From 'La Mole' to Penge

Day 5 started with us saying arrivederci to Murlo and our hosts, and driving to the Abbey of San Galgano.





San Galgano was a very important Cistercian abbey in the 13th century, but first a famine then the 1348 plague, and its double looting by mercenary troops (once by the famous English condottiere sir Paul Hawkwood aka Paolo Acuto) caused its decline: the monks moved to Siena and by the mid 17th century most of it was in ruins.









The place is rather atmospheric but, as Adrian remarked, it would have been even more so if the abbey's floor had been sown as a wild meadow.

After visiting the roofless abbey, we walked up - along a muddy and steep path -



to the chapel of Montesiepi built on the place where San Galgano died in 1181.





The chapel's dome is quite remarkable (it is modelled on an Etruscan tomb)



but the star attraction is the sword in the stone. The legend said that San Galgano - who belonged to a local noble family - after a dissolute youth, repented and thrust his sword into the rock forming a cross.
The sword and the rock are still there and visible under a Plexiglas cover;





and if anyone were ever tempted to play King Arthur, then there's a reminder in a side chapel of what happened to 3 people who tried to steal the sword while Galgano was away (there were devoured by a pack of wolves, which the saint had befriended) [recent carbon-dating of the arms confirms their 12th century origin but of course not the the veracity of the legend!].



Next stop was the little-known cloister of the church of the Santissima Trinità and Santa Mustiola at Torri, a little medieval village surrounded by walls.





Apparently it's Tuscany's only remaining Romanesque cloister with beautiful capitals; it was later altered with the addition of loggias on two levels, transforming it into a 3-tiered cloister.













It's a private property now and only open 2 weekday mornings.

On the way back from Torri, we briefly stopped to admire an old bridge, the Ponte della Pia of Roman origin but rebuilt in medieval times (13th century).



According to the tradition, the bridge is named after Pia de' Tolomei, a noblewoman from Siena who was also mentioned by Dante in his Divina Commedia. She was murdered by her husband in 1297 (thrown out of a castle window).
Legend has it that her ghost, attired in white, crosses the bridge on full moon nights.
Before the accident, I would have happily crossed the bridge myself, but now... well I don't feel confident enough to do it any longer!



The next and last stop for the day, was the hill town of San Gimignano, one of the most famous attractions in Tuscany.





I think it was my 4th visit there and Adrian's 2nd.
It is really beautiful and is surrounded by some lovely countryside.

We had a wander around



and then a very light lunch



Afterwards, we visited the collegiata to see the amazing cycle of frescoes,



and then I climbed the Torre Grossa (218 steps, 54 meters)



(I think I've done these two activities every time I've visited the town)

The views are just lovely










and I could also keep an eye on Adrian from up there! LOL






Once back on the ground, we went to La Rocca (now a public park), where there's a small museum of wine.
We sat outside with a glass of San Gimignano Rosato



taking in the views





We enjoyed the few hours we spent in San Gimignano. Af first, we were not sure as it was considerably busier than any of the other places we had visited on this holiday, but the town has such charm that you eventually surrender to it!

We then drove to Vicopisano a town about 30 minutes away from Pisa where we spent the last 3 nights of our holiday, in a lovely apartment on the second floor of a medieval tower (12th century) which was chopped down in the 15th century when the fortress was re-built.

Dinner at a local trattoria was rather yummy (although Adrian seems to be a of a different opinion in this photo! LOL)



The deconstructed millefeuille was to die for!!


Then it was time for bed.


Thank goodness for the stool to climb up to it!

Day 3 started with a visit to the Grancia di Cuna, a fortified medieval farm near the via Cassia, the ancient Roman road (and now a strada statale) which was in part also on the Via Francigena, the medieval route followed by pilgrims travelling to Rome from northern Europe.



The Grancia belonged to the Siena's Spedale of Santa Maria della Scala (a scala can be either a staircase or a ladder in Italian) which looked after the pilgrims and well... made money out of them too.



