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June 3 to July 4, 2014
French and Italian Rivieras,
Plus Elba and Corsica, and Florence
Independent + GCT cruise-tour

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PHASE 2: During Italy’s first round, we stayed in Stresa, a lovely Italian city in the Piedmont region, in northern Italy. Across from our delightful hotel on the shore of Lake Maggiore, we could see what was the Swiss part of the Apennine Mountains, the southern tip of the Alps, which both countries share. We absolutely loved all three lakes, their shores lined with a plethora of elegant and obviously very expensive homes of all sizes and periods, surrounded by mountains, including the islands present on all three lakes.

Trivia: The handsome – and rich -- George Clooney, owns such a house on a shore of Lake Como. But he didn’t have the good taste to ask us in for a drink.

Stresa - Isola Bella island, on Lake Maggiore

Lake Borromeo has all three of the Borromean Islands: the biggest is called Isola Madre, and is almost completely covered with gardens; the best-known one, Isola Bella, is home to the Borromeo Palace and gardens which are the epitome of luxury and opulence, and bears the name of the famous Milanese banking family who has owned all three islands since the 1400s; and the smallest, Isola dei Pescatori (Fishermen’s Island), remains the small fishing village it has been since the first millennium. It became a favorite destination after Napoleon visit’s in 1797. When the Simplon tunnel, built beneath the Simplon Pass in the Alps, opened in 1906, international travel to the area from France and Switzerland became easier and Stresa flourished.

Trivia: The current Borromeo family has married into the Agnelli family, of Fiat reputation, and I heard they still have a hard time making ends meet.

Stresa - Hotel Verbano, Isola  Pescatore — Stresa - Hotel Verbano, Isola Pescatore

The smallest Fishermen’s Island is also the home of the Hotel Verbano which has two claims to fame. The first one is that it’s where Mussolini, de Gaulle and Churchill met in 1939 before the onset of WWII (with a photo of the document they all signed); the second one is that it’s where I had arranged, before we left the US, to take Robin out for dinner on his 70thbirthday, which fell the day after we got to Stresa. The hotel had its own shuttle boat pick us up on the beach of our hotel, and we found on it other people in the same celebratory mood: one for their 25th wedding anniversary, and the other a young Irish couple who had just gotten engaged the hour before!

Stresa - Borromeo Palace, Isola Bella, on Lake Maggiore

Although crowded, Isola Bella was a real gem. The Italian guide who took us around the Borromeo Palace was knowledgeable and funny. The Borromeo’s family motto, Humilitas – a Latin word that needs no translation --, present everywhere, from a carving in the lawn, to furniture and ceilings, instantly became a cause for amused smiles as endless opulence and visible signs of immense wealth unfolded during our visit.

Stresa - Gardens of the Borromeo Palace, Isola Bella. on Lake Maggiore

The pièce de résistance, however, was the gardens. The sprinkling rain present when we started their visit soon stopped and I was able to enjoy some great photo ops. Not the least of which were two or three white peacocks, obviously trained to show off for the tourists, which displayed their tails in all directions, gracefully spinning around to offer their audience their best sides. Truly a feast for the eyes.

The trip to Lake Como included visiting the city of Bellaggio, nicknamed “the Pearl of Lake Como,” which we reached by hydrofoil. Dating back to the Roman Empire, the city is located at the tip of the peninsula which separates the two arms of Lake Como, and is nothing but picturesque climbing old narrow streets and stairs. The Rockefeller Foundation has operated its Bellaggio Center on Lake Como since 1960 through two main programs: residencies and conferences.

We loved Stresa and the Lakes so much that I would have been just as happy staying there for the duration, and swimming daily in Lake Maggiore. But on we went to France to meet our base group in Cannes, via Lake Orta -- another little jewel of the Lakes region -- and the northern city of Torino, capital of the Piedmont region.

From Orta, a local ferry took us to San Giulio Island, a 900-ft long island dating back to the fifth century, whose basilica, built in the 1840’s, became a Benedictine Monastery in 1976. The cloistered Benedictine order prevents nuns from having any contact with the outside.

