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June 1988
Summer in Europe & Winter in Australia Wednesday 1st June Went to the Duomo Museum to marvel at Donatello's 'Mary Magdalene', Anolfo di Cambio's 'Evangelists' and Michelangelo's unfinished 'Pieta", begun when he was 80 years old. Visited the Baptistry in the late afternoon, a Romanesque building decorated with white and green marble with the famous North door by Lorenzo Ghiberti - 'Gate to Paradise' (1403-1424) and the magnificent 13 century mosaics covering the dome inside depicting the 'Last Judgement' after Dante D'Aliglieri.
Before sunset we walked along the river crossing the Ponte Alle Grazie and after the old town wall some few hundreds yards to the south climbing the zig-zagging path through the luxuriant tropical gardens to the high terrace of the Piazzale Michelangiolo for spectacular views not only of the town, but also of the marvellously lovely hills to the south. Coming back down, our last orange sunset on the Arno seen through the arches of the Ponte Vecchio was also our best, the delicate orange glow gradually changing to a hazy, lingering Florentine twilight that will be long remembered. POSTCARD: FLORENCE – 'The Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore'
[Written 3rd June] To continue the “Duomo” is much bigger than it looks in photographs, and far more magnificent. The bell tower to its left is a quite separate building built in a totally different style, not really apparent here. Each “square” is about 5 storeys high making it one of the tallest antique structures in the world. We climbed to the top for beautiful view of the town and lovely hills all around – up an exhausting 400 plus steps. Also visited the Fra Angelico, Michelaangelo and “Uffizi” galleries, each utterly beautiful and spellbinding and in themselves worth our trip four times over. Watched a number of lovely sunsets over the Arno, very warm at this time of year (like Sydney) but with snow in winter!!! Thursday 2nd June Took leave of our lovely hotel and its delightful 80 year old Irish-Italian landlady and took longer to get to the station by taxi than it took us on foot! Very hot and there is a train strike. Late morning train through the upper Arno valley to Arezzo then skirting the Lake Trasimeno plateau on the edge of Umbri before following the Tiber down into the yellow fields of Latium and the sprawling, disorganised, colourful mixture of industrial slums, Baroque public buildings, and ancient ruins of Roma. We later had a bird's-eye view of these from the summit of St. Peters, a long climb on a hot afternoon! Then a hair-raising but interesting taxi ride for $8 (we nearly took one for a set price of $30 - glad we didn't), past wonderful plazas and superb fountains in sweltering heat to our well situated but spartanly furnished hotel room and finished the day, first with a stroll to St. Peter's Basilica, overwhelmed by Michelangelo's brilliant conception and Bernini's embellishment; secondly on an evening stroll in the sunset glow beside the waters and glorious stone bridges of the Tiber. Also saw the Spanish Steps illuminated in sunset and twilight glow before dinner nearby at the excellent 'Sant Andreas Hostaria'. Basically good sleep but required ear plugs. Friday 3rd June POSTCARD: FLORENCE – 'Old Palace - The Courtyard'
[Written 3rd June] We have been in Rome for 2 days now and it is very hot! Here is another postcard from Florence, which we gradually began to fall in love with, but again as I said in my last letter, is an acquired taste. Our hotel there was gorgeous, run by a little Irish lady, 80 years old, who was educated in Florence at the time of the Fascists – very interesting. This card is typical of all that is best in Florence, and there is much of that. However there are no trees, parks or gardens to speak of! So “room with a view” is a rather false image. On the other hand it is a city of incredible beauty, both people and things, very classical lines which are not immediately “ravishing” to the eye but which have a serenity that is far more subtle. Worth spending several months in. A full day, first in the magnificent Vatican Museum, then on to the Colosseum looking like ruins in a desert under a blazing sun, and finally to the Palatine hill overlooking the Foro Romano. Went through the Vatican Museums in detail, except for the Sistine Chapel which we both considered was being destroyed by the use of modern pigments and a stark repainting technique by renovators whose concept of Michelangelo's great work scarcely rises above that of uninspired religious cartoon or even comic strip. Otherwise the museums were utterly marvellous, a treasure house of classical antiquity, especially