The Grancia is undergoing restoration; we had a look around but were shooed away by one of the workers, even though we were not in the way and there was no sign saying 'no entry' (they were plenty of other signs). I'll guess we'll have to go back when completed!



The second stop was the town of Buonconvento again on the via Cassia.
It's a medieval town all built of brick and - apparently - also a centre for the Art Nouveau in Italy (but we didn't see much to justify that claim).



It had 2 gates (Porta Senese and Porta Romana) but the second one was destroyed by the retreating Germans at the end of WWII.



In one of its churches, Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII died of malaria in 1313.


(One of the plaques on the clock tower commemorates this, and also Dante's dashed hopes - he had high expectations that the German emperor would have restored imperial power in Tuscany bringing peace to Italy).



On one side of the main street there's Via del Sole and on other side the Via Oscura (dark street)



where, of course, the less well-to-do families lived.

Next stop was the town of Pienza.



It is a World Heritage Site because "It was in this Tuscan town that Renaissance town-planning concepts were first put into practice after Pope Pius II decided, in 1459, to transform the look of his birthplace. He chose the architect Bernardo Rossellino, who applied the principles of his mentor, Leon Battista Alberti. This new vision of urban space was realized in the superb square known as Piazza Pio II and the buildings around it: the Piccolomini Palace, the Borgia Palace and the cathedral with its pure Renaissance exterior and an interior in the late Gothic style of south German churches."

Here we visited the church of San Francesco



and the cathedral (which sports some worrying cracks on floors and walls - some of them covered by thin strips of glass so that they can be monitored if they move)



and then the beautiful Palazzo Piccolomini built for Pope Pius II (a Piccolomini) and inhabited by the family until the 1960s.





The palace has a small garden



with lovely views over another World Heritage Site, the Orcia Valley: "The landscape of Val d’Orcia is part of the agricultural hinterland of Siena, redrawn and developed when it was integrated in the territory of the city-state in the 14th and 15th centuries to reflect an idealized model of good governance and to create an aesthetically pleasing picture. The landscape’s distinctive aesthetics, flat chalk plains out of which rise almost conical hills with fortified settlements on top, inspired many artists. Their images have come to exemplify the beauty of well-managed Renaissance agricultural landscapes. The inscription covers: an agrarian and pastoral landscape reflecting innovative land-management systems; towns and villages; farmhouses; and the Roman Via Francigena and its associated abbeys, inns, shrines, bridges, etc."



After a walk around town



and along the ramparts







and a lunchtime drink and snack, we travelled towards San Quirico d'Orcia.

We were looking for a rural chapel, the Cappella della Madonna di Vitaleta of which I had seen a picture on a cover of a book we have at home. We couldn't find the track leading to it and so admired it from a distance.







From the same vantage point, we could also see the town of Radicofani and its castle in the distance. (We had planned to visit it on day 4 but as it was pouring with rain and the visibility was poor, we had to leave it out)



Just after San Quirico, we were stopped by a carabinieri patrol. I am not quite sure why, as they only checked Adrian's driving licence and car rental papers (I was worried that they'd ask for the snow chains which you are supposed to carry in your boot until mid-April no matter how warm it is; indeed later that week under a baking sun, the matrix signs on the superstrada Pisa - Firenze reminded drivers of the needs for chains! Of course we didn't have them - they cost 10 euros a day to hire from the car rental company!)

We then called at Bagno Vignoni, a tiny village built around a thermal spring and dominated in the distance by the castle of Rocca d'Orcia.













We stopped for a coffee there and the barista thought that my strange accent was Swiss (there's a first time for everything!). He also told us not to wait another 12 years before visiting again.

After Bagno, we drove to La Foce, near Chianciano Terme.
This is a place that we both wanted to visit after reading Iris Origo's book "War in Val d'Orcia", a diary in which the Contessa (the daughter of an American diplomat and grand-daughter of an Irish peer, raised in Florence and married to an Italian count) talks about her personal experiences of WWII when she looked after refugees children from Turin and Genoa while the valley and the country were fought over by the Germans, the Fascists and the Allies.

