~Art Group Goes to Italy~

In April 2004, Dani led the art group on a tour of Italy.  We started in Milan, drove south to Tuscany, then across to Ravenna and Venice and finally through Verona to Lake Maggiore. We ended the trip in Milan.  The itinerary was perfect!

We picked up our van at Malpensa airport in Milan and drove south to the seaside resort town of Rapallo.


 Rapallo is located on the Italian Riviera.

 Our hotel had this wonderful view of the Mediterranean.  With Rapallo as our base, we drove along the coast and stopped in Santa Margherita, another seaside town~my favorite, and also Portofino.  There is a water taxi that connects the seaside towns also; Cinque Terra is about an hour away by train.

Our itinerary would be taking us to Florence but we would stop first in Lucca, a walled town and home of Puccini, famous composer of La Boheme, Madame Butterfly and Tosca~just to name a few.  It's a small town and so easy to walk around in.  There is a photo op at every turn!

 There are virtually no cars in Lucca.

Lucca is completely encircled by a wall.  There is a walkway along the wall; it is a walking and bike path.  The wall provides a great view of the city.  I had my first gelato in Lucca.  From then on we took daily "gelato breaks".   My favorite flavor~menta~ mint chocolate chip.

This is the DiSimo Cafe.
  I thought this window would make a perfect painting.

From Lucca we continued on to Pisa. 

We toured the Bapistry, with it's incredible acoustics, and the Cathedral.  The bell tower (Leaning Tower) has been reinforced and is again open for visitors; reservations are required.  Quite different from when I was there the first time in 1968.  The walk up and down the tower gives the feeling of "seasickness"....at least it did for me.   We did not climb the tower on this trip.  I forgot my sketchbook today; so I used a piece of scrap paper for this sketch.

Leaning tower of Pisa. (It really was 2004)

The end of the day found us at the Hotel Ungherese in Florence, the capital of the Tuscany region.  This hotel had a lovely garden terrace where we had picnics, ate our breakfast and had some "art time" with Dani.

The Wisteria were in full bloom and we saw them everywhere!

There is so much to see in Florence.  The photo below was taken from a window in the Ufizzi Art Museum.

The Ponte Vecchio spans the Arno river and
 has been used by merchants since it was built in the 10th century.

Sketch of the Ponte Vecchio

 We took a city bus up to Piazza Michangelo.  From the piazza you get the most spectacular view overlooking Florence.

Sketch of the Duomo from Piazza Michangelo.

On the piazza there were many vendors. I bought a beautiful Italian mosaic pillbox from a jewelry artist.  Each little piece of glass has been inlaid to form the pattern; this is a traditional Florentine craft.

My souvenir pillbox.

We visited Michangelo's "David".  We had reservations but it was mobbed.  There was also quite a bit of scaffolding around the 17 foot marble sculpture.  I remember very vividly the first time I saw "the David"...it was awesome; my friend and I were the only ones in the room at the time.

Florence is an easy city to walk around in and there just isn't a better place for shopping....especially for leather goods. The market area is right near the Cathedral ( Duomo).  I bought a very unique handbag on this trip.

The next stop turned out to be "heaven on earth"~Casa Portagioia.   You must click on the link and see this beautiful bed and breakfast that we used as our home base for the 4 days that we toured the hill towns of Tuscany.  I didn't want to leave.  It is tucked in a valley surrounded by olive groves and vineyards.

The main house at Casa Portagioia.
It took Terry and Marcello several years to restore the buildings
and create this incredibly beautiful and relaxing B&B.

The cypress lined entry to the "Casa".

My painting of the entry.

Looking from the entry to the dining room
into the valley and the small village of Topa.

A sketch I made of the same door one afternoon.

A very large olive oil jar displayed in the dining area.

 Haiku #5 reads:     Olive groves climb hills

                             in Pieve di Chio~

                             Tuscany's bounty.

We took day trips to: Montepulciano, Montalcino, Orvieto, Assisi, Pienza and Sienna. I didn't go with the group to Sienna; I stayed at the Casa and Marcello cut my hair ~in his previous life, he owned a salon in London.  I also accompanied him to the local grocery.  Each of the hill towns has it's own "personality".  Montepulciano is a wine lover's dream. In Montalcino you will find lots of shops selling "miele"~honey.
Orvieto sits on top of a rocky hill; we took the funicular up to the town.  Orvieto is known for its ceramics.