Trivia: When we saw, from our boat, a nun rushing in when we came in sight of the garden where she was working, we couldn’t help but wonder how on earth a cloistered convent could function in such a highly touristic area.

Northern Italy is the economic heart of the country (finance, fashion, etc. based in Milan, capital of the Lombardia region), prides itself in being the most sophisticated, and looks down on southerners harking from Rome and Naples. In turn, Southerners think Northerners are snobs and don’t know how to live. Northerners betray their northern genes by having a lot of blond and blue-eyed people, as opposed to the dark-haired and –eyed people found in the south.

Torino - Palazzo Carignano, and Museo del Risorgimento (Military Museum)

The urban area of Turin amounts to well over a million people, and was Italy’s first capital in 1861, in the valley of the river Po. Its origin goes back to the first century, with Roman and medieval influences evident in its palaces, forts and towers. Because of its annexation by the French Empire in 1802, the city has the airiness and urban layout of many European cities, including Paris, with arcades, large tree-lined avenues and elegant squares. Robin went by himself to enjoy Turin’s not-famous-enough Egyptian Museum, which is the second largest in the world after Cairo. He was very impressed, and I was sorry to miss it, but it was on my first “downtime day”.

Trivia: Italy’s capital was moved from Turin to Florence in 1865, and finally to Rome in 1870.

Torino - Side wall of the Cinema Museum building

However, I felt sufficiently refreshed in the afternoon to walk with him to the Cinema Museum. For a cinema lover like me, it was a true pleasure. Housed in the Mole Antonelliana Tower (completed in 1889 and 167.5 meters high), the space was originally intended to be a synagogue. This museum, now the 13th most visited one in Italy, is the brainchild of the art historian and collector Maria Adriana Polo, and is operated by the Foundation she created. Along the exhibition path of about 35,000 square feet on five levels, there are myriad little nooks around the ground floor of the central five-story high space, each showing different elements of the motion picture film industry, starting with pre-modern optical devices such as magic lanterns, and all phases of making a film. The fourth level was gallery after gallery of famous-movie posters.is marked the end of our stay in Torino.

PHASE 3 started the next day, with going to Cannes by coach, to join the main group and subsequently sightsee on the French Riviera (See the June 2014 Paris and the French Riviera travelogue) before all boarding our ship for the cruise along the Ligurian Coast of the Mediterranean, also called the Italian Riviera.

The last and 4th PHASE took us from Nice down the Italian Riviera, where our first stop was Santa Margherita Ligure, 22 miles southeast of Genoa, in the Italian region of Liguria. After many invasions and attacks, including other Italian city-states like Venice, and also Napoleon (of course…), Santa Margherita Ligure became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Italy in 1861. It has been a renowned tourist area since WWII. Its lovely port was a delight, as well as stunning examples of trompe-l’oeil -- a painting technique which makes the surface appear three-dimensional -- on many of the town’s buildings.

However, the pearl of the region, and very close to Santa Margherita, was the well-known village and port of Portofino, our destination the next afternoon. The approach to the bay/port from the ferry was just stunning. We were greeted in style by a symphony of glorious colors, both from the clear water and the buildings. A real aphrodisiac for a photographer. Again, our Director took the group on a walking tour up a steep hill to reach the castle, while I wisely stayed in town, and feasted my eyes on the sights, camera on hand, and taking it all in.

That evening, we sailed to Porto Venere, our starting point the next morning to explore the long-awaited Cinque Terre region. Literally meaning “five villages,” this world-famous area is a cluster of terraces and houses carved intorocky cliffs which drop dramatically to the sea. We were supposed to see all of them from the water, but it was too windy (though very sunny) and the boats couldn’t go out. We did travel by train to visit two of these villages, only two of which are reachable by road (which is very time-consuming) since only the train or a boat service all of them (there is no car traffic possible or allowed in any of them).

