Siena

Siena from 1260-1348 was a major banking and trade center. With a population of over 60,000 it was even bigger than Paris and then it got hit by the bubonic plague and it's population was cut by more than half and Siena never recovered its position of power.  Situated atop of three hills Siena's thriving historic center with red brick lanes cascading off in every which way it is a joy to explore.

We took a guided tour through one of the districts. After a visit to their lovely church we were treated to a dinner at their local club where we ate amongst all the local Italian families.  The food was fantastic and was really fun to be in the midst of the locals enjoying a soccer match on the huge screen.

As only residents and cabs are allowed cars in the city it is so pedestrian friendly.  il Campo is the heart of the city.  It fans out from City Hall to creat a large amphitheater.  This is where Siena's contradas or neighborhoods join and is the gathering place for tourists and locals alike.  Lively restaurants and bars circle the perimeter and we spent a delightful couple of hours sipping an Aperol spritz and people watching.  The square is the location of the famous Palio horse races which are held two days a year and each neighborhood sponsors a horse which is even taken into their local church to be blessed before the race.

The Duomo in Siena is absolutely stunning with art by Michelangelo and Bernini.  The most outstanding feature of this cathedral were the inlaid marble floors with mosaics depicting the stories of the bible.

Eric and I also toured the old hospital in Siena which is over 1000 years old and just closed and converted to a museum in the 1990's.  It goes three stories underground and as it was a Red Cross hospital it saved Siena from any bombing during the war.

Narrow streets with overhead arches

Alter of local church

Local glass maker explaining the process he uses

Cathedral in Siena

Il Campo

Underground part of old hospital

Mosaic on floor of cathedral

Frescos in cathedral which are over 500 years old and have never been touched

Eric in his happy place

Pisa and Lucca

Leaving the beautiful Cinque Terre we headed to one of Italy's most recognized monuments, the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  The tower is really only a small part of he architectural complex that dominate the Field of Miracles.  Pisa, once a major sea port, from 1000 to 1300AD, silted up and became removed from the sea leaving it it's cathedral and university. The tower with its 15 foot lean was built over two centuries by at least thre different architects. The lean has increased over time due to the wet area it sits on but with work done in the 90's it will hopefully survive for many more generations.  The Cathedral and the Baptristy through not as photographed are stunning. The cathedral was started in 600 AD and added to over the years to make it one of the largest cathedrals in Europe.  The pulpit designed by Giovanni around 1250 is exquisite.  The baptistery leans six feet to the north and is the largest in Italy.  The pulpit was created by Nicolas Pisano, Giovanni's father and is thought to be the worlds first Renaissance sculpture. The acoustics in this 250 foot high dome are amazing.

From Pisa we continued on to Lucca. Surrounded by well preserved ramparts this is Italy's most impressive fortress city.  Lucca has kept its walls intact and traffic out to creat a picturesque town with Romanesque churches around every corner. We rode bikes around the 2 1/2 mile loop on the top of the ramparts which not only fun gave us wonderful views of the city within and outside the walls.  Charming winding streets led us to a delightful family owned restaurant in a small courtyard off of the lane.

The Baptristy 

Leaning Tower of Pisa

Pisa Duomo

Inside the Cathedral

Riding the ramparts of Lucca

Bell tower from the ramparts

Cinque Terre

The Cinque Terre is composed of five towns which each fill a ravine along the coast.  In medieval times each town had their own castle where lookouts watched for pirates arriving fron North Africa.  This was a problem until the 1400's.  Since then the residents of each town have prospered with the plentiful fishing and grapes for wine production.  This area is now very popular for hiking and relaxing.  Trains and ferries join the five towns.  Until 2011 all the towns were joined with costal trails but in 2011 the area had 22 inches af rain in 4 hours which caused great flooding and landslides which wiped out most of the trail system. Locals put their money and effort into restoring their towns so most of these trails have not yet opened.  Even though one can not do a lot of hiking each hillside village is a delight to explore and the multitude of hills give one a good workout. The castles in each village sit high on the hills and are wonderful vantage points. The ferry system is great but certainly would not meet our safty standards. Clumsy me did make it through without any mishaps.

