Chapels, Churches, and Cathedrals (Even More Italy)

After Naples, our Italy saga continued, spanning the country all the way from the far south up through the northern border with Switzerland (warning – we saw a lot, and this post is going to be correspondingly lengthy despite our best editing efforts!). As we noted in previous posts, one of the most striking things was the sheer diversity of culture, language and tradition, even between towns a few hours apart. Everywhere we went we faced an absolute onslaught of beautiful buildings, and this turned out to be a great tool for understanding relative periods of prosperity and stability, poverty and change.

We opted to drive most of this leg in a rental car, providing a heady cocktail of speed, navigational challenges, and quite frequently absolute terror. Italian drivers exhibit a nuanced understanding of how traffic moves, and “virtual” obstructions such as roadsigns, solid lines, and even traffic lights are easily seen for the illusions that they are. As we racked up the miles we got a lot better at anticipating common scenarios – such as the dramatic lane entry from the side at speed, often accompanied by a decoy turn signal directed in the opposite direction. Or the car barreling down the middle of the road between two occupied lanes, with mere inches of space to spare on either side. While we were rather proud to make it through the trip unscathed, we did each age at least a couple of years in the process.

Apulia

Also known as the “heel” of Italy, this is the home of surprisingly inexpensive but delicious food and drink, a pronounced Greek and Middle Eastern influence, and some majestic architecture from across the ages. Historically one of the poorer provinces in Italy, it is a hub for some fantastic peasant dishes involving chickpeas, seafood, and oodles of olive oil.

For some reason we must have offended the rain gods, and unfortunately our week in Apulia was a week of solid downpour, which initially led us to focus less on the architecture, and more on the drier indoor activities of eating and drinking. However, we did venture out into the deluge on several occasions, the results of which are shown here.

We started in Lecce, which is a city famous for its Baroque architecture, food, and cultural vibe, often referred to adoringly (by non-residents) as “The Florence of the South.” We didn’t quite hear any locals speaking of Florence as “The Lecce of the North,” but the spirit was certainly there.

Like many places in Italy, people watching is the favorite activity of the older guys, this time sans-wine

A calm and surprisingly well organized demonstration by elderly members of one of the state unions in the Lecce central square. They appear outnumbered by the police (also calm but much less elderly). This was taken during the only 10 minute rain-free period in the day (see umbrellas for confirmation)

The Baroque cathedrals in Lecce are among the best in the world. Here is the interior of the Basilica di Santa Croce

These columns are pretty Baroque, right?

The Old City in Lecce is a marvelous labyrinth of twisted roads connecting very non-rectangular “squares.” Tourist have no chance of successfully navigating it, but these folks were making a valiant effort

This is the facade of the Lecce Cathedral which, like most of the major squares, is lit up brilliantly at night

After Lecce, we did a quick tour of the rest of the region – with rather fewer beach stops than we had originally planned upon. On several occasions, getting from place to place involved driving through what can only be described as newly-formed lakes, since the roads aren’t really designed for the type of biblical deluge we were experiencing.

Historical “trulli” huts built of stacked stones in Alberobello

Masons would build larger structures using multiple conical roofs, and would paint their sigils in white for identification (seen on the left edge here)

We ended our visit in Bari, notorious as the place where Jamie Oliver went to learn how to make fresh orecchiette , but also worth a visit for the rather impressive castle sitting next to its busy port.

Ethan trying to placate the Bari rain gods in any way he can, but to no avail

The sad, sad, saga of the Fallen Umbrellas of Bari

Montalcino & Siena

From Bari, we set off on the long drive up the Autostrade towards Siena – breathing a sigh of relief when, somewhere across the Apennines, the sun made its long-awaited reappearance. Unable to get to grips with Italian radio, we exhausted our standard Spotify playlist and thereafter spent most of the trip oscillating between tropical house music and Nelly, and stopping briefly for some outstanding Cacio e Pepe in a mildly seedy part of outer-Rome.

We took a quick detour in Tuscany to visit the home of the classiest of Italian wines, Brunello di Montalcino. There we encountered precisely what one expects to find in the Tuscan countryside – endless rows of cypress trees, picture-perfect villas, and a rather dangerous combination of unsteady cyclists, nervous rental car drivers, and frustrated locals (who appeared to have no qualms about overtaking 3-4 cars at once on narrow, winding roads).