Vernazza, Cinque Terre region — Vernazza, Cinque Terre region

In the morning, our coach took us to La Spezia, where we walked to the train station in the center of town. We took a train (all 20 of us; a bit tricky, but we all made it into and out of the train) to the last stop, Vernazza, which we visited on foot, downhill for a change, and again with endless photo ops. After climbing back up to the station, we all took take another train to our second village, Monterosso. Both equally beautiful, charming and as typical of the traditional Italian visual lore as you can all imagine. All five villages are part of the Cinque Terre National Park, and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Vernazza and Monterosso are the oldest of the five, dating back to the 11th century. The other three were more recent and built when they were under Genoan control. Fishing was always the main occupation and industry of these islands, until tourism took over in the 1970’s. A walking trail connects all five villages, as well as a ferry service (weather allowing).

We learned of the tragic flood, caused by a landslide after much rain, which, in 2011, nearly wiped out Cinque Terre. There are two photos in the corresponding photo gallery which show one of the piazzas in the village of Monterosso after the flood, and the following year after it was re-built. The villagers are very proud of how fast and well they recovered from this awful disaster, to allow the return of tourists who are their bread and butter.

Trivia: While waiting an unusual amount of time for our train in Vernazza, pressed against a mob of people huddled on the platform, we discovered the reason for the delay: a German tourist, running after a gypsy who had just stolen her bag at one of the other stops, had fallen on the tracks and been killed by the oncoming train. This threw a damper on the elated mood of the day, and we made it back to our hotel with mixed feelings.

Speaking of gypsies, they are an egregious problem in Italy, usually coming from Romania. They work tourists’ crowds, and our guide was good at warning us of their presence. One of our own group got his wallet stolen the first day we went out as a group. They have gotten more sophisticated, and operate in groups of three, dressed like tourists so they blend better. It appears that the Italian government’s attempts to help them settle are ignored by a population whose culture, because of centuries of history, prefers a vagrant, nomad life to a settled, self-supporting one.

Another source of social/economic pressure in Italy comes from the steady and daily influx of refugees from Africa (Italy is the closest country) via Libya. The south of Italy is particularly affected, even though it’s the poorest and least equipped to deal with it.

The next morning, we headed for Lucca, a Tuscan walled medieval city dating back to the Etruscans and the Roman era, whose walls, designed by Leonardo da Vinci, were never breached. The original Etruscan settlement became a Roman colony in 180BC. The second largest Italian city-state (after Venice), it remained independent over the centuries. Until, guess-who (I am getting embarrassed) conquered it in 1805, and installed his sister Elisa Bonaparte in what was later named the Ducal Palace. That same building now houses the Lucca City Hall, on the largest square of the city named after Napoleon by his sister. It remained a French possession until 1847 when it became part of Tuscany, and later of the Italian state.

Lucca - One of its original city walls, ramparts built in the 16th and 17th centuries

Trivia: the Etruscan civilization developed after 800BC. Its origins are mostly lost in prehistory. Since historians have no literature, no original texts of religion or philosophy, much of what is known about this civilization today is derived from grave goods and tomb findings.

Giacomo Puccini, the opera composer (La Bohème, Madama Butterfly ) was born in Lucca, and Puccini Festival concerts are held on Piazza Napoleone every summer. They were setting up the bleachers when we were there, for the beginning of the season the next day. The Old Town within the walls is still where everything happens and is in Lucca, where no auto traffic is permitted outside of a small bus system running as a shuttle on given routes until 8:00PM. People have to walk or ride bikes, and car parks are available only outside the walls.

The main attraction and center of Lucca’s social life and entertainment is the Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, where used to stand an amphitheater going back to the first century AD. It became a plaza in the Middle ages, used for markets, games, in various buildings. It’s only in the 1800’s that an Italian architect turned it into the wide-open, elliptical space it is now, lined with medieval houses, shops, cafés and restaurants, and housing in the upper levels (photo).

I have to admit that, in Lucca as in most other places (except sites like in Florence), I skipped going into the many churches peppering every town, city and village we visited in Italy. Although I love architecture, monuments, sculpture, history and archaeology, I quickly feel saturated with churches in general, especially the Renaissance art variety – which I don’t care for. The two combined kept me out of those dark spaces, thus giving me a chance to rest outside, on a shady bench.

