Up the Italian Coast
When we left Pisa, we followed the coast north. I'd always thought it was all Mediterranean Sea along the west coast of Italy. But, it's the Tyrrhenian Sea that is west of Italy. Till you reach the Ligurian Sea, that we were beside now. So Pisa and Florence were as far south as we got. Which is only about a third of the way down. We didn't go to Rome (further south) and we didn't go to Venice (on the east coast.)
We did see the Italian Riviera, which is what they call the La Sepzia and Genoa area. Both are port cities as well as beach attractions. La Sepzia is deep in a bay. It has some rocky coast too, and what I thought looked like cliff homes. The kind that look like they will slide into the sea if there is an earthquake. Their age indicated this can't be much of a concern. Genoa is a bit flatter and wraps around a beautiful rounded bay. Sunshine, sea and sand, it really is like the Riviera. And G was able to see plenty of topless sun bathers. And many more who just strip down to bra and panties to enjoy the beach. (It was true that they don't shave armpits or legs!!)
It was somewhere in this area that I tried octopus. My travel companians didn't share my willingness to try different foods. They all three spent most of the trip sticking to ham or pasta. I didn't always like what I got, but it was fun to see what was coming. There was one memorable soup. It was suppose to be turtle soup. When it came it was a golden brown broth with one square cube of something sitting on the bottom of the bowl. I couldn't poke my fork in the cube of something. I tried cutting the cube of something with a knife. No luck there either. It was like a hard rubber cube of something. If that was turtle meat, that must have been one old, tough turtle. The broth was good, but the cube of hard rubber something was still in the bowl when I gave up on it. Oh yes.....I almost forgot. The octopus. It was in a sauce over pasta and it was like rubber too. Gritty rubber. I hope the Italians have learned to batter and fry since 1965. Octopus isn't bad that way. I was 20 years old and I was on the Italian Riviera, and what I remember is rubbery meat.
We'd spent a few days here and it was time to head north. Our next layover was in Milano (Milan) Italy. Milan almost made up for what I'd missed in Florence.
Milano, Italy. Where Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" was painted on dry plaster at the Monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie. It's painted on an end wall of the Monastery room where the Dominican Monks ate in a building seperate from a very beautiful Church. The room is long and narrow, and there is another painting on the opposit wall. I don't know the second paintings name. It was supposibly painted by a student of da Vinci's. When I saw the paintings, they were in bad shape. But, with it's history, it is a miracle it is still there at all. Some of the earlier restoration did more damage than good. Also, the building was bombed in 1943 and the roof and one wall were destroyed. It was a whole year before the room was repaired, while The Last Supper was protected by sand bags. We were not allowed to take pictures, but at the time visitors weren't restricted in any other way. We didn't even have a tour guide to help with questions. With that many people of every faith coming and going, it was hard to get a real feel of what I was seeing. I felt it should be more sacred than the tourists allowed it to be. Still, I wasn't disappointed. The painting is 15' by 29', and despite the condition it was in, I was awed. It had been restored several times over the centruies and a major restoration started in 1977 that continued for 20 years. I'm not sorry I saw it when I did, but, I would really like to see it now. I understand reservations must be made weeks in advance, and visitors are restricted to 25 at a time. That really would make it a better experience. If you ever get the chance, you really must try to experience it. Because that's what it is. A religeous experience.
(And, if you know the name of the other painting in the room, I'd like to learn more about it.)
We did see the Italian Riviera, which is what they call the La Sepzia and Genoa area. Both are port cities as well as beach attractions. La Sepzia is deep in a bay. It has some rocky coast too, and what I thought looked like cliff homes. The kind that look like they will slide into the sea if there is an earthquake. Their age indicated this can't be much of a concern. Genoa is a bit flatter and wraps around a beautiful rounded bay. Sunshine, sea and sand, it really is like the Riviera. And G was able to see plenty of topless sun bathers. And many more who just strip down to bra and panties to enjoy the beach. (It was true that they don't shave armpits or legs!!)
It was somewhere in this area that I tried octopus. My travel companians didn't share my willingness to try different foods. They all three spent most of the trip sticking to ham or pasta. I didn't always like what I got, but it was fun to see what was coming. There was one memorable soup. It was suppose to be turtle soup. When it came it was a golden brown broth with one square cube of something sitting on the bottom of the bowl. I couldn't poke my fork in the cube of something. I tried cutting the cube of something with a knife. No luck there either. It was like a hard rubber cube of something. If that was turtle meat, that must have been one old, tough turtle. The broth was good, but the cube of hard rubber something was still in the bowl when I gave up on it. Oh yes.....I almost forgot. The octopus. It was in a sauce over pasta and it was like rubber too. Gritty rubber. I hope the Italians have learned to batter and fry since 1965. Octopus isn't bad that way. I was 20 years old and I was on the Italian Riviera, and what I remember is rubbery meat.
We'd spent a few days here and it was time to head north. Our next layover was in Milano (Milan) Italy. Milan almost made up for what I'd missed in Florence.
Milano, Italy. Where Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" was painted on dry plaster at the Monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie. It's painted on an end wall of the Monastery room where the Dominican Monks ate in a building seperate from a very beautiful Church. The room is long and narrow, and there is another painting on the opposit wall. I don't know the second paintings name. It was supposibly painted by a student of da Vinci's. When I saw the paintings, they were in bad shape. But, with it's history, it is a miracle it is still there at all. Some of the earlier restoration did more damage than good. Also, the building was bombed in 1943 and the roof and one wall were destroyed. It was a whole year before the room was repaired, while The Last Supper was protected by sand bags. We were not allowed to take pictures, but at the time visitors weren't restricted in any other way. We didn't even have a tour guide to help with questions. With that many people of every faith coming and going, it was hard to get a real feel of what I was seeing. I felt it should be more sacred than the tourists allowed it to be. Still, I wasn't disappointed. The painting is 15' by 29', and despite the condition it was in, I was awed. It had been restored several times over the centruies and a major restoration started in 1977 that continued for 20 years. I'm not sorry I saw it when I did, but, I would really like to see it now. I understand reservations must be made weeks in advance, and visitors are restricted to 25 at a time. That really would make it a better experience. If you ever get the chance, you really must try to experience it. Because that's what it is. A religeous experience.
(And, if you know the name of the other painting in the room, I'd like to learn more about it.)
posted by LeeAnn | 6:18 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home