Viva Italia

A toast to Italy

With my school responsibilities completed, and now officially (re)retired, Bob and I decided to take one last trip in Europe before we returned home to Canada. In search of warm weather and sunshine, having experienced very little of both for months, we chose to go south. The main focus of our trip was Tuscany, with a few parts of Northern Italy thrown in. This was a busy ten days full of stunning sights, so I will be publishing several blog posts about this vacation. Each will cover about two days of touring.

Beautiful Tuscan countryside

Sun, heat and lush vegetation

We first traveled by train, having booked passage to Milan where we had hired a car. This was in order to save money since car rental is much less expensive outside of Switzerland. Unfortunately, our trip did not begin well. On the first leg, from Neuchâtel to Bern, our train experienced brake problems and ran an hour late! (Yes, a Swiss train did not run on time. I did not think that was possible.) As a result, we missed our connection to Milan.

First time, first class.

Fortunately, we caught the next train and were ushered onto a first class car for this leg of our journey. We made it to Milan an hour later than originally planned. Then began the hunt–and wait–for our rented car–another two hours. Eventually, we hit the road, stopping for lunch at 3:00 p.m.–much too late for my taste.  In short, it was a rocky start to our trip.

Riomaggiore from above

Undaunted, we headed to the Cinque Terra region where we had booked a place for the night. As we neared Volastra, our destination, we found ourselves at a roadblock! Somehow, I managed to convince the man who appeared to be in charge to let us through. (Later I learned that landslides in the region has closed several local roads.) Thus, we conquered the last obstacle of our first day.

One view of Manarola

My favourite picture of Manarola. Gorgeous light.

Steep rock face below the town

Bob heads for the water in Manarola

Volastra is a tiny hamlet perched above Manarola, one of the five villages that comprise Cinque Terra. There is a regular shuttle which descends into the picturesque village below, so as soon as we could, we boarded it. We wanted to take advantage of the light of the early evening. Manarola shone for us, so much so that we took photo after photo–many very similar, as you can see.

Sunset view from Volastra

The same view in the morning: Corniglia is in the foreground.

The next morning, we expected to explore more of the villages that make up Cinque Terra, but a one day train strike impacted that plan, as well as the knowledge that the road we had taken the evening before would definitely be closed all day. We would have to take a detour. And so, our visit ended up being to Due Terra, only two of the villages.

The view from our lodging towards Manarola

Approaching Corniglia

We headed west to Corniglia; it was fun to explore it. Like all the Cinque Terra villages, it is mainly a pedestrian area, with narrow streets, and many lookouts to the sea.

Looking back towards Volastra and Manarola

Typical street in Corniglia

We spent about two hours wandering the streets of Corniglia, and finding new vistas towards the sea. I enjoyed the shops, the flowers in full bloom, and the warm colours of the place.

The sleepy main piazza.

Posing in the main piazza. 

While we were there, we were intrigued by a helicopter which made several trips to the town from an area above it. It was delivering construction materials. Clearly, it takes some ingenuity to make things work in these coastal villages.

Swimmers in a lagoon below the town.

The helicopter makes a delivery

We left Corniglia at lunch time, and followed winding roads towards the highway. We realize we did not see enough of Cinque Terra, but time and circumstances were not on our side, and we had other places to go.

Exploring Lucca

Another view of Lucca

Our next destination was Lucca, a city in Tuscany known for its Etruscan and Roman roots. It was the first of many wonderful destinations in the region that we were able to visit over the next five days.

One of Lucca's charming piazzas. The statue at the back honours native son, Puccini.

Part of Lucca's wall.

On entering Lucca, we first noticed the wall surrounding the old city. This Renaissance fortification speaks to the legacy of city states that once constituted the political makeup of Italy.  It is possible to walk on a pedestrian promenade on the walls today, (although we opted not to do so).

Close up of the façade  

San Michele in Foro

Instead, we wandered the cobblestone streets of the city for the next three hours. We had picked up a map at tourist information, and soon knew which were the highlights to seek out. The first of these was the San Michele in Foro Church, with its Romanesque interior and its intricate façade.

Standing in the amphitheater

View from a café.

Another must see was the Anfiteatro Romano (Roman Amphitheatre) which has been transformed into a large piazza but still retains the shape created by the Romans so long ago.

Guinigi Tower

Tower, blue sky and church in Lucca

Like most Tuscan cities, Lucca is also known for its towers, symbols of wealth in the past. The higher the tower, the more powerful the family. The oak trees on top of the Guinigi Towers made it seem even taller.

Statue outside Music School

Duomo di Lucca

By the time we arrived at the Duomo di Lucca, it was closed, so we only were able to view its exterior. The campanile was covered in scaffolding, however, so I did not include it in the photo.

Bicycle on a quiet street

More bicycles

Everywhere in Lucca, we saw bicycles. Its pedestrian area is quite large so many tourists opt to get around on two wheels. In fact, a pair of English tourists asked us for directions before peddling off into the town.

A ruined tower in Serravalle Pistoiese

There was a local festival going on in Serravalle Pistoiese

Having visited the major attractions of Lucca, we headed back to the highway to find our way to our accommodation for the night, Agriturismo I Pitti, just outside of a small town, Serravalle Pistoiese. It would be our little piece of paradise for five nights. I have much to say about this stay, but I will save it for another post.