Carrara - Marble quarries cut into the mountainside

In the afternoon of that same day, we headed by coach to the town of Carrara, famous worldwide for its apparently endless supply of marble in its deep quarries. These are accessible through tunnels carved horizontally into the mountain, with several level of caves being dug upward into the mountain innards. Its white or blue-grey marble of very high quality was first used in the times of Ancient Rome. Carrara marble is much imitated in the world, but if it’s truly white, you know it’s Carrara. The following are a few of the famous statues that were made of this unique marble: Rome’s Pantheon; Michelangelo’s David; Siena’s Duomo; Harvard’s Medical School buildings; Chicago’s Aon Center; King Edward VII Memorial in Birmingham, England.

Carrara - Tour of the Fantiscritti underground marble quarry in Carrara

We had a guided tour at the Fanticristti quarry whose own shuttle buses took us down to the end of dark, ground-level tunnels, emerging in a cavernous, lunar landscape of white, stark, damp and cold marble walls stretching several hundred feet in all directions. The main cave was truly astounding. The temperature of around 65F is constant throughout the year – like all underground caves. We had to wear yellow hard hats, which added to the eerie lunar atmosphere. I was so awed by the visual impact of the space, and so busy taking photos, that I really didn’t pay enough attention to the very learned and informative discourse of our guide. I wish I had because I could then tell you how high, deep, long and wide that cavern was. But, too bad: you’ll have to make do with the photos. Or resort to Google to learn more!

During the night, our ship sailed to Corsica, where we woke up in the port of Bastia, the northernmost city, to a landscape that was identical to what we had left the night before. But, once again, we had to switch language, since we were back in France! Though it wasn’t always that way, as I soon found out. Very few people in the US or in our hemisphere, know of Corsica. It’s an island famous mostly because that’s where Napoleon (again!) was born in 1769, in its southern capital of Ajaccio. It is 114 miles long and 52 miles wide, and is the most mountainous island in the Mediterranean. Situated north of the Italian island of Sardinia, it was historically always Italian, until 1769 when it was purchased from the Republic of Genoa by France.

Trivia: Biographies of the Italian Christopher Columbus show him born in Genoa. However, he was actually born in Calvi in 1451, at a time when Calvi was under the rule of the Genoa City-state. But now you all know better.

What I found fascinating as a French person was to find out that Corsica is really much more Italian than French. As, indeed, it has been for centuries. Their location and history indicate that it would make more sense if it were part of Italy. However, Corsicans don’t want to hear about being part of either country, because their nationalism is so fierce that they actually only want independence. It seems that they want the subsidies from the French mainland, but refuse to obey any of the French laws and prefer their own self-managed anarchy to order (they have their own Sicilian-style mafia). There is a 20/80 love-hate relationship between Corsica and France, similar to that between Sicily and Italy.

Corsica’s main industry is tourism, and huge ferries ply the Mediterranean daily between several Corsican cities and Naples, Italy, as well as various places on the French Riviera – such as Nice where our ship was docked. Again, our walking tour took us to places and sights so very similar to the Italian sites we had visited, the sky was the same blue, so was the water as clear, old ruins from the same period were scattered on the shores and through the countryside. Except that I knew I was in France when I rushed into an empty restaurant in mid-afternoon to answer an urgent call of nature (no time to ask anyone, if you see what I mean), and was reprimanded when I got out because I hadn’t said “Bonjour” and asked if I could use the facilities. FYI: not the same in Paris or cities, where one can just go into a busy café, look for the sign “Toilettes” and head straight down (since they are always downstairs!).

Trivia: Despite their reputation for being if not rude, at least unfriendly, the French have a social rule for any verbal exchange with anyone, that is to start with a friendly (or not) “Bonjour!” Then, and only then, can you proceed with the reason for your contact. I am so used to the American way of entering a store or an office to ask a question -- which is going straight to the point -- that over the many years, I had forgotten the importance of such preliminary ritual in a non-personal setting.

