. A famous collection of manuscripts is housed in the monastery library built by Michelozzo.

This famous fresco in one of the great halls of the Last Supper was painted by Domenico Ghirlandaio at the end of the 15th century.

We visited the austere cells where Savonarola lived and where Cosimo I went to meditate. Each cell of the monks’ cloister (and many other walls of the halls and rooms) were decorated with frescoes by Fra Angelico in collaboration with others, including Benozzo Gozzoli.

Fra Angelico demonstrates his understanding of linear perspective particularly in his Annunciation paintings. This large fresco stands at the top of the stairway leading to the cells of the monks.

Underneath the monastery we saw relics that were saved from the 19th century destruction of the original monastery, as well as a fascinating collection of bells. One of these bells, called La Piagnona, was particularly impressive because of its huge size and elaborate engraving.

San Marco is famous as the seat of Girolamo Savonarola's discourses during his short spiritual rule of Florence in the late 15th century. The citizens of Florence stormed the monastery to capture Savonarola when he was condemned for heresy. The bell was taken from the monastery and carried through the city while it was beaten with whips of leather as a symbolic punishment.

We had dinner at the "Paoli Antico Ristorante" on Via dei Tavolini and enjoyed it immensely. The restaurant is situated in an old building with beautiful pillars and interesting ceilings, and a row of tiles with the coat of arms of different Italian families, set in wood panelling, surrounding the interior at about chest-height. The waiters were a band of older chaps, obviously all good friends, who have been working together at the same restaurant all their lives. The food was great. I had "Ossi Buchi" with Beans and Willem had his favourite "Bistecca a a Fiorentina" (T-bone steak) with fries and spinach.

Odd things we noticed in Florence is that cyclists do not have to wear helmets, and window flower boxes contain Cyclamens, not the usual Geraniums. I discovered that finding my way around the old part of Florence was really hard, because the buildings are tall, the land is flat and the streets are narrow, so one cannot see any distant landmarks as guidance.

We were once again struck by the beautiful doors to the buildings in the old part of the city. This one was of very well-preserved wood and had awesome lion's head knockers.

We found the traffic flow in Florence more civilized than in Rome. Drivers would stop politely for pedestrians at crossings and for a change pedestrians would obey the traffic lights. This is what our tour guide on the trip to the Chianti said about road signs in Italy: "In the north of Italy road signs are regulations, in the middle road signs are suggestions, and in the south road signs are decorations".

On one of our walks along the streets of Florence we came across this beautiful caroussel at the Piazza Repubblica. It was fairly early in the morning and the street-sweepers were still busy tidying up the Piazza after some event was held there the previous evening. Note how the buildings around the Piazza are reflected in the mirrors along the top of the caroussel.

Basilica of Saint Paul

The bus tour on Friday afternoon (17 Nov 2006) included a stop at the Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura, known in English as the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls or St Paul-without-the-Walls. It is considered to be one the great ancient basilicas of Rome. Even though this basilica lies outside the walls of the Vatican, it is part of the Holy See.

In 386, Emperor Theodosius I began the erection of a large and beautiful basilica, but the work including the mosaics was not completed untill the pontificate of Leo I. As it was dedicated also to Saints Taurinus and Herculanus, martyrs of Ostia in the 5th century, it was sometimes called the Basilica Trium Dominorum or Basilica of Three Lords.

The facade is splendidly painted and decorated with gold leaf. A statue of Saint Paul greets one at the entrance to the basilica. Note that the Saint holds a sword. Our tour guide, being Italian, repeatedly mentioned that Saint Paul was holding a "spade", no doubt because the Italian for sword is "spada" and the guide's command of English was not perfect. Various paintings and statues throughout the basilica depict Saint Peter on the right and Saint Paul on the left of Jesus Christ, with Peter holding a key and Paul holding a sword.

