Day 6: Volunteers in Volterra with a side of Pisa

"Italy and the spring and love all together should suffice to make the gloomiest person happy."
                                                                            -----Bertrand Russell

Wisteria along the arbor of the villa. We hear bees buzzing in it all day long.

Today we slipped the surly bonds of Villa Leonidas for a visit to Volterra. I frankly had not heard of it, but followers of the vampire series will recall it is where Edward planned to take his life. (I am told. I have no idea what this means, but some of you will.) This city of 11000 people was also built by the Etruscans and has been around since at least the eighth century BC and some believe as far back as 15th century BC. It's old! As you may recall from the prior posts, the Etruscans fought bitterly against the Romans, but ultimately were defeated and enslaved. 

One of many great things about journeying to Volterra from our perch is the drive through the beautiful Tuscan landscape in the spring. It's very green and you can appreciate the rolling hills, vineyards, olive trees and rustic buildings and palazzos.

Some of our wine snob compadres: Sandy,Jim and Kim

Paul found a means of espressoing himself.

Volterra has many attractions such as the Etruscan walls, tall buildings and narrow streets with many little shops and restaurants beckoning you inside. This is another town where auto traffic is minimal.

Typical Volterra street view 

The facade of the Palazzo Priori which housed the government and the church.

There are many tourist attractions to see here including the cathedral and the government house seen  above built in 1206. Paul and I marvel how this construction could have taken place during those times with the equipment available, but then again, enslaving people was popular.

The inside of Cathedral Volterra

A grotto of the cathedral

Many of the cathedrals we have visited have lighting now, but Volterra has not gone out of their way to update most of the building. Even on a sunny spring day, the inside is dark and cold and rather uninviting. There were other attractions in the city center, but we wanted to concentrate on the Roman and Etruscan aspects in our time here,so off we went to the acropolis.

The archeological park near the acropolis. 

The remains of the Etruscan acropolis.

The acropolis is in general not very well preserved, but it was still inspiring to walk where the Etruscan's hung out 2500 years ago. This structure is just outside the medieval city walls and worth a visit. What is well preserved is the Roman cistern. This was built to supply water to a city of about 1000 people. We were asked to don hard hats to enter it. It was a voluminous and impressive structure which collected rainwater.

Paul is walking inside a very large cistern.

this gives you some idea of how big it was.

The stairs down were very narrow. Looks like DNA to me !

The opening into the cistern.

We exited here and walked to the Medici fort. We wanted to visit it, but apparently it is now a prison. No need to go to jail in Italy, thank you.

the Medici fort at Volterra. 

From here we were fortunate to have a little time to go to the Etruscan museum. It's really amazing what is there. Most of it is funerary caskets or urns with decor. We were very impressed with the volume of the urns as well as how they were preserved. 

Etruscan funery urn.

Something we noted was the usual urn was decorated with a figure holding something that was shaped a lot like a plate. We were not sure what this represented and haven't found anyone yet who can tell us.

A funery urn with two dolphins. 

We would recommend this museum as a place to see some amazing ancient art. It was well organized. No English though. 

From here we were off to lunch and we ate at da Beppino.

Lunch break

Lovely local wine.

Mauro,our guide and driver. Yes. he is actually sober.

My lunch entree--Nude ravioli

After lunch, we had two treats. One was this magnificent Roman amphitheater. Unfortunately, folks got fed to the lions here. We enjoyed seeing despite the reasons for its existence.

roman amphitheater

From here we were treated to a demonstration of work in another Volterra craft--alabaster. I did learn that alabaster is calcium sulfonate which is GYPSUM, the same stuff that makes up White Sands in New Mexico. We watched the gentleman below carve a candle holder from scratch. 

An alabaster craftsman

From here it was to the van to move to Pisa. And the views of Tuscany were great along the way.

Beautiful Tuscany

a look back at Volterra

Fro Volterra, it was approximately an hour to Pisa.

University of Pisa

I remember learning about the leaning tower in approximately the third grade.  And since then, I literally dreamed of seeing it. So today, a dream came true. I never realized the tower was the bell tower of a cathedral and that the church, baptistry and bell tower sat on one site. But I learned today. 

The leaning tower, church and baptistry. All are a little cockeyed.

