from Lake Como to Milan

Leaving Varenna through the tunnel (the train just before ours).

The Dominican Monastery in Milan which is home to Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper.

No pictures of the actual painting on the wall of the former refectory are permitted. This is a much smaller print reproduction hanging on a wall of an adjacent room at the exit.

We visited the Duomo in the center of Milan. The 4th largest church in Europe...and solid marble. St. Augustine and St. Ambrose were baptized (near) here in Milan.

While we had thoroughly enjoyed out six weeks of wonder, we were all ready to sleep in our own beds and see our sweet dog, Morgan.  And,so it was, with conflicting emotions, we bid farewell to the trip of a lifetime!

Visit to Villa Balbianello

Now owned and preserved by an Italian Foundation for the Arts, the previous owner who bequeathed it to the foundation was Guido Monzino. He was a department store owner who sold the business he inherited from his father, and invested it into expeditions all over the world--including the North Pole, Mt. Everest, and Patagonia. He also made improvements to this villa, and added on rooms, and even secret passageways, to house his collectibles from all over the world. It is a beautiful villa and gardens in the middle of Lake Como.

The Loggio Durini--map room on the left, study on the right.

View from center of Loggio, looking north at Lake Como (matching view to south is just as incredible).

Group shot.

garden and patio at the base of the villa where visitors arrive. (James Bond recuperated here near the end of the movie, Casino Royale and I think Princess Lea appeared here in a scene from Star Wars(.

The chapel first used by the Cardinal who came here in the 1800's to write, and the villa that was subsequently built up and around it.

Varenna and Bellagio at Lake Como

Last night. The moon shining on the water from a cloudy sky. Amber horizon and the glowing lights of Varenna.

A ferry ride from Varenna to Bellagio.



Varenna from the lake

Ferry ride!

Celestial light show streaming down through the clouds...

Celestial light show with rain added in, and a breeze to 'curve' the drops as they near the lake.

Walking to dinner along the riverfront gardens in Varenna.

The mountains to the north help block the cold winds and make possible palms and other surprising subtropical trees and flowers just 30 km from Switzerland!!!

From Firenze (Florence) through Milan to Lake Como

Most of the train options from Firenze to Milan were high speed. For a small upcharge from our Eurail Passes, we hopped on board   It's ironic that this was the one and only time that no train official checked our ticket during the journey!

According to the fancy screen at the top of the car, the train reportedly achieved a speed of 290 km/hour. If my math is correct (which is always in doubt) this would be roughly 170 or 180 m.p.h. This seems impossible, but engineering is not the 'long suit' for any of our party!

We had a quick connection to a much slower, local train. There was just enough time for two of us to run to the nearest place for food in the Milan station (which turned out to be a Burger King) and grab some burgers to take on board. As we chugged along, the weather changed from partly cloudy, to more cloudy, to mostly cloudy, to fog and rain. We arrived at the train station in Varenna, and hailed a taxi to take us uphill to our apartment which is about a 15 minute, steep drive above the town. We were not going to haul our bags up this steep hill (remember the baggage adventures from and earlier blog post from the ferry to Naxos?).

Moving from Florence to Lake Como is a shift from 'created beauty' to 'creation beauty.' Florence has a dazzling amount of divinely inspired, human creativity on display in every imaginable form--painting, sculpture, opera, writing, architecture, etc. Lake Como is simply a divinely inspired creation of earth and sky and water.

During the first hour, the mountains and lake unwrapped themselves like a present. The photographic sequence follows:


First view from the balcony of our apartment...



Varenna, a few minutes later...



Varenna, a few minutes after that...



Varenna and surrounding hills, a few minutes later...



Small village above Varenna, including castle, about an hour later as we trekked uphill to the market!

Pictures from Florence

Unfortunately, one member of our team contracted a 24 virus, so Mom and Lamar stayed put in the apartment, while the other three lived it up!

Man does not live by bread alone. In Italy, gelato is essential. At 3 p.m. it is a great way to cool down and 'sugar up' for the final stretch of the day!

The duomo (cathedral) in the center of Florence.

The ceiling mosaic in the baptistery (a separate building near the cathedral). Notice the subject is the final judgment, with one thumb up, and one down.

Standing in front of the Palazzo Vecchio, on the patio of the Uffizi Art Museum.

Finley and Katherine loved the fashions on display in the Palazzo Pitti!

Arrival in Florence

David stands 17 feet tall, calm and confident.

Goliath was no match for his strength and focus.

John the Baptist's reproach of King Herod--Giuseppe Fattori, 19th cent.

We took the morning train from Cortona to Florence, and arrived just before noon to check in to our apartment on the city's northeast perimeter. In the afternoon we set out for the Galleria del Accademia to view Michelangelo's David, as well as other sculptures, paintings and instruments.










Violin by Antonio Stradivari, 1716.

The nave of St. Mark's, decorated for the opera.

We completed our visit and returned to our apartment to freshen up for the evening. Several months ago, we reserved tickets for our first opera performance as a family. Opera in Italy is not cheap. This reasonably priced production of Gaetano Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore was hosted by St. Mark's Anglican Church.

