DOWN THE VIA AURELIA (SLOWLY!)

Crossing into Italy we drove for several hundred kilometres down the Via Aurelia as it snaked up and down, round and about along the coast where the mountains seemed to tumble straight into the sea.  Most of the time we were limited to 50KPH (30MPH) so it was slow going but it gave us a chance to see the views.  We had our first snow of the journey right by the sea, just north of Genoa.

Genoa was fascinating.  We took our bikes in on the train and cycled round the old town where many of the streets are so narrow that it would be barely possible to get a car through.

When it was built Genoa was ruled by the Spanish and the warren of streets reminded us of the Medinas – walled towns built by the Spanish of the same period in Morocco.   It is definitely a city of contrasts – Italy’s largest sea port yet filled with grand palaces built in the 16^th century on condition that they would be made available for entertaining visiting royalty. 

 In between the palaces we went along streets where prostitutes smiled at us from shady doorways, through piazzas full of restaurants, by smart modern shops and buildings where you might suddenly find a bas-relief panel set in an otherwise non-descript wall …

… churches decorated with beautiful wall and ceiling paintings …

… and the unusual black and white Cathedral. 

There was also litter everywhere and dog dirt on the pavements – but that is something we have found everywhere in Italy so far! 

Continuing down the Via Aurelia we arrived at Pisa where we were able to stay on a “Camper Sop” run by the local caravan club.  From it we walked down to the river …

… then through the old town, stopping for lunch at a street café, before arriving at the Piazza dei  Miracoli (Field of Miracles).

In the centre of this huge grassed area is the Cathedral with on one side the Baptistry and on the other the Tower which really does lean.  Actually all three buildings lean by various amounts! The Tower is, in fact, slightly banana shaped. 

It began to sink to one side when the first three storeys were built.  The foundations were strengthened and the builders continued upwards curving each successive story slightly so that the top remained above base!  The lean became worse until by 1993 it was 4.47m out of plumb.  Major work was carried out on the foundations which reduced the lean and, it is hoped, has prevented it from falling over!

The Cathedral was the largest in Europe when it was built.  The huge octagonal pulpit in the north aisle, sculpted from Carrara marble by Giovanni Pisano between 1259 and 1260 is one of the earliest pieces of Italian sacred art to feature nude and heroic figures.

It forms a striking contrast to the modern altar by Italian sculptor Giuliano Vangi, which was controversially installed in 2001.

Next stop Rome – look out for an update soon, internet connections permitting!!

ON OUR WAY TO ITALY

We are on our travels again after doing our usual round of family and friends during which we enjoyed a super Christmas with Wendy and Zira and visits to Mike, Louise, Owen, Megan and Katie including being there for Katie’s third Birthday.  We were also able to be with Jane’s Godmother when she celebrated her 100^th Birthday last November. 

We had a week on a narrow boat in November which convinced us that we are still able to manage everything even in adverse weather conditions – and to enjoy it!  The weather was actually not all bad and we had some lovely sunny but very cold days too.

We crossed the Channel on a wet and windy day on 29^th January and headed south from Dunkerque to Avignon, keeping to the East of Paris and passing through (or round) Reims, Dijon and Lyon.  The weather was miserable at first but gradually improved as we drove south.  We had a walk round Reims which we visited very briefly two years ago and saw again the massive Cathedral repaired and restored on the outside which is covered in sculptures of saints, angels, animals and even mythical beasts such as a unicorn and a centaur! 

Among them we liked this angel looking very pleased with himself (or herself?) much to the dismay of the Bishop alongside.   

The dark interior is very bare and smells like a damp cellar but has some beautiful stained glass.

We saw several interesting, but not spectacular, buildings and a Roman Triumphal Arch now looking rather weathered.

We were due to pass close to Taizé and so took a detour to visit it.  It was Saturday and we hoped to join the prayer meeting that night and the Communion on the Sunday morning.  We were told that this would be a problem as we were not allowed to park up and spend the night in our motor caravan anywhere on the huge site.  The Brothers were all at a Council Meeting and the volunteer who was dealing with us could not make any decisions so we satisfied ourselves with a look at the beautiful chapel (where photography was sadly only allowed between 1 and 2 pm!) and drove on to our next site feeling somewhat rejected.

All we knew about Avignon was that it had a bridge made famous in the children’s song “Sur le pont d’Avignon” and we were amazed to find the old town completely enclosed within spectacular and well preserved walls with 39 towers and several gates.  From the Caravan Site we could look across the River Rhone to this fortress-town …

… and the bridge. 

Originally having 22 arches the 900 metre long bridge was built between 1171 and 1185 but frequently collapsed during floods.  In 1660 they gave up trying to rebuild it and demolished all but the four arches remaining today and the tiny chapel on top of them.

From Avignon we continued south to Marseille and then east along the Mediterranean coast.  The sun shone, the sea and sky were both deep blue and cliffs of red sandstone jutted out from pine covered hills splashed here and there with yellow mimosa blossom.  Beautiful!

We even caught glimpses distant snow covered peaks in the distance beyond Cannes.