Tag: Italy

Pisa and Home

elainehayesblog

We made our way back to Pisa this morning by train which passed Carrara, famous for the marble quarries that we had seen in the distance yesterday …

… and also Viareggio, a popular seaside town which I can remember visiting on a family holiday with my father and sister years ago.

Arriving a little early to head to the airport, we first went in search of a place for some lunch and ended up at Osteria il Capodaglio where we had a lovely Tuscan meal to end our holiday.

Walking back to the station, we passed a mural called Tuttomondo by an American artist called Keith Haring who we hadn’t heard of, but there is an exhibition of his ‘vibrant, graffiti-like painting’ at Tate Liverpool later this year.

Before we knew it the PisaMover shuttle was dropping us at the airport and as we waited for our flight, there was time for a little reflection …

We’ve had another great trip and while all the villages have proved very similar … clinging to rocks in some degree or another, tall slim houses painted in shades of orange with narrow cobbled streets, little harbours and churches with pretty towers … we were surprised by how different they all felt to visit.

Of the Cinque Terre, Vernazza and Manarola were our favourites, maybe we stayed in Vernazza and saw it from every angle, with and without the crowds …

… and Manarola because as we walked down into the village, the views kept coming, saving the best till last.

Camogli was the real surprise, as I had chosen it as an affordable alternative to a Portofino rather than expecting it to be so statuesque as villages go!

Portofino had to be the jewel, but was maybe just a little too perfect.

We didn’t see Portovenere at its best on such a gloomy day, but it was perfect for an afternoon, with lots too see and fun to travel by boat.

We have also become quite attached to Lerici, with our room overlooking all that is happening in the square and it is quite noticeable that the visitors are mainly Italian.

Finally Terrano, yet another of the most beautiful villages in Italy, but a little grey …

The walking has been great, getting away from the busiest tracks and finding some wonderful views of the coast, but usually with more ups and downs than we were expecting! We’ve used the Sunflower walking guide which has suggested good routes with accurate instructions – we only took the wrong path once – and the waymarking has been excellent everywhere.

The weather has been a bit chilly for May – few days hit 20° and only a couple got warmer. Fortunately we’ve dodged most of the showers except for the one really rainy day in Vernazza so for walking it’s turned out ok.

Just a quick mention here of the food. We have certainly had some very delicious dinners (with lots of local fish for me) and also tried a selection of local specialities including the walnut sauce and pesto with local pasta such as pansotti and trofie, savoury pies with vegetable and herb fillings, focaccia with a selection of toppings or fillings, and sweet treats like the gelato and panedolce. Then there were our fab picnics …

What we have really missed is vegetables, which may be arrayed in plenty in the markets, but never seem to make their way onto a restaurant menu, where side dishes are limited to mixed salad and maybe grilled veg or spinach if you are very lucky! So despite the claims for the healthy Mediterranean diet and on average the 8 miles we’ve walked every day, we’re not sure we’ll be trimmer than when we left … but we have had a good time!

All our arrangements have gone smoothly – the trains and buses were easy to use and our accommodation has been great – rooms with all mod cons including kettles and coffee makers, often a view and a breakfast basket … even if there were stairs to climb!

So there we have it, time to go home and our flight is being called so ciao until next time!

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Golfo dei Poeti – Lerici to Ameglia

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We took the bus Zanego and found the start of the walk by a small altar.

Most of the route was through a regional park which protects the area from overdevelopment and our track started through a green valley with wild flowers and the sound of birdsong, including a cuckoo.

We got a great view across the Magra plain, with what looked like snow topped mountains to the left, the Apuan Alps in Tuscany to the right and the medieval castle of Ameglia in the foreground.

We walked down to Ameglia for a look round and to buy a couple of rolls for lunch.

The path then climbed steeply through woodland with views of the Magra estuary …

… before descending with views across to La Spezia …

… and to Portovenere and the islands.

