Observations ... of Italian life and leisure

On our travels around Italy ...


The Polizia - generally had a high profile, they were seen out and about in many places

 

The Alpha Romeo - Made in Italy

 

Elegant, stylish fashion ...

 

 



A camping ground in Firense

 

Sunbakers at a lakeside and along the river 

A mural-lined tunnel, made from local stone, granite, marble

 

 'adult thalidomide' - sculpture situated on the Grand Canal
 

hanging laundry in the back streets of Venezia 

 

 

 

sled racing ... sleds are still in use in the alpine areas to collect wood from the forests

 

Travels in Italy, 27 July 2013 to 16 August 2013

 We spent three weeks in Italy, one week in the Veneto and Dolomite region, roughly North East of the country.  We stayed with friends, Florio and Dianne Da Re who were Air Force friends from Malaysia days (1977-79). 

The Peters' and the Da Re's

The last two weeks of our visit was roughly in the same vicinity of the country but a bit further afield - Venezia, Verona, Firense, Pisa, Cinque Terre are all names of places we went sightseeing and we finished our trip in Genova.  This stint was done under our own steam - we chose the train network and generally public transport.  We also organised our accommodation over the internet and it was also done at the last minute.  Surprisingly everything worked well.


The Da Re's were refurbishing an inherited farmhouse, about 400 years old, from Florio's parents side of the family.  We were invited to help with the project, see a bit of the countryside, experience some of the culture, renew a friendship and in doing so we had a very good time.

The week we were with the Da Re's we did what was required around the house and at the same time they showed us around the local sights, we met family members and got a good insight into village life.  Dave and Flo moved a lot of furniture from the attic, and carried out repairs and minor renovations.  Di did an enormous amount of cleaning which I helped with, and we also did lots of shopping for household gear.  It was all fun and the best part was we had no stove so we had to eat at restaurants every night. 


The following photos are sort of in chronological sequence of our time over in Italia.


Borg Da Re (Cluster of buildings that the Da Re family used to own and live in).  These days only one farmhouse is owned by Florio (our friend) and his two brothers who all live in Australia now.

The complex from the street.

The front view of the farmhouse and comprises of a kitchen, dining room, lounge, bathroom, garage, staircase , 2 bedrooms and a third bedroom in the loft area

Foreground is the kitchen and dining room area.  The blue door is the front door and the extent of the Da Re's residence ends there.. Note the window shutters to keep out the weather.

Side view of the house showing the loft areas and underneath are the bedrooms

Side view showing the garage/storage area with a grapevine over the top.  To the left is the kitchen/dining room area

In the distance on a clear day you can see Venezia

Osigo was the name of the village we were staying, it's near Vittoro Veneto the town which is about 100 kms north west of Venezia (Venice)

The church bell tower is a feature of most villages and the one in Osigo was about 400 metres away from the farmhouse.  We always knew the time!  It started at 7 am and finished at 9 pm. 

A pretty flash shed

A closer view of the bell tower and church

Bell tower again with some olive trees, grapevines and tomato plants in the front.  These plants were fairly common all over the country. Fig trees featured around as well.

View from the front of the farmhouse.  Buildings are typical of the residences in the village.

Local cemetery in Osigo - they look a bit different from cemeteries in Aust.

Flo's Dad's crypt is here, note all the marble.

The local bar in Osigo, on a hill and next to an intersection - sort of hazardous for enjoying a drink with cars passing by very closely.

Dave wandering the streets and (stealing figs along the way).

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The Chimbri Festival

On a Sunday near Spert (in the foothills of the Dolomite Range) a festival was held to celebrate the heritage of the local people. Flo's mother was a member of the Chimbri group who originated from the area.  Each year they mark the occasion  with various demonstrations of life as it was back then - mainly timber working activities, sled races, and they also discharged large guns that were used to protect the area.

The beer tent positioned around where most of the wood working demonstrations took place.

Guess the weight of the stump, how tall the pole is - some of the fun competitions

The "guards" loading and discharging the border guns!

They made a deafening sound!

Some of the strong lads/men taking part in the wood splitting, making cylindrical containers ...

It was a very hot day and these fellows were dressed in corduroy pants, flannelette shirts, woollen socks etc. and managed it effortlessly.



Florio taking part in the log cross-cutting competition, he also accompanied 73 year old Aunt (Zia) Bruna .  They won the comp in 26 seconds.

Zia Bruna in the red top.

Chimbri descendants - Marzio Da Re, Emma, Zia Bruna, Cynthia and her husband and Florio Da Re.

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A trip through the Dolomites ...

Lago di S Croce

A beautiful lake cradled in the mountains, pebbly beach, clear water and heaps of people

Some of the landscapes/town edges - spectacular Alpine peaks, pinnacles, soaring rock towers, pillars, cliffs

We drove northwards as far as the town of Cortina, a beautiful Alpine location (home to previous Winter Olympics)

 We also spent some time in Longarone, known for a tragic avalanche into a dam whereby the nearby town suffered a tsunami effect - that happened 50 years ago.

 Flowered window boxes abounded on most buildings - geraniums were the most popular

 Di and I in the street at Cortina - it was a very upmarket town in the alpine area.

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In Venezia...


Dave, Flo and Di on an esplanade promenade in Venezia

Our first major place to visit was Venezia (Venice) which was only an hour away on Trenitalia (the train) .

Venice is a unique city that's a bit different in that it is largely built on and surrounded by water.  It's a city with ancient churches, many palaces, art-filled buildings, neo-gothic, baroque facades ... a lot of charm and beauty.  As the city is situated on a lagoon, the main thoroughfare is the Canal Grande (Grand Canal)  Water transport is the main means of getting around so you have water taxis,water buses and gondolas.



