Tag Archives: italy

The Tuscan Hills

April 9, 2018 Jim Herrmann 4 Comments

Since it can prove to be difficult to travel to the small hill towns in Tuscany using public transportation, we rented a car and took several drives into the surrounding hills and down the coast.

Chiani

Our first stop was Chiani. It is a very small town with little to no tourists (at least when we were there). Holly had seen an ad for an apartment there and although we thought the town might be too small, we thought we would take a look while we were in the area. The apartment was a very nice place in the corner of town with a magnificent view of the Tuscan countryside and plenty of space, but as we suspected, the town was just too small for us to want to stay put there for any length of time.

The rooftop terrace

The view from the rooftop terrace

Volterra

Like many of the places we have visited, the history of Volterra goes back thousands of years. There are the remains of the Etruscan acropolis on top of the hill and the Roman theater on the side of the hill. During the time of the Medici, the place was fought over for the alum deposits nearby. There are traces of all of that and more in this spectacular hilltop city.

Volterra from a distance

The walls of Volterra

The Etruscan ruins

The old castle still used as a prison

The Roman theater

View through one of the city gates

The views just keep coming

San Gimignano

If you are looking for great medieval architecture in a small Tuscan city, this just might be the place for you. It is stunningly preserved and you can easily imagine yourself wandering these streets 600 year ago (well except for the occasional car that passes you at a speed that always seems too fast). The fun part of this place is that during the middle ages, the families that lived here got into a “my tower is bigger than your tower” match. The result of this competition was that at one time there were as many as 72 tower houses distributed around the city. The city fathers finally put an end to the whole thing by putting a limit on the height of any new tower. While many of the towers are gone, there are still 14 to bemuse your spirit and as in all of the hill towns in this region, there are great views in every direction.

The Tuscan Coast

With all of the attention that the Tuscan hills get, it is good to remember that Tuscany has a beautiful coast line and it can be a very rewarding experience to spend some time there.

We are currently in Porto, Portugal. This is a stop over on our way back to Seattle. Not to worry, we are only coming back to sell our house and return to Italy as soon as we have taken care of the sale and the business that follows. I am determined to finish at least most of the posts that I meant to write over that last few months, so be prepared for the onslaught. Hopefully, that will be a good thing for most of you.

Italian Cities

Livorno

March 15, 2018 Jim Herrmann 1 Comment

As we looked for a strategy to explore more of Tuscany (we have both been to Florence several times and we stayed in Lucca for a month in 2016 just after we moved here), we decided to stay on the sea at Livorno and rent a car so we could drive into the hills to explore places that are somewhat difficult by train or bus. This turned out to be a good choice for us and we had a great time.

Livorno is a port city of approximately 160,000 inhabitants located on the west coast of Tuscany. When the port of Pisa silted up in the 13th century, Livorno (once known to the English as Leghorn) became the major port city for Tuscany. The Medici family had a major influence here and their traces can be seen everywhere.

At one point the city decided to install a series of canals and waterways and there is even one neighborhood that is referred to as “Venezia Nuova” (New Venice). We stayed in an apartment with a view of one of those canals and the Fortezza Nuova (a Medicean fortress that is now a park).

The Ever Changing View From our Apartment

I think this may have been my favorite view from any stay we have had here in Italy. It seemed that every time I looked out the window, it was different, but always a wonder to behold.

Morning

Evening

Sunset

The Various views of Livorno

We spent one day exploring Livorno and wondering around its streets, canals and the seaside plaza/walkway. It was a little cool, but the skies were beautiful and at this time of year nothing was over crowded. We had great food, great wine and a great time.

From the Fortezza toward our apartment

Always the laundry on a nice day

The Fortezza Nuova

From the Fortezza

Couldn’t resist

Beautiful houses

The plaza/walkway

The plaza/walkway with a beautiful lady

The Market

Full of all the fresh fish, meat, cheese, baked goods, fruits and vegetables you could want, this indoor market, with skylights to provide all of the illumination you need, was a delight to shop for our food during our stay in Livorno.

Quattro mori

Perhaps the most famous statue in Livorno, the Four Moors was commissioned by Cosimo II de’ Medici in the 17th century to commemorate the various victories of his father, Ferdinando I de’ Medici, over the Moors. Perhaps, like the monument to Christopher Columbus in Genova, with a bare breasted native american maiden sitting at his feet like a prize from the new world (see post on Genova), it may seem a little politically incorrect (Holly says that by today’s standards, it is horribly incorrect), but the bronze figures in chains , subjugated as they are, are magnificent pieces unto themselves.

Next up will be some views of the Tuscan hills.

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Luna della Croce

October 29, 2016 Jim Herrmann 4 Comments

The other night we were going to dinner at some friends’ house and we left a little early so we could make sure to find it. It was a five-minute walk and we easily identified where we were going. (Not necessarily an easy feat here in the land of twisting streets where names change and not all are clearly marked.) So we went for a stroll through the Centro Storico (Historical Center) where we live. As we approached the 1,800 year old Anfiteatro Romano, we realized that there was a performance about to start. As near as I can recall the name on the poster, it was called Luna della Croce (Moon of the Cross) or something along those lines. Our first look was backstage where the cast was preparing for the performance to begin by listening to a pep talk from someone I supposed to be the director. Great costumes and lots of enthusiasm.

We walked around to the front and waited a few minutes for the action to begin. I am sorry I didn’t catch it but the whole thing started with flames and burning arrows, but I did catch the grand entrance of the antagonists as the battle began in earnest.

We had to leave for our dinner engagement before viewing the final outcome, but I am relatively certain that the Christians were triumphant and the world was safe once again.

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We are in Italy

October 14, 2016 Jim Herrmann 9 Comments

Dusk on the street where we live.

return0006

We woke up at 7 am in Oakland on Friday, September 30th, to pack and get ready for our move to Italy. We had not completely unpacked for 3 months. By 3 pm on Sunday ( 6 am PDT) after spending 16 hours in Rome, we arrived at our apartment in Lecce. We have now been here for almost two weeks and are starting to settle in.

The first order of business was to apply for our Permesso di Soggiorno (permission to stay). Yes, we needed one more piece of Italian bureaucracy to be in place to be legal here. I won’t go into the gory details except to say that even though the description looks simple, after filling out 11 pages of information (instructions all in Italian) supplying 15 more pages of documentation, and walking to five different post offices (only two of which were of actual help), we now have an appointment on October 31st (Yes, Halloween) to meet with the magistrate and hopefully become official residents. Phew.

Holly had the disappointment of finding out that the place where she had been able to practice her piano during our time here has closed. We talked with the owner and he is moving to a small town some 30 miles away. But as she always seems to do, Holly has have found another solution. We were on an outing with our former property manager and now friend, Gianfranco Miglietta, and his wife Paola and were discussing the whole piano thing, when Gianfranco casually mentions he has a cousin who is a musician and has a piano. As I write this, Holly has ridden off on her new bicycle (pictures will follow on the next post) for her first practice session. The woman has someone or something looking out for her.