Florence and Pisa, Italy

Florence and Pisa

Monday

After dropping off the Smart Car we made the short walk to the Hotel Vasari, where we were delighted to find friendly and helpful hotel staff, a big, clean, comfortable room, with its own bathroom and a safety deposit box - it was like Christmas, and it was almost half the price of the Venice hotel, which was less than impressive. On top of that, breakfast was included! We would definitely recommend anyone visiting Florence to stay at Hotel Vasari. Aside from all those things we have just mentioned, it is ideally situated close to the centre of the city and right next to the main train station.

We freshened up and set off to find some dinner. We did not have to go far, as we found a brilliant little restaurant just down the road from the hotel, where we had some great bread and olive oil, pasta, lasagne, good Italian wine and tiramisu for dessert. We ended a long day by checking out the magnificent and monstrous Duomo cathedral by night. It is simply breath-taking.

Tuesday

On Tuesday morning we caught a train from Florence to Pisa, just over an hour away, to visit the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. We had been told that there was not really anything else to see or do in Pisa besides the Leaning Tower, and we did not have loads of time in Florence so we were only in Pisa for a couple of hours.

The Leaning Tower is actually the free-standing bell tower for the cathedral of Pisa. It is just one of the splendid religious buildings in the Campo dei Miracoli (Field of Miracles). It is partnered by the cathedral (begun in 1063), the baptistery (1152-1284) and the Campo Santo cemetery (begun in 1278). All the buildings of the Field of Miracles lean because of their shallow foundations and sandy silt subsoil, but none tilts so famously as the tower. The Leaning Tower was begun in 1173 and it began to tip sideways before the third storey was completed. Even so, construction continued until its completion in 1350. Recent engineering interventions have corrected the tilt by 38cm and the tower was reopened to the public in December 2001 after being closed for several years. The top of the tower is now 3.9 metres from where it would stand if the tower were perfectly vertical.

We were fortunate enough to walk on the sacred grass of the Field of Miracles to take some photos from the best spots before the whistle-blowing police arrived and cleared all of the tourists off the grass. We even joined in the fun of taking cheesy photos 'pushing the tower over' or 'trying to hold it up' as seems to be obligatory for visiting tourists. For obvious reasons they only let around 30-40 people climb the tower each hour and you need to book tickets in advance and then queue for ages for the privilege. As time was fairly short, we decided not to go up the tower. We enjoyed walking around admiring the buildings and gazing at one of the world's most famous structures. Then it was time to catch the train back to Florence to take in another world famous sight.

We grabbed a quick lunch at a pizzeria and then checked out the markets and some other shops in the city centre on our way to the Galleria dell'Accademia. We had purchased tickets online a couple of weeks in advance, which allow entry at a specific time. We were grateful we had, as the queue for people without tickets stretched about 40 metres down the road and did not appear to be moving. We were let straight in at 4pm to explore the gallery.

The gallery was founded in 1563 and was the first school in Europe set up to teach the techniques of drawing, painting and sculpture. The art collection displayed in the gallery was formed in 1784 with the aim of providing the students of the academy with material to study and copy. Perhaps the most famous piece of art of all dominates the collection, Michelangelo's David. The massive statue (5.2m tall) was completed in 1504, when the artist was just 29 years old. It depicts the biblical hero who killed the giant Goliath. It was commissioned by the city of Florence and placed in front of the Palazzo Vecchio in the Piazza della Signoria. In 1873 it was moved to the Accademia to protect it from weather and pollution. A replica of David is now in its original position in the piazza and another replica stands in the Piazzale Michelangelo.

They have positioned David brilliantly, at the end of a long corridor, so that you turn a corner and walk towards it down the corridor. It is beneath a glass ceiling, which lets natural light down on the statue. You can walk right around the statue so you can view it from all sides and angles etc. We probably looked at it for 20 minutes or more. It really is magnificent. The gallery contains some other quality art, including a collection of Byzantine religious art. We were also treated to a temporary exhibition of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe's "Perfection in Form".

After our gallery visit, we bought some ham, cheeses, bread and a bottle of wine and we walked across to the other side of the Arno River and up a steep hill to the Piazzale Michelangelo (Michelangelo Square). We had a really nice picnic dinner overlooking the city of Florence. After dinner we were treated to a beautiful sunset over the Tuscan hills.