The gardens are open on Wednesdays and we enjoyed a lovely guided tour in English (we were the only 2) led by a quirky and passionate lady. The rain stopped just before the guided tour started.



The tour starts from the farm's courtyard





The villa dates from the 15th century



but the gardens are from the 20th century, designed by architect Cecil Pinsent.


(this apparently was designed to look like an Art Deco necklace)

They are really beautiful and the views are amazing. It was very interesting to hear about how the designer overcame the terrain's limitations, tricking the eye into thinking that is all on one level.











From here you can also enjoy one of the iconic landscapes of Tuscany:









Not happy with ending the day with La Foce, we decided to push on to Montepulciano (which we had visited before)



where we had a quick look at the church of San Biagio (we were hoping - in vain - for a sunset: the stones take such a warm colour)





and then a walk around the town perched on top of a steep hill





Dinner back in Murlo at the same restaurant.



The previous night we were served some plain pizza bread/focaccia and it was yummy. So we both had focaccia farcita: a plain pizza cooked and sliced in half and then filled with fresh tomato and mozzarella and vegetables and baked again. Absolutely yummy!
We were so busy enjoying it that we only took pictures of the desserts which were finger-licking good too!

2 Saturdays ago - the last full day of our Italian holiday - was spent visiting some the villas on the Brenta "canal" (it is in fact a branch of the river but since it has locks and the water levels are maintained constant, it is considered a canal).

It was an early start; 8:45 am in front of the Church of La Pieta'


We informed reception the night before that we would miss breakfast (it starts at 8 am) but we were told to call on the way out, and we were given warm croissants to take with us and a coffee. Quite a nice touch!

We took the vaporetto, and there were plenty of empty seats out at the back. Of course one had to take a few more pictures







This is the itinerary of the Burchiello, the tourist boat which goes from Venice to Padua



To start with the journey wasn't too bad. The boat wasn't crowded and we could all sit on the upper deck.

The first stop was villa Foscari-Malcontenta, the only villa designed by Andrea Palladio on the Brenta river:







(sadly no pictures were allowed inside any of the villas)

But when we went back to the boat, a group had joined us and later on another one. It got crowded, it got noisy and you often ended up cursing people's backs and arses instead of admiring the villas along the river.
The groups were of Italians and well they are amongst the most indisciplined people in the world. (There was also a Japanese lady who could speak Italian and who would sneak in front of everyone no matter where she was in the 'queue'. I had to use my crutches to block her at one point!).


(yes it's her!!)

Then it was time for lunch which was quite good (although Adrian didn't care for his polenta bianca starter!)





You see quite a lot of villas from the river. Apparently the Brenta 'canal' was considered an extension of the Canal Grande, because all the Venetian patricians had villas here to amuse themselves and also keep an eye on their lands and farms.






(The tall spire of Mira - only a few metres shorter than St. Mark's)







After lunch we stopped at the Villa Widmann




(oooh, naughty Adrian!)





Then more villas, more locks, more noisy Italians...



and we go to the Villa Pisani which is in fact a huge palazzo!

We visited 35 rooms in the villa but sadly had no time left for the garden.

Villa Pisani was the place where Hitler and Mussolini met for the first time; you can see the room and bed where Hitler (and before him, Napoleon) slept!











Back on the boat, and another hour or so



we were in Padua, where we took a train back to Venice.

So, would I go on this trip again? The answer is a resounding No!
(In fact, it was my second time on the Brenta. I went to visit some of the ville venete 27 years ago on my first real holiday)
It was too crowded, noisy and not enough time to visit the villas. But it wasn't all bad.

Our second day in Trentino-Alto Adige was spent driving on (part of) the Great Dolomites road.

But before setting off we had a look around the town of Castelrotto/Kastelruth.





The balconies in most towns and villages in this part of Italy overflow with geraniums and other flowers. We did wonder if there was an official colour scheme... it all felt a bit Stepford wives, but yes very pretty and tidy.

