From the Adriatic to the Mediterranean to the Amalfi Coast

The JB and I are discovering that it’s the smaller places in the Italian countryside that are more appealing rather than the larger or more ‘popular’ destinations.  We’ve had a mixed bag of late.  Beautiful little towns like Ravenna and Urbino and even the Republic of San Marino have been delightful, but other places like Rimini which is supposed to be a ‘beachside resort’ type of place was just cheesy and seem to cater only for locals.  Rimini has this beautiful beach on the Adriatic Sea yet all anyone can see as they walk along the shores are ‘game parks’ and themed ‘jamaica clubs’ etc.  It really ruins what could be a stunning beach landscape.  Anyway, we’re just tourists, so what do we know?

Ravenna, renown for its Byzantine mosaics and commemoration of Dante was wonderful.  Its cobblestoned streets were awarded UNESCO World Heritage listing a while back and we see why.

Mosaics in Ravenna

More beautiful mosaics...

Dante's memorial in Ravenna

After a few hours we trucked on to Rimini – although the beaches are not so appealing the highlight of this place is the ‘centro storico’ which has quite a rich war history.  Some amazing relics remain in quite good condition including an old fort, gate and bridge.  Definitely worth visiting.

Arco di Augusto: Rimini

Castel Sigismondo (the old fort) at Rimini

Out of the fog is Ponte di Tiberio: Rimini

From Rimini we also did a day trip up to the Republic of San Marino probably best known for Formula One and the fact that it is an independent ’state’ within Italy.  Beautiful little cobblestoned streets lead up to a cathedral and offer some unrivalled panoramic views.

San Marino

View from San Marino

St Michael's cathedral at San Marino

San Marino: View down the way and across the valley

On the way to Florence we stopped in at another hidden gem; Urbino.  It’s main claim to fame is that it’s the birthplace of the painter Raphael and the master mason Bramante also lived there for a number of years.  Today its steep, steep, steep streets are walked by tourists who can get up there, as it’s a little off the beaten track, and the few locals that reside there.  We visited the Ducale Palazzo which displays some beautiful artwork whilst being stalked by ’security’ that followed us from room to room.  Perhaps we appear threatening or I look like a thug in my beanie not sure, but it’s all starting to form a cohesive view of ‘Italian tourism’.

Urbino uphill

Urbino downhill...

Raphael (woof woof..)

Bust of Bramante

Urbino San Domenico Cathedral

Florence was the next major stop.  Again, a beautiful city but a little over-hyped.  Architecture is lovely, cobblestoned streets are beautiful and again there’s the UNESCO thing but we weren’t over awed.  Ponte Vecchio is very cute (would not suggest buying gelato from here), the Duomo is very impressive both inside and out and Piazza Michaelangelo offers great views across the entire city.

Ponte Vecchio, Florence

Ponte Vecchio lined with jewellery stores under orders from the Medici family

The Duomo, Florence

Inside The Duomo, Florence

Florence from Abbazia di San Miniato al Monte

Next was Pisa; we visited the Torre di Pisa (‘leaning tower’) which is probably the most comical piece of architecture we’ve seen, the JB and I both just cracked up when we turned the corner and saw this strange (but beautiful) little tower sticking up out of the ground at such a slant.  I expected it to be much bigger than the seven levels that it is.  It sits in Piazza dei Miracoli alongside a cathedral, baptistry and gardens which are all built in the same style giving the whole piazza a really relaxing feel.  Whilst there was still a stream of tourists, it was not overrun and we’ve really enjoyed our wanderings.

The 'leaning tower'

At sunset...

Pisa

Fools (hands in the air) taking photos of themselves 'holding' up the tower...

We also headed into Lucca; our expectations may have been over inflated by others who have visited previously, but we didn’t find it as impressive as some of the other places we’ve visited of late.  Yes, narrow cobblestoned streets and laneways are pretty and there is a medieval feel about the place but it also seems quite poor and not overly clean.  Plenty of history and walls are in remarkably great shape considering their age but we both preferred Brugge.

Streets of Lucca

Next we set off for an adventure we’d planned since before we left Australia, to visit Cinque Terre and walk the 9km of coastal paths between five villages.  It’s a walk that’s supposed to take approximately 5hours and apparently involves some mildily challenging terrain.  For unknown and reasons not forthcoming from any of the tourism officers we spoke to, the path was closed so we contented ourselves with driving through this beautiful landscape, stopping in the villages and wandering about.

Montorosso, Cinque Terre

Vernazza, Cinque Terre

Beautiful landscape, Cinque Terre

Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre

Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre

We concluded our visit in Pisa with a drive into another seaside town, Livorno.  It features a beautiful esplanade area that we walked along. 

Waterside terrace destroyed in WWII then rebuilt, Livorno

On the way to Siena, we stopped at another beautiful walled city (which seems to be quite common in Tuscany) called San Gimignano.  It’s a little off the beaten track but really beautiful.  It has these huge towers that loom over the centre; apparently there used to be 72 of them but now only 14 remain. 

San Gimignano towers

  

The old well in Piazza di Cisterna, San Gimignano

San Gimignano streets

 

View across Tuscany from San Gimignano

Siena was just beautiful.  It helps when the booked accommodation really is the 4 star it’s promoted as.  The old part of Siena features the most impressive Piazza; Il Campo one of the most striking we’ve seen.  It’s probably best known as being the location of Palio, the horse race that occurs around the perimeter each year.

Il Campo, Siena

Fountain Gaia, Il Campo, Siena

Il Campo, Siena

The Duomo, Siena

View of Tuscany from Siena

One of last days in Tuscany was spent at a benedictine monastery called Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Maggiore.  It’s the only funtioning monastery we’ve visited on this trip – it’s quite amusing to see monks all decked out in their whites going about their daily business.  I had a chuckle when I saw one sitting at his computer working at a spreadsheet.  Anyway, it was a beautiful abbey with wonderful frescoes and a superb nativity scene with moving figurines. 

Frescoes at the abbey

More frescoes (the resuscitation of the fallen monk)

Yesterday we set out for Naples but because the drive was quite long we decided to stop over in a small place just outside Rome called Latina.  This morning after watching Verdasco take out Tsonga on Eurosport we continued our trip to Naples arriving in Pozzuoli earlier today.  This afternoon we’ve visited Solfatara, an extinct Volcano literally behind our hotel.  The smell of sulphuric acid (plumes still shooting out of the ground) and bubbling pools of water are interesting to wander about.  

'Extinct' Volcano Solfatara...

Bloody stinks of sulphuric gases...

Tomorrow we’re set to do Naples city before Pompeii on our way to Sorrento.  Until next time, that’s all folks!