He insisted

The church was beautiful as always with gorgeous ceilings and altar. They had someone playing the organ which was lovely. Great acoustics.

Pisa cathedral view.

We topped off a great day with a meal Orti di via Elisa...typical Lucca food and wine. Delicioso!

Today was amazing. Volterra was an essay in history of the region in one small  walkable city with multiple historical attractions set in the beauty of Tuscany. It was hilly for anyone who thinks they want to visit.  Viewing the tower at Pisa was a lifelong dream fulfilled. How could you not be pleased with a day like this?

Traveling is the ruin of all happiness! There's no looking at a building after seeing Italy. 

                                                                         ----Fanny Burney

Paul's Ponderings:  A long but great day out....Volterra was a fabulous medieval town and then the mother of all USA 3rd grade views of the leaning tower of Pisa.   Jocularity aside, seeing the tower was pretty great, given that I figure I learned about it at least 45 years ago with respect to both the science experiments done there by Galileo but also the mere fact that the thing leans over at such a notable angle.  The other large monuments in Pisa also lean a bit, but are not as tall, ergo they are not as impressive if leaning is your point of interest!  Looking back at my poor 3rd grade memory, the tower was both more white than I expected (very white marble) but also a bit larger than I would have conjured it up from photos.   Actually it's huge and leaning fairly notably, which is awesome in person. It's also very ornate -- clearly someone spent a lot of time building this thing.  The other central monuments were also interesting, but it's hard to compete with a worldwide icon.  We are told the subsoil in the area is the reason for  the leaning -- it can't support the weight of these buildings.  Towers excluded, we had a nice ride thru this part of Tuscany to both Volterra and Pisa.  This was topped by a wonderful meal in Lucca with some local wines and great food.   A very satisfying day.   

Day 5: Lucky in Lucca

Meeting the guide at the "pizza place" near the villa with a nice valley view.

Today we got the pleasure of visiting one of Italy's little hidden gems in cities, Lucca. It is located between Florence and Pisa and is a walled city originally founded by the Etruscans, original city inhabitants of the area. They were eventually conquered by the Romans and enslaved around 180 BC, but were in the region from about 3500BC. It is renowned for the preservation of the 16th and 17th century ramparts and the cobblestone streets.

There is a 4km wall that surrounds the Renaiisance area city. Obviously it's burst outside the walls in size. The walls can be walked.

A favorite activity of locals and tourist---walking or biking the wall.

One of the many real treats of the city is that you can get up on the ancient walls and take a walk around the Rennaisance area of the town. Or rent a bike, if you prefer that.  Over one hundred churches are housed within the perimeter.

One of the ramparts

In the 1800s, Napolean conquered the area (possibly with the inside help of the Ligurians since his sister was married to one) and he left his sister Elisa as the governor of Lucca, because she loved it and wanted to live there. I totally understand. It is a charming town with Etruscan, Roman and medieval vestiges and so full of architecture and culture, one could easily spend numerous days here. And it is FLAT, which isn't true of all these small cities in Tuscany, so those of you with aversion to hills will find it even more lovely.  Another great feature is that, unless you have a Lucchesi license plate, you cannot drive in the city, keeping traffic down and foot traffic enjoyable. 

The remains of the old Roman Amphitheater area

 There are SO many attractions here, and of course, in one day, we didn't make it to all of them but here are a few we enjoyed. Above you see the old amphitheater area in Piazza del Anfiteatro. It's a bit hard to recognize as an amphitheater, because it is a conglomeration of shops and restaurants now. But you get the idea from this aerial shot. In fact, it took us a while to find it, because we were expecting ancient ruins instead of Renaissance buildings in a circle around the old site. A good place for coffee or lunch though!

The Black Jesus inside Cathedral San Martino

Cathedral San Martino>it has it's own "duomo"--an homage to Florence...much smaller though!

We continue to be amazed that cities with populations of no more than 10,000 people in Renaissance era built these enormous churches.

Gorgeous inside and out

To think there are 101 churches of various sizes, but several of them quite large is stunning.

Paul on the wall. The spring flowers are really blooming and adding to the overall beauty. We highly recommend Tuscany in April, if you fancy a trip there.

Paul 1. darkening the doors of a church and 2. visiting the marble crypt of a noblewoman. Apparently, the husband was on wife #3 by the time this was constructed fully.

