{"id":2895,"date":"2002-03-20T16:23:51","date_gmt":"2002-03-20T14:23:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.goingplaces43.com\/?p=2895"},"modified":"2018-08-29T17:58:08","modified_gmt":"2018-08-29T14:58:08","slug":"bella-italia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goingplaces43.com\/index.php\/2002\/03\/20\/bella-italia\/","title":{"rendered":"Bella Italia"},"content":{"rendered":"

In March of 2002, Kay and I along with friend Kathy took a trip to Italy. Unfortunately, I didn\u2019t keep a journal of this trip, so what I\u2019m writing here years later are a few things that I remember. Looking at the photos of the things we saw, memories of the trip have been on my mind.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Amalfi Coast<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was Kathy\u2019s wish to see the Costiera Amalfitana (the Amalfi Coast) that had us go to that lovely stretch on the\u00a0 Mediterranean where we stayed two or three nights at the Hotel Villa Amore in the hilltop town of Ravello.<\/p>\n

To get from the coast road up to Ravello, we drove our rental car uphill by switchbacks until we reached a parking lot at the base of the town. From there we had to climb flights of stairs to reach the town proper.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t remember how we decided on the Hotel Villa Amore, but I do remember that the hotel was owned by two aged sisters, who lived on the premises. Nor do I recall details of our room, the dining room or the garden. The hotel employed a man named Bepe, who carried our luggage from the car park up to the hilltop, a strenuous task. In the hotel, we remember a myna bird, whose one word was \u201cprego.\u201d One evening, we were invited into the sisters\u2019 sitting room to watch something on television.<\/p>\n

During our days in Ravello, we explored the town\u2019s elegant villas, like the Cimbrone.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Ravello-Villa Cimbrone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It had a large garden with a terrace called the Belvedere that looked out over the Med far below. Along the railing of this terrace were a series of busts of female figures. This was a beautiful spot.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Amalfi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We used Ravello as a base to explore other parts of the Amalfi Coast. One day we drove to the town of Amalfi itself situated along an estuary and built on hillsides. Amalfi, as I recall, is an ancient place that was once famous as a paper making center. We visited an abandoned building that had once housed a paper factory. I seem to recall a visit to a museum where we learned about the ancient paper making process.<\/p>\n

The Amalfi Coast is famous for its lemons, which are the size of softballs. Those lemons are used to make Limoncello, the local liqueur that we sampled more than once.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Paestum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We had picked up our rental car in Naples and used it to explore the coast from Sorrento to Salerno and beyond. We went as far south as Paestum to see the magnificent Greek temples.<\/p>\n

Back to Naples to return our rental, it was just by luck that I was able to find my way through the maze of streets to the rental agency. What a relief!<\/p>\n

\"\"

Rome Near the Casa Kolbe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Next, we spent four days in Rome. We stayed at the Casa Kolbe on the Via di S Teodoro, a lodging for visiting priests. It was reasonably priced and quiet, two of any hotel\u2019s greatest virtues.<\/p>\n

This was Kathy and Kay\u2019s first visit to Rome, and my single, earlier visit had occurred forty years before so we were in the mood to see the sights. In four days, we exhausted ourselves, visiting<\/p>\n

\"\"
Piazza di Spagna<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

the Spanish Steps,<\/p>\n

\"\"
Piazza Navona – Four Rivers Fountain by Bernini (1651)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

the Piazza Navona,<\/p>\n

\"\"
Borghese Gardens<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

the Borghese Gardens,<\/p>\n

\"\"
St Peter’s Square<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Saint Peter\u2019s,<\/p>\n

\"\"
Steps of the Capatoline<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

the Capitoline Museums,<\/p>\n

\"\"
Tempietto<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

the Tempietto,<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Forum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

the Forum,<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Colosseum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

the Colosseum,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
Trevi Fountain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

the Trevi Fountain,<\/p>\n

\"\"
Piazza del Popolo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

the Piazza del Popolo,<\/p>\n

\"\"
Biblioteca Casanatense<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

the Biblioteca Casanatense,<\/p>\n

\"\"
Church of the Four Fountains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

the Church of the Four Fountains,<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Pantheon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

the Pantheon, and various other famous monuments.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