We drove down to the Val Gardena and after Selva, started to climb and climb until we reached the Sella Pass at 2,244 m (7,362 ft)



You have magnificent views of the Marmolada glacier on one side (hard to believe, but during WWI, the front line between Italy and Austria ran across the glacier and the Austrians dug a maze of galleries and trenches into the ice)



and of the Sassolungo group on the other





Now we were back in Trentino; a few hairpin bends down the mountains and many, many more climbing again and we were at the Pordoi Pass (2,239 m - 7,346 ft) on the Veneto border.



There is cable car





which takes you up to the top of the Sass Pordoi mountain (2952 m/ 9685 ft). It's quite an amazing ride: the cable car is free-standing with no intermediate pillars!

The views from the cabin and from the top are fantastic!






(if you look at the bottom centre of the picture above, you can see 2 people walking down the zigzagging path! I guess that the landslide must be pretty stable but well just think what would happen if you slipped!)



The weather at high altitudes changes very quickly. In a matter of minutes a cloud came over and covered the Marmolada.



We could still see the Sassolungo and the almost lunar landscape of the Sella Group on the other side



I was very sensible and didn't venture far on my crutches. I didn't even go to the nearest patch of ice.
We had apple strudel instead!



A 'descent into the unknown' (LOL)



and were back in our car.

We drove a bit more, admiring the fabulous views and going past lovely villages











Next stop was an interesting museum dedicated to WWI; it documents the hardships endured by both Italian and Austro-Hungarian soldiers on these mountains. It must have been a freezing hell in winter.



The museum is located in the Tre Sassi fort which was built in 1897 by the Austrians to defend the border.


(sadly no pictures were allowed inside)

We then drove to Cortina d'Ampezzo, 'the' place to be seen in the Dolomites





We were not dressed for Cortina so we didn't even stop but drove back to Castelrotto via the Val Pusteria, admiring more mountains and views on the way.
(Well, we didn't stop because we still had a long drive ahead of us to go back to the hotel!)

The plan for the first part of the day was visiting the castle that dominates the town of Arco, where we were staying.
As you can see, it looks rather impressive and it's in a fantastic position at the top of a steep hill





Arco is not by the lake but not far, and its climate still benefits from its influence. The path going up to the castle is in an olive grove, something you wouldn't normally see at this latitude in nothern Italy.
You have some lovely views of the town and you can even spot the northernmost point of the lake on the right side of that rock




Adrian on a panoramic glass balcony:


I managed to make it inside the castle walls where we stopped for a drink at the cafe' on the lawn









After our pick-me-up we did try to carry on the climb to the main tower but it was just too steep and unsafe for me, and we had to give up!

So we walked back downhill (which for me, on crutches, felt way more dangerous), we got in our car and drove to Malcesine on the western shore of Lake Garda.

From Malcesine 2 funivie (cable cars) take you 1650 m (about 5400 ft) up Monte Baldo



Unfortunately as the day was gorgeous, half of Deutschland with a sprinkling of people from many other countries were queueing up for the ride.
We queued for about 75 minutes before we got in the first cable car!
The second cable car is a bit larger so no more queueing at the intermediate station. Its cabins rotate on themselves which means that no matter where you're standing in the cabin, you'll see everything (provided of course that you're not too short or you may just admire someone's armpit for the entire journey).



When we got to the top, we were in dire need of a sit down and some food.
We had a caprese on the terrazza panoramica.



From here, the view is quite spectacular. The lake and the mountains surrounding it. But you cannot see the northern part of Garda.
So I had the brilliant idea of walking to that little hill on the right you see in this picture




Of course the trouble is that distances are quite deceiving.. I think we walked for about 45 minutes going and 45 coming back!
Other people had those trekking sticks, I had my trusted crutches!
I don't know, I felt quite exhilarated to be up there with that fantastic view. The mountains are, after all, in my DNA.
Adrian said that I was a mountain goat in every sense, meaning that I was stubborn (I prefer 'determined'). But - bless him - he wasn't crossed with me for long!

And yes we did manage to see the northern part of the lake:

We could even see the castle of Arco.

Here are a few of my favourite pictures from Monte Baldo. I know that they are many but I just couldn't choose!
(unfortunately my compact camera has 'spots' again. oh well!)

