that of ancient Rome. One feels the continuity from pagan emperors to christian Popes very keenly in these sumptuous palaces overlooking the equally sumptuous papal gardens. Also of course, a treasure house of the works of the Renaissance, and especially of Raphael and in the 'Pinacoteca' by Fra Angelico, Lippi, da Vinci and Caravaggio. Greatly admired the rooms of the 15th century Belvedere Palace built by Innocent VIII, in the style of an ancient Imperial Roman palace with views to match, in particular the Animals Room with much brilliant Roman work, and the Room of the Muses with its glorious ancient Roman floor mosaic and housing, together with historical busts of Roman Emperors and mythical figures, the unbelievably beautiful 'Torso of the Belvedere' (1st BC) much admired by Michelangelo. Walked an incredible distance today. From the Vatican and its magnificent Bernini fountains to the fascist style palace of Mussolini (now the Parliament of Italy) at Piazzo Venzia; from the nearby and ravishingly beautiful, but oddly deserted, classical square designed and laid out by Michelangelo from 1536 onwards, 'Piazza del Campidoglio' (one of the highpoints of our day). to the hot, massive, brutal Colosseum, a desert of the soul, then under 'Constantines Arch' - small and invisible under scaffolding during renovation work, to the sad, awe-inspiring but completely forsaken ruins of the Labyrinthian palace complex of the Domitian. It is on the site of the former Julio-Claudian palace overlooking the Roman Forum, but only the 'Casa di Livia' built by Augustus remains since the great fire in the time of Nero. The house of Livia contains remnants of some fine murals, hauntingly lovely and from the beautiful nearby Farnese Gardens on the site of the palace extensions of Tiberius, magnificent views of the hot valley of ruins below, the 'Roman Forum', its crumbling temple pillars and foundation stones incredibly extensive but too ancient even for ghosts. As we will see later on Capri, Tiberius always liked to build where he had a good view of his subjects! Feeling quite exhausted, we walked back to Piazza Venezia under a raging hot afternoon sun, then on to briefly view the Trevi Fountain before a simple, cheap Taverna (pub) meal, a walk beside the river, and a well earned but difficult night's sleep at our noisy, rather stingy hotel near the Vatican. The toilet outlet is connected to the wash basin within 8 inches of the plug hole! The hotel's consolations, apart from its astonishing location and the fact that it is a converted 15 century palazzo with a lovely exterior, foyer area and a staircase, are first, that every room has a Renaissance Venetian chandelier; secondly, that our room looks out onto the facade of a magnificently proportioned classical palazzo and thirdly that... Saturday 4th
June ...breakfasts here in a beautiful basement "Breakfast Room" with tapestries hung at one end and extremely generous with not only the usual bread, croissants and coffee, but also with orange juice, toasted Italian ham and cheese, fruit and yoghurt, and even a choice of breakfast cereals served by an attentive and friendly Italian waiter. Caught a bus to the Piazza del Popolo, a delightful square, Rome's biggest, designed by Valadier circa 1800 in the French Neo-Classical (early Romantic) style around an Egyptian obelisk placed there in the 1500's and two Baroque churches standing sentinel to Via del Corso, Rome's main street. Valadier adorned the obelisk with fountains and allegorical statues, and composed on the east side, adjoining the Borghese Gardens, a superbly beautiful series of terraces and arcades up to the high terrace of the Pincio, where the gardens begin and where we now stopped for a pleasantly soft view of St. Peter's. The path up to the high terrace passes through a lovely garden of tropical and subtropical plants, including palms, cycads and beautifully smelling flowering vines. From the high terrace the gardens of the Villa Borghese spread in a kind of verdant plateau - highly distinctive in their enormous extent and mixture of formal design and rambling pastoral informality. We then made for the Villa Borghese, a small Mannerist palazzo built by Vasanzio for Cardinal Scipione Borghese and now containing a brilliant museum of Baroque and Classical sculptures and paintings. This is one of the largest collections of Bernini's sculptures outside the Vatican, and also contains a Caravaggio Room, and the famous statue of 'Pauline Bonaparte' by Canova. Made our way back to our room for siesta on an increasingly warm and humid afternoon reminiscent of Vivaldi's 'Languid Summer' or Debussy's 'Afternoon of a Fawn'. Beautiful fresh Italian orange juice from a friendly