Assisi

Today was a travel day as we relocated from southern Italy to the region of Umbria which is located more towards the centre. We spent six hours in the bus punctuated by a comfort stop, a lunch stop and a tour of the medieval town of Assisi. Assisi is a walled city built on a hill top, a fortified position. It was the birthplace of St. Francis who founded the Franciscan religious order in 1208 and at the heart of the town stands the impressive Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi. 

The Franciscan monastery of St. Francis was begun immediately after his canonisation in 1228 and completed in 1253. The lower church has frescoes by the renowned medieval artists Cimabue and Giotto. The Basilica was badly damaged by a 5.5 earthquake in 1997 during which part of the vault collapsed killing four people. A number of the priceless frescoes were also destroyed or damaged and the church was closed for two years for restoration. Due to its importance the restoration was funded by the Vatican.

Assisi is a place of pilgrimage for people of the Roman Catholic faith and every year they travel from all over the world to visit the town. Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi is not the only church in the town. There are numerous, all of them famous and of great significance.

The Basilica di Santa Chiara (St. Clare) was built in the 13th century and houses the remains of Santa Chiara d'Assisi, friend, follower and protege of St. Francis and founder of the Order of Poor Ladies. The church has a beautiful facade embellished with a wagon wheel rose window, massive lateral buttresses and a simple Gothic interior.

The town itself is absolutely stunning. The stone buildings are made from pink and white stone that shines in the sunlight. Much of the town was damaged during the earthquake, cracks can be seen in many of the buildings although most have been patched. Many of them were also cleaned as part of the restoration and rebuild which makes the pink and white stone even more obvious and beautiful.

Isle of Capri

Sorrento marina

Mama Mia!!! What a day!!! Yet again we were up at the crack of dawn for our full day excursion to the beautiful Isle of Capri. Today we travelled by bus to the marina, ferry to Capri, bus to Ana Capri (the town at the very highest point on the island), chairlift, bus back down to the town of Capri, funicular from Capri to the marina area, hydrofoil to Sorrento and lastly, bus back to the hotel. And in between each of these we walked and walked and walked……in the blazing sun. Mama Mia is it HOT!!! I actually think that I left the souls of my feet in the molten bitumen on the island.

The island and the sparkling water that surrounds it is absolutely stunning. White houses are built on the sides of the hills and every piece of terrain is covered in vines, vegetables and fruit trees. The views of the coastline from the many vantage points are majestic and the water sapphire blue or emerald green. It is the playground for the very rich and famous. Steve Bezos (the richest man in the world) was in town and his mega yacht was anchored in one of the magnificent grottos. The paths are lined with shops full of linen, ceramics, jewellery, clothing, handbags and souvenirs……all at eye watering prices.

Stephen and I indulged in several lemon granitas in an attempt to cool ourselves down in some way. A pair of bathers and a small amount of free time would have been appreciated as the water looked oh so inviting. Alas it was andiamo, andiamo, piano piano. (Walk on, walk on, slowly slowly.) Mind you there is only one pace in this heat, and it is slowly slowly!!!

Dinner was on the terrace of the hotel with commanding views over the bay of Naples towards Mount Vesuvius. It was lovely sitting there in the relative cool of the evening (lowest temp overnight was 25 degrees) and the view will certainly be long remembered by both of us.

Ciao! Addio! Arrivederci Roma!

Sadly, the time had come to leave beautiful and interesting Roma. We boarded out coach and headed south to the city of Naples and beyond to the famous ruins of Pompeii. We arrived in time for lunch which was pizza in a quaint ristorante at the base of the ruins. The tourist area is lined with vendors selling the most incredible range of souvenirs. It was very reminiscent of Ephesus in Turkey and bought back memories of our family trip in 2008.

After lunch we set off with our guide to walk the ruins. She was so sweet and very informative. There are tour groups absolutely everywhere and you walk along making sure that you can see your group’s flag. To say it was hot would be an understatement of the hugest proportions. I had sweat running down my face, back……let’s face it……I was a sweaty mess. But I was not Robinson Crusoe. Some found the going really tough, but we powered on piano piano (slowly slowly). And it was worth every drop of sweat as the ruins and the story of the disaster are so well worth the effort.