Cypress and shadows

Dendroverload

The gently rolling hills of Tuscany

Continuing north, we eventually emerged in Siena – a totally charming city packed with beautifully preserved medieval art and architecture, as well as a ridiculous number of tourists. We donned our best Italian sightseeing apparel (Capri hats included, naturally) and dove right in.

Is this the face of a man who knows where he’s going?

One thing you can’t fail to notice on a tour of Siena is the abundance of statues depicting Romulus and Remus, who were purportedly nursed by a she-wolf. Interestingly, the Latin word for “she-wolf” was also used as slang in Roman times for “lady of the night,” so this story may not be exactly as the sculptors imagined it. Legend has it that the city was founded by Remus’ sons, Senio and Ascanio, although in reality Siena began as a Roman military outpost.

Milk may be for babies, but wolf milk is for conquerors

Siena is now relatively small but the city was once a significant trading hub, and in the 13th century Siena thrived as a successful self-governing republic. During this period the city held a fiery rivalry with neighboring Florence, and a severe case of oneupmanship seems to have motivated both cities to produce some of the finest buildings, squares ,and works of art in Italian history over the course of a few centuries. Many of the most impressive features of Siena date from this period, including the Duomo, the Piazza del Campo and Siena University – which remains one of the most important universities in Italy.

The huge Piazza del Campo – civic space, market, sporting arena. An open air horse race is still held here annually

Inside the Palazzo Pubblico, where the Council of Nine presided over the most prosperous period on Siena’s history

Looking out over the hills facing away from the Piazza

You forgot your chisel again? How will I ever get free of this stone??

Although the ticket prices were extortionate and the queues were endless, we both agreed that visiting the Siena Duomo was entirely worthwhile. The pictures below show some of the highlights, but it’s difficult to capture the spellbinding effect of what is essentially an immersive, 360 degree masterpiece. Every detail has been meticulously designed and crafted, from the intricate mosaic floor to the busts of emperors which watch you from above as you make your way through the massive interior.

Take your standard issue, mega-ornate church and then make it 10x as big

Jess arrived inappropriately dressed and was quickly clad in the paper shawl of shame by the modesty police at the door

Black and white stripes reflect the civic coat of arms of Siena – not so surprisingly, we spotted a similar green and white motif in Florence

A small section of the immense collection of floor panels

Seeing stars. Papal busts line the periphery

Afterwards…the smile of a mouth about to be stuffed with ragu

Florence

No trip to Tuscany is complete without a trip to Florence, and there’s not much we can add to the majesty of the city that you haven’t already heard about. That being said, it is really quite something to see amazing buildings from so many different eras in such close proximity – medieval, early Renaissance, Baroque, etc.

Just your ordinary, understated facade

The vaunted Duomo of Florence – green and white marble capped by an enormous brick dome looked over by a massive bell tower

The magnificent facade of the Duomo, utterly crammed with intricate statues

The doors of the Baptistry across from the Duomo are a favorite of tourists. This photo taken at Ethan’s full vertical extension and cropped carefully to hide the thicket of selfie sticks below

Tourist overload panics even the most stalwart beast unless properly blocked out

The Basilica of Santa Croce, burial site of Machiavelli, Gallileo, Michelangelo, and Rossini. Dante was supposed to be buried here (see the statue on the left), but sadly for Florence, this didn’t come to pass. The architect, a certain Niccolo Matas from Ancona, managed to include a Star of David in the facade to represent his Jewish heritage

In addition to architecture, Florence is known as the home of Italian Renaissance sculpture, and pictures from our time there overflow with naked stone figures from antiquity. One of the highlights was the Bargello, which used to be a barracks, but now houses one of the greatest statue collections in the world, including Donatello’s famous Bronze David.

Just try to imagine the dialogue for this scene

The interior of the Bargello

If the breech is his head, then what does that make the muzzle?

We had the chance to visit several of the abodes of the Medici family, who dominated political, economic, and religious life in Florence during the city’s heyday in the Renaissance, and for long after. The Medici were massive patrons of the arts, and their numerous houses, offices, palaces, and fortresses are replete with art of all different sorts.