In 1823 a fire, started through the negligence of a workman who was repairing the lead of the roof, resulted in the destruction of the basilica. Alone of all the churches of Rome, it had preserved its primitive character for 1435 years. The whole world contributed to its restoration. The Viceroy of Egypt sent pillars of alabaster, the Emperor of Russia the precious malachite and lapis lazuli of the tabernacle. The work on the principal facade, looking toward the Tiber, was completed by the Italian Government.

Note the impressive ceiling of the porch area facing the front courtyard.

Here in the basilica we were introduced to the glorious marbles we were to encounter time and again everywhere we went in Italy.

The central rose garden courtyard of the basilica is surrounded by porches with these wonderfully quirky mosaic-clad pillars.

Ancient Roman ruins

Our main aim in Rome was to see some of the ruins of ancient Rome. This remnant of the Servian Wall (in Latin: Murus Servii Tullii) is to be found next to the current main railway station, Stazione Termini.

The wall was a defensive barrier constructed around the city of Rome in the early 4th century BC. The wall was 3.6 m thick, 11 km long, and had more than a dozen gates. The Servian Wall is named after the sixth Roman King, Servius Tullius. The walls became unnecessary as Rome became well protected by the ever expanding military strength of the Republic and of the later Empire. As the city continued to grow and prosper, it was essentially unwalled for the first three centuries of the Empire. However, when the city came under attack from barbarian tribes in the 3rd century, Emperor Aurelian was forced to build the larger Aurelian Walls to protect Rome. The position of the walls influenced the naming of important buildings, which often have the equivalent of "inside the walls" or "outside the walls" tacked onto the name.

Not quite so ancient, but most imposing, is this column near the monument of Victor Emmanuel. Trajan's Column is a monument raised by Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Senate. It is located near the Quirinal Hill, north of the Roman Forum. It was completed in 113, the spiral bas-relief commemorates Trajan's victory in his military campaigns to conquer Dacia in the Dacian Wars.

The structure is about 30 meters in height, 38 meters including its large pedestal. The shaft is made from a series of 18 colossal Carrara marble drums, each weighing about 40 tons, with a diameter of about 4 meters. The 190 meter frieze winds around the shaft 23 times. Inside the shaft, a spiral staircase of 185 stairs provides access to a viewing platform at the top. Since there was a restoration project going on at the time we were there, we could not gain access.

Apparently the column was originally topped with a statue of a bird, possibly an eagle, and later by a heroically nude statue of Trajan himself. In 1588, it was replaced by a statue of Saint Peter (which still remains) by Pope Sixtus V.

The Piazza Venezia is bordered by Victor Emmanuel's monument to the south, the Palazzo Venezia to the north and Trajan's Column to the east. Directly south form Trajan's Column we came across a huge archaeological dig to unearth some remains of ancient Rome (in this picture we are looking towards the south), what used to be Trajan's Forum, Augustus's Forum and Ceasar's Forum. Just a little way further south along the Via Dei Fori Imperiali is the famous Colosseum.

So while I was tripping merrily along to take this photograph, with Willem waiting under a stand of trees closer to Trajan's Column, a protest march that had been in progress for some time finally reached Victor Emmanuel's monument. There they were stopped by a police cordon which by now also separated Willem and me, and they would not let me pass through to join Willem on the other side. We were quite some distance from the protesters and, one would have thought, obviously tourists. Anyway, I sidled along the back of a tree and snuck past when they weren't looking.

During the afternoon of Friday 17 November we joined a bus tour of Ancient Rome. The tour had two main stops, the Roman Forum and the Basilica of Saint Paul (more about the Basilica later). So here we are at the Colosseum, which is near the entrance to the ancient Roman Forum.

The Colosseum, originally known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, is a giant amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome. Originally capable of seating 45,000 to 50,000 spectators, it was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. It was built on a site just east of the Roman Forum, with construction starting between 70 and 72 AD under the emperor Vespasian. The amphitheatre, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire, was completed in 80 AD. It remained in use for nearly 500 years with the last recorded games being held there as late as the 6th century, well after the traditional date of the fall of Rome in 476.