We fortified ourselves with some great meals, one in a Trastevere<\/em> restaurant called the Giggetto<\/em>. As the name implies it was located in what was once Rome’s Jewish ghetto. Kay fell in love with one of the restaurant\u2019s specialties: a whole artichoke, deep-fried, and eaten leaves and all.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The oculus, open to the sky in all kinds of weathers all year long.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of my favorite moments in Rome was standing inside the Pantheon<\/em> directly under the oculus<\/em> and thinking that there, on that very spot, had stood a host of great names from history, including Roman emperors, Charlemagne, and Napoleon. It was a romantic thrill.<\/p>\n

The weather wasn\u2019t great most of time we were in Rome. My pictures show cloudy skies and darkness.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Venice Apartment<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We also explored Venice and some cities of the Veneto. In Venice proper we rented an apartment on the lagoon at 1611 Castello. We had learned about this apartment from our neighbors in New York, who had stayed there in the past. It was comfortable, and since we could split the rental between Kathy and Kay and I, reasonably priced.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Venini Glass on the Piazza San Marco<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Of course we visited the Piazza San Marco<\/em> and the church along with some high-end stores like Venini Glass<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Kay and I were on the trail to look at as many works of the architect Carlo Scarpa<\/em> as we could find. There were a couple of these on the piazza. One had been the flagship Olivetti<\/em> store. Another Scarpa sight was the Palazzo Querini-Stampalia<\/em>, which the architect had restored and added to.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Torcello<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While in Venice we made a trip to the island of Torcello<\/em> to get a sense of it and visit its ancient churches. This marshy island was the site of the most ancient Venetian settlement.<\/p>\n

I think Kay and didn\u2019t feel we had to cram as much into this Venice visit since we had been there the year before and would be there again.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Padua<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The cities of the Veneto were another story, however. By train we visited Padua, Verona, and Vicenza. Seeing the sights in those cities was thrilling. I remember especially the Loggia del Capitaniato<\/em> and the Teatro Olimpico<\/em> in Vicenza, the first covered theater in Europe built in 1580.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Verona-The Adige<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Verona was an exciting experience.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Verona – Piazza Bra<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There we looked at the Coliseum on the Piazza Bra<\/p>\n

\"\"
Castel Vecchio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

and spent some hours in and around the Museum of the Castel Vecchio<\/em>, Scarpa\u2019s great achievement in museum adaptation.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t remember that Kathy did all of the cities with us. I don\u2019t remember her being in Verona, for instance. And I know she wasn\u2019t with us when Kay and I drove into the Dolomites to the village of Passagno<\/em> where we visited the Canova Museum<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Scarpa Cemetery<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was on the return from that trip that we located a walled cemetery plot in which Carlo Scarpa created an entire environment for a wealthy man and his wife. We\u2019d never seen anything like this unique creation.<\/p>\n

We feel we only had a taste of the sights and cities of the Veneto. We promise ourselves to return for a more leisurely visit. In the meantime, we have our\u00a0 memories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In March of 2002, Kay and I along with friend Kathy took a trip to Italy. Unfortunately, I didn\u2019t keep a journal of this trip, so what I\u2019m writing here years later are a few things that I remember. Looking at the photos of the things we saw, memories of the trip have been on … Continue reading Bella Italia<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2904,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.goingplaces43.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Ravello-Villa-Rufolo.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goingplaces43.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2895"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goingplaces43.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goingplaces43.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goingplaces43.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goingplaces43.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2895"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.goingplaces43.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2895\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2936,"href":"https:\/\/www.goingplaces43.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2895\/revisions\/2936"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goingplaces43.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goingplaces43.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goingplaces43.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goingplaces43.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}