Wednesday

On Wednesday morning, we started the day with another great breakfast in the hotel - croissants with nutella, bread and jam, cheeses, cereal, juice and coffee. Then we set off for the Duomo cathedral. Right in the heart of Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore (or Duomo) dominates the city with its enormous dome. Construction on the Duomo began in 1296 and was completed structurally in 1436 with the dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi. The dome itself was built between 1420 and 1436. The enormous dome weighs 37,000 tonnes and contains more than 4 million bricks.

Firstly we tackled the dome, climbing the 463 steps to the top. Halfway up in the internal gallery at the base of the dome, where we got a great view of the Last Judgement frescoes by Vasari on the inside of the dome. The frescoes included scenes of Hell, which were particularly graphic and gruesome. Right at the top of the dome from the external viewing gallery, we had magnificent views right over Florence and beyond to the hills surrounding the city. The top of the dome is the highest point in Florence, even a few metres higher than the 85 metre-high bell tower standing next to the Duomo.

Back on ground level we joined the queue to tour the inside of the Duomo. The cathedral is built as a basilica, with a nave and two aisles, forming a Roman cross. Its dimensions are enormous: 153 metres long, 38 metres wide, 90 metres wide at the crossing. The height of the arches in the aisles is 23 metres. The Duomo can hold up to 20,000 people. The Gothic interior is vast and gives an empty impression. Above the main door is the colossal clock face. This one-handed liturgical clock shows the 24 hours of Italian time, a period of time ending with sunset at 24 hours. This timetable was used until the 18th century. This is one of the few clocks from that time that still exist and are in working order.

In front of the Duomo is the Baptistery, one of Florence's oldest buildings dating from possibly the 4th century. Its dome ceiling is decorated by 13th century mosaics of, again, The Last Judgement. The baptistery is most famous, however, for its East Doors, commissioned in 1425 and completed 27 years later. The gilt doors, often dubbed the "Gates of Paradise", depict 10 scenes from the Old Testament of the bible.

After our Duomo morning, we walked through the markets, where we picked up a book and a scarf for Megan, and then had lunch at a pizzeria in the city centre. We had booked tickets in advance for the Uffizi Gallery, one of the oldest and most famous art galleries in the western world. The Uffizi was built between 1560-80 as a suite of offices for Duke Cosimo I's new administration. From 1581 Cosimo's heirs used the well-lit offices to display the Medici family art treasures. There are works by Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, Rembrandt and Botticelli. Botticelli's 'The Birth of Venus' (1485) is probably the most famous piece housed in the Uffizi.

It was a very hot day and the gallery was crowded and stuffy, so once we were finished at the Uffizi, we got some cold drinks and sat in the shade in the Piazza della Signoria. The piazza is the main square in Florence, where the majestic Palazzo Vecchio (town hall) stands proudly. In front of the town hall are the Neptune Fountain, a copy of The Marzocco (Donatello's heraldic lion), a copy of Michelangelo's David and Bandinelli's Hercules and Canus. Next to the town hall is the Loggia dei Lanzi, a covered area full of ancient Roman statues.

We were bemused by the two policemen/security guards patrolling the covered area blowing whistles and yelling at tourists for breaking the bizarre rules in place. Apparently sitting on the steps is not allowed, eating and drinking is definitely not allowed, and our personal favourite, removing footwear will get you a severe blast on the whistle. Wearing jandals is fine, but as soon as your foot is removed from your jandal, big trouble!

We had dinner at a nice little restaurant near our hotel in the Piazza Mercato Centrale. After dinner we went for a long walk back through the city to the world's finest gelato shop, Vivoli, as recommended by our friend Libby, where we were had fantastic gelato for dessert.

Leaning
Tower














Tim at the
Field of
Miracles































Megan
leaning
















Palazzo
Vecchio at
Piazza della
Signoria














Neptune
Fountain,
Piazza della
Signoria

Copy of
Michel-
angelo's
David

Picnic dinner,
Piazzale
Michel-
angelo









View over
Florence














Copy of
David


















Duomo

























Sunset
over
Florence











Megs at
top of
Duomo











Inside of
the dome













Inside the
Duomo


















Main
entrance
to Duomo




































Ponte
Vecchio
bridge










Tim on
Ponte
Vecchio

The Most Serene Republic of San Marino

San Marino

Monday

On Monday we happily waved goodbye to our Venice hotel and made our way back up the Grand Canal to pick up our hire car. After an unfortunate encounter with the boat ticket police, we made it to the Avis office slightly out of sorts, however, our mood was much improved by the sight of our rented beast (see below). We gladly jumped in our Smart Car and hit the road. It turns out that the inside of the Smart Car is surprisingly roomy, with enough space in the back to comfortably fit our suitcases and sufficient length at the front for Tim's legs. It also rocketed along the motorway at top speed, which was lucky as we had a full day ahead and a 6pm deadline to get to Avis in Florence to return the car. After some puzzling moments with the 'sat nav', we made our way out of Venice, passed by the city of Bologna and continued on the road to The Most Serene Republic of San Marino (that is actually the official name of the country - awesome).

