Our first day in Italy was spent behind the wheel, driving from the north-west corner to Verona, towards Venice. On this occasion we followed the motorways to ensure our fastest route, although at times all you could see were cars and trucks. Just as we entered Italy we were hit with our first toll of about $55AUD, so we feared what the balance of the trip would be like. Thankfully the cost of the tolls have eased substantially.
The Swiss Alps disappeared quickly in our rear vision mirror and we were soon driving through flatish farmland. We stayed the night at Verona and awoke to a beautiful morning in "Little Rome". It was enjoyable wandering the streets, somewhat in isolation, as the city slept. We walked around the 1st century Roman ampitheatre, known as the Arena, window shopped down some premier shopping strips, and walked to Casa di Giulietta, the famed balcony from Shakespeare's tragedy, Romeo and Juliet.
Verona - Venice
On to Venice, and by lunch time we were cruising down the waterways to this romantic city. It truly is like no other city - 117 islands, 150 canals, 400 bridges and 3 million pidgeons. Piazzo San Marco, the political centre of the Venetian Republic, was enormous, and the Doge's Palace and Basilica San Marco added to the magnificent area. We walked through the prison cells in the Bridge of Sighs (where Casanova was incarcerated) and couldn't resist a ride in a famed gondola down the narrow and smelly canals.
Walking to the Grand Canal tested our orientation skills, down streets that went this way and that, over ornate bridges and along narrow alleys with houses so close together they blocked out the direct sunlight. It was here that we felt the mystery of Venice.
Venice - Assisi
Approaching Assisi, the impressive white columned structure of Basilica San Franceco stood out on the hillside of this medieval walled city.
Assisi, the birthplace of St Francis, was a fascinating city with monks and nuns at every turn. One could easily have felt the clocks had been turned back in time if it weren't for the threat of being run over by some crazed Italian driver as we ambled through the narrow cobblestone streets.
Unfortunately the rain set in late morning so we made a mad dash back to the safety of our home on wheels and headed off for Pompeii, via Tivoli.
Assisi - Pompeii
It was our intention to visit two famous villas in Tivoli but left seeing NOTHING. Couldn't find them ... and when Mrs Tom-Tom very politely informed us to turn left down an extremely narrow, long, one-way street that twisted and turned, and had every Italian on the sidewalk making frantic arm gestures at us, we decided for self-preservation purposes we should move on. Vid likened it to Apollo 13's mission, a "successful failure", as although we failed to complete our mission, we managed to return with all crew members alive and our rocket still in one piece.
Here began our introductory course to the Italian driver in southern Italy - crazy, mad, no fear and no regard for themselves or fellow mankind. Most vehicles have scratches or dents and some were celloplastered together. Stop signs meant accelerate, give way meant only look in one direction and traffic lights were just completely ignored. The navigator was stressed and poor Vid just held onto the steering wheel and tried to "when in Rome do as the Roman's do". We drove around the fringes of Naples and as we approached our destination we soon realised that our images of an isolated Pompeii were only in our ill informed minds - the ruins are in the middle of dirty chaotic streets, with plenty of Italian traffic.
Our campsite was in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius and conveniently only 50 metres from the ruins.
The next morning we set off to explore the ruins of Pompeii.
On the 24th August 79 AD, Mt Vesuvius erupted, burying Pompeii under a layer of lapilli (burning fragments of pumice stone) and ash.
The excavation work is extensive with 44 hectares of temples, forums, shops, houses, baths, a wonderful ampitheatre and sports ground, and frescoes and pottery. An astonishing excavation site and very memorable visit.
Herculaneum was on the agenda the following morning. Like Pompeii, it was a victim of Mt Vesuvius, but unlike Pompeii, it was destroyed by a pyroclastic flow (an avalanche of hot ash, pumice, rock fragments and volcanic gas) that rushed down the side of the mountain at speeds of up to 100 km/hr. Consequently it was buried very quickly, thus preserving the town in a better state. The carbonized wood, frescoes and mosaics were amazing.
Pompeii - Ostia
Off to Ostia Antica ... but not before the children had a swim in the Mediterranean Sea. The most notable and somewhat disconcerting feature was the almost black sand. When wet, it looked like silty mud and stuck to the children like mud - we are definitely spoilt by our golden beaches in Australia.
Ostia Antica was the ancient port of Rome at, back then, the mouth of the Tiber River. However, as the river changed course and Rome outgrew the port, the city was abandoned. Again it was another interesting site into a civilisation of amazing ingenuity and ability.
When we were all "ruined" we headed down any old road as we had been told that "all roads lead to Rome". And they were right.
Ostia - Rome
Painters, popes, pasta, pizza, piazzas, palazzos, polizamen and podiums (I would say gelato too but ... ).
A big day was planned for today - starting with a visit to Rome's iconic monument, the Colosseum.
At one stage approximately one third of the Roman Empire's income was spent in entertaining the masses in the Colosseum. It was an extraordinary feat of engineering with an intriging and barbaric history.
Circus Maximus is now nothing more than a grassy bank surrounding what was once an area designed for racing chariots. Even though the grand stadiums, statues and columns do not exist now, one could feel the energy which the 250,000 strong crowd would have felt as they cheered on their favourite chariot team over 2,500 years ago.
A walk through Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum was fascinating, though it was difficult to take in all the history of the sites as our brains were getting full. We walked on to the National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of a unified Italy, which was commenced in 1911 and was built from 110,000 tons of white marble. Very impressive building.
We watched and laughed at a very serious policeman who kept blowing his whistle as he really didn't like anyone sitting down on the massive steps.
Our second day in Rome was less crowded as we headed to the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and the Spanish Steps. It was an uneventful but pleasant morning wandering the streets of Rome. The Pantheon, the best preserved of ancient Rome's great monuments was fascinating and again we tried to pause for a moment and absorb the history of the building.
The dome, 23 feet thick at its base, is the largest masonry vault ever built and so sophisticated that had it been built with modern concrete, it would have collapsed under its own weight. The massive marble columns were brought from Egypt and when they arrived they were found to be the wrong size ... ooopps.
A few blocks west at the Piazza Navonna we admired the many artists with their wares on display. The children sat for a caricature, which was rather novel, and we then trained back for a relaxing afternoon at our campsite.
Our next door "motorhome" neighbours in Rome were a family from Toronto, Canada, who uncanningly enough are on a 3 month adventure through Europe with their 10, 9 and 5 year olds. The children have been having a great time together and we have enjoyed some English speaking company. We were even lucky enough to be invited for birthday cake yesterday afternoon for their youngest.
The Vatican City was on our agenda for our third day in Rome and we certainly weren't disappointed. The two hour guided tour was incredibly fascinating as we walked past statues, paintings and other artifacts in the very extensive museums.
Michelangelo's work in the Sistine Chapel was breathtaking and the stories of his slant on the paintings very interesting. St Peter's Basilica, Italy's biggest, richest and most spectacular church, is built over the spot where St Peter was buried.
The sheer size of the building and the marble floor were overwhelming let alone everything above the ankles.
Off to Tuscany for some more history lessons and maybe a glass of wine.
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Glad that your tour of the vatican was better than ours. We're off to Venice today.
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