vendor under the plane trees by the river. Disappointing 'Frommer' dinner near the Trevi Fountain - a brief look at this masterpiece by night in pouring rain before a soaking walk back. Thunder and lightning against the background of the dome of St. Peters as we crossed the magnificently beautiful Ponte Sant Angelo ornamented with lifesize sentinel smiling Baroque angels carved by Bernini himself, and the famous statues of Saints Peter and Paul. Thereafter rain easing off slightly. NB Warm rain with low rain clouds racing across the night sky and clearing for the day in very similar fashion to Sydney. Sunday 5th June Morning mass at St. Peters, the piazza, fountains and especially the dome of the basilica very beautiful in gentle drizzle and pleasing grey light. Plenty of time to once more appreciate the most beautiful arches of Michelangelo, his splendid dome and marvellous 'Pieta' (completed in his youth at 24). An unforgettable and utterly magnificent mass, intelligent, sensitive, uplifting and pacifying with a pleasant mixture of Italian, English and beautiful High Latin - gorgeous altar flowers and candles, excellent classical choir (singing Handel?), Bishops and Cardinals in sumptuous medieval and renaissance robes. Brilliant colour and pageantry, especially the Cardinals in their scarlet, wide brimmed hats, one of whom was very old with white hair, dozing off every now and then and looking like a wizard (Gandalf perhaps). Another siesta this afternoon to catch up on some lost sleep - siestas seem very natural in Rome's balmy climate with sleepy hot afternoons. After our siesta, dined again at Hostaria Sant Andrea and then walked to the piazza Navona, a square built around and taking the shape of the site of Domitian's Stadium - a very lively area, especially at night when its three Baroque fountains are subtly illiminated. The central Fountain of the Four Rivers by Bernini is particularly serene although it is an embodiment of movement. Sat by this fountain for about an hour watching low wet clouds above us gently lit up beneath by Rome's night lights. On the way there we also stopped for a night view of Rome's oldest, still used building (and one of its biggest), the Pantheon, foundations dating to 27BC and perfectly preserved since the Emperor Hadrian rebuilt it in 120AD - formerly a pagan temple converted without alteration into an incredibly unusual church in the 7th centuy. The 16 granite pillars and ancient (original) doors are perhaps most imposing, and a little forbidding, at night - quite massive. Another night walk across the river under the beautiful Castel St. Angelo and Baroque masterpiece, the 'Palazzo del Justice', again beautifully illuminated (both these buildings are incredibly lovely at night), and back to our last night at 'Albergo Alicorni'. Monday 6th June The two hour trip from Rome to Naples on a hot and muggy morning was memorable. Campagna, formerly the main territory of the Bourbon 'Kingdom of the Two Sicilies', was once completely cut off from Latium by a chain of high granite tors marching down towards the sea and by an extensive area of coastal bogs and marshes, now drained and densely populated by market gardeners. To the left going south, the granite mountains rise up suddenly, sheer monoliths of bare, dry rock, a desert land rising to even greater heights as they march up eastwards to their parent mountains in the southern alps of the Abruzzi, part of the Appenine chain. Travelling with us we met up with a sunny natured and well travelled Italian gentleman, weather beaten, humorous, talkative and friendly, passionate and hilariously funny yet with a certain quiet refinement as well (and he did not like what they were doing to the Sistine Chapel either). Apart from sharing his passion for, and travel experiences in, the "romantic countries" of Europe, and especially Barcelona (he thought the French "aristocratic", the Italians "loving", and the Spanish "beautiful"), he had some pretty terrible things to say about the Germans and the English. The Italians respect the Germans (and wish to be respected by them) but they do not love them; and the Germans love the Italians (and wish to be loved by them) but they do not respect them. Also, the French say "If it pleases you" and the Italians say "by your favour", but the Germans say "Ich mochte" ( I want it) and regard it as a virtue that the strong take what they need. "We don't like that. We don't do that here." And again, the Italians are passionate about everything. Everything is either black or white, beautifully wonderful or terribly awful, but to the English it is "quate nace" or "not nace." As for Naples, he regarded it as a wonderful place, very warm and friendly, but