We did not spend much time looking at the Colosseum, but proceeded through this gate (remains of the original city wall) to the Forum. The Roman Forum (Forum Romanum or Forum Magnum) was the central area around which ancient Rome developed, in which commerce, business, prostitution, cult and the administration of justice took place. Here the communal hearth was located. Sequences of remains of paving show that sediment eroded from the surrounding hills was already raising the level of the forum in early Republican times. Originally it had been marshy ground, which was drained. Its final travertine paving, still to be seen, dates from the reign of Augustus.

This photo shows the old Roman paving stones quite clearly. The hill opposite is the Palatine Hill, with the remains of the Temple of Vesta to the very left. The Temple of Vesta was built in the 3rd century B.C. It is not truly a temple because it was never inaugurated, nor did it hold a statue of Vesta, but only her sacred flame and the Palladium. The Palladium was a statue of Athena (Roman Minerva) believed to have been brought by Aeneas from Troy.

The Palatine Hill (Latin: Palatium) is the centermost of the seven hills of Rome and is one of the most ancient parts of the city of Rome. According to Roman mythology, the Palatine hill was where Romulus and Remus were found by the she-wolf that kept them alive. According to this legend, the shepherd Faustulus found the infants, and with his wife Acca Larentia raised the children. When they were older this is where Romulus decided to build Rome.

The three columns on the right are remains of the Temple of Vespasian and Titus.

The white marble Arch of Septimius Severus at the northeast end of the Roman Forum is a triumphal arch erected in AD 204 to commemorate the Parthian victories of Emperor Septimius Severus and his two sons, Caracalla and Geta, in the two campaigns against the Parthians of 195 and 203. In this photograph the monument of Victor Emmanual can be seen behind the arch.

During the Middle Ages, though the memory of the Forum Romanum persisted, its monuments were for the most part buried under debris, and its location was designated the "Campo Vaccino" or "cattle field". The return of Pope Urban V from Avignon in 1367 led to an increased interest in ancient monuments, partly for their moral lesson and partly as a quarry for new buildings being undertaken in Rome after a long lapse. Artists from the late 15th century drew the ruins in the Forum, antiquaries copied inscriptions in the 16th century, and a tentative excavation was begun in the late 18th century.

As an aside, we learnt that the Umbrella Pine is native to Italy, and the Italians are quite proud of these unusual-looking pines. Note our picture of the Colosseum also includes a couple of these trees. It is also called the Stone Pine (Pinus pinea). This tree has been exploited for its edible pine nuts since prehistoric times.

The tour guide told the story of Hitler being angry with Mussolini for planting the umbrella pines in Rome, because he believed that in this way Mussolini wanted to change the climate by increasing the rainfall in Italy, and that would turn Germany into a desert.

More of the same in Rome

Still with our morning walks around Rome, we started noticing that most of the older buildings have fascinating doors, beautifully crafted in wood, iron or bronze. This one we found near our hotel in Via Nazionale. We thought maybe the doors had to be so tall and wide so that a Roman could drive straight through with his horse and chariot. It seems as if these doorways used to lead to inner courtyards, many of which have been built up in later years.

The Spanish Steps (Italian: Scalinata di Piazza di Spagna) is a set of stairs in Rome, ramping a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinita dei Monti, with the church under the patronage of the Bourbon kings of France, Trinita dei Monti, above. Unfortunately, at the time we were there they were busy restoring the column directly in front of the church, hence the ugly scaffolding.

Here we were looking down the steps towards the Piazza di Spagna and the boat-shaped fountain. The monumental stairway of 138 steps was built with French diplomat Stefano Gueffier's funds (20,000 scudi) in 1723–1725, linking the Bourbon Spanish Embassy to the Holy See.

