Ancient Rome

Legend has it that Rome was founded in 753 BC by Romulus and Remus. There is no historical evidence to support this tale, but experts say it dates from around that time. The Roman Empire’s power was at its height from the century before Christ’s birth to the end of the third century AD and most of the ruins and excavations relate to this period. The photo looks in the general direction of the forum where Shakespeare’s Mark Anthony made his famous “Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears” speech. It isn’t recorded whether he gave the ears back, having borrowed them.

The Coliseum symbolises Rome: buy a souvenir bag or tee-shirt and that image will almost certainly be on the it. Even in its partly ruined state it is impressive. Finished in AD 80, it held up to 50,000 spectators with access corridors are so well designed that it could be emptied in minutes. Gladiatorial contests were not always to the death and there is no record that Christians were persecuted here. However, the spectacles were bloody and on a large scale. A few years after its completion a 117- day victory celebration involved 9,000 gladiators and 10,000 animals, most of whom met their deaths. Even football violence can’t match that.

The Pantheon was dedicated as a temple to all the gods, and its current appearance dates from 120 AD. The gods must have been well pleased with this shared arrangement because the building is in a remarkably well-preserved state. In 608 AD it became a Christian church, thereupon our God must also have done his bit towards the upkeep. The photo doesn’t convey its awesome size; particularly of the roof which is the largest non-reinforced concrete dome ever made.

What is truly amazing is how some of these ancient buildings have been adapted but the end result is still visually harmonious. The photo underneath is of Marcellus’ Theatre (17BC), the arches looking remarkably like a smaller version of the Coliseum, which was initially pillaged for materials to build a nearby bridge. It was a fortress in the 11th Century, and then a luxurious palace in the 16th C, the remaining upper floors looking like apartments.

April 10th: All Roads Lead to Rome

From Pisa to Rome was a fairly easy 230 miles of motorway, a picturesque run through the rolling countryside of central Italy, past farms, vineyards and hilltop villages.
The campsite is located on the side of our approach to Rome, so not too much manic city traffic for Jane to cope with (she was towing). Camping Tiber is, well… on the Tiber, and we found a peaceful pitch overlooking the river.
A free shuttle bus runs from the site to the local station from where the frequent trains take 20 minutes into the centre of Rome. An open ticket for a week using train, bus or metro, costs just 16 Euros per person. Make as many journeys as you like: it is amazing value. UK tourist industry, please take note.
So now into Rome itself: out of the metro, round the corner, and into the Piazza di Spagna, better known to us as the Spanish Steps. The connection with Spain is because the Spanish Embassy is located in the square. Our little group (Paul, Trish and Jane) is huddled together between the bottom of the steps and the fountain.

A little further along and we’re at the beautiful Fontana di Trevi, made even more famous by the song ”Three Coins in the Fountain” from the 50’s film La Dolce Vita. Shows your age if you remember it! So you throw coins in and make a wish. The authorities hoover out all the coins once a week and send them to charity: an astonishing average of about 1,500 euros A DAY.
Lire coins, Italy’s currency before the euro, contained ferrous ingredients that could be magnetised, and it was revealed in 2002 that a tramp called D’Artagnan had been using a magnet to pull out large sums every night for many years. Euros are not magnetic, so his harvesting stopped and he then presumably confessed.

But now culture takes a back seat as we head for another of Italy’s treats, the gelateria, or ice-cream parlour. The ices come in many different flavours, in a variety of cones or tubs, beautifully presented, and not cheap- but they do taste good. Look at this display of cones, as good as any artistic flower arrangement.

We’re back on the streets again, and come across a charming elephant sculpture. It was designed by Bernini and unveiled in 1667 for the glorification of the Pope. Bernini designed St Peter’s Square amongst other noteworthy architectural creations, none of which could be described as a white elephant.

And so it’s goodnight from Rome on Day One.

Going to the Dogs

On Sunday morning at the campsite lake we noticed a group of cars, vans, people in wetsuits and dogs. The dogs were having a grand time jumping in the water and retrieving things. It soon became clear that this was not a dog fun day and these were no ordinary dogs, but Newfoundlands having a rescue training session. These are big, powerful dogs as you can see in this photo, this one having just emerged from the lake dripping wet.

The dogs all wore a collar with a handle so that non-swimmers would have something to hold on to while being saved. How practical! This handle can be clearly seen on the swimming dog below. I suppose you could also use it to rescue the dog.

Even more impressive was the boat rescue. A Newfoundland swam out to an inflatable 30 yards off shore, grabbed the rope hanging off the side of the boat in its mouth and towed the boat to the bank with two men in wetsuits aboard. Perhaps it’s all part of a big eco-plan to save fuel. Container ships entering Livorno port will be piloted in by 2,000 Newfoundland tow-dogs.