A final descent through the village of Serra and we were back in Lerici, with one last stop … the castle. It is such a landmark from the harbour, but there isn’t much inside, except a selection of viewpoints.

Our final afternoon – gelato, a rest and then dinner … this trip has flown by and we are back to Pisa for our flight tomorrow!

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Golfo dei Poeti – Lerici to Tellaro

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Today’s walk was a climb out of Lerici for views across the gulf then a descent to the picturesque fishing village of Tellaro.

We started off ok, but were not sure if we’d taken the right path … maybe all the orange tape should have told us something …

… but we managed to get over the stream so just continued …

… which was fine for a while …

… until the path deteriorated into a steep slope covered in loose rubble …

… but we saw a waymark, so kept on going …

… and the path became increasingly overgrown!

Intrepid adventurers that we are, we finally made it, reaching a main path, with a big sign … annotated by previous walkers … shame they were at the wrong end for us!

Realising we had now reached the path we should have been on, we continued the rest of the walk without drama, with a view across the bay as promised …

… ruins of a C16th deserted plague village called Portesone …

… then the descent to Tellaro.

It was a little grey, so not at its best but we took some snaps then retreated to a warm bar for coffee and bruschetta.

The bus was imminent, with a long wait for the next one, so we didn’t linger and returned to Lerici, which was pretty deserted now the weekend is over. Fortunately the gelateria was open!

Back to Mani de Fatima for dinner for another delicious dinner and tiramisu for dessert!

A quick turn round the square for the lights then off to bed.

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Golfo dei Poeti – Lerici to San Terenzo

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It was a bright but blowy morning here in Lerici and we set off along the coastal promenade which runs all the way to San Terenzo.

The lidos were getting ready for their summer visitors – a snip at €36/day for 2 people with sun beds and an umbrella – but this does include the convenience of changing rooms, toilets and showers, and perfectly clean and raked sand!

One of the beaches was hosting an event on the International Beach Tennis circuit …

… and while it was too chilly for most to paddle, there were a couple of brave souls!

San Terenzo was bustling on a Sunday morning and we passed Casa Magni- the house Shelley lived in with his wife, the local church and the castle.

We took a footpath up through the back of the village … and you can guess, a mixture of mule track, earthen track and paved path and more ups and downs than we were expecting! It was all worthwhile for the views – leftwards to Lerici …

… and rightwards to San Terenzo, with Portovenere and the islands of Palmaria and Tino in the distance.

Back in Lerici, then sun had gone in and the wind had got up so we just chilled for the rest of the afternoon, then went for pizza later.

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Golfo dei Poeti – Portovenere

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The natural beauty of this bay has inspired writers and artists as far back as Petrarch and Dante. Later it was popular with a number of Italian writers as well as DH Lawrence and Virginia Wolf. Shelley lived in the village of San Terenzo with his wife Mary and Byron famously swam across the bay from Portovenere to visit them. But the sea here is not always kind and tragedy struck a month before Shelley’s 30th birthday when a sudden storm in the Bay of Spezia caused him to drown during his journey back to Lerici in his sailing boat.

We are staying in Affittacamere Vittorio in Lerici, a lovely room with dark green shutters above a gelateria with a view of the square …

… and from here we will be exploring the coast around the bay. It’s another of those grey days and having travelled on two trains and a bus, we arrived at lunchtime and quickly checked in, grabbed a bite for lunch …

… walked to the pier …

… and left Lerici behind …

… as we took the boat to Portovenere, ahead with Palmaria and Tino islands to the left …

… while clouds lurked over La Spezia.

Once a fortified fishing village, Portovenere is now a popular tourist destination and we spent the afternoon exploring.

We started with the town gate and tower, leading to a narrow street filled with tourist shops selling souvenirs, snacks and local foodie specialities to take home.

We continued to the Church of San Pietro, standing here since the C12th …

… and Cave Arpaia, one of many caves in the area, but specifically the one in which Byron recited poetry, as stated on the sign!