An interesting site is the tower with the trees on top. This was part of a mansion with 4 towers, but this one only remains. You can view Lucca well if you climb to the top.

After doing the once around on the walls with one detour to see the Black Jesus, we decided lunch was in order. And in Italy, if you travel with Paul, lunch is PIZZA. Which is always a good option. We chose from many options a small bistro called Puccini Puccino.

Vegetarian pizza. Scrumptious. We thought it would have a  few pepperoni. And it did. Pepperoni here, we have learned, means peppers, not sausage. Healthier option!

The favorite son of Lucca is Puccini. So we decided to visit his museum which was also his childhood home. Here he is seen outside it in a typical pose, sitting around smoking a cigarette.

Puccini outside his home in Lucca

He was apparently quite a character and Lothario who in addition to writing opera, had a penchant for smoking, eating, drinking and married women. He fell in love with a married woman who bore him a child and he eventually married her. I have heard some people say married should be spelled "marred" and this is true in his case, because this act pretty much drove him out of town and made the woman  and him a shame to the family. They never let him live it down and he spent much time away from Lucca.

Puccini bedroom. If walls could talk apparently...

The house was small but interesting for the costumes preserved from Puccini operas and also some of the personal correspondence. His son nearly quite speaking with him when a young Lucca woman committed suicide when he ended his "goings on" with her.  There are many small personal touches in the letters you see there. 

Puccini died in Belgium where he had gone to seek treatment for throat cancer.

And speaking of things that predispose one to bad health, you could definitely find a place to drink excessive amounts of alcohol in Lucca. This wine store had cave after cave of every imaginable and unimaginable Italian wine (and a few others). Paul is about halfway down just ONE cave of this massive wine enoteca. Amazing selection and variety!

We were able to do a little shopping here for gifts. The city is probably best known for leather wares and silk scarves which you can observe being woven in one store. The primo product is their extra virgin olive oil.

Overall, I think Paul and I would both recommend a visit to Lucca, and even to STAY there over Florence which is wonderful but very crowded even in April.

Lucca is a fascinating and beautiful city full of stunning architecture, but small enough to get around easily on foot. There are plenty of places to eat and drink and we are told the hotels are great too.  The maze of narrow streets have nice little shops and even a museum of torture complete with a guillotine, for those interested in the more macabre.  Limiting traffic makes it easy to navigate by walking or biking.  Give it a try. You won't regret it.

"You may have the universe, if I may have Italy."
                                               ----Guiseppe Verdi

Paul's Ponderings:  Lucca is a fabulous town and not nearly as crowded as Florence.   Plus, the walls make it very walkable all the way around the perimeter.   Likewise, the medieval streets have only auto traffic from locals so you are not dodging quite as much vehicle traffic as in Florence.   As with all these towns, it is also full of options for dining, drinking, and shopping, plus a huge number of cultural attractions.   As it turns out, the city is closer to Pisa (more tomorrow on that) than Florence, being about a 1.5 hour drive from the latter and 45 minutes at most from the former.   We also had another great day weather-wise -- around 70 and sunny.   Lucca is definitely highly recommended!

Day 3: Art Tour of Florence

I dream about painting and then I paint my dream.
                                                             -----Leonardo da Vinci

"The David"

Because we have so few days in Florence, and because the streets are not always so easy to decipher (in typical European fashion, they change names every 10 feet), and because I don't know as much about pre and Renaissance art as I should, we decided a private guide might give us the best chance to see the highlights of Florence art scene in a day. Wish we had more time, because the city is full of hidden treasures as well as the guide book version. Luckily for us, our guide, Eliza, took us past some of those as well.

An unfinished Michelangelo. He said he could see the sculpture when he chose the marble. It was his job to "free it."

We started with the Accademia museum, most famous for housing Michelangelo's David sculpture. As the name suggests, the museum was once a school.

The David is supposedly the most anatomically accurate full length human sculpture ever created. It is very impressive. It is a large piece. David is 14 feet high and it sits on a 17 foot pedestal. The width of the marble that Michelangelo was given by the Medici was 4 feet and already had some carving begun by another artist. So there was literally no room for error and the head faces the right, because that was apparently the only orientation he could use. I am so glad I got to see it, even if this makes me "touristy." I amazed they could even move it back in the 1400-1500 period. Apparently they developed a set of rollers and moved it upright. Amazing!