April 5th: Visit to Lucca

Lucca is an almost perfectly preserved medieval city surrounded by its original massive walls. Although only 15 miles north of Pisa, it receives just a fraction of Pisa’s visitors. Puccini, the composer of so many famous operas, was born here. It is one of the riches cities in Tuscany based on silk and high quality olive oil.
This is a typical square, the Piazza San Michele, with an ornate church that somehow looks as if the roof is missing. Apparently the church was meant to be built up to the level of the façade but the money ran out.

A really extraordinary square, an oval square, is the Piazza Anfiteatro Romano. As the name suggest, it was originally a roman amphitheatre and the medieval buildings now present were built on its foundations. It has one set of buildings on the outside of the perimeter and another, back to back, on the inside. This is the more picturesque aspect, as it is what comprises the square itself.

It’s always interesting to compare how these places looked in past times, and an old photo was displayed in the square from about a century ago. You can see that not much has change apart from the market stall buildings in the centre of the old picture.

And now two weary tourists, sat by the canal that runs through the city. The whole place has a quiet, harmonious elegance that is also reflected in the exclusive and expensive shops. To sum it up, we had a most enjoyable day out.

Sat 31st March: to Pisa

Levanto to Pisa is 60 miles, and the campsite 5 miles to the south of the city, set in a nature reserve, with a small fishing lake. Very peaceful, even though less than 3 miles from the end of Pisa airport runway. Just remove the jack-hammer ear defenders before you go to bed. It’s here we are meeting our friends Paul & Trish: we both arrive just after lunch within an hour of each other.
Here’s a view of the site, with us in the centre behind the silver car and Paul & Trish on the right in the motor home.

All visits to Pisa must contain a picture of the Leaning Tower, so let’s get that done right now, with a dramatic story to tell. It’s been standing since 1173, leaning more and more over the years, until before our very eyes it started to topple. By a stroke of great fortune, Trish was on hand to save it- just in time. This will surely merit a marble statue in the piazza.

The Tower, Cathedral and Baptistry are located together in the grassy Campo dei Miracoli (Field of Miracles) with the Camposanto cemetery. The buildings all date from roughly the same period and make a magnificent group. The next snap shows another magnificent group posing in front of the Cathedral and Baptistry. The angle of the photo is a bit odd as the camera was on the grass on timer, so it makes the Baptistry look like a spaceship from which we have just emerged, disorientated but happy E.T.’s.

The rest of Pisa is not to be ignored and there are many fine ancient buildings in the squares and streets.

The remaining fine houses along the banks of the river Arno that flows through Pisa are also worth a photo.

Pisa is of course touristy but the cafes and restaurants were reasonable value for money. We sampled the fare at lunchtime with pizza in the piazza at Pisa.

Thursday March 29th

Today we galvanised ourselves into action. We caught the train from Levanto to Riomaggiore, the furthest of the Cinque Terra’s five villages, with the intention of walking back towards Levanto. It’s too far to cover all in one go, but each of the villages has a station and you just jump on the train when you’ve had enough.
The photo shows the start of this spectacular coastal path: on the right in the photo you can see the path railings. We’re heading for village no.2, Manarola.

The villages were built wherever they could be fitted in, on rocky outcrops and in steep valleys. The result is very picturesque, as in the example of Manarola below with its multi-coloured houses and small harbour. Tarmac roads only came in the 1990’s.

Before the roads and the tourists, the area supported itself by fishing and vineyards. Wine is still an important product and the vines are immaculately tended on incredibly steep terraces. See photo underneath. Vegetables for local consumption are also grown in the same way. Hard though the work was, and still is, we saw some really ancient villagers on these plots so perhaps the exercise, fresh air and lack of modern stress gets them to a ripe old age.

Moving on from Manarola, another lovely headland beckons, behind which lies village no.3.

But round the next corner, we come to a barrier that states that the onward path is unsafe and therefore closed. So, without a convenient train due to hop around this obstacle, we decide to retrace our steps to our starting point, Riomaggiore. But all is not lost as we now walked around the village, not having done so earlier in our eagerness to get started on the walk. The next photo typifies so many places in Italy.

2012 Italy

March 25th : Levanto


We are staying at Levanto, 50 miles south of Genoa. This is the Cinque Terra region, a National Park comprising coastal mountains and ancient picturesque fishing villages, some of which were only accessible by boat in former times. The only reasonable beach in this area is here at Levanto, so the town gets packed out in summer. Fortunately, it’s now only the start of the season, as the next photo shows: all sand, no bodies (the Mafia’s less active in these parts).

The campsite is a five-minute walk from the beach, at the edge of town, overlooked by a lovely old church bell tower. The lovely old church bell tower, unsurprisingly, contains a lovely old large bell that is loosed off loudly at seemingly random intervals during the day and early morning. It’s the price you cheerfully pay for local atmosphere. Fortunately, we’re on the opposite side of the site, overlooking a small vineyard. Idyllic.

We’re enjoying chilling out as the weather is sunny and warm, so may not get round to doing the full Cinque Terra tourist trail.