Going back to Malcesine on the cable car involved another queue but much, much shorter.

Down in Malcesine, we visited the town centre. Quite touristy but nonetheless very charming.



We visited the castle (another one that belonged to the Veronese Della Scala) but sadly I couldn't climb the tower. (Sometimes I am sensible!)
Still we had some lovely views of the lake from the bastions and out of the windows.










(No, Adrian didn't feel a thing! LOL)

The castle was also being used for a wedding photo shoot.



That evening we had been invited to dinner by Mario and Walter, the owners of the B&B, back in Arco, but as we were starving we had some crostini with a Crodino in a bar/restaurant near the water



and we watched the sun (here seen from the castle earlier)



disappear behind the mountains



Arrivederci Lago di Garda! And thank you for the lovely memories.

We got back earlier today from our Italian holiday. We were very lucky with the weather and had a mini-heatwave for our visits of Lake Garda and the Dolomites, and cloudier but dry weather for Venice and the VIlle del Brenta.
I/we had no accidents (yay!) and I managed to do much more walking on my crutches than I thought possible (even on some steep paths!)
I am also very behind with posting on LJ because I was always exhausted in the evenings and didn't have wi-fi for the first 3 nights.

Our holiday started on Saturday 21st when we flew to Verona, picked up the car at the airport and drove to the western shore of Lake Garda.
This is the largest lake in Italy and is divided between 3 regions: Veneto, Lombardia and Trentino Alto-Adige.

The fist stop on the lake was the town of Lazise, dominated by a castle who used to belong to the Della Scala family, lords of Verona.







The heat was quite a shock!  I had to take a couple of layers off in the car park. And had my first ice-cream.
Another shock was the number of German and Austrian tourists and cars, and Dutch/Danish/etc. The Italians were a minority.

Second stop was Punta S. Vigilio, a beautiful and romantic promontory on the lake.
An avenue of centuries-old cypresses


(needless to say that this was not our car but one of many expensive German vehicles that we saw)

leads to a Renaissance villa (closed to the public)


and from there a cobbled street


to a limonaia (green house for lemons)


and to a luxury locanda where many famous guests such as Churchill and Prince Charles had stayed.

On the side of the locanda, there's a lovely little quay where you can sit and have a drink (mine was a Crodino, Adrian had a mimosa)



and enjoy the views





On the way up to our B&B in Arco, we called at Torri del Benaco, another town with another castello scaligero (i.e. belonging to the Della Scala)



and on the lake









By the time we got to Arco it was getting dark



We had a pizza in the courtyard of a 16th palazzo and went to bed rather early.
We were so exhausted that not even the loud music in the square by the B&B (there was a dance festival in town that week-end)


managed to keep us awake for more than a few seconds!
The festive bells in the morning calling the faithful to church at 6 am were a different matter!!

I'm in Italy for a long week-end, visiting my parents.
This afternoon I went up to the Basilica of Superga and stopped on the way to visit a small part of the Cimitero Monumentale.
It's the largest in the city and was built in 1827-1829. Expanded a few times and bombed in 1943.

This is the main entrance with the chapel




I love wandering around cemeteries and taking pictures of statues. Somehow I feel that they really talk to me.







Turin is famous for its miles of "portici" (colonnades), and the cemetery is no exception









In this photo, you can also see the basilica of Superga on the hill






We are not related (LOL!)... but I loved the tomb!





This is the tomb of tenor Francesco Tamagno





I wish I had had more time to visit but I'm sure I'll be back, perhaps on a colourful autumn day or on a bitter winter morning...

It was wonderful to see the sun yesterday and to be warm again.
Adrian pointed out that the temperature in the back was 20 C in the afternoon, something that hasn't happened since last summer! He said that we should open a bottle to celebrate.
We didn't but Sue - who stayed with us for the week-end - took us out to lunch to a local Italian restaurant where 2 bottles of prosecco were opened and drained. The food was lovely.