The ceramics are stunning and very colorful.
The large pot is almost 2 feet tall!

Orvieto was one of my favorite stops.  But my very favorite was Assisi.

One of the many viccolos (steep small alleys) connecting the
different levels of the town.

We first stopped at the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels.  In this large church, St. Francis's first very small church(The Porziuncola Chapel) is housed.  You could feel the essence of "peace and kindness"~St. Francis's teaching.  There is a Franciscan monastery attached.

Then we went up into the town of Assisi.  So many wonderful shops!  I really liked the shops that sold olive wood items. It was in Assisi that I first tasted truffles.  I went in a shop to buy olive oil and the shopowner asked if I would also like some truffles.  Saying that I never tasted them, he offered me a sample and I was sold.  Woody was very reluctant to try them but we loved them on pizza!

After our idyllic 4 days at the Casa, we traveled across Italy to the east coast.  I didn't realize that Italy was so mountainous.  The drive was harrowing, winding roads through mountains with steep grades but the views were spectacular.  The best part was seeing medieval villages or fortresses on the mountain tops.  It is a mystery to me how they were built considering the terrain.

We stopped for the night in Ravenna which is known for it's spectacular mosaics. (Please view the link because the photos are beautiful...better than any of mine).  These mosaics, made of murano glass, marble and gold, are very intricate and remarkably done and the buildings were over 1400 years old!

On to Vicenza.  We stayed outside of Venice and used a water taxi to travel into Venice.

My only artwork in Vicenza was this view out of our hotel window.  This evergreen was beautiful; the branches swayed gently from the trunk...it was soft and seductive.
The next day we spent in Venice.  It was raining.  The water taxi stop was very close to the Accademia di Belle Arti....a wonderful museum located on the Grand Canal.   After spending the morning in the art museum we were on our own to explore the city.

A typical scene of a gondola stop on the Grand Canal.

 Carnival Masks are everywhere.  They are beautiful; very elaborate and ornate.
Check the link to see the magnificent carnival costumes.

The famous Rialto Bridge, one of the 4 bridges spanning the Grand Canal.

My attempt at carnival masks.

A painting of the Rialto bridge which was a gift for my sister,
a souvenir of her trip to Venice.

I had a great time walking the "back streets" of Venice and finding some cute little shops.  It is too bad that it was raining; not conducive to sitting and sketching.  I found my way to the Piazza San Marco and caught up with Ann and Maryann.  We took a break and had hot chocolate at the famous Cafe Florian.  We listened to the wonderful string quartet and told each other about our day's adventure.
We only spent a day in Venice but there is much more to see & do...especially a tour of the Murano Glass factory and of course a gondola ride through the canals.  You've probably read that Venice is slowly sinking and great efforts are being made to save the city.

Continuing on, we stopped in Verona, the legendary setting for Romeo & Juliet.  It is a beautiful town of cobbled streets, beautifully painted buildings with lovely windows and balconies.  We stopped at the Roman arena, then Maryann and I ventured off to find the medieval castle and bridge.
Then on again to Varese, our stopping point in the Lake District.
We chose to tour the Borromeo Islands in Lake Maggiore.  Isola Madre is the biggest of the five islands. One of its most attractive features is a beautiful garden full of exotic flowers and rare plants coming from very far-away places and where peacocks, parrots and pheasants roam freely.  The camelias, azalaes and rhododendrons were in spectacular bloom.  This is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

Palazzo Borromeo

A white peacock~pappagalli

Haiku #8                       Isola Madre
                                    gardens and pappagalli;
                                       Spring mountain splendor.

We also toured Isola Bella where we had lunch and got drenched by a sudden downpour.
The lake district of Italy is beautiful and very close to the Swiss border.  It would be a wonderful place to stay for several days.

Our trip ended in Milan. The cathedral was cavernous and magnificent.  The highlight of Milan, for me, was seeing Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper.  The 15th century fresco is painted on a wall of the refectory at the monastery of Santa Maria della Grazie.  In order to preserve the painting, the refectory was converted to a sealed climate-controlled environment.  There is a double entry to main the temperature and visitors are allowed only a 15 minute visit.  It is an awesome sight.

We covered a lot of ground in 16 days and so many wonderful memories that remain.