Up the steps and past the church, we soon came to the Villa Medici on top of the Pincian Hill. The gardens of the villa are contiguous with the larger Borghese gardens in Rome. The Villa Medici has housed the French Academy in Rome since 1803. In 1576 the property was acquired by Cardinal Ferdinando de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, who finished the structure to designs by Bartolomeo Ammanati. The Villa Medici was the first among the Medici properties in Rome, intended to give concrete expression to the ascendancy of the Medici among Italian princes and assert their permanent presence in Rome.

Looking down from the villa over the city clearly showed up the domes of various churches.

Another walk took us through the Gardino del Quirinale (the Quirinale Gardens), past the impressive statue of Carlo Alberto and from there on to the Quirinal Palace (known in Italian as the Palazzo del Quirinale or simply the Quirinale). Carlo Alberto was the King of Sardinia from 1831 to 1849. Although an Italian patriot opposed to Austrian hegemony in Northern Italy, he put down the Mazzini conspiracy. He introduced a series of reforms that abolished domestic customs barriers within the kingdom, promulgated a constitutional law code (Statuto Albertino) along Napoleonic lines and supported the arts and sciences. During the Revolutions of 1848 he agreed to a constitutional regime that remained in place for the century that the Kingdom of Italy lasted. He was succeeded by his son, Vittorio Emanuele II.

The Quirinal Palace (known in Italian as the Palazzo del Quirinale or simply the Quirinale) is now the official residence of the President of the Italian Republic upon the Quirinal Hill, one of the seven hills of Rome. The palace, located on the Via del Quirinale and facing onto the Piazza del Quirinale, was built in 1573 by Pope Gregory XIII as a papal summer residence. It was also used as the location for many papal conclaves. It served as a papal residence and housed the central offices responsible for the civil government of the Papal States until 1870. In September 1870 what was left of the Papal States was overthrown. About five months later, in 1871, Rome became the capital of the new Kingdom of Italy.

After first missing this imposing building (because we did not look around the corner) we were happy to stumble across the Barberini Palace. The suburban site was purchased in 1625 by Maffeo Barberini, who had come to the papal throne as Urban VIII. He employed three architects to plan the vast Renaissance block along the lines of Palazzo Farnese. However, the design quickly evolved into a precedent-setting combination of just such an urban seat of princely power combined with a garden front that had the nature of a suburban villa with semi-enclosed garden.

Today the Palazzo Barberini houses the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, one of the most important painting collections in Italy. We were happy to spend some time viewing some of the artworks.

Equally fascinating and imposing is the monument to Victor Emmanuel. The Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II) or Altare della Patria (Altar of the Nation) is a monument designed and built by Giuseppe Sacconi between 1895 and 1911 to honour Victor Emmanuel, the first king of the unified Italy. He was the son of Carlo Alberto whom we have met before.

The monument is built of pure white marble and features majestic stairways, tall Corinthian columns, fountains, a huge equestrian statue of Victor Emmanuel and two statues of goddess Victoria riding on quadrigas. The monument holds the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with an eternal flame, built under the statue of Italy after World War I. The base of the structure also houses the museum of Italian Reunification.

Find out about hotels in Rome.

Roman architecture and fountains

On Friday 17th and Saturday 18th November during the mornings we explored Rome on foot, seeking out interesting architecture, monuments and fountains. Walking everywhere was good to counteract the deleterious effect of pasta and pizza on the waistline.

This first photo is of Via Nazionale just down the road from our hotel. The very interesting church on the right-hand side is the church of San Paulo Entro da Mura, or in English, Saint Pauls within the Walls. The reference to walls is of course the old Roman walls that surrounded ancient Rome. Only small bits and pieces of the old walls remain today, but more about that later. The church steeple has an interesting array of bells which produce an awesome sound.

One of the most famous fountains of Rome is Bernini's baroque Triton Fountain (Italian: Fontana del Tritone) erected in 1643, on the Piazza Barberini.