San Marino is a country situated in the Apennine Mountains. It is a landlocked enclave, completely surrounded by Italy. Its size is just over 60 km², making it the fifth smallest country in the world (after the Vatican City, Monaco, Nauru and Tuvalu). It has an estimated population of 30,000. Its capital is the city of San Marino. San Marino is the oldest sovereign state and constitutional republic in the world, having been officially founded on 3 September 301 by stonecutter Marinus of Rab. According to legend, Marinus left the island of Rab in Croatia with his lifelong friend Leo and went to the city of Rimini as a mason. After persecution because of his Christian sermons, he escaped to the nearby Mount Titano, where he built a small church and thus founded what is now the city and the state of San Marino.

By the mid-5th century, a community was formed; because of its relatively inaccessible location and its poverty, it has succeeded, with a few brief interruptions, in maintaining its independence. In 1631 its independence was recognized by the Papacy. The Constitution of San Marino, enacted in 1600, is the world's oldest constitution still in effect. It seems that the San Marino people have made good impressions over the centuries, forming unlikely friendships with Napoleon, who admired their independent spirit, and Abraham Lincoln, who appreciated their republican principles and pizza.

Not many people know much about San Marino and before we started to plan our visit, all we knew was that they host a Formula One grand prix race and that they have a really bad football team. The distance between Venice and San Marino is around 170km. Along the way we were treated to some great scenery - sunflower fields, rolling hills and endless pastures stocked with massive circular bales of hay. Approaching San Marino was quite a sight, as the city sits majestically on a massive steep cliff top.

San Marino certainly made us very happy, firstly by banning cars from its centre, making walking around a delight, and secondly by providing us with a unique addition to our passports. For a small fee, the Visitor Information Centre will give you a San Marino stamp in your passport - literally a postage stamp glued into your passport with a more official looking ink stamp over the top. We were delighted, as anyone would be. It also gave Megan a chance to celebrate clocking up 30 countries before turning 30 so it was a very proud day indeed.

After some lunch at a cafe with outdoor seating along an old fortress wall, we set about exploring the rest of the tiny cliff top city. Whichever direction you look in, there are magnificent views, none better than out to the north and east, over the rest of the state of San Marino and out across Italy to the Adriatic Sea. We walked up to one of the three towers which once guarded the city, where we took in more stunning views, and we also checked out a few of the bizarre collection of tourist shops that line the hilly streets of the city. Aside from the usual postcards and tacky souvenirs, there were dozens of shops selling firearms, samurai swords and ancient weapons and armoury!

Then we were back in the Smart Car to retrace our path back to Bologna and onwards to Florence. Or so we thought. It turns out that Smart Cars do not have very large fuel tanks and, that, combined with a fuel gauge that drops alarmingly quickly from half-full to empty, we found ourselves circling Bologna with 4...then 3.5...then 3 litres of petrol remaining. Fortunately, the good people at Agip gave us a top-up before Megan had a heart attack and we were on our way. We needn't have been worried, as we figured out we could probably have carried the car the rest of the way to Florence.

We arrived at Florence with about 15 minutes to spare to get to Avis. It turns out that 'sat navs' don't appreciate the distinction between and one-way and two-way streets, hence we ended up in a maze of back streets and tiny avenues, causing danger to pedestrians, cyclists and wing mirrors alike. We eventually found Avis only a bit behind schedule and handed over the keys. It was an excellent day and a worthy trip to the Most Serene Republic, but we were quite happy to be rid of the car and continue the rest of the trip on foot and by train.





Views from
San Marino











Tim in city
centre














Megs looking
at shops

















Town Hall -
Palazzo
Publicco















Megs
with
views over
Italy











Cafe where
we had
lunch










Tim with
views out
to sea







































Second
Tower












Our Smart
Car...so
little

Venice, Italy

Venice

Saturday

On Saturday 18 July we left London (very early) and headed to Venice for the start of a 10-day trip around Italy. Venice is an amazing and unique city. It lies just off the north-eastern coast of Italy in the centre of a shallow lagoon, sheltered from the open sea by a chain of sand banks. The historic centre of Venice is made up of more than 100 islands, criss-crossed by canals and connected by around 350 bridges. It sounds large, but the whole area (not counting offshore islands) covers only seven square kilometres, making it easy to walk around. Only a small part of the city stands on solid ground, the rest is built on billions of wooden piles driven into the floor of the lagoon.