We were seated in the second row of the nave, and the performers were outstanding! WOW! The lead performers each have distinguished academic and performance credentials, having been trained in Europe's finest academies and having sung all around the world. The singing was absolutely spectacular. 


Seats in the 2nd row!!!

After a long day (and night) we began trekking toward our apartment on the opposite end of the city, and eventually found a vacant taxi to aid us on our way.

Lights reflecting in the Arno River on our walk back toward the apartment.

Some final pictures from Cortona

We spent our last day in Cortona in the walled city. We visited the diocesan museum, which has some incredible paintings, frescoes and other decorations that have been gathered from various local churches into this museum for safe keeping and convenient viewing. We were among very few visitors, and enjoyed some undistracted, unhurried time there.


Lamentation over the dead Christ, by Luca Signorelli--1502

Annunciation, by Fra. Angelico--1434-1436

The Chapel downstairs with frescoes, peace and quiet.

A rest on the steps in the piazza. Cortona is steep!

Our walk down the narrow road to our B & B in Camucia.

Montalcino, a 1200 year old community of prayer, and a drive in the country

Part of what we have seen, though not photographed, is the incredible countryside beauty of Tuscany. The scenes we generally associate with this region of Italy appear most often in a sub-section of the region called Crete Senese (CREY-ta Se-NAY-zee).  Today we drove through this portion of Tuscany on our way to Montalcino, the smallest of the medieval cities we have visited. Siena is the largest, followed by either Cortona or Montepulciano, and then Montalcino.

We started our journey, and stumbled across a huge field of sunflowers. We had seen some of these fields on the autostrada, but at 110 kilometers/hour, they are hard to photograph clearly! Our girls hopped out for a quick snapshot. All sunshine and light!

After taking that picture, Furman wanted to stop on the side of the road everywhere to take pictures of the pencil-shaped trees, vineyards, olive groves, and blue sky. Unfortunately, it was difficult to find a stopping place on the narrow highways that were not actually the driveways to homes and farms. But, the back seat crowd took over, and snapped some photos as we drove along, including one of the determined driver. His nickname—‘Mario’—befits his slightly out-of-practice manual transmission driving, enhanced by his dogged determination to embrace the curves, hills and blindspots. (We now know why bright yellow is such a popular color for cyclists’ jerseys, and it has nothing to do with the Tour de France. It is all about being seen!)

Montalcino is one, laid back town. The economy revolves around its delicious wine. ‘Brunello’ (brunette) wine is so called for its dark color. It is made of 100% Sangiovese grape—a big, sturdy grape that makes possible a long aging process to tease out subtle flavors and characteristics.

Our girls were so charmed by the 3-wheeled trucks. Katherine informed us she would like one for Christmas, preferably in a light pink or turquoise green (which we really did see). We have joked about how Dodge Trucks might be built ‘ram tough,’ while these Italian trucks are built ‘Chihuahua tough.’

After the long trip to Montalcino, and several hours and gelato scoops later, we decided it was time to turn back for Cortona. Fortunately, we made a wrong turn leaving town, and proceeded in the opposite direction. Thus, we found ourselves approaching the Abbey of Sant’ Animo. Our Bed and Breakfast host told us about this monastery, and since it was only a few more kilometers out of the way, we pressed on. It was so worth it!

 

Originally built in the 9^th century, this abbey predates the schism between the eastern and western Church in 1054. The current church dates to the 12^th century, and was built upon the site of the original church. The crucifix—life size—behind the altar dates to the mid 13^th century.  It was quiet, cool and dark in the nave, with very few visitors. 

There is a crypt under the altar. A fresco on the wall depicts the resurrection of Christ, assisted by angels, with visible wounds from the nails and spear quite evident.

Furman was permitted one ‘photo stop’ on the way back home since the landscape image he was looking for was easily captured from the grounds of the abbey.

Montepulciano

Medieval city meets satellite TV!

Today was comprised of driving in the Tuscan country, and a visit to the walled hill town of Montepulciano. Montepulciano is a lovely town, and it has a name that is really fun to say! (Mon-te-pool-chee-AH-no).

In addition to being a beautiful, historic medieval city, Montepulciano also boasts a laundry mat. So, we took our dirty laundry with us, and, with the help of the postman, we found the launderette tucked away in a crevice of historic buildings. God bless him for helping us, despite a fairly hilarious language barrier, in finding what we needed!

The laundry was about 1700 feet above sea level. We put clothes in the washer and descended to a café about 1300 feet above sea level. After lunch, we climbed back to move clothes from washer to dryer, and then visited the main piazza at about 1850 feet above sea level -- and a side trip to a wine cellar.  Then, it was back down to the dryer to pick up clean, dry clothes.

At the city's annual festival, competing neighborhoods push full wine barrels uphill in the city streets in a race. I imagine they work up quite a thirst!

Historic well in the main piazza, complete with pulleys.

One of the secret passageways and escapes (this one found in the lower level of a shop that sells soaps and candles)!