by Chris Herbert
The scent of citrus was in the air. It was mid October and while the Tuscan sun was low in the western sky it still felt warm on my face. I was sure that if I closed my eyes I would be a witness to the sounds and the sights of medieval farmers returning from the rolling hills to the safety of this walled city. Since the 13th century the walls of San Gimignano have served as the safe haven from marauding hordes and this piazza has been the meeting place for the citizens of this ancient Tuscan town.
We settled in on the low steps of the community cistern in Piazza Della Cisterna one of the highest squares in San Gimignano to enjoy the creations of master gelato maker Sergio Dondoli. The creamy treats, our reward for the long walk up Via San Giovanni. My interest was divided between the animated conversations all around me, friends and neighbours greeting each other in Italian and listening to my travel mates, one was expounding the art and history of the museums, galleries and churches of Tuscany, the other recounting the time spent wandering the narrow cobble stone streets, sampling the local gastronomic delights and wines. All I could add was ‘sono d’accordo’ on both counts.
The first written records of this Estrucan village are from 929 AD. Named for the former Bishop of Modena in the 10th century San Gimignano is a Unesco World Heritage site and is also known as the city of beautiful towers. During The Middle Ages while at the peak of it’s influence this town boasted fifty-six towers, some standing more then fifty meters tall and visible from anywhere in the Elsa Valley. These towers were not only status symbols to local families as well they served as a medieval early warning system should would be invaders approach. Because of war, the Black Plague in the 14th century, urban renewal and other catastrophes only fourteen of the towers remain and only one, The Grossa tower was open for our viewing.
Although I would never claim to be an expert on such things but it seems to me that San Gimignano could also be called the city of collections. That would include works of art by Renaissance painters Filippino Lippi and Pinturicchio as well as others in The Duomo or Communal Palace, the town art gallery.
Being surrounded by so much history can be a little over whelming so we took a time out to clear our heads and check out the terra cotta and glazed pottery. Crafts and pottery that have been produced by local artisans are abundant in the open-air market and shops along Via Giovanni. I couldn’t resist bringing a handcrafted ornament home for my grand daughter.
Our discussion of all that we had enjoyed about San Gimignano was interrupted by the aroma of the Tuscan cuisine as it wafted across the piazza from a local ristorante. Our focus promptly changed from Estrucan artifacts to our earlier visit to Fattorio Lischeto and one of the best meals we have ever enjoyed.
The Giovanni Cannas family farm is on the Monte Volterrano road between San Gimignano and Volterra. The Agriturismo program allows families like the Cannas’ to continue the centuries old farming tradition on their one hundred and fifty hectares by combining their life long work with a tourist destination. We got to experience a small taste of Tuscan farm life.
Fattorio Lischeto boasts a restored rustic farmhouse where we enjoyed the best of Tuscan cuisine and the company of fellow travelers from around the globe. The panoramic views of the surrounding farmland, Cypress groves, rolling hills and valleys could only surpassed the crispy crostini and pancheta, organic pecorino cheese, panchino tomatoes freshly picked from the garden and a drizzle of virgin olive oil. I still smile when I think of the organic Chianti.
It was early morning when we walked along Via dei Marchesi into Piazza Martiri della Liberti in Volterra a hillside town of 11,000 people. Standing in the centre of the piazza in the shadow of the towns 15th century bell tower we attempted to familiarize ourselves with our surroundings. As the locals went about their daily chores or prepared their shops for the day we were approached by a man bible in hand returning from Mass at the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. “Possiamo aiutarti?” Now I was wishing that I had spent more time practicing my Italian. I was relieved when he added. “My English is not good.” Much better then my Italian I thought. “How I can help.” He asked. As it turned out our new friend Fuvio was very helpful. He got us on our way again with points of interest now clearly marked on our map of Volterra. We began our stroll through the quiet streets and alleys poking our heads into bottegas and artist’s workshops.
While San Gimignano is a busy tourist destination Volterra is what I had envisioned when I thought about an ancient Estrucan town. The City of Alabaster as it is known became important in the 18th century in part because of the quality and transparency of the alabaster in the region. To this day craftsman work in the dust filled workshops where you can watch them work and spend whatever amount you desire large or small for your memories. In celebration of their history of carving Volterra’s Museum of Alabaster boasts over three hundred original pieces, displayed in a 17th century convent.
Early Roman influence is apparent in Volterra with the recent (in Tuscan time) discovery of the ruins of the Theatre of Vallebona from the 1st century and spa buildings from the Augustun age (5th century). Many of the archaeological finds from digs in and around Volterra and the Elsa Valley are displayed in the Guarnacci Museum, one of the first public museums in Europe that was founded in 1761 while the Romanesque style church of St. Agostino is the home to remnants of famous frescoes.