where it was wise to dress modestly, even poorly since it is also a den of gangsters, mafiosi and pick-pockets, "don't speak English, don't speak German, don't even speak Italian, don't say anything. Just go where you go." He said it was even dangerous for him. In Naples itself after a very hectic time with our taxi, although the driver was very pleasant, we arrived at our 7th floor hotel, and after coffee and croissants at a nice little bayside outdoor cafe below, returned to be allocated a room of considerable age, very spacious and charming with a side view overlooking the Bay of Naples - and from the balcony, to Vesuvius. Spent the afternoon on the nearby Island of Ischia which is a dormant volcano, and saw most parts of the island from a noisy 3-wheeler. Lots of bougainvillea, wisteria, olives, roses, oleander. Also some stunning beaches (where C went for a swim in very warm water), bays, mountain views and hot springs. Dinner on the island at a large but casual seaside cafe, very cheap and excellent food, then back to Naples by hydrofoil discovering that we had lost the hotel keys. Friendly management took it in their stride as three other thefts had occured to their clients that day in Naples, and the tall silver-haired manager with mafia-type sunglasses sat with us in conversation for a couple of hours on the roof terrace on this balmy night overlooking the beautiful dark blue bay, now surrounded by a string of lights right to the horizon - what a huge place! Tuesday 7th June Another discomforting hydrofoil trip, feeling like helpless passengers on a large plane trying without success to take off from a ridiculously corrugated runway and about to crash. As yesterday the sea was quite rough although unlike yesterday, our captain did not suddenly stop the engines in mid-ocean and in a veritable whirlpool. As the majestic cliffs of Capri came into full view, looming up like the rocks of thunder in Homer's 'Voyage of Ullyses', a sort of orange parchment colour, weathered into thousands of ledges, caves, crevices and grottoes at the water's edge, we came into sight of a small harbour with piercingly turquoise waters behind which a pleasing valley rose steeply, bissecting the island. To the west is the immensely sheer massif of Anacapri rising like a block with sheer cliffs all around and dominated by the peak of Mont Solaro (589 metres) below which nestles the ancient town of olive groves, Anacapri. Incredibly the island (beloved of Caesar's Augustus and Tiberius, who built many palaces here) a mere six kilometres long and three kilometres wide supports three other towns as well as Anacapri: Marina Grande, around the harbour and valley; Capri itself like a set design fro a mediterranean village operetta, incredibly picturesque spread out on steep terraces and ledges overlooking Marina Grande from the lower but still rugges south side; and Marina Piccol, a small village on the extremely rugged southern shores around a sunken ravine. The whole island is an uplift of seabed, sedimentary limestone, no doubt the fault of nearby Vesuvius whose dark volcanic from can be clearly seen at dusk. After arriving at the busy and colourful little port, whose waters are the most delightful colour imaginable, and with the most inviting clarity, the most astonishing lucidity, we taxied up to Capri only to discover first, that we could have taken a much cheaper funiculaire, and secondly, that the taxi was not much use anyway because we still had to lug our suitcases up a very long, steep and narrow corridor, too narrow for vehicles although it is Capri's main street! Arrived at the quiet, spacious, whitewashed 'Villa Sarah' in its tranquil setting amongst vines and oleander - modest and spartan but with a certain mediterranean serenity (a quality shared by most things here). Feeling hot and sticky after sweating our way up, went for a long but wonderful walk for a swim, back through all the charming villas towards Capri, veering off after a detour through the lovely wild olives, bougainvilleas and wisteria (both in flower) of Augustus' garden. It offered stunning views along the northern cliffs in a wild and isolated setting except for some ruins and an ancient monastic quadrangle now serving as a village school, down to a tropical, turquoise ocean pool - a favourite of local villagers who bathe nude in the ocean swell beneath remote, towering cliffs. Warm water and not a tourist to be found except us!!!!. FANTASTIC! Before sunset we spent a delightful couple of hours walking past the idyllic walled gardens and vineyards for which Capri is justly famed, across the sunny, generous slopes of Mt. Tiberius with its larger market gardens, sleepy orchards and groves of palms, cycads