I managed to plant the dahlias (new and old) in temporary pots between Saturday and yesterday, and we also went to the garden centre/cafe'. My exhibition is going to take place much sooner than I expected: it will open on Tuesday week!

I still haven't finished posting the pictures from our holiday in Le Marche. Today is Ascoli Piceno's turn, one of the provincial capitals which has what is considered one of the most beautiful piazzas in Italy, paved in travertine marble.

This was Adrian's favourite city/town in Le Marche; I loved it too (I had been there once before) but my top choice is Urbino.

Ascoli is called "La citta' delle cento torri" (the city of the hundred towers) because in the Middle Ages there was a huge number of them; some still survive today like these two not far from the main square





And this is the beautiful Piazza del Popolo (and the mad March weather!)















In Piazza Arringo one finds the town hall and the cathedral













Ascoli also boasts 2 Roman bridges still used today







And finally, as per established tradition, food and drink.
We went to the lovely Caffe' Maletti (in Liberty/Art Nouveau style) on the main square twice first for a restorative cup of tea in the afternoon


and later for an aperitivo

Monday evening was our last night in Italy and we had a 'proper' dinner to end the holiday, and also to celebrate (2 days early) our 14th anniversary.

We went to the very popular and lively Ca' de Vèn housed in a 15th century palazzo, just a stone-throw away from Dante's tomb and Piazza del Popolo.





Emilia-Romagna has the reputation for being one of the best regions (some would even say 'the' best) for food in Italy and I'm pleased to say that dinner exceeded the high expectations.
We chose the 'menu degustazione': 5 courses with 5 different wines (and for a very good price - 37 euros each).



In order:











I must say that the food was just scrumptious, all 5 courses. And the wine too.

But the best part - as always - was to be with my Adrian (london1952). Happy Anniversary Darling! And thank you for making my life so special!

On Thursday we visited Urbino. When one has heard so much about how beautiful a city is, sometimes you end up a bit disappointed, but I'm very pleased to say that it wasn't the case!



Urbino is dominated by the Palazzo Ducale (here seen from the Fortezza Albornoz) which was once upon a time the seat of the Montefeltro family and later of the Della Rovere, and now is the museo Nazionale delle Marche.

The most famous Montefeltro was Federico a 15th century 'condottiere' (a mercenary general) and a true Renaissance man, who not only built this palazzo but turned Urbino into a centre of arts, science and literature.
All this paid by bloody money earned leading the troops of one mini-Italian state against another at different times.





The cathedral:


and the campanile of another church


Urbino is built on two very steep hills. We parked the car outside the walls and then walked up a 16th century helicoid ramp built inside the city walls to the palace level



The first place we visited was Raffaello Sanzio (Raphael)'s house. A lovely little museum, up a steep street, so steep in fact that the internal courtyard at the back was on the first floor!



It turned up that it was Raffaello's 530th birthday that day.
He looks rather good for his age, don't you think?



Next we went to the Orto Botanico



which was in fact closed but the custodian (I assume) came out and let us have a look (it's part of the university).



We then visited the Oratorio di San Giovanni, a small church described in the guidebook as the Sistine Chapel of Gothic painting. Not quite an accurate description as the ceiling is not painted but I must say that the cycle of frescoes of the life of St John the Baptist and the Crucifixion was amazing.

What colours and what details! The facial expression of the characters were a joy to look at and almost in every scene there is a dog either licking or scratching itself! The Romans in the crucifixion are attired as medieval knights (the frescoes are from the end of the 1300s). There is a hint of humour that certainly appealed to us both.











Adrian compared walking around some streets of Urbino as 'being on the rack'.



for the effect they had on his poor knees.

After a quick look inside the cathedral


and at the Egyptian obelisk in the square (first looted by the Romans and later moved by one of the popes to Urbino), we visited the amazing Palazzo Ducale.
No pictures allowed inside: the 3 floors are packed with works of art, and it was all a bit overwhelming!



One of the famous towers (which Adrian baptised 'spinarets' a cross between a spindle and a minaret!)




The Montefeltro eagle


Oh yes, I forgot to say that the sun had come out for a while, but it didn't last long!