We start our journey in Rome for 5 nights packed with sight seeing and cuisine. We follow that with 2 nights in an agrotourism bed and breakfast in Southern Tuscany near the ancient cliff-dwelling city of Pitigliano (This portion involves renting a car in a small coastal city and driving in the Italian countryside). We then head to Florence for 3 nights of art and wine. We then leave Tuscany for a brief 2 night respite on the Ligurian coast. We are staying on a small peninsula near Genoa in a former monastery turned hotel that is only accessible by foot or by boat. From the coast we head inland to the gastronomic providence of Italy Emilia-Romagna. We are spending 5 nights in Bologna using the city as a home base to make pilgrimage to Parma (home of prosciutto and Parmesan cheese) and Modena (famous for balsamic vinegar and the #1 restaurant in the world). We end our trip with 3 nights in Venice.
Needless to say it's a lot of ground, history, art and food to cover in 3 weeks but we are up to the challenge. We have been hiking, drinking Italian varietals and making homemade pasta for months in preparation. It is my hope that through description and imagery you might be transported along with us.
First there was Rome...
After almost 24 hours in transit we arrived in the eternal city. A very early morning flight, a long layover in Toronto, a bumpy red-eye and a slight misunderstanding about how Uber works in Italy but we made it. It seems fitting that Rome, long considered the cradle of Western civilization, starts our journey. We find ourselves situated a few streets from the snaking Tiber river in the neighborhood of Campo de' Fiori. The neighborhood is named after a famous open air food market that supplies much of the areas restaurants with fresh produce and meat. The location is ideal for sight seeing. It is very close to the ancient Rome Capitol and just a bridge away from Vatican City. Our apartment is a spacious second floor walk-up with a truly Italian view.
 |
| Top Left to Right: Day1 Walking Map, View from our apartment, Small Fountain in Piazza Navona Bottom Left to Right: Synagogue and Jewish Museum, Sean on a foot bridge over the Tiber, Tiber River, Pit of Roman Ruins in the middle of the city |
After a shower and nap we went out to explore the city. Thanks to Google maps stalking capabilities I can now include detailed maps of all our days (not at all creepy Google). Most people we talked to about Rome mentioned that the best part is just walking around. I am inclined to agree. There is so much to see that they don't bother to label everything. While the main attractions are hounded with tour guides trying to hustle up business or a seemingly endless supply of street vendors selling trinkets (selfie sticks are a particularly prominent sale item) there are just as many quiet and overlooked bits of history and architecture.
With no real plan and without consulting a map we managed to stumble upon the Piazza Navona. This prominent square features three fountains. Two small fountains on either end of a long rectangular courtyard and a large fountain designed by Bernini that features the four figures each representing a major river on a continent where Catholicism had spread. The four rivers (Danube, Ganges, Nile and the Plata) represent Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas.We have found ourselves walking through this charming piazza at least once a day to get back from most attractions in Rome allowing us to see it at various hours.
 |
| Left is the statue with my favorite figure whose face is obscured. Top right is the obelisk ascending from the fountain. Middle right is a view of the square from one end. Bottom right is one of the smaller fountains on the end. |
 |
| Four Figures at Night |
The streets of Rome are a mix of wide boulevards with shops
and restaurants that overflow into the sidewalks and small cobblestone
streets so narrow it is almost a challenge to fit both a car and a
pedestrian. Restaurants, bars and shops line both types of street. The
architecture is varied expressing Rome's long independent history (It
did not become part of Unified Italy until 1870). Even with a myriad of
architecture jumbled together it was still quite surprising to stumble
upon a pit of ancient ruins in an otherwise residential area. A small
sign near one of the sides explained it was an archeological site
discovered in 1926 during surveying of the land to build a church. The
ruins are believed to be the remains of a Roman Theater. The block long
site a mix of pillars and crumbling walls. A sign warns visitors it is
illegal to leave cat food which seems like a strange reminder until you
come upon a colony of feral cats who have taken up residence. While it
is listed as an active archeological site, we have yet to see anyone
working in the pit. No doubt Rome has a plethora of such sites in
historical limbo. Too important to bull doze but not important enough to
dedicate resources to its full excavation and preservation. I found
myself labeling the site as the 'Pit of Ruins'. While many US cities
during the recent recession had 'pits of intention', large blocks of
excavated ground with no construction or obvious plan, this is a far
more picturesque and curious to visitors. It was not a surprise to hear my Uncle stumbled upon the same sight in Rome in 1977.