Climbing up, we passed the ruins of two cylindrical structures which used to be both mills and guard towers …

… then on to the C12th Church of San Lorenzo, containing the White Madonna. As the story goes, in 1399 Portovenere was being devastated by a plague and when Lucciardo, a local devout man, was praying in front of an image of the Virgin Mary asking for his village to be freed from the terrible disease, suddenly, the colors of the painting lit up, gleaming and the plague disappeared.

A bit more of a climb to the Doria Castle … those Dorias get everywhere … once a defensive structure, now converted to tourist attraction, concert arena, exhibition space and wedding venue!

You might we wondering about the white flag with the red cross which has been flying from many of the buildings … it is the city flag of Genova, derived from the Cross of Ambrose adopted by Milan and popular in much of northern Italy … and also predating the Crusades, the St George’s Cross and the flag of England!

Too chilly for ice cream or aperol, we took the boat back for a nice cup of tea!

I had stuffed mussels for dinner, maybe the best dish of the holiday, so Trattoria Mani di Fatima deserve a mention!

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Portofino Peninsula – Camogli to Portofino

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Another sunny day for walking so we took the train one stop to the chic resort of Santa Marguerite Ligure, popular with wealthy Milanese, with its castle and seafront studded with smart hotels.

We walked up to the Baroque Church of San Giacomo Di Corte then walked round the gardens of the Renaissance Palazzo Durazzo, typical of the villas in this area, complete with statuary and fine views.

We picked up rolls for a picnic at the supermarket and set off past the harbour …

… and up a narrow path winding upwards. It was another walk though the countryside, on a mule track, with glimpses of the sea and more ups and downs than we were expecting!

We found another picnic stop with a distant view of our destination …

… and some time later, the path became quite a bit smarter …

… as it made its final descent into Portofino.

It really is as one might imagine a perfect Italian fishing village to be!

Having said that, it still has working fishing boats moored beside immense luxury cruisers.

We took the path first to the church of San Giorgio, then higher to Castello Brown, built as a coastal defence in C16th, then bought in the C19th by the British Consul to Genova, Montague Yeats-Brown, and converted into a comfortable villa, hence its name. It is now open to the public and we went to look round and get a great view of Portofino.

Time enough for an ice cream … at €3.50 each well over the going rate but still yummy … the ferry back to SM Ligure and the train home.

Slight technical hitch in that we got on the wrong train and went whizzing past our stop … fortunately we only overshot by one stop … but owned up and bought new tickets to return to Camogli.

Friday night and the town was buzzing, especially with the festival tomorrow. All the restaurants we open and we picked an osteria with pizza for Chris and fish of the day for me.

Darkness had fallen while we were eating and all the buildings were lit up and twinkly …

… not that we will be there to sample the fish fest as we are off in the morning to our final destination … Lerici.

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Portofino Peninsula – Camogli to San Fruttuoso

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It was definitely a walking day today and we had a route planned. We followed a path out of town and climbed up between gardens and villas on an old mule track to the hamlet of San Rocco. A huge group of teenagers were out on a school trip and while we waited for them to move on, took a great photo of the coast as far as Genova.

We bought some bits for a picnic in the local shop …

… then set off, getting a great view of Camogli and San Rocco.

There were stations of the cross made of colourful ceramics as the path climbed.

We took a detour round Monte di Portofino offering snatches of sea views …

… then a perfect picnic spot, complete with back rests and a view and tucked into a torte made of rice flavoured with cheese, onion focaccia and the vegetable torte filled with greens sold everywhere here.

A bit further and we went down on a cobbled mule track through the woods.

The track zig zagged back and forth and it seemed to go on forever … but finally we reached the monastery and hamlet of San Fruttuoso. How the remains of this saint were buried here is unknown, but there has been a monastery here since at least 984. In 1200 the Abbey was given some land and became connected with the Doria family who were allowed to bury their dead here in exchange for paying to extend the buildings. Over time, there were periods of disrepair then renovation and finally in 1983 the Doria Pamphili family gave the site to the FAI, the Italian National Trust enabling us to visit for free with our NT cards.