We stayed in Monterosso in a delightful family run hotel. The owner did everything along with his staff including clearing breakfast tables and serving as bar tender.  Joys of entrepreneurship. The old town was full of delightful little shops and restaurants spilling out onto the street.  We chose to explore the towns by ferry so we started the day sailing down to Riomaggiore. Very much an active fishing town the Main Street is lined with fishing dowries instead of cars. A charming step back in time.  Colouful frescos still exist on some of the walls depicting the life of those who lived and worked here hundreds of years ago.  The next town of Manarola was our favorite with the winding steep streets lined with boats at the lower levels and leading up to fabulous views. We walked a short part of the trail here until we came to the Danger Keep Out signs which were reinforced wit)h gates. Enjoying a delicious seafood spaghetti on the shore of the ocean was delightful.  The third town,Corniglia sits high up on a cliff and is not access able by boat so we next visited Vernazza which is overseen by a decaying castle and an old stone church. Though some consider this to be e jewel of the Cinque Terre we found it much less inviting than the others. Perhaps because it was hardest hit by the floods may be why we found it to be shabbier and less appealing. Having said that we loved the whole area and felt like we were exisiting in a postcard world.

Monterosso

Built right into the rock faces

Riomaggiore from the sea

Ramp to get on and off. Rolls with the swells

Harbour looking towards Main Street

Part of the Cingue Terre trail

Manarola 

Fishing dinghies

Wonderful little local shops

Vernazza from the castle tower 

Riomaggiore main street lined with boats

Florence

Florence is the home of the Renaisance and considered to be the birthplace of the modern world.  Florence has the largest collection of Renaissance art in Europe and is certainly an art lovers delight.  We really enjoyed the museums and the Cathedral but the city on the whole felt like a big tourist trap to us.

After doing a Renaisance walk through the core of Florence we went to the. Accademia which is the home of Michelangelo's David.  At the age of 26,in 1501,he was commissioned to creat a large scale piece from a single piece of marble. He created David from the bible story of David and Goliath as a symbol of divine victory over evil.  David stands 17 feet tall and Michelangelo's attention to detail is astounding as he brings the stone to life.  David stood outside the Palazzo Vecchio until the 1800's when he was brought inside for protection.

We also could not help but admire the. Duomo which is the large Gothic cathedral in the center of town.  The exterior is covered with pink, green and white marble and is spectacular.  It's claim to fame is the large dome which was the first ever and the model for ones to come. The inside of the church,though it is the third largest in the Christian world is not very inspiring.  Next to the church stands the Campanile which is the bell tower.  We climbed the 414 narrow steps up and were rewarded with panoramic views of the whole city including the dome.

Our visit to the Uffizzi Museum with an extremely knowledgable guide was exceptional. This museum holds the greatest collection of Italian art and includes many paintings by Leonardo, Rapheal Carrvaggio, Michelangelo and Botticelli.  The building itself is also a work of art with frescos decorating all the ceilings.

Ponte Vecchio is quite a fascinating covered bridge used by the powerful Medici family to travel back and forth between their home and palace.  Before their time the bridge was lined with meat markets so scraps could be thrown into the river but they would have none of that so elegant gold and silver shops replaced the meat.  Though the shops are no longer as elegant they certainly attact a huge number of tourists.

Cathedral at night with the Bell Tower to the right

Statue of David

Dome of the Duomo

Cloisters from top of Bell Tower

Ponte Vecchio or commonly known as gold bridge

Hallway in the Uffizi lined with statues dating back to B.C.  Beautiful ceilings

Michelangelo's painting that was seen by the pope of the time who then insisted we paint the Sistine Chapel

This urn dates back to 50 B.C.  Unbelievable!