The population of Venice is around 270,000, although it has declined in recent years as many Venetians, particularly the young, were forced out due to spiralling property prices, high rents, difficulties finding jobs and the city's crippling cost of maintaining old buildings. The economic life of the historic city centre is largely dependent on tourism, with 14 million visitors a year.

We took a bus from the airport in Treviso to the Piazzale Roma, the last stop for anything on wheels in Venice. From there we took a waterbus down the Grand Canal - the main waterway through Venice - to the Salute stop, right outside the Santa Maria della Salute Church. From there our hotel was just a short walk away, in the heart of the Dorsoduro region of Venice. We dropped our luggage at the hotel and set off to explore the floating city. It was a little grey and overcast for a few hours on Saturday, but still very warm. That was to be the worst of the weather we would experience in Italy, as the next nine days were nothing but stunning blue sky, sunshine and intense heat.

We found a nice little pizza shack in a narrow alley and grabbed a pizza to share - very nice. We sat on a small bridge over one of the tiny canals to eat it and watched a hyperactive but very nimble dog run back and forth along the edge of a boat, trying to catch water in its mouth that its owner was scooping out of the boat and tossing into the canal. Hours of fun. After lunch we wandered across the Accademia bridge to the centre of Venice and got some gelato - first of many - which was really good. The Accademia bridge crosses the Grand Canal and provides a great view down the canal towards the Santa Maria della Salute church.

We made our way to the Piazza San Marco (St Mark's Square), the heart of Venice. The piazza has long been the central landmark and gathering place of Venice. It originated in the 9th century as a small area in front of St Mark's Basilica and was expanded to its present size in 1177. While undoubtedly a vibrant and exciting spot thanks to the throngs of tourists, musicians, artists and hundreds of pigeons, we felt that the square itself was a little dull and dreary.

However, the Basilica di San Marco (St Mark's Basilica), situated at one end of the square, is rather more impressive, from the outside at least. Saint Mark's is the cathedral of Venice and the best known example of Byzantine architecture in the city. The first church on this site was built in 832 and was rebuilt twice, in 978 and 1063. The most recent re-build formed the basis of the present basilica. The basilica is very different to most of Italy's churches in that it has a very middle-eastern look to it. Apparently it was loosely modelled on the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. It was embellished and enriched over the centuries with loot from the East and its appearance has provoked much debate amongst Italians.

We sat in the square for a while before wandering through the labyrinth of tiny streets in the San Marco region. The streets surrounding the square are really fun, containing the best selection of shops, restaurants and bars. Most of the shops were selling beautifully decorated face masks as worn during the Carnevale festival held in Venice February/March each year.

We found our way to the Rialto Bridge, probably the most famous bridge in Venice. Sure enough, it was absolutely packed with tourists, but still well worth a visit. The Rialto Bridge, named after the Rialto market on the east side of the bridge, is one of four bridges spanning the Grand Canal and it is also the oldest. It was originally constructed in 1181 and has been rebuilt several times since. The present stone bridge was completed in 1591. The bridge is almost 23 metres wide, with two walkways across the canal and a row of shops in between.

One of the best things about Venice is that you can just wander and not worry about where you are or which direction you are heading in. We had a map but found that we did not use it much - instead we just walked and walked, enjoying the beautiful old buildings and the gondolas in the canals as we went. In the late afternoon the cloud cleared away and it was quite hot and sunny for the rest of the day. We sat in the sun by the waterfront just down from the Piazza San Marco and had a Coke while we watched the tourists buzz about us. We looked in to getting a gondola ride down the canals, but at €100 for 30 minutes, we lost interest pretty fast. It had been a very early start and we were rather tired, so we retreated to our hotel for a rest.

While Megan had a quick nap Tim explored the Dorsudoro region around our hotel. The Santa Maria della Salute church was still open, so Tim had a quick wander through. It was a little unusual in that it was completely round and had several small alters around the outside edges and a massive empty space in the centre. There was a little cafe/bar not far from our hotel and Tim noticed that there was a band setting up outside the bar, so we returned there later in the evening to check it out.

