Italy

August - October 2017
A 39-day adventure by Brian
  • 36footprints
  • 1countries
  • 39days
  • 185photos
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  • 403kilometers
  • Day 1

    Day 1. Bologna

    August 25, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 28 °C

    I forgot to mention we visited the oldest bookshop in the world in Lisbon. Bertrand' founded in 1774. Did not have the same aura as Livraria Lello.
    Have you ever had the feeling when waiting for your baggage that it is lost. We get that feeling every time in Italy. Alitalia was the airline that misplaced our bags many years ago and we still think it's going to happen again every time we visit.
    The bags finally arrived and we relaxed.
    Bologna is a city of 1 million and the street buildings gave lots of porticos for protection from the elements. They were welcome today to escape the hot sun. It has the worlds oldest university with Copernicus being one of its celebrated sons.
    Our Albergo is right in the centre of the historic district with many historical highlights within a 500m radius. This afternoon we tried to have a ride on Bologna's underground river and explore the underground tunnels. It was not to be. They have been cancelled as being too dangerous. We manage to take a photo but that was all.
    We thought the Basilica San Petronio was like a gian mausoleum , absolutely not atmosphere at all, unlike the narrow streets that surround it.
    A late afternoon snack at The iconic Caffe Tamburini was just what the Dr ordered as was the gelato that followed.
    Tomorrow's itinerary is planned and Shirl is writing her diary with the TV in the background.
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  • Day 2

    Day 2. Exploring Bologna.

    August 26, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    In the cool of the morning we strolled up the porticos of the Via dell'Indipendenza to visit the Parco Montagnola passing through the market where you keep your hands on your valuables. The park was a disappointment, used as a camping ground for the immigrants who litter the park with rubbish. We passed quickly through it to the University Botanical Gardens. Not much open there although a queue had formed at a door due to be opened at 0830. It was after 10.
    The University museum was well worth the visit with magnificent ceilings and frescos. They have a wonderful collection of exhibits, as you would expect from the world's oldest University. It's naval rooms full of model ships were extraordinary.
    I gave a lecture in an empty auditorium and those not present missed my enlightening thoughts on the world. Shirl didn't seem impressed.
    We had a pleasant surprise in the Oratory of Santa Cécilia. Beautiful frescoes as where the ones in the Basilica of Giacomo Maggiore, where I practiced my Italian.
    Did you know that Bologna has its own leaning tower? Well one of its two towers has a distinctive lean.
    Lunch and an exploration of the old streets with a visit to the Basilica de Santo Stefano , quite interesting, followed by ice-cream and rest.
    Bologna is a compact, clean by Italian standards, with a nice feel about it. Well worth a visit.
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  • Day 3

    Day 3. Pistoia.

    August 27, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    There were two places we wished to see before breakfast.
    To view the biggest sundial in the world inside the Basilica San Petronio. 67 m in length built for the study of the sun's revolutions, studied through a hole created in the dome. Created in 1655. The dates and times of the sun striking the sundial are listed on a poster near the gift office.
    Today it would happen when we were on the train.
    The second visit was to the chords di Santa Maria della Vitae to view the Compianto, a earthenware sculpture composed of seven natural size statues. Unlucky again as the church was closed.
    We settled for a coffee and brioche ciocolata.
    37+ here in Pistoia but the apartment is great and comfortable. Arrived too late to do the shopping but there is pasta and sauce here for us to cook.
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  • Day 4

    Day 4. Pistoia.

    August 28, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    When checking my savings account last night there were 4 unauthorised transactions made in Kangaroo Point. The bank had sent a new card to Shirley which was taken from the letter box and used. So late last night I was on the phone to Sydney to advise the bank. So first thing we did the shopping.(we have to eat) Then coffee and brioche ciocolata. It is interesting to see how people attack the brioche. Shirl and I are nibblers. We start on the outside and work towards the Nutella centre.
    Into town to print out the card dispute form. The staff at the town hall were great but required passport details before I could use the internet. This necessitated a trip back to our apartment.
    Eventually all was completed and we celebrated with a gelato. Whilst eating an immigrant came up and said he wanted to lick the ice-cream. There was now way Shirl was going to let him lick her gelato. He just wanted one. I told him to order one and I would pay. He went off happily licking his ice-cream not Shirley's
    There was something brewing on the surrounding mountains and it looks like (we hope) that a storm is brewing and the hot weather will go.
    The security on our front door is over the top. That's what we hope and not something we need to be concerned about.
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  • Day 6