One of the minor canals, above it is the Ponte dei Sospiri (bridge of sighs)

Zecca (City Mint) or Libreria Sansoviniana (State Library)

A hotel with a jetty instead of a road.  All supplies and services come via the water.

One of the many bridges connecting parts of the city

Hotels with dining areas on the water.  Note the roof garden.  Gardens and greenery were few and far between in this city.

One of the many churches

A taxi outside a hotel

A sleek black gondola

Fancy building facades

Gondolas in the "back streets"

The Campanile, tallest building in Venice is the bell tower for the Basilica

Osepedale Civile (General Hospital)  - Group of people are standing with a coffin waiting for the water hearse. 

Ambulances berthed outside the Osepedale

Di and Jean in front of the Ponte di Rialto (1588). 

Piazza San Marco (St Mark's Square).  Central square houses St Mark's Basilica and the Doges Palace, also home to historic cafes.

Dave and Jean enjoying 'fairly expensive' prosecco and birra in the early evening.  An orchestra entertains patrons with typical Italian music. 

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After a week with the Da Re's we headed to Verona

Leaving Venezia from the main railway station

Verona was the next place of visit, and only an hour on the train.  It was less crowded, a smaller city and much more relaxing to be out and about.  At the Hotel Trieste we had a very cute room in a loft area.  The dining room was oldish and country in furnishings.  It was a hotel with a style of it's own

My reason for visiting Verona was to see the Roman amphitheatre, and it is now home to opera festivals.  Unfortunately there were no performances in the week we were there!  It was a huge cavernous arena and in very good shape with only the third tier missing

"Dave watching the gladiators at work"

A magnificent venue for concerts.  They were dismantling props from Nabucco  and the equipment from Aida were outside the complex.

Some of the 'gorgeous' dining areas dotted around the streets

Dave resting from shopping

We used the Hop On - Hop Off buses in most places for city sightseeing.  It was a great way to see the main sights, and very convenient for dodgy knees.

Castelvecchio (Old Castle) - a riverside palace-cum fortress

Side of Castelvecchio standing beside the Ponte Scaligero

Part of the medieval city in Verona

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Next place on the list was Firenze (Florence)

Jean with Florence in the background

Florence boasted so much, crammed with sculptures, frescoes, museums, churches ... but with only 3 days there and hot, hot weather, we selectively decided to do the 'outside' visit.

part of the cathedral - one would need an aerial shot to show the size of it

The Duomo (Cathedral) - it is flanked by the bell tower and the baptistery - a massive building, heavily ornate exterior

One of the cathedral doors

A lovely piazza where we had an evening meal

The two Davids

Some of the gardens around Piazzale Michelangelo

'Nasty Nick' - Macchivelli

Ponte Vecchio

The Arno River in Firenze

Fiesole, a smaller settlement above Firenze.  A parking inspector doing his job as Garibaldi's statue looks on

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A visit to Pisa

Italy's most familiar sight - The Leaning Tower of Pisa

The Campo dei Miracoli, or Field of Miracles, is home to Pisa's cathedral, Baptistery and the famous leaning tower.

Impressionist David

This shot shows the 'lean' very well

Piazza dei Cavallieri, a square ringed by medieval buildings.  Pisa is largely a modern place  due to the bombing during WWII
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Now we've arrived in Cinque Terre (Five Lands), little cliff-hung, sea-front villages situated north of La Spezia on the Ligurian coast.

Dave and Jean breakfasting on the terrace at 'La Poesia' in Monterosso

We based ourselves in Monterosso for 3 days and visited the other villages of Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore either by track or train.

Monterosso - looking from above the village towards the other villages

Monterosso - village no. 1

 This village has the largest beach of all the villages and the most accommodation. We stayed at a lovely B&B here

It was extremely hot, despite the shingly,overcrowded beach, we had a dip in the Ligurian Sea.



Vernazza - village no.2

This view is from the hiking track  neighboring Monterosso village.  It was about an hour and half walk.  We enjoyed a swim when we finally reached the water. Dave tried to take us on a round about  track!



Corniglia - village no. 3

This was the smallest village and the steepest one to reach!  It is more of a farming community rather than fishing like the others



Manarola - village no. 4

The walking tracks were closed due to rock slides to these two village so we travelled by train to see them.  Here we had a delicious meal of fresh cooked anchovies.





Riomaggiore - village no. 5

Riomaggiore was the least attractive of all the villages - there'd been a party the night before and there was rubbish around plus it was hot as and no place to swim so I am a bit biased.

 

Some stunning views of the villages and coastline from the water - tiny coves, quaint huddles of pastel-colored houses ...

 

A relaxing afternoon water excursion along the coast showed us the region from the water.  We hired a fishing trawler for a couple of hours and with some local knowledge from Bebbe we learnt the maritime and historical points of interest of the area.



Skipper Bebbe on board 'Rici'

Sunset over the Ligurian sea

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An hour or so after leaving Cinque Terre, we reached Genova, our final destination on our tour.  We looked around the city on the Hop On Hop Off Bus tour.  We were warned the jumble of streets and alleys were a maze for novices so we avoided any adventuring.

 After siesta time, wandering around the streets of Genova

 One of the main streets of Genoa, Piazza San Matteo, and the lovely old Post Office building

Under the archway are 3 floral gardens in the design of the Pinta, The Nina and the Santa Maria ships.  Cristoforo Colombo (Christopher Columbus) originates from the town and the gardens are a tribute to their hero, a seafaring mariner.

Genova is a port city, and while down looking at the boats we came across the ship from the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean"

Another unusual boat in town was a submarine. 

From Genova we said goodbye to Italy and boarded an Air France flight to wend our way back to Australia. We went via Paris and Singapore to Brisbane.