Arte Card and other Italy General Tips

Favorite Thing: Planning a trip to Naples? Like poking around in museums? Then, the Arte Card is for you!
What you get for the cost of two museum tickets is entry to two museums, half cost at a third and, most importantly, you can travel anywhere on public transport for the three days while the ticket lasts.
Highly recommended.

Fondest Memory: The famous archeological museum is worth a look though some of it will be closed.
I can also recommend the Museo Civico Castel Nuovo as a great way to spend a couple of hours.

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Favorite Thing: Before travelling we had arranged to meet fellow VT-er Sara while in Rome. This turned out to be one of the better things we did whilst in Rome, not only because of the lovely nature of Sara and her friend Monica, but because it relieved me of the responsibility of having to find my way around all the streets.

Fondest Memory: So it was that we had a wonderful relaxing afternoon checking out the Spanish Steps (where we met), Piazza Navona, Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain where we are pictured here.
The next day Sara took us to San Paolo church which was not on my itinerary but turned out to be Rosemarie's favourite (out of about 30).
So, not only do you meet new friends, you get a free guide and see different sights just by being a VT member!

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Favorite Thing: Knowing that traditions live on in Renaissance land does my heart good. The fact that you can still see people creating as they have done for thousands of years is great.

Fondest Memory: I love it when I get to see a real artist at work. Be it musician, painter, dancer or sculptor as you see here at Alab' Arte in Volterra. The gentlemen are still turning out masterpieces for the mass market in their little workshop down a side lane just to the left of the Etruscan museum.
I sighed looking at some of the fine work they had produced from alabaster, stepping timidly across the severely dusty floor to view some of the better pieces up close.
As you'll see in my other pages I managed to see artists at work in Riomaggiore and Montefalcone as well and am eternally thankful for the experience.

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Favorite Thing: That's one of the nice things about travel, meeting people from other countries who have vastly different backgrounds to yourself.
It seemed every night we ate in Positano we met a new American couple whom we sat down and ate with.
One was a restorer of frescoes and churches and his wife a psychologist, another had a new type of digital camera that allows you to use all your 35mm lenses with it.
In Chianti we stayed at Poggio Asciuto and, on our second day, a German couple arrived whom we befriended and we ended up spending the day together in San Gimignano.

Fondest Memory: Meeting Walther and Marianna was one of the nice things on our holiday. We have since corresponded and, if things work out as planned, will meet again sometime in the future.
Another plus was that their car was an Audi and it had the tracking system that tells you where to go when you're in European cities. Oh, that I had one for all of Italy! Think of the times I wouldn't have been lost.

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Favorite Thing: How many of these can you take? After your 100th Jesus on the cross (make that a thousand), poor old San Sebastian with all those bloody arrows hanging out of him and the forever-tortured breasts of the Sicilian Saint Agatha I was slightly apalled at the Christian prediliction for horror.
The fear factor has been, and still is, used extensively by those who seek power so I don't suppose I should be surprised; it's simply that for a supposedly loving, caring faith, it would be nice to see more tender images in the mould of Madonna and Child.
This shot was taken in the Castel Nuovo in Naples.


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Favorite Thing: I love history. Can't get enough of it, thus the Romans have always been one of my fascinations. It is however, only recently, that I have come across a gem of a book called "Route 66 AD" by Tony Perrottet, an expat-Aussie now living in New York. His knowledge is prodigious and his interest wide. No boring history book this, it is about travel as experienced by the Greeks, the Romans and Tony and his long-suffering partner Les, around 7 months pregnant during their trip. Before you go to Italy, Greece or Egypt, it would pay you to enjoy this volume; it will be enlightening both as a book to read and for research for your trip.

Fondest Memory: Whilst reading his book I came across the reference to Agrippa's fabulous "world" map (although he died before it was complete) that had been erected on the Vipsania Colonnade. For those who can remember, imagine a drive-in movie screen with a map of the known world inscribed upon it, then recall that you have never seen as much as a street map before because they hardly existed. Thousands of people were here for the unveiling, animals were being sacrificed to the symphony of nearby aqueduct-fed silver fountains; choirs sang inspiring anthems beside food stalls as people gazed upon the marvel that had been drawn up by an elite corps of surveyors despatched to all corners of their empire.
It indicated a curved world (the Greek scientist Eratosthenes proved this in the 3rd century BC) as they knew it though it only had three continents.
Agrippa had scored the decisive naval battle over Anthony and Cleopatra on behalf of Rome's first emperor, Caesar Augustus, and Augustus had a smaller version of the map made of pure gold with the major towns indicated by precious gems.
All very evocative and one of a hundred fascinating tales you'll find in this book.

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Favorite Thing: There are places in Italy that don't exist. I mean not on VT, not on "Google", not anywhere.
Bassano Inferiore (according to the sign at the village) is one such village. Then again, it could be Bazzano Inferiore, depending on your source!

Fondest Memory: Situated just north of Spoleto in Umbria, Bassano Inferiore beckoned me as I was trying to decide where to go next. Should I stop in Spoleto or go for Norcia? It was while I was contemplating the answer that the early evening light favoured a ruined castle off to my left and, drawn inexorably as I am to such things, I deviated.
It really was a ruin. Houses had been built using bits of the old wall and olive trees grew where soldiers once gathered. The clear outline of a fort from a distance was blurred when you were up close. I scrambled about seeking to get a good angle for a photo but the difficulties were many and this was the best I could come up with.
Still, for a moment there my youthful exuberance was re-ignited as only an old castle can do.