Volterra is a very laid back and relaxed journey into Estrucan times with many narrow streets and alleys to explore. Somewhere I would like to visit again.
Back in the piazza in San Gimignano I dabbed the last of the Rosmarino gelato from my chin. The October sun set behind a tower and an early fall chill filled the air. As we slipped into our jackets and started back down Via San Giovanni we still couldn’t agree on our favorite part of our trip to Tuscany. One thing we could agree on was that this part of Italy has much to offer and that this was a Tuscan adventure that was too short.
Wonderful Tuscany Wine Tour in Chianti Wine Region Siena and San Gimignano
If You Go:
Tuscany can be as easy as a day trip away from Rome or Florence by train or bus. Even if your first visit is a day trip I am sure you will want to stay longer or return to Tuscany. Accommodations in Tuscany tend to be in rental apartments or villas. There are a few small hotels: www.tuscanyaccommodation.com or www.agriturismo.net
For train and bus routes and schedules in and around Tuscany www.welcometuscay.it If you are feeling a little more adventurous why not travel by car or Vespa scooter. There are several sites to choose from including www.bellinibruno.com
Most Italians, Tuscans included seem to be able to find any excuse for a festival. Whether you are interested in a flag festival or a celebration of your favorite fruit or vegetable a good place to start is www.discovertuscany.com
About the author:
Chris Herbert has been a closet writer for a long time. In recent years he has combined his writing passion with his travel adventures. You can read his articles in Postcards in the Vancouver Sun and an upcoming story in Seniors Living. Next on the travel agenda… Northern Spain.
All photographs by Chris Herbert.
Hidden on the slopes of a great rock known as the Gibraltar of Greece, Monemvasia is one of those rare treasures that tourists usually by-pass. It’s a magical experience visiting this little medieval site. The entire town is walled and invisible from the shore. The steep rock, crowned with its Venetian fortress, is connected to the mainland by a narrow causeway. Motor vehicles are prohibited, but a mini bus takes you free of charge to the old city gates.
From Monemvasia I took the early morning bus heading for Koroni, another Venetian town. After a circuitous route through Sparta, I arrived at Koroni that evening. The castle of Koroni was lit by a mystic green light. Above its turrets, Mars blinked its red beacon; a crescent moon illuminated the sky over the twinkling lights of the village; little kaikis bobbed on the moonlit sea.
The old town of Koroni has long since fallen into ruin, but the Venetian architecture has been preserved, with wrought iron balcony railings, arched windows and doors. The largest, two-storied mansions and public buildings are on the waterfront, while higher up are the smaller Laika (folk) houses with small inner courtyards. One distinctive feature of the Koroni houses are the curved tile roofs and unusual terracotta eave decorations: instead of the usual palmettes, these are like small winged angels.
Which set of the many instructions, bus schedules, and info that I was given by Greek locals would prove to be the right one? After various suggestions I decided to go with the English speaking baker who even drew me a map to explain which village to get off to catch the bus to Pylos/Methoni which, he said, went past every hour. According to his directions, I disembarked at the cross-roads at a village called Rozymalos and waited at a kafeneion for just over an hour until the bus finally arrived.
Methoni’s 15th century Venetian fortress expands over the whole area of the south west cape. Built over ancient walls, it was the prize of many invaders over the ages. The walls loom imposingly over a setting filled with memories of the past. The castle has a protective moat on the land side and is surrounded on three sides by the sea making it impenetrable.
Rising seventy metres on a black shale bench above the glacial silt plains of the River Boyne sit three megalithic tombs of the Neolithic or Late Stone Age also known as Passage Tombs or burial tombs. They date around 4000-2500 BC – Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth being the major ones – and are situated midway down the east side of Ireland.
Passage Tombs have several common features: a mound in the shape of an egg called a tumulus. It is 85 meters across, 13 meters high and covers one acre. It is defined by a ring or kerb of 97 stones, a passage way and a chamber. I knew without doubt that this is where we got our word, curb which has the same basic use today – to define a certain boundary The building of the three Passage Tombs above the River Boyne seems to have developed over several hundreds of years, the design finally climaxing in the shaping of a cross. With a central space at the end of the passage way it also has a chamber on each side and also beyond it, making a very crude cross shape.
It is also thought that since such immense energy and time was given to the etching on these stones that some sort of celebratory social ritual took place in a circular movement around the outside.
Waiting for my group of ten to enter the passage way, I wandered around the outer path surrounding this UNESCO World Heritage Site. Returning to the opening I suddenly found myself alone. The site’s guide and the group had disappeared into the Tomb. I had to find a place to leave the umbrella and luggage and strapping my knapsack onto my chest I ducked low under the stone lintel of the entrance. All was darkness. I had to move sideways for most of the passage was very narrow. I could hear voices ahead. I was well aware that I was walking where my Irish ancestors had walked, where they had brought their dead to cremate. I finally came out to a dimly lit rounded chamber where a large three-spiral stone sat in a recessed part of the earth floor. Small chambers opened off the larger chamber to roughly take the shape of the cross. Three large stone basins, each about one metre wide were thought to have been used in cremation ritual. The tomb was plundered in the late 800’s AD by Viking raiders and after its recent excavation there is nothing left but the stone structure.