Venice Part 2

Our second day in Venice dawned bright and sunny as our last days had been.  We consider ourselves very lucky as Italy has had its worst summer in 100 years. Venice only had three days without rain in the summer and for a city that floods regularly this was a problem.  We started our day with a local guide doing a back street tour. We wandered the meandering streets and canals while she pointed out many places of interest.  We viewed a Venice "shipyard" where the gondolas are built and repaired. They are all built to the same specifications and must be black in colour. We also spent some time with one of the last four craftsmen in Venice who builds the oar locks for the gondolas. Each oar lock is built especially for the gondolier.  They are made from cherry or walnut and involve a great deal of hand carving. Was really interesting to learn how the oar lock helps the gondolier steer the boat through the narrow canals.  At the end of the tour we made our way to Saint Marks Square,the center gathering area of Venice with the Bascilica being the star.  We crossed the Rialto Bridge, which is one of the worlds most famous bridges due to it's dramatic stone structure that crosses the Grand Canal in one span.

St Marks Basilica was built in the 11th century to replace an earlier church.  It is decorated with booty from returning sea captains making it Venice' treasure chest.  The inside walls are decorated with beautiful gold mosaics which are lit up for an hour a day.  Our arrival coincided with this and and walls were indeed a sight to behold. Behring the alter lies the body of St Mark as well as a magnificent gold alterpiece  which consists of 250 religious scenes and is embedded with over 2000 precious jewels.  Eric and I spent hours exploring the squares and streets of Venice stooping for lunch on the banks of the Grand Canal with a view of the Rialto Bridge.  Was entertaining watching all the boats hustling about the canal.

Later in the afternoon we visited the Doge Palace.which was the seat of the Venetian government and was considered the most powerful half acre in Europe for over 400 years.  As well as being the home of the ruling duke of the time the palace also contains the halls of justice of the times.  The palace is joined to the prison by the famous Bridge of Sighs where legend says was named this because as prisoners were led from the courts to prison they took one last look at the beauty of Venice and sighed as they knew they may never see it again.

After a dinner we walked some we sat at a cafe on the canal enjoying a glass of wine and taking in night time Venice.

Activity on the Grand Canal

Gondolier on evening gondola ride

Venitian fire hall

Inside the Bascilica 

Venice from the Rialto Bridge

St Marks Bascilica 

Doge's Palace

Enjoying a drink in St Marks Square

Prison connected to the Palace

Gondolas going under the Bridge of Sighs

Venice

My expectations were varied going into Venice but by the time we left I know I am a Venice fan.  Built on a lagoon 1500 years ago Venice is a wonderland of history. With 400 bridges and 2000 alleys it is a walkers paradise.  As Venice is on an island with so many small bridges there are no cars and bicycles are not allowed one can wander at leisure.  Today Venice is home to 58,000 people which is about half of how many lived here just 30 years ago.  Hospitals have closed and many churches now serve different purposes such as museums or concert halls.  We stayed in the academia district which is a little quieter than some areas but every where is in short walking distance.  

We arrived in Venice on a boat trip down the Grand Canal. Good opportunity to see the hustle and bustle of boats of all kinds on the Venice "roadways".  Taxis, police and fire are all boats and are interspersed with ferries which are Venitian buses and of course the ever popular gondolas.

After exploring some on our own we went on a short orientation tour. Easy city to get lost in but eventually one circles around to where you might want to go. After a delicious meal we went on an evening gondola ride. Always thought this to.be a little cheesy but travelling the canals and sailing under picturesque bridges while being serenaded was a wonderful experience.

The Iceman

Our next stop was in Bolzano.  With 100,000 residents this is the capital of South Tyrol and a popular entry to the Italian Alps.  Very picturesque town with a river running alongside and towering mountains in the background. The town was very lively when we were there as it was their annual bike festival and all the streets were closed to traffic.  Lovely to stroll the narrow streets munching on a treat from the local bakery.

Our main reason for the visit was to meet the towns most famous resident. Otzi, most commonly referred to as the iceman is a preserved corpse dating back 5300 years. Otzi was discovered in the Italian Alps in September of 1991 and was first thought to be the remains of an unfortunate hiker.  When tests revealed his true age the scientific world was thrilled. He was discovered with clothing and many relics that give a glimpse into that period of history.  The archeology museum in Bolzano is specially designed for Otzi and the relics maintaining each in special containers that mimic the temperature and humidity that kept them intact for thousands of years.  We found this whole museum to be absolutely fascinating.

Home of the Iceman

Beautiful backdrop to the narrow windy streets

Bolzano Cathedral 

Every turn a unique sight