 |
| Pit of Ruins |
Along this same afternoon stroll we came upon the former Jewish Quarter. This portion of the city along the Tiber River became the Jewish Ghetto when in the 1500s the Pope at the time confined Jews to this portion of the city and enacted strict curfews. The walls of the buildings lining these narrow streets contain Hebrew letters and iconography. We passed a Kosher butcher before coming upon the Jewish Museum and Synagogue. A small American tourist group was listening to an animated speaker. In our first few days here its been surprising just how many tourists rely on pre-planned tours and guides to explore the city. More so than any other European capitol we have visited people seem to want a taste of the city through knowledgeable and experienced eyes.
 |
| Synagogue in Rome |
On our way back towards the apartment we ended up at the Pantheon. The building is horrendously out of place considering the rest of the architecture if it wasn't so beautiful and impressive its extreme juxtaposition against the otherwise traditional generic European background would be offensive. There is a large modern cultural center under renovation and as you turn the corner is the massive roman structure. The rest of the courtyard is typical Italian with a small tasteful fountain and sherbet colored apartment buildings all around. There was a street performer playing Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety at top volume in the piazza outside. Against this colorful backdrop is an immense grey columned building whose perpetually open doors almost resemble a cave. You enter through a velvet roped outlined line into a crowded center with the monochromatic dome overhead. The grey concrete broken up only by a round porthole skylight bathes the interior in the warm hues of the setting sun. The building doesn't feel like a church until a man comes over the loud speaker and insists on silence in several languages. The chatter dies down but never completely fades. The high domed ceilings reverberate the rebellious whispers. You don't need a sign or a guide to tell you that you are standing somewhere unique. The feeling of being small and encased in stone in a manufactured environment is both intoxicating and unsettling. It is easy to see how this church, one of countless created before the birth of Christ has not only survived the ages but remained in continuous use. There is something otherworldly about the structure no doubt lending to its holy and supernatural awe.
 |
| Pantheon Exterior |
 |
| Pantheon Interior (Left), Exterior (Top Right), and Concrete Dome (Bottom left) |
We ended our first night in Italy with dinner at a local restaurant all of 5 doors down from our apartment. Most restaurants in Rome do not even open for dinner until around 7pm. The typical dinner type is around 9pm. Unlike other European cities it appears most restaurants in Rome have 1 seating with diners arriving between 8-10pm and all the restaurants closed around 11. The restaurant was fine but nothing terribly special. We each ordered pasta and an entree. The standout dish was a grilled Octopus I ordered. I noticed that the small menu included Octopus as both a first and second course. This seafood is difficult to work with (tough when undercooked and chewy when overcooked) and it's no ones favorite so to have it twice on a limited menu suggested to me that someone knew what they were doing. I typically avoid eating octopus out of moral obligation (I hate the idea of eating something I consider intelligent and creative) however I was glad to have broken my own rule. The dish was simple, grilled octopus with arugula (arucola in Italian and listed as Rocket on the English menu as it is known in the UK) and lemon. The arugula was a mix of fresh bitter greens and gently wilted morsels smothered from the heat of the grilled octopus on top tempering the bitter green and giving it the soft texture of a perfectly cooked spinach. The lemon was a burst of citrus that permeated the dish delivering both bright notes and giving a fresh acidity that cut through the otherwise briny finish. The octopus was tender, perfectly cooked and absolutely delectable.
 |
| Grilled Octopus Entree from Osteria dei Cappallrai |
Having a successful first day in Rome we were eager to see what else the city has in store for us.
No comments:
Post a Comment