In the fountain an over-lifesize muscular Triton, a minor sea god of ancient Greco-Roman legend, is depicted as a merman kneeling on an opened scallop shell. He throws back his head to raise a conch to his lips. From it a jet of water spurts, formerly rising dramatically higher than it does today. The fountain has a base of four dolphins that entwine the papal tiara with crossed keys and the heraldic Barberini bees in their scaly tails. The Tritone, first of Bernini's fountains, was erected to provide water from the Acqua Felice aqueduct.

Another equally famous fountain is the Trevi. The Trevi Fountain (Italian: Fontana di Trevi) is the largest, standing 25.9 meters high and 19.8 meters wide, the most ambitious of the Baroque fountains of Rome.

The fountain at the juncture of three roads (tre vie) marks the terminal point of the Aqua Virgo (Italian: Acqua Vergine), one of the ancient aqueducts that supplied water to Rome. In 19 BC, supposedly with the help of a virgin, Roman technicians located a source of pure water some 13 km from the city. This scene is presented on the present fountain's facade. However, the eventual indirect route of the aqueduct made its length some 22 km.

The Piazza de la Pilotta is surrounded by several interesting-looking buildings, one of which is the Pontifical Gregorian University (Italian: Pontificia Universitas Gregoriana), which is a Roman Catholic university in Rome. One of the oldest in the world, the university celebrated its 450th anniversary in 2001. Its principal purpose is to assist in the education of young men for the Catholic priesthood and to train clerics and laity in advanced sacred disciplines. It has one of the largest theology departments in the world, with over 1600 student-priests, seminarians and religious from over 130 countries.

Something else we found rather amazing is the narrowness of some of the streets. Just have a look at Via del Faccaro (to the left of the Piazza de la Pilotta in this photograph), followed by another narrow alley we encountered somewhere else in Rome.

There is room for only one vehicle at a time and the road curves, so you can't see what's coming from the other side. No, it is not a one-way street!

Dunedin to Rome

We left Dunedin on 15 November 2006 and after a gruelling 37 hours and 40 minutes of travelling we reached the Hotel Cortina, Via Nazionale, Rome.

At the first stop in Dubai there was some delay to replace a wheel assembly since the aeroplane's brakes were faulty. And then at the Milan stop they got their cargo all mixed up and we sat in the plane for an hour while they unpacked and repacked everything. Being herded on and off and on and off planes ain't no fun! On one leg of the journey we had a South African pilot and another South African chap in the cabin crew. Weird, since this was Emirates Airline.

The Hotel Cortina was situated on the second floor through this doorway and, would you believe it, there is another hotel on the fourth floor of the same building. The lift up to the second floor was really ancient - a small box with wrought-iron doors that you have to open and close manually. We only used it when we had our suitcases in tow.

It was HOT in Rome - we were sweating at 21 deg C and more. The Romans are crazy - you take your life in your own hands every time you cross the road - they drive like maniacs and don't stop at the red lights.

Highways have about 4 lanes, but not marked, so cars swerve in and out and never use indicators - all this at 150 km per hour. Most intersections are not controlled. At one point we watched a driver trying to cross a busy 3-lane highway. He finally managed by simply pushing the nose of the car into the traffic bit by bit. The cars on the highway merged, eventually into one lane, but would not stop until he left them no room to pass - and away he went!

So with all this heat about you can imagine our surprise when we came to realise how many of the pedestrians out and about on the streets were clothed in elegant tweeds, warm coats and wooly scarves. But tweeds in Rome? We would rather have expected to see that in the Scotland!

About this blog

The blog starts with a bit of a log of Willem and Leta's awesome trip to Europe from 15 November to 15 December 2006, posted after the trip. Where did we go?

• Rome
• Florence
• Sestri Levante and the Cinque Terre in Italy
• Oberaegeri, Zug, Lucerne, Jungfrau and Zurich in Switzerland
• Paris
• London
• Corfe Castle, Wareham and Corfe Mullen in Dorset, UK

It is mainly intended to give the family and friends a glimpse of what we saw and experienced, but anyone may post comments if at all interested. Enjoy.