After Pompeii the air conditioned bus was a welcome relief and we all enjoyed the comfort as we drove along the coast to the majestic town of Sorrento. It is almost impossible to describe the roads that we travelled along on our way through the town and up the hill to our hotel. It is chaotic with cars, scooters, buses of every size, bikes and pedestrians going every which way.

We are staying in a hotel perched about half way up the hill with beautiful views out over the water. For dinner we visited a local family who fed us delicious homemade food, the ingredients for which all came from their garden. It really was a magical experience. The best lasagne and lemon chicken scaloppini I have ever eaten which made the white knuckle drive up and down the mountain well worth it. We were all actually in hysterics by the time we got to Mama’ Place as the roads are barely wide enough for a car and our bus wound its way up, at times missing the stone walls, oncoming cars, scooters etc by millimetres. It was just part of the Italian experience.

As an aside: Lemons can be found in abundance everywhere in the region of Napoli and their importance to the economy and culture cannot be understated. Much of the ceramics and linen feature lemons as does the cooking. But the region in known worldwide for its Limoncello (an Italian Liqueur) and lemon granita which is fresh squeezed lemon juice poured over shaved ice. In these very hot conditions, we have found the lemon granita very refreshing and have indulged in quite a few.

The Colosseum

Rome - Day 3, Part 2

The second excursion of the day was a visit to the Colosseum. Rome is simply incredible. Everywhere you look there is an ancient ruin or artefact. They are not cordoned off as this would make living and moving about the city impossible. 

The Colosseum forms an area not unlike the sporting precinct around the MCG in Melbourne. As you walk towards the Colosseum you pass Circus Maximus (where the chariot races were held) and the Forum (the marketplace). The Colosseum is an imposing building and given its age, very well preserved. The area was for ‘the amusement’ of the citizens of Rome, although women were not allowed to attend. Many of our previous understandings of the Colosseum were challenged by our guide who assured us that much of what we have seen in blockbuster movies is actually not true. Yes, Christians were fed to the lions and gladiators fought there but Nero lived well before the Colosseum was finished and so the story of Nero giving the thumbs up or thumbs down is simply a myth. As they say, never let truth get in the way of a good story. 

At the end of our tour we trudged back to our coach for the hour long trip through Rome’s peak hour traffic. That in itself was something to behold. The way they drive is hysterical and the way they park unbelievable. It is like a big game of chicken or who dares wins. Dinner tonight was at a very typical Italian Ristorante and it was delicious.

My Gladiator!

Vatican City

Rome - Day 3, Part 1

Another early start but the view over breakfast of the city of Rome as it comes to life is to die for! We then loaded into taxis for the short trip to Vatican City. The queues were enormous but thankfully moved quite quickly because even at 8.00am the temperature was already high and standing in the sun was energy sapping. Getting into Vatican City is an ordeal. You line up to get in, you line up to go through security, you line up to get a radio transmitter, you line up again to enter the corridors that lead to the Sistine Chapel and if it is really busy they employ the Ikea method of crowd control – round and round you go. Fortunately, we didn’t have to do the full back street boogie and we were suddenly entering the very famous chapel. It really is beautiful, and Michelangelo’s work defies description. It takes quite awhile to take in all the intricacies of the very famous paintings. The mosaic marble floor is also gorgeous. 

Our next stop was St. Peter’s Basilica. Another ornate but oh so beautiful building. It is huge and again there is so much to view as every wall and ceiling is covered with paintings, tapestries, sculptures and again the magnificent marble floors.

After leaving the basilica you descend to St. Peter’s Square. It is huge!!! Capable of holding over 50,000 people at one time. The Pope actually conducts mass there every Wednesday and each week in excess of 35,000 worshippers attend. While the inside of the basilica is beautiful, the outside is stunning. The pristine white marble glows in the sun and the sculptures of Christ and the disciples that adorn the roof are truly magnificent. Now I am not a religious person and I am not sure what I was expecting but my lasting impression was that while absolutely beautiful, Vatican City is not much more than a very slick business.

The small chimney on the greenish roof is the one from which white smoke blows to announce the selection of a new pope.