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Favorite Thing: Walled cities. I love them. Anything remotely old will do and chuck in some cobbles and a piazza and I'm in heaven.

Fondest Memory: So, when I left Tuscany, for some reason I had a vision I would be leaving most of the old towns behind. No, same thing up north, it's just that they're mostly on the plain. Somwhere like Verona being a classic example. The list however is more than you can ever cover in a normal holiday. Bergamo, Ferrara, Padova, Bologna, Mantova; the list goes on. They've all had a dominant family at some time that created these wonders. Whether it be the Scaglieris, the Estes or whoever. It was a period of control over some time that led to the encirclements. So, to fully enjoy your excursion, I suggest you brush up on your history before you go or, when you're there, make sure you go to the local tourist information centre to better understand what you're looking at.

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Favorite Thing: If there is one place I've been to where there were hordes of tourists that I still fell in love with, this is it.
The Isle of Capri delivers on its promise and then some. If you think you can see it in a day because it's only a small island you would be mistaken. We spent four nights there and would recommend you aim for a week.
If you're not into walking you won't have the same experience as me and maybe a few days less will do. The island really does favour those who like to go for a stroll.

Fondest Memory: From the Arco Naturale to Monte Solaro, from the Villa San Michele to the walk of the forts; from the back alleys of Capri to the walk from the gardens of Augustus to Piccolo Marina, it will enchant you all the time.
There is no such thing as a bad viewpoint on Capri; some are just slightly less spectacular than others.
My only disappointment was the Blue Grotto. My take on it is that it is hugely over-hyped though I gained much pleasure from watching the tourists come and go and thought the situation inside the cave was hilarious. It was like dodge'em boats, wide eyed tourists and various renditions of "O Sole Mio" and "Volare" all happening at the same while outside the three men in the open boat sat there collecting money.....lots of it. At over ten euros per person they were raking it in.
The laughter I got from that experience was only exceeded by watching the traffic at the roundabout, something I did every day as we walked past there on the way to Capri or the bus stop. Once I saw a bus, a three wheeled truck, a battery powered low loader, a dog and a scooter all going around at once, not all in the same direction. It was hilarious.
The other traffic situation that you MUST experience is to take the bus up to Anacapri. I dare not spoil your anticipation by telling you what it will be like - just do it.

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Favorite Thing: It's a happening ruin, in transit so to speak. The crumbling plaster, exposed brickwork, flaking paint, bolts with brackets holding walls together, buildings at crazy angles, cables hanging from nothing going nowhere, streets so narrow at times you have to turn sideways to pass by other couples; the uneveness of the cobbles straining your legs.
It's a nightmare. The population is in decline; people don't want to live there and who can blame them. Modern living has almost bypassed this place.
The gondolier has found a client, a French couple with a pram and a group of Americans quickly follow in the second craft. They both choose the 100 euros cheap ride as distinct from the 150 euros grand tour. I ponder whether or not they accept cheques, my sense of humour not having diminished on iota.
Our window is adorned with African violets and imitation roses plus purple fake flowers set in crystals. A scallop bottomed red curtain swings above us caressed by the zephyr that drifts though the window, its colour matched by the shop across the way selling Ferrari merchandise.
Our waitress is fluent in at least three languages and the couple next to us turn out to be Australian so, for a short time on our trip, language is not a problem. They're from Sydney, an affable pair whose children are being minded by their grandparents. They'd seen an Emirates special on T.V. and taken a punt, picking up a $1,200 airfare. He's a civil engineer and his wife always wanted to come back to Italy, last seen 20 years ago.
We have been in Venezia for over 4 hours and still haven't reached the Piazza San Marco, deliberately strolling into courtyards, blind alleys and back streets en route.
We've managed the Ponte de Rialto and noticed the crowd visibly thicken so we stay with the crush, the number of shops also increasing to the point where that's all there is until suddenly we're there.

Fondest Memory: Some hyped places are a bit of a let down. All the pre publicity drains the excitement of seeing a major attraction for the first time. Not so here, its magnificence is overwhelming, its manner grand, its opulence dazzling.
I'm fascinated by the church. Layer upon layer of visible history taunts your eyes. Here a Roman mosaic, there some Renaissance work, elsewhere some Romanesque statues shoved into the walls. It's like someone found all these bits of European history and put them all in one place in random order.
Overall its Byzantine influence is dominant though, with the spectacular wall mosaics and the four bronze horses outside that came from the Hippodrome in then Constantinople where it all started.
They joyfully tell you it costs nothing to enter but, to see many of the exhibits or go to the top, they just as joyfully charge. Allow over ten euros if you want to see the extras.
Eslewhere Rosemarie is off shopping. We'd checked out paintings earlier but now we're plunging into every glass shop available, and there are many. She likes many items but ultimately buys nothing. Many, I have to agree, are stunningly beautiful, their colours flowing through the glass like shattered rainbows and the ones shaped like birds I thought were really special.
We commenced our return journey towards the station after sunset and got lost, heading towards the Arsenale and still without a map before we began asking people directions.
That's when we came to the main route whose cafes and tourist shops are never ending. When we reaaach the station we duck up a side alley to a shop selling paintings that we had visited earlier.
After some time Rosemarie decides on two and I negotiate a cheaper price just before the shop closes, satisfied that for at least once in Venice we didn't get ripped off.
The only downer for the day was that my camera isn't working and our current landlord offered us his for which I was grateful.

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