Delicious Italy

Ravenna, but only for week

As much as possible we travel as we preach, independently.

So perhaps, mid July, in the middle of a heatwave, at 4pm, on the way back from a spot of birdwatching on the River Po Delta was not the best time to arrive in Ravenna.

We first noticed that only Terni has a more confusing relationship with its historical centre, ie hiding it behind avenues and avenues of (fairly inoffensive) post war construction.      

Secondly, as it was mid July and at the height of the afternoon siesta, there was no traffic around, yet you try navigating the inner ring road looking for the city ancient gates.

Not only this, we unfortunately found ourselves at the wrong end of town and had to trek the whole of the pedestrian zone to the tourist office for information about the UNESCO listed Basilicas.

As it was 40°c we asked the the helpful office where the nearest Byzantine jewel was located. Ok, another 200 meters, no sweat.

And here we arrive at the end of our lunch time Odyssey.    

To get into all but one of the Basilicas of Ravenna you have to buy a week long ticket. 

There is no formula for the casual visitor who justs wants to admire the patrimony of a single basilica for cultural and spiritual enrichment before heading on.

We could not help thinking of groups of students backpacking around Europe, or a family of 5 wanting to insert a short cultural programme for the kids,  to be told this.    

One size does not fit all as they say and maybe the city should take note of other Art Cards on offer elsewhere in Italy.

If you do want to view stunning Byzantine mosaics in Italy, then we recommend the beautiful Basilica of Santa Prassede in central Rome near the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.    

Worlds best statue

What is the world's best statue?

Has to be something from the Italian Renaissance, some thing by Michelangelo, David? Has to be, so perfect that on our recent trip to Carrara we were told that an extremely rich American citizen has created an exact copy with the same marble used for the original.

Trouble is he might have copied the wrong one.

For those in the know the world's best statue, or statues, are the Bronzes from Riace in Calabria.

A wonderful BBC television program coincided with our return from Carrara and built a convincing argument.

Firstly, the Greek world represented their Gods in human form. The ancient Egyptians didn't. But the Egyptians knew how to work stone on a massive scale. The Greeks applied the techniques and created life sized human forms. Eventually perfectly.  Too perfectly in fact and they strove for an even more human representation. They managed it by exaggerating slightly the human body and pose to render it more dynamic. Art was never the same and we've been exaggerating the human form for our own visual please ever since, including Michelangelo. 

So get yourself to the National Museum of Reggio Calabria and see the Riace Bronzes close up. 

 

Spike Lee and the Gothic Line

While we were touring the Garfagnana and the Versilia coast we heard that Spike Lee was in town.

His visit surrounded the Gothic Line, a defense built by the German forces during the Second World War anticipating the northern push of the Allies from south Italy.

It was basically a concrete wall which stretched from Marina di Carrara all the way across the peninsular to Pesaro in Le Marche.

Sections are still visible in Massa including a piece sticking out of the beach and a longer stretch heading towards the marble quarries

It reaches a height of 25 feet in places and is an impressive site, but no more impressive than the U.S. troops who surpassed the wall and liberated the town of Castelnuovo Garfagnana back in 1944.

Castelnuovo looks fairly disappointing today compared to many medieval towns in the valley as it suffered some the most fierce fighting in the zone.

It has been more or less completely rebuilt and a plaque remembers the bravery of the soldiers of the all black 92° 'Buffalo Soldiers' Division.

These soldiers will be further remembered in a forthcoming film, by Spike Lee called Miracle at St'Anna from a novel by James McBride.

A Visit to the Marble Quarries of Carrara

Now here's an unusual travel experience. We visited the famous marble quarries of Carrara in the Apuan Alps in Tuscany.

If you wondered where Michelangelo sourced his raw material for many of his finest works, then its here.

The work is still incredibly tough and dangerous, even today.

We took a lift to the heart of the quarry and the video below will give you an idea. Bear in mind that we are at 1000 meters above sea level.

Note that the drivers' work is incredibly skilled and they stop for no one.