We took various pics of the church, tombs of the Doria family and a painting of Andrea Doria.

Luckily we didn’t have long to wait for the ferry … the only other way out of the bay … and 15 minutes later we were back in Camogli.

The book said the route was 7.5 miles although my step counter suggested 11 for the whole day … either way, we deserved our bowls of pasta for dinner!

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Portofino Peninsula – Genova

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Having had a couple of sunny days, today was grey, chilly and damp so we took the train to Genova.

Genova was one of the world’s greatest trading powers in medieval times and controlled most of the Riviera de Levante from the mid C13th. This brought about Genova’s Golden Age, with its aristocratic dynasties trading all over the world and building grand palazzi in the city.

Walking out of the station the huge victory arch dedicated to the Genoese who died in WWI was ahead of us.

We turned down the main shopping street of the city lined with smart shops with beautiful facades and convenient arcades to keep dry.

We bought a couple of panedolcino, little rolls flavoured with pine nuts and dried fruit (which we ate for breakfast next day and were delicious!).

Reaching Piazza de Ferrari …

… we then turned into the maze of streets making up the old town, stumbling on Cattedrale San Lorenzo almost by mistake, but we went in for a quick look before it closed for lunch …

Next was Palazzo Reale, rebuilt in the Baroque style for the Durazzo family in C18th and used as a royal palace by the House of Savoy who ruled Italy between Unification in 1861 and the Republic in 1946. It is sumptuous, filled with gilding, rich fabrics, furniture and art. The hall of mirrors and the throne room say it all! Outside is a courtyard containing a fountain, set in a lovely a Ligurian pavement … the elephant and cheetah being the stars!

Lunch was takeaway farinata, a local chickpea pancake made in a large pan and served hot … tasty!

Christopher Columbus is Genova’s famous son, and he stands tall outside the main railway station.

The Palazzo Principe was built for Andrea Doria, the most famous Genoese admiral and virtual dictator of the city for much of the C16th. He planned his naval battles here and tested models of galleons in the garden pond. There are tapestries of the Battle of Lepanto, his most famous victory which stopped the advance of the Ottoman Empire, in a room with a very nice ceiling.

The Hall of Giants, named for the ceiling fresco also contained tapestries showing stories from the life of Alexander the Great including his horse Bucephalus and being carried aloft by griffins.

The Loggia has a fresco of several members of the Doria family depicted as Roman soldiers …

It looks out onto the garden, with a view of the docks and the Stazione Marittima built in the 1930 for transatlantic liners, a reminder that it was the sea that provided these great families with their wealth and power. You can also see the eyesore which is the flyover carrying the SS1 straight through the city!

We walked under the flyover which separates the main part of the city from the port …

… saw La Lanterna, the lighthouse dating from 1543 and 77m high …

… and continued round the port renovated by local architect Renzo Piano including Il Bigo, a panoramic lift inspired by old cranes and the Biosphere, containing tropical plants. there was also a maritime museum and aquarium, but as it was still grey, chilly and damp we walked past pretty quickly.

As we left the port, we passed the Palazzo San Giorgio, originally home to one of Europe’s first banks which financed royalty and issued the first cheque. It was also where Marco Polo recounted his traveller’s tales while held prisoner. It is now home to the port headquarters.

Piazza Banchi gave its name to banking as it once contained money-changer’s tables, or banchi that once stood here until they were moved to the Loggia dei Mercanti which is now an exhibition hall.

The church, San Pietro in Banchi, had stood here since the C9th, but was damaged and then rebuilt in the C16th, but to fund its rebuilding, concessions were sold as shops so it stands on a terrace above.

Our last stop before the station was the Porta Soprana, standing on the spot where the city walls were opened to connect Genoa with the Riviera di Levante.

We’ve only really had a taste of the city – there were plenty more palaces, churches and museums to see, but we think we saw the best bits …

It was still grey, chilly and damp when we got back, Camogli seemed deserted. Many of the restaurants don’t seem to be open for the season yet, especially with the bad weather, although we did find one!