and on the upper slopes, pines (cedars?), to the remote, forlorn, storm-swept and still rather majestic ruins of Tiberius' lonely palace from which he ruled the Empire. His Villa Jovis perched high on the cliffs of the south-eastern end of the island with panoramic views of both Capri and the mainland (including Vesuvius and Sorrento). Were kindly let in by the gatekeeper right on closing time at 6pm promising to leave promptly, but we met up with a teacher-historian engrossed in study and contemplation of the ruins. A huge talkative Swede from Gottenburg who invited us to stay with him when we were in Sweden and kept us talking, so we finally had to leave by jumping over the wall as the gate was locked, it then being close to sunset at 8pm. Saw many stars in the sky for the first time in Europe, bright sparkling gems in the very black and relatively void infinitudes of the northern hemisphere. Much blacker to the south towards Africa. Remote lights of Naples also visible spread all along the edges of the vast and distant bay, most beautiful. Wednesday 8th June Following a totally quiet and restful night, we got down to the Marina Grande in late morning to look for a cruise launch to accompany a group visit to the Blue Grotto, an incandescent cave whose entrance is at the water line of the massive south-western cliff faces. We found only one such tour operating, rather cheap and nasty in a noisy overcrowded boat which provided so short a visit that the eyes would not have time to either take in its beauty or to adjust properly to the darkness. Instead we accepted an offer to be rowed there by a tall, scar-faced and weather-beaten fellow with delightful Italian sense of humour but somewhat piratical looks. The weather was once again very warm and sunny with hardly a breath of wind, so there was quite alot of heat haze and the ocean was extraordinarily still with scarcely a ripple. This was nevertheless hard work for our powerfully built guide, rowing us a distance of perhaps 3kms around sandy coves separated by increasingly jagged shoals of dark rock extending out into the crystal clear waters, gradually turning from a tropical aquamarine to a dark indigo (almost inky) colour as we began to follow the sheer vertical edges of the island thrusting up hundreds of metres above us. The entrance to the grotto, only accessible to small rowing boats on calm days, is a small hole scarcely 4 feet wide, and it is necessary to lie down in the boat, pulling oneself along by means of a chain. Outside, the cliffs at this point are especially massive, rising we thought well over a thousand metres straight out of very deep water. Inside, a great cave opens out, at first very dark until the eyes adjust although the deep waters of the cavern seem from the first to throw out their own incandescent inner light, glowing and giving the dreamlike sensation of floating on a sea of azure light. As our eyes got used to the grotto, the urge became too strong (especially with the promptings of our guide), to swim in this clear blue light, watching its ripples reflected on the dark rock ceiling above and its source refracted for what seemed like an enormous distance below as we swam. It was one of the most spellbindingly fantastic experiences of my life. After about 20 minutes we reluctantly got back into the boat leaving through the same, now blindingly bright narrow entrance, this time having to lie down even flatter due to a very slight swell. Not much further on was a jetty on the site of a steep staircase first built there in ancient time by the Romans for bathing, and now leading up to a very nice restaurant perched on a ledge above. This was our best and most typically Italian meal in Italy, consisting of Caprisian mixed salad with olives, paprikas softened and marinated in oil and vinegar, delicate white anchovies, and the most magnificent fresh sweet tasting fish not unlike the best Queensland Barramundi. This was accompanied of course by the delightfully light and clear local white wine made from grapes grown on the side of Mt. Tiberius. Amazingly cheap too and being such a remote part of the island made this a particularly romantic lunch. After a siesta and outdoor dinner at one of the terrace trattorias with fantastic sunset views back to Vesuvius' broad dark from across the huge bay of Naples, and also north-west to where the sun was setting over Ischia, we took a walk in the deepening twilight down one of the steep corridors leading past the grand villas of Capri south and west towards a terraced garden overlooking the rocky coves east of the Marina Piccola. The view along these majestic, steep, weathered limestone cliffs on the south side is especially lovely in blue twilight, and tonight we were doubly rewarded by an open-air concert of Italian oratorio in the terrace garden (Augustus' garden), jealously attended by enthusiastically applauding locals behind locked gates. Another tranquil mediterranean night. POSTCARD: CAPRI – 'Water lapping in the Blue Grotto'