St. Florent, Corsica - View of the port from the citadel

We then were treated to the small village of St. Florent, a gem on the northwestern coast of the island, whose port might be the prettiest we’ve seen. After another walking tour of the old town and lovely port, Paolo treated us to a game of bocce ball (called pétanque in French) on a town court surrounded by the typical platanes (plane trees) found on most roads andtowns in France, with players volunteering from our group, on one of the shaded and lazy squares typical of the south. (He had brought his own set of boules and carried them in his gear the whole day!). I painlessly cheered them on while sipping a citron pressé (which we call home-made lemonade in the U.S.)

After just an hour or two of sailing during the night, the next day was our discovery of the Italian island of Elba, with the main city of Portoferraio, so called because of its abundant iron mines (from ferrum, the Latin word for iron). Located 50 miles east of Corsica, Elba is the third largest of the Tuscan Archipelago, after Sicily and Sardinia (with French Corsica stuck among them). Also harking from Etruscan and Roman times, it is the only remnant of the stretch of land which used to connect southern Italy to Corsica.

Portoferraio, Elba - Martello Tower and Sea Gate, in the Medici Castle

It was a revelation for me. All I knew of Elba is that Napoleon had allegedly chosen that island for his 1814 exile because from there he could see his hometown of Ajaccio in Corsica. It’s famous for its beaches, archeological findings and military fortresses. The water was, indeed, stunning in its clarity and the shade of its blue. Which made me understand why Italians say they don’t have to go to the Caribbean Islands because they have their own in the Mediterranean. This quickly became obvious to us as we drove and walked (…) around the town

This year of 2014 is marked by Elba’s celebration of the 200th anniversary of Napoleon ’s exile on the island. The Teatro dei Vigilanti is in an 18th-century church which was later transformed into a cultural theater, under the auspices of Napoleon (he wasn’t always bad, after all, right?). It was abandoned, then restored, then abandoned again and finally permanently rehabilitated into a beautiful venue for concerts and plays in the mid-1980’s..

After our last night, following the Captain’s Farewell dinner on the ship, we docked in Livorno, the town from where Florence is accessible from the sea. On the way to Florence, however, had been planned a very special treat. In the past, this stop used to be the famous city of Pisa, but past passengers had remarked that they’d have rather less time fighting the mobs of tourists to see the famous leaning tower, and more time to discover the unique town of Volterra. Our consensus was that it was a wise move to alter this year’s itinerary accordingly.

Like most of the towns we had previously visited in Tuscany, Volterra’s origins date back to the Etruscan, Roman, Medieval and Renaissance eras. A little jewel of superb ancient architecture, narrow winding streets lined with shops and restaurants, it felt truly magical to us. And a city almost solely built of stone, with stunning views of the surrounding valley below. We could have cheerfully stayed two lazy days strolling around.

Its fame is due to the craft of alabaster-carving, a yellow-grey sandstone found nearby during the Miocene period, leading to the carving craft which has made it famous for centuries. There is numerous proofs that Etruscans used it a lot, while there is none covering the Medieval and Renaissance eras. However, the craft was “resurrected’ in the 18th century, because it’s easier to carve than marble, and ideal for intricate classic sculpture work. A visit to a large alabaster workshop gave us the opportunity to watch the owner demonstrate the creation of a vase from a rough chunk of stone.

Volterra - Parade of archers in honor of the winner of the Archery championship

Trivia: we happened to be there the day of the parade honoring the winner (female, mind you, not bad for chauvinistic Italy) of the Crossbow Tournament, marching through the streets of the old town to the Town Hall, to a medieval tune played on period instruments, and wearing period costumes.

After a great lunch in a local restaurant (with pasta to die for), we headed by coach to Florence, the last stage of our adventure. Outside of the city limits, our coach stopped at the impressive and moving American Cemetery and Memorial, commemorating all the Americans who died in Italy in WWII.

Our hotel was in the center of the city, and we could walk everywhere. And that we did (…) We had been there two years ago, but so briefly because of the horrific crowds that we needed those four days to get really acquainted. This time, it was also hot and dry but less crowded, though gypsies were as ubiquitous as in other tourist sites.