By chance we had arrived in Venice on the day of the Festa del Redentore, an annual festival of thanksgiving for the end of the plague in 1576. It is held on the third weekend in July. Thousands of Venetians take to the water on boats, rafts and ferries to generally eat, drink and be merry. The climax is an amazing fireworks display at midnight over the lagoon. We had a few drinks and some dinner at the bar near our hotel and watched the band for a while. They were called Red Moonshine and looked like a rather nerdy collection of high school kids, but they were actually pretty good. As it got nearer to midnight, we followed the crowds down to the waterfront, which was absolutely packed (people had been sitting guarding spots since about 5pm, some even had big picnics!). The fireworks were fantastic, the best we had ever seen, and they went on non-stop for over half an hour. It was a brilliant end to a day in Venice.

Sunday

We started fairly slowly on Sunday morning after a big day Saturday. We got some pastries for breakfast on our way to catch a waterbus out to the island of Murano. Murano is just north of Venice and it took us about 10-15 minutes to get there. Murano was originally a fishing port and its inhabitants also produced salt there. In 1291, all of the glass workers of Venice were forced to move out to the island of Murano due to the risk of fires. The following century exports began and the island became famous initially for glass beads and mirrors. Today, glass making is the island's main industry.

We spent a couple of hours exploring Murano, not only the glassware shops, but also the interesting sculptures and artwork scattered about the island. Megan bought a really cool necklace in one of the glass shops. We were impressed with the quality of the glassware and the beautiful bright colours they had managed to mix in the glass. It was really hot on Sunday, so we had to keep finding shade and bottles of water everywhere we went. A short waterbus ride later, we were back in Venice and we grabbed some lunch at a cafe on the waterfront. The spaghetti carbonara was delicious!

After lunch we walked back to the Piazza San Marco, through a different region of Venice. It was very quiet, not many shops open and not many people around, but as we got closer to the piazza things got busier. We joined the line to go in to St Mark's Basilica, which turned out to be a very fast line. Of course there were ridiculous rules in place, such that the smallest of backpacks had to be checked in at the baggage office, which was conveniently situated two blocks away, while women's monstrous handbags almost twice the size of your regular backpack were allowed in. We became very familiar with ridiculous rules serving no obvious purpose during our visit to Italy and with the officious and pedantic enforcers of such rules. Another annoying feature of the basilica was that, while it was free to enter the church (as it is a sacred place and you cannot charge people to enter the House of God etc and so on), it was €2 each to go up to the alter to see the church's top attraction, it was €3 each to go down to the Treasury beneath the church and it was €4 each to climb the stairs to the rooftop terrace above the church to look down on the piazza. Ridiculous.

We declined to do any of these things and we were generally disappointed with the interior of the church. It was very dark inside and the church was very plain - it generally lacked the artwork, sculptures, stained-glass windows etc that many of the other famous churches of Europe have.

The piazza was once again very busy and lively. Close to the piazza is the Bridge of Sighs. The Bridge of Sighs is an enclosed bridge made of white limestone and has windows with stone bars. It passes over the Rio di Palazzo and connects the old prisons to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace. It was built in 1602. The view from the Bridge of Sighs was the last view of Venice that convicts saw before their imprisonment. The bridge name, given by Lord Byron in the 19th century, comes from the suggestion that prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice out the window before being taken down to their cells. The buildings either side of the Bridge of Sighs were covered with scaffolding when we were there, which meant that the view of the bridge was not quite as good as it might have been, but from what we could see it looked very pretty.

In the evening we had a drink by the waterfront along from the piazza and then dinner at a restaurant tucked away in a little square not far from there. On our walk home after dinner, we passed through the piazza, which was all lit up and we stopped to listen to a small orchestra play. It was a lovely still evening, perfect for walking alongside the canals.

Venice is a very expensive city and we found that some of the people we dealt with - hotel staff, restaurant staff, shop assistants - we unhelpful and rude. We experienced this from time to time throughout Italy, but is especially prevalent in Venice. However, overall we really enjoyed our time in Venice. It is a beautiful and completely unique city with a lot of charm and character.






Gondolas













Megan on
Rialto
Bridge












Grand
Canal










View from
Accademia
bridge down
Grand
Canal










A little
bridge in
Dorsudoro
area











The canal
our hotel
was on










Venetians
on the water
waiting for
fireworks











Fireworks

















A glass
sculpture
in Murano
















Murano













Tim in
Murano












Gondola
rides in
Venice










Rialto
Bridge













Basilica di
San Marco













Piazza San
Marco at
night