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Portofino Peninsula – Camogli

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The natural environment and beauty of this peninsula is protected by the Parco Regionale di Portofino and access to the rocky coastline is by footpaths and boats alone. We have chosen to stay in Camogli and will be using this as a base to explore take a day trip to the city of Genova and also visit Portofino itself, another picturesque fishing village which has become fashionable with the yacht-set.

Arriving by train, we checked in at Stella Marina and settled into another cheery room, then went exploring.

A short walk brought us to the front and we found Camogli to be similar to Vernazza … but bigger! The esplanade is very elegant as it sweeps round the bay, fronted by huge seven or eight storey buildings in the traditional warm yellows and oranges of the region, a reminder of the town’s glorious past.

From the Middle Ages to the coming of steam ships, Camogli was a bustling seaport known as the ‘city of a thousand white sails’ with the fleet being rented out to anyone who could pay, hence they fought at the Battle of Trafalgar for Napoleon. The ship owners were among the most powerful of Europe’s merchants in the C19th and one source of their wealth was the founding of the first maritime insurance against loss of freight and ships.

We sat outside in the sun and had some lunch then went to explore the medieval centre, dominated by the C12 Basilica Di Santa Maria Assunta. It had a typical Ligurian pebbled courtyard and a surprisingly ornate interior, but was once the chapel for Castello Dragonara, built to defend the town from Saracens.

As we wandered round, there were several signs of preparations for the Sagra del Pesce this weekend, when huge amounts of fish are fried in a 4m wide pan, the biggest in Italy. This festival began in 1952 to commemorate a night in WWII when the town were starving as German mines prevented the fishermen going to sea, but the situation was so dire they prayed to San Fortunato and went anyway, bringing back a massive catch. There will be much celebration, with fireworks, and here is the pan!

Beyond, was the harbour and lighthouse.

The town also has their Dragun Boat, made from an old lifeboat in 1968 by a group of friends to keep alive the nobility of navigation, which has become a symbol of Camogli and takes part in various folk events all along the Italian Riviera and abroad.

Looking closer at the facades, we realised how clever the painting was as most of the architectural features were trompe l’oeil!

We returned later for an aperol and to catch the last of the sun as it lit up the colourful houses and then set and ate dinner in a little Trattoria beside the B&B.

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Cinque Terre – Manarola & Riomaggiore

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We had thought we might visit the two remaining Cinque Terre villages by boat but rough seas cancelled the ferry. The day was still bright and sunny so we set off undeterred … by train!

Our first stop was Manarola, where to save our legs, we took the bus up the hill to the Santuario Di Nostra Signora della Salute in the small hamlet of Volastra.

We took the path towards Corniglia for a short way to get a view of the terraced vineyards where grapes for both sweet and dry white wines are grown.

We also saw Corniglia in the distance …

… and Manarola below.

Returning to the church, we began the descent and are really pleased we hadn’t done this walk both ways as what seemed to be an never ending flight of steps descended between the olive trees …

… and between the terraces of vines.

We caught glimpses of Manarola as the path zig zagged …

… then finally reached the main viewpoint at the bottom …

… and returned to the station.

We caught the train onwards to Riomaggiore, the last of the five villages, and the largest. We took a few snaps but it didn’t have quite the charm of the other villages and we didn’t linger.

We had hoped the boats might have started running again so we could get a view of the Cinque Terre from the sea, but it wasn’t to be and we returned by train.

Our last night here, so we had an aperol in the last of the sunshine then more pansotti for dinner in the taverna round the corner. Over dinner we agreed we had picked the nicest village to stay in and that of the others, Manorla was the prettiest. As for Ivo’s Camere, we struck gold here with such a central location, a lovely comfy room complete with lashings of hot water and a kettle to make tea … and those 67 steps have certainly kept us fit!

Tomorrow we take the train further west!

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