[Written 14th June] This is the Blue Grotto, where we went for a magnificent swim in brilliantly clear, warm glowing water. The glow in the water is caused by a refraction of light through the tiny entrance to the cave, through which one must pass in a tiny rowing boat when the water is reasonably calm, preferably at low tide. Luckily our guide was fairly broadminded and we did not have to wear bathers which neither of us had anyway. I have only once been for such a marvellous swim in one of the turquoise “perch lakes” at Fraser Island. Capri suited us very nicely, staying at a nice little villa not unlike our hotel at Ellis Beach. Surprisingly, we found it the cheapest place in Italy to stay, both food and accommodation reasonable by their extravagant standards. A beautiful island which it would have been nice to savour for several weeks, and the home of Tiberius – we visited his palace. Thursday 9th June A magnificent and idyllic morning spent walking first through villas, then pastoral country and vines, then dense hot bushland amost jungle in some places. Probably one of our 3 best walks in Europe so far, following a long and winding, very romantic path to the rocky summits of Natural Arch (Arco Naturale) at the south-eastern extremity of the island and then west along the southern cliffs. These weathered limestone monoliths with many caves, holes and ledges and with a coarse but attractive vegetation of burnished earth greens over orange, brown and white crumbling rock, form a series of soaring but wonderfully contorted islands of ancient stillnes, eternal against a brilliantly turquoise sea. A little further down the path through steep but dense jungle (including some lantana) we came upon the remains of a shrine dedicated by the Romans to the Mother Goddess in a large sandy cavern at one end of which was a natural dais of rock ledges, no doubt used for ritual performances by temple priestesses. The path then contorted itself around a particularly steep face of the island below which was the most delightful, secluded and brilliantly tropical looking of all the rocky coves we had seen. After many attempts to scramble down the treacherously steep slopes (a path to it had a locked gate - the property of some movie star or politician perhaps, complete with helipad on the roof of a gorgeous spanish villa). We had to admit defeat and leave paradise unvisited! This path throughout had the feeling of complete remoteness, passing through the most beautiful bushland and above the most staggering cliffsides with breathtaking views along the island's rocky coastline. After being unable to swim in paradise, we decided after lunch to return to our original secluded bathing hole, favoured by the locals for nude bathing, but just as we got down to it, the day turned from very hot to mild, although the ocean was strangely calm, a hazy greyness arose. Also more people were there, not locals, and our ladder had disappeared, so a very short dip before returning. A windy squall around sunset, passing quickly north without much rain, and fining up overnight. Friday 10th June Very sad to leave Capri, looking so lovely on a delightful sunny morning. The water in the Marina Grande was the clearest, bluest and most inviting that either of us has ever seen. Terrible taxi ride from hydrofoil stop to Naples station in a traffic jam that seemed to cover the whole of Naples. Extremely sleazy, lethargic and dishonest taxi driver. Without knowing it, we waited, stuck in the most appalling traffic jam imaginable, for fifteen minutes adjacent to (within 100 metres of) our destination! The metre read 16.000 lire, he asked for 25.000 lire, and when we asked in perfect Italian (in any case he spoke perfect English) whether he could change 30.000 lire, he snatched it out of C's hand and said "Don't worry about it" as he drove off!!! Our experience on the train to Rome was completely different, sharing a compartment with four very friendly Italians returning to Como in the north and managing to have a very long and enjoyable conversation in halting Italian despite occasional difficulties - they spoke virtually no English. Interesting rocky scenery again north of Campagnia and magnificent and cheap Italian food on the train. In Rome we first went to the church of St. Maria Maggiore, a Baroque masterpiece in a classical style which we had missed out on during of first visit. Rather morbid corpse of a Pope