During the early days of Newgrange’s excavation there was a growing belief that the rising sun, at some unknown time, used to light up the three-spiral stone at the end of the passage. Finally on December 21st, 1969, the excavating crew investigated this idea. They recorded that the sun appeared above the horizon and a small shaft of light about the width of a pencil entered the roof-box. It was an aperture like as in a camera, l meter by 0.25 meter, and had been built behind the first lintel and below the second. This very narrow shaft of light shone along the whole passage to reach to one of the basin stones in the end chamber. Quite quickly the light widened to a 17 cm shaft and swung with a life of its own across the end chamber and the tomb was entirely lit. Shortly this 17 cm band of light narrowed and finally ceased to shine at all into the tomb. The tomb was again in darkness. For seventeen minutes, it was recorded, direct light entered Newgrange, not through the main door but through the specially designed slit which laid under the roof-box at the outer rim of the passage. It was most obvious that a specialized ritual of bringing the light into the tomb during the winter months was established. Since the burial tombs were a place of reverencing the dead, it is thought that the purposeful entering of the light was possibly symbolically giving the dead a passageway to the afterlife. Six thousand years ago, our ancestors had developed a ritual honoring the winter solstice—the sun’s rising on the shortest day of the year. I was in awe at the knowledge these ancient ones had possessed and had passed to us. I stood where ancient ritual had taken place and felt part of the eternal link that connected us all and I felt gratitude.
The Italian government has done a great job instructing visitors with strategically placed information about the site. We also liked the fact that they give you the freedom to discover Ostia on your own. Signs warn visitors to have respect for the artifacts. Because of atmospheric exposure and those created by the nearby airport, some of the monuments are wearing down. We wandered off the Decumanus, and. onto narrow paths scattered with pine needles, ducking under archways, and poking around alleys.
Just beyond the warehouses we climbed the few steps on our right. Here were the Baths of Neptune, a gathering place for the locals. An amazingly preserved mosaic, measuring 55 feet by 36 feet, is of the sea god riding a chariot drawn by four pawing horses.
We pictured the locals sitting in baths, then walking down the Maximus to imbibe a few cups of wine at the Insula of the Thermopolium.
The first excavations were started in the late 1700s and work has continued ever since. A roped-off area of white tents showed us that restoration was in progress. An employee with a high power water gun was spraying a mosaic. She told us that 21st century pollution makes it very difficult to keep them clean.
After navigating almost the length of the Maximus, we came to the Forum, the main square of the town. Here were the remains of important government and religious buildings. Many of the pillars and building foundations have been left standing. The huge Capitolium Temple dominates the right-hand side. Most Roman forums were dominated by a temple – to bring the deity to the people. The Capitolium Temple was dedicated to the pagan trinity of Juno, Jupiter and Minerva. Columns flank the massive staircase leading to the entrance. At least two stories are visible. Before heading back, we stopped at the near-by museum to view the busts and statues of the local citizenry. Most amazing is the detail to features, hair styles, and dress. My favorite was a soldier in a pleated kilt, headpiece, shoes, and weapon. There is also a room with more of the marble sarcophagi showing carvings of Dionysus, the Greek God of wine.
We headed for this scenic route, officially inaugurated on 25 May 1975, on a sunny day in July. It took us less than one hour, by taking the N13 from Caen, to reach the starting point of the Cider Route, Cambremer.
Cider-makers on the Cider Route compete annually and those selected display the sign “Cru de Cambremer” on the roadside at the entrances to their farms. Nineteen producers have been awarded the “Cru de Cambremer” in 2010 and nine of them offer guided tours. The specified products of these “Cru de Cambremer” can be marketed under the label Cidre du Pays d’Auge (AOC), Cidre du Pays d’Auge Cambremer (AOC) or Calvados du Pays d’Auge (AOC).
We were looking at the seemingly boundless farmland while our guide went on with her talk. “The yield per hectare is limited to 30 tonnes for low-stemmed apple trees and 20 tonnes per hectare for high-stemmed ones. This ensures the quality of the apples. Many farms prefer the low-stemmed apple trees nowadays as they can be machine harvested which saves a lot of manpower.”
Our next stop was the distillery for making calvados – an apple brandy produced from cider by double distillation. The liquid, which was just 10% in volume of the pre-distilled cider, was kept in large oak barrels between three and 30 years to give different brands of calvados.
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