All walking tours were guided either by our own Paolo (who was born there, and rightfully oozing with pride for his city), or free-lance guides. One such lady did a wonderful job of the main highlights of the city, very articulate, and a fountain of knowledge. This time, we had a chance to truly admire again the Duomo, or cathedral, with its glorious doors, Campanile and Baptistery, and very famous dome, designed by the Italian architect Brunelleschi. We had more time for the Ponte Vecchio, and enjoyed several of the famed churches and monuments dating back to the Renaissance Medici family.

Trivia: The Duomo is the third largest church in the world, after St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, and St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The Ponte Vecchio is the only bridge in Florence which was not destroyed during WWII.

Florence’s total urban area comprises 1.6 million inhabitants, is the capital city of Tuscany and the province of Florence, with the Arno river flowing through it. Considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, it has been called “the Athens of the Middle Ages”. From 1865 to 1871, it was the capital city of the recently established Kingdom of Italy. A good part of its history revolves around and was under the control of the powerful and wealthy Medici family, whose statue of its first ruler, Cosimo I, stands in a variety of poses and places throughout the city. Outside of its production of fine leather, Florence’s main industry is tourism.

Of Florence’s many churches, we admired Santa Maria Novella; the Basilica of Santa Croce – the burial place of famous Italians such as Galileo, Machiavelli, Rossini, and, of course, Michelangelo; and the Basilica of San Lorenzo, including the Medici Chapels, next to the Medici Palace.

Florence - Details of the original DAVID by Michelangelo, at the Accademia Museum

Trivia: Michelangelos’ real name was Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, born on March 6, 1475 and died on February 18, 1564, a very ripe age for that era.

We didn’t visit the Uffizi Gallery (the equivalent of Paris’s Louvre) because of the need to reserve tickets way in advance, but we did visit the Accademia Gallery. This small museum houses the original sculpture of Michelangelo’s David, a masterpiece sculpted in one single block of marble. The details of his anatomy (I am talking about the veins on his hands, though the rest of it wasn’t bad either) are absolutely astounding. The other part of the museum held an awesome collection/exhibition of ancient musical instruments, going back to the 16th and 17th centuries. Robin drooled in front of the Amati and Stradivarius cellos safely ensconced in glass display case.

Florence - Housing part of the murate complex

Having Paolo, a native Florence person, as a guide provided us with a treat that would have gone unnoticed with somebody else: the Le Murate Complex. The buildings originally were a convent built in 1424, then transformed into a prison in 1845 and used as such until 1985, to be finally rehabilitated in the 1990’s. At that time, it was turned into a cultural and housing complex which has become a main center of art and contemporary music, essential to Florence’s night life. Renzo Piano, the famous Italian architect who also designed the Pompidou Museum in Paris, the Morgan Library in New York City, and the Maison Hermès in Tokyo, conceived and directed the restoration project. Managed by the Foundation of the same name, the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights moved its European headquarters from Rome to the Le Murate Center two years ago, in a brand new space.

Trivia: As proof that Italians know so well how to enjoy life and its varied pleasures, an Italian-made and more luxurious than usual coach had an espresso machine for passengers to help themselves as they board. The whole idea is decadent, but sublime. Even for one who doesn’t like or drink coffee.

Florence - The Ponte Vecchio — Florence - The Ponte Vecchio

Born in Florence, the Italian poet Dante, of Divine Comedy fame, started a modernist movement by changing from Latin to the Tuscan vernacular for his many works. He wanted to make them available to and understandable by all, thus switched to every day language in his area. Which is why the Italian spoken in Tuscany eventually became the official Italian language.

On the fifth day, we flew back to Minneapolis, via Amsterdam on an uneventful flight. Our flights are always uneventful, and we aren’t complaining. I couldn’t even estimate how many miles we covered in these four weeks, especially in Italy, whether on foot or in coaches, ship, ferry or train. At the end of this, the probably most physically demanding of all our trips and cruises, I was exhausted and glad to go home. But we had a great time, and will treasure the memories of those sights and sites that we probably never will see again.

Arrivederci!

Travelogues

Travelogues

ITALY - Phase 2 (Italy 1/Italian Lakes), and Phase 4 (Italy 2/the Ligurian Coast, Elba, Corsica & Florence)

Click photos to enlarge and see captions