preserved behind glass here, but beautiful statue (mid-Baroque) of the same Pope above this. Having left our laundry to be done near the station, we then had to return to collect it after an unsuccessful attempt to get cash out of the American Express machine near Piazza di Spagna. Piazza di Spagna this time visited from above the steps in radiant afternoon sunshine, a pleasing colourful sight with its thronging locals and tourists, locals mainly standing in or around the fountain. Interesting metro in Rome's gloomy underground, looking something like H.G. Wells' Morlock tunnels in 'The Time Machine', very dimly lit and full of seedy and unsavoury types, also a leadfoot train driver who knew only 'stop' and 'go'. 'Go' was prestissimo, 'stop' was so sudden that everyone was nearly thrown from their seats everytime we got to a station. 'Go' was also rather sudden with doors that gave a nasty snap when they shut. Dinner at the 'Hostaria Sant Andrea' again, though this time a little disappointing and quite expensive. After dark, walked to the Piazza Navona for a last refreshing look at these marvellous Baroque fountains lit up at night and as always, well populated by friendly but tranquil crowds, mostly Italian. As our sleeper train did not leave till midnight, we still had time for a brief last visit to the river before returning via the beautiful piazzas Barberini, Republica, and Cinque Cento. The fountain at Piazza Republica was particularly spectacular, subtly lit from below. Our first 'wagon-lit' sleeping car trip from Rome to Venice in private double bunks was a little cramped and disappointing, although one could not help (as always), feeling excited about long distance train travel by night. Saturday 11th June Woke up about 6.30am as the trained passed through Padua - a curious mixture of volcanic hills and extensive low flat marshland int he western part of Veneto. Early morning weather foggier and a little brisker than we had been accustomed to in the past week or so. Some rich, wild looking, broad-leafed forests just to the north of the line, more settled with rice paddies, market gardens and untidy, pleasant open fields to the south, these eventually giving way to a zone of heavy industrial development, many very old factories. This section came to an end as the train began traversing a long and narrow bridge across a huge shallow sea of calm, silver water, very beautiful. Eventually this too came to an end when we reached the submerged mud-flats on which Venice is built and St. Lucia station, at about 8am on a mild, humid but generally sunny morning. The beauty of Venice is immediately apparent from the steps of the grand railway station, piers and staircases descending into the friendly green waters of the Grande Canal itself, ablaze with the heraldic colours of gondolas and ferries, spanned by the magnificent Renaissance bridge, the Ponte degli Scalzi. and flanked by the serenely, lovely, warm yet regal palazzos of the Fondamenta Sant Simeon Piccolo, another marvellous travel experience of our trip. Combining the regal with the friendly and harmonious marriage of sumptuous classicism with Byzantine colour results in an utterly perfect and magnificent scene. From the Grande Canal one sees a continually curving, mysterious street of broad water into which enter the most inviting, quiet waterways spanned by enchanting bridges, nearly every building mysterious and inviting, a scene natural, intentional and permanent all at once. The cheap (less than $2 per person) public ferry from the stazione to the Ponte di Rialto along the Canal Grande (some two kilometres of the Renaissance finest palazzos, lordly residences and magnificent churches) is spellbinding. Although a very long way for us lugging our two heavy suitcases, the walk from the richly beautiful Rialto Bridge was a delicious introduction to Venice. Passing through the busy Campo Sant Bartolomeo and narrow alleys, to the broad and magnificent Campo Santa Maria Formosa with its inspiring Baroque church, fruit stalls and outdoor tavernas overlooked by a pleasantly irregular square of ducal mansions under an increasingly warm morning sun, our route crossing two breathtakingly lovely bridges over tranquil green canals. We were mopping the sweat from our brows at this stage under a very hot sun on a very humid day - not surprising considering all the water. From the Campo, another narrow but busy corridor between ancient buildings led, after about 150 metres, to yet another sunny stone bridge over a small but very romantic canal and directly beneath our lodgings, the 'Foresteria della Valdese'. This is a protestant youth hostel occupying the vast and magnificent rooms of an ancient palazzo (under the