    Day 5. Pistoia AM

    August 30, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Well the heavens opened last night, thunder, lightning and hail. It appears there's a change coming. Hopefully cooler weather.
    After purchasing tickets for this afternoon's tour we visited some of the churches. There are lots of them. In the U.K. It's a pub on every corner, here it's a church.
    Pistoia has a reputation for its fine pulpits and so we went to see the two finest examples. The ones in St Andrea and San Giovanni Fuorcivitas.
    We preferred the one in San Giovanni. As you will know they have the symbols on them for Mathew(prayer book), Mark (Lion) ,Luke (ox) and John (eagle).
    The ceilings(wooden) were excellent but sadly the frescoes that once covered the interior walls have all but disappeared.
    The best frescoes we have seen are in the tiny Holy Trinity Chapel, Hrastovlji in Slovenia.
    The churches here have a lot of white and green marble. It must be a Tuscan thing because Sienna Duomo has the same features.
    It was a pleasant morning and in the narrow alleys the temp was bearable.
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  • Day 6

    Day 5. Pistoia PM.

    August 30, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    After lunch we headed off to the Spedale Del Ceppo, a former hospital, now just a blood donor's clinic. The front of the building is decorated with medallions by Della Robbia and Benedetto Buglioni.
    From the 17th century the hospital was home to a medical-surgical school whose clients were the dead from the hospital and the prisons, bisected on a marble slab in the anatomical theatre.
    From here we gained access to the underground tour.
    As the city expanded its wall did also and the tour was along the former river Brana now diverted. Over time roads,walls and buildings were built over the river. It was interesting to learn of the city's history through the foundations.
    There were two former mill wheels. One was used by the blacksmith the other by the miller.
    The hospital's toilets and waste products emptied into the river where the people washed their clothes and was responsible for 2/3rds of the city dying from the Black Plague.
    The excavation of the now dry river bed is an ongoing project, and knowing the Italians, I doubt if it will ever be finished.
    An interesting tour and recommended.
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  • Day 6

    Day 6. Domesticity in Pistoia

    August 30, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Today was the day for washing and sorting ourselves out before we head off to Firenze and then the Via Francesco.
    I am busy finding accommodation for the walk. Due to the size and isolation of some of the places it involves a lot of work to choose the right option.
    I have included some photos from yesterday.
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  • Day 7

    Day 7. Frescoes and Ceilings in Pistoia.

    August 31, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Pistoia, Italy's cultural capital for 2017, has many secrets to reveal, and this morning we found some of its frescoes and ceilings.
    There are traces of frescoes on all the walls of the churches and historical buildings. One can only wonder at what wonderful sight it must have been before time and neglect reduced their appearance.
    The wooden painted ceilings with their enormous beams makes me wonder about their construction. Quite a feat to man handle them into position.
    A very interesting morning which ended with gelato and Shirl jealously guarding hers from the licking ice cream immigrant, should he appear.
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  • Day 8

    Day 8. Pistoia

    September 1, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    We were surprised this morning as we were able to sight see. The forecast was for rain & thunderstorms last night but not much eventuated. So off we went having our normal coffee and brioche. I have just trained the barista to serve Shirl's coffee as she likes it. An expresso with a little hot water. They say "un americano" . I say no and eventually She got the message.
    Our intention was to visit the Fortress of Santa Barbara first but a pleasant surprise awaited us. The Dominican Library was open. We tried to visit yesterday but it was closed. An enthusiastic young man gave us a personal tour. The library itself was not much to see but we saw some interesting frescoes and sketches. At one time it was the friars intention to have a museum of sketches. These sketches are the artists design for the frescoes which are painted over them. They have technique which paints a coat over the fresco and when it sets they remove it and adhere to a plaster base. The original sketch is revealed underneath. I was allowed to take a photo of one example.
    One corridor in the building had its walls covered in the original sketches.
    Did you know the Dominican's are "The dogs of God". (Domini cane).
    Another coffee and brioche and then we visited St Paul's with its bare interior walls. No frescoes remain.
    Finally we arrived at the Fortress. What a disappointment. A derelict dump.
    A final Pistoia gelato and we headed home with threatening clouds above. They disappeared after several hours. The forecast is for storms tonight with up to 10 deg drop in temp. Fingers crossed.
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