WEEK TWO IN ITALY

Rome – Siena

Away from the hustle and bustle of Rome, we headed into the hills of Tuscany, first stopping at Orvieto, an old hilltop city perched on a plateau of tufa rock.  The Duomo (church), a masterpiece of Gothic architecture, had an amazing facade with beautiful frescoes and carvings and dazzling mosaics.

The side walls were unlike anything we had seen before with stripes of black and white marble.  We still have not tired of the cobblestone streets and the little laneways with quaint shops selling their wares.

The drive from Orvieto to Siena was through beautiful rolling hills cloaked in terraced rows of vines and olives, and peppered with cypress-shrouded farm houses and abbeys – just like the picture books.

Siena’s warren of dark narrow streets led us to Piazza del Duomo (one of the city's squares) and a Duomo built in similar style to Orvieto’s, though about 100 years older (1195-1215).  Nearby was Piazza del Campo with its distinctive shell shape and where the famous annual bareback horse race (Il Palio) is held.  The sloping slippery cobblestones around the square must add a degree of craziness to the race.

Siena – Florence

Another day driving through the Tuscan countryside visiting historic towns.  Monteriggioni, a tiny medieval village fortified with towers and built on a hillock, was gorgeous.

It was very small yet it was incredible to think of the historical role it played in protecting Tuscany against Florentine (Florence) attempting to gain more territory.  We joked that surely they could have just gone around it.

A short drive brought us to San Gimignano, another hilltop town, with its 14 towers piercing the skyline.  This tiny town was adorned with beautiful little shops of wine, leather, toys and cafes all set in original shopfronts.

Characteristics of the area included red rooves, stone buildings, shutters, decorative front doors, cobblestone streets, narrow alleys and breathtaking views over the wall.  Tuscany is definitely an area of the world worth visiting.

Florence

Florence was everything we imagined it to be and made all the more sweeter as we slept in a HOUSE for three nights.  We stayed with Vid’s cousin Wendy and her family who live in a spacious apartment only a short walk from the city centre, and with amazing views over the housetops of Florence towards the enormous Duomo.  The children loved the space and Yuri and Karina welcomed them with open arms – Xbox, Lego and toys galore.

Our suspicions were confirmed, Wendy is a sensational chef – we ate three course dinners every night of a pasta, a meat dish and a sensational dessert.  Wendy and Franco both shared a wealth of local knowledge with us, both being our tour guides at some point over the few days.

A taste of Florence is what we sampled, starting with a local food market with interesting parts of animals being displayed.  The Duomo (Cattedrale di Santa Maria) was easily identifiable with its tiered red, green and white marble facade and the enormous dome.  Begun in 1294, it is one of the world’s largest cathedrals.

Next was the Town Hall, complete with Michelangelo's portrait doodling on the wall, and the replica statue of daVID (standing in the original position of the statue).  After lunch we paid a visit to Pitti Palace (home of the Boboli Gardens), featuring an incredible collection by the Medici family of art and sculptures.

Unfortunately the Heaths could not fully appreciate the works so all we did was admire.  Ellie kept us entertained by mimicking the statues in each room.

The following day found us at the Academia Gallery where the real statue of David resides.  It holds a fascinating story about the competition offered to artists centuries ago to create something out of this enormous block of marble with a difficult fault line to contend with.

That afternoon we visited the Galileo Museum which was an excellent exhibition of old instruments, everything from sun dials and telescopes to globes and scientific experimental instruments.

Although we were looking forward to the rest of our Italian adventure, it was sad to be leaving a perfectly good house and such generous hosts.  Two nights later we sat around the table almost in tears after failing to find a grocery shop in time and consequently dining on the remains of our pantry – bread with bottled tomato pasta sauce mixed with tin corn, tin tuna and olives   ...   what a let down after eating like royalty.

Florence – France

Before leaving Italy we paid a visit to the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  It was an astonishing site to see first hand, even though we had seen it so many times before in pictures.

It stands in defiance of the laws of gravity at a rather alarming angle, and it is rather cute that they changed the angle of the last tier to try and rebalance the building.  We were unaware just how beautiful the tower was with its pale marble and architectural design.

Our plans were to spend the rest of our day at Cinque Terre (five seaside villages on the Mediterranean) but the weather closed in and time escaped us.  We  managed to visit one village, Manderola, with its unique pastel coloured buildings clinging to the edge of a rugged coastline.

 

Arrivederci Italy.

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