stern but benevolent, sometimes humorous charge of Signor Riccardo Bensi who enjoyed conversing in French). Our musty but lovely room here, complete with little balcony and painted fresco ceiling, had a delightful view of the canal outside and some wisteria vine in a little garden below. Very quiet and relaxing, except for intermittent arias from gondolas passing by, of varying quality, some surprisingly moving and worth opening the balcony window for, others coarse but usually amusing. In increasing heat and humidity we crossed a canal south of the Formosa, and after crossing two other small stone bridges, one with a view of the most stunning canal spanned further down by the Bridge of Sighs, we came to the Piazza San Marco feeling once again as though we had entered a different world. This very wide open space, approximately L-shaped, is a brilliant harmony between the rich Byzantine basilica, noble Renaissance Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace), Classical procurati (administrative palazzi) serving to enclose the space but not quite. In wonderful contrast, the perfectly placed brick campanile tower and quayside gondola docks with wide views across the broad shallow waters to the distant Isola di San Giorgio dominated by its magnificent early Baroque church with its golden roof. After spending some time in the Byzantine basilica (circa 800), wider than later styles and with a feeling not unrelated to a muslim mosque with its glass tiled dome, we returned for a late afternoon siesta. In the evening ate at a cheap and nasty alleyside restaurant, then went to bed early after a short walk watching distant lightning over the bay. Not a bad sleep here, but woken occasionally by mosquitos. Sunday 12th June NOTE: This is where I stopped writing in our journal (with some dictation from C) and used postcards from hereon in as the format for recording notes of our travels. Postcards were not written on a daily basis and were entirely written by C. POSTCARD: VENICE – 'Canal' [Written 14th June] This is almost identical to the “street” we stayed in here, giving a perfect idea of the “real Venice” behind all the palazzos. It was a beautiful stay, and we managed to see most of the glorious sights here, including the Academia and St. Marks, although we sadly missed out on the Argenheim Museum (closed). Did not go on a Gondola! My God - $100 for a short cruise!!! Lovely, but only for the rich or spendthrift. Our hotel here is gorgeous a 14th century palazzo in pleasing disrepair, now a protestant hostel run by the grim Signor Riccardo Bensi, but with gorgeous views and lovely frescoes to look at on our bedroom ceiling while going to sleep. We had a similar experience in Pisa – both places ridiculously cheap. Looking forward to France again – Italy far too bad tempered!! Monday 13th June Tuesday 14th June AUSTRIA Wednesday 15th June SWITZERLAND Thursday 16th June Friday 17th June Saturday 18th June FRANCE Sunday 19th June Monday 20th June Tuesday 21st June Wednesday 22nd June Thursday 23rd June POSTCARD: PARIS – 'Pont Mairie et Quai de Bourbon'
[Written 23rd June] This is very like Paris at sunset (10.30pm) at the moment, although of course the trees are in full leaf. Please don’t be alarmed by any boxes we are sending – they just contain discarded items from our suitcases to make them lighter. Although it is still very pleasant and interesting to be in Paris in summer sitting outside in a café by the Pont Neuf with coffee and croissant studying people, or visiting the Musee d'Orsay again to study sculpture and paintings, tempers get a bit frayed here in the heat, and there are far too many Americans who do not know a word of French and seem to have come here just to make a loud noise. Otherwise we’re having a good time. Friday 24th June Saturday 25th June Sunday 26th June Monday 27th June Tuesday 28th June Wednesday 29th June GERMANY POSTCARD: HEIDELBERG – 'Corn Market'
[Written 29th June] This is the little town where Miss Openheim was born and where her father taught theology at the University. The “castle” or schloss on the hill behind is in beautiful forest, many of the trees flowering at the moment. Incredible day on the trains from Strasbourg would make you think it was 1941. Extraordinary rudeness in this country so unbelievable it is funny. However “freundlich” people as well, like everywhere in the world, and a certain direct cheerfulness and some unexpected chivalries – for instance cars always stop here for pedestrians!! We are enjoying the forest and castle sights. Black Forest near Strasbourg on German side is absolutely fabulous, very Tolkiens time. Thursday 30th June Next: July 1988 |
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