The sanctuary of a small church. We visited so many, I cannot recall the name, but it was so pretty. 

From here, we wandered about various piazzas and churches. We stopped at Basilica San Croce to see the site of many famous persons burial, including Michelangelo.

Basilico San Croce. A Franciscan church in a mostly Dominican town. The adornment is unusual for Franscicans. We were amazed by all the Moorish elements of the facade. These are often seen in Florence due to the recent influence of the Ottoman Empire

This was in a poor craftsman section of town and had many leather workers then and now. In fact there is still a leather craft school in the church, because the monks were teaching crafts to people in the neighborhood, so they could get work.

The Organ of San Croce

The crypt of Galileo. He spent most of his late life on house arrest in Florence. He was banned by the church, but somehow the Medici family managed to convince the church it was okay to bury him within the walls. Having a pope or two in the family never hurts in Italy.

The crypt of Michelangelo. He died in Rome and spent most of his later life there. His nephew smuggled the body back to Florence for burial.

The crypt of Dante. Apparently, the popes didn't read the Divine Comedy.

Machiavelli. No surprise that his inscription reads, "For such a name, no praise is sufficient."

Rossini's crypt. He was originally buried near his home in France, but in 1887, the Italian government moved the remains here.

The altar of Basilica San Croce

The leather school still exist. Paul and Eliza examine the tools. You see the handiwork behind them.

The Medici coat of arms. Paul said he saw it so often he felt like they were watching him.

From here we walked down the streets a bit for a view and walk across Ponte Vecchio, the oldest bridge in the city. The Medici family have a walk across the top of it so they could see the public but not mix with them. The bridge, then and now, is full of goldsmiths.

Paul Parris roams Florence

Close up of Ponte Vecchio. The Medici walk is on the crown. It was the only bridge in Florence not blown up in WWII. Apparently,the mayor convinced the Nazis not to do away with it, because Hitler had walked across the Medici walkway on a city tour with his guide, Mussolini

Bridges across the Arno

We topped off our whirlwind art tour of Florence with a visit to the Uffizi Gallery. This building was once offices for the city/mayor etc. It houses the Venus of Botticelli. There is no photo of it since like Mona Lisa in the Louvre, you would be lucky to get close enough. It draws a crowd.

As you enter the Uffizi, the Medici remind you that this is their private art collection.

Great views of Ponte Vecchio from inside Uffizi

Fillipo Lippi  madonna. As you see, this painting is less static than its predecessors of the pre-Renaissance. It has sort of a scandalous history as the painter was a  monk, and the woman his lover, a nun. The baby Jesus is a portrait of their son.

One of many sculptures and paintings throughout the Uffizi Gallery by every famous name you heard in high school and college.

The Medicis were chastised by the priest, Savonorola for commissioning statues of Roman and Greek gods. He instituted the bonfire of the vanities. Not surprisingly, he was arrested, hung and burned at the stake in Florence. 

I love this shield of the Medusa by Caravaggio. He said he saw someone beheaded once and remembered this face.
Beheading was not that uncommon during the Medici reign, as well as any other number of executions and poisonings. Nice family. :)

It's really not possible to delve even lightly into the skill and ingenuity of the Florentine artists. It's something you will have to come see and be overwhelmed with on your own to appreciate it.

After our 6 hour whirlwind gallery tour ending at 2pm, Paul and I went to the airport to meet the crew that we will spend the next week with in the Italian country side near Lucca, Italy.

The view from our room

Our room at Villa Leonidas

If all we do for the next week is sleep and look out the window, I doubt anyone will feel sorry for us!

"The idea that you could make great things is not just a useful illusion. They were actually right. So the importance of realizing there can be good art frees the artist to make it."

                                         ----Paul Graham, on 15th century Florentine art and competition between                                               the artists.

Paul's Ponderings:  We had a whirlwind art tour this morning and also discussed architecture at length.  Florence is a beautiful town and filled with history (surprise).   It's also quite crowded even now -- I cannot imagine what it's like in the summer months at peak season!   Next we start our trip  to Lucca and relaxation for a few days, with wine, food, and more.