The Medici had artists paint the home cities of certain important visitors and then displayed them on the walls of this courtyard to demonstrate their power and connections

Glutes, hounds, and flowing tunics – the apex of Renaissance sculpture

We also crossed the Arno to check out the other bank of the river where the Oltrarno district is. It is home to somewhat cheaper real estate, and consequently a host of interesting bars and restaurants surrounding expansive public squares.

Although the Arno looks peaceful here, it is prone to enormous flooding on occasion

The plaque above the door marks the high-water mark of the 1966 Arno Flood

Looking towards the Ponte Vecchio at night

No visit to Florence is complete without a visit to the Uffizi, which is the principal Medici art collection, hosted in their former offices. It is totally stunning, and includes more than a dozen works that everyone has heard of. We loved the fact that works are exhibited more-or-less in chronological order, which made it easy to trace the evolution of Western art over time. It’s basically an art history textbook that you walk through for a couple very enjoyable hours.

One of Michelangelo’s few paintings – with a very sculpture-like feel

Yeah, it lives up to the hype…

Laocoon and his sons getting killed by serpents, a Florentine copy of a Roman statue that was apparently a favorite of Pliny the Elder

Modena

By the time we reached Modena, we were ready for a church detox. Fortunately, we found ourselves in a great Airbnb a little out of the center of town where, although we had a very friendly host, for the most part we had the whole apartment to ourselves. Modena is compact and friendly, and within hours we were easing into local life – we spent a large chunk of time alternately browsing the food market and refining our Italian cooking skills, we sat around in squares people watching, and we even explored the local workout options. We were very impressed to find that Modena has multiple calisthenics parks, but based on the total lack of company and the perplexed looks we received, we don’t think that they get used a lot.

We really enjoyed the sense of community in Modena – it’s a big student town, but it seems as if the students blend in with the locals pretty well. At the weekend, the center of town was packed with people who all apparently knew each other, and as with many Italian towns there were plenty of beautiful green spaces, roadside cafes, and buzzing aperitivo spots in which to congregate.

We were also intrigued to discover that Modena hosts an annual philosophy festival, which draws crowds from all over the country. Attendees showed some admirable commitment, since the events were being held outside and rain had caught up with us by this point!

The view from the Duomo tower (OK, we did see one church…). Note the hardy festival-goers below, likely of the Stoic school

The aftermath of an excellent cooking session at our temporary home (making good progress on the gallon of wine)

Como

Once settled in Milan, we were itching for a bit of time away from city life. Milan happens to be ideally situated a quick hop away from the beautiful resort / celebrity hang out of Como. While many people choose to spend their time relaxing lakeside and sampling some expensive wines, that doesn’t quite fit with the “Power Moseying” ethos we appear to be developing. So instead we hiked up another intimidating hill (there would be time for wine later).

First things first – a quick church visit in Como to round out our collection

We wound our way through a few tiny villages scattered up the hillside, and emerged into stunning greenery – only interrupted by the occasional donkey bell and a few sleepy houses which offered a beer with a view.

Como from above – this walk came complete with the typical painful 1,000-or-so steps up from street level

I’m surrounded by jackasses!

The view opens up

Triumphant (but in need of lower-cut hiking socks)

Jess’s turn at pondering

Good views all around – no need for these signs

The hills are alive (with the sound of our ragged breathing…)

We made our way back down and headed directly for the restaurant serving the largest pizzas we could find. The food was amazing and the regular customers were all around us, watching with interest – so of course we felt compelled to finish every bite. Side note: this was also the location of our first (certainly not our last) encounter with a squat toilet on the trip. Who knew they were a thing in Italy?

Heading back to Milan, all tuckered out from the hike (and/or the excessive pizza consumption)…

Lugano

Adding to the Alps experience, we also had the good fortune to enjoy the warm and wonderful hospitality of Ethan’s cousin and his wife in Lugano, a mountain lake on the Swiss side of the border. We spent an amazing day walking around tranquil squares overlooking the magnificent lake, and feasting on the tasty local variations on risotto.

Lugano is a beautiful, quiet town full of the nicer things in life such as cigar shops…

…tasty restaurants in lovely, spacious squares…

…and utterly stunning mountain vistas in every direction

Milan

Milan has a reputation for being an industrious, business-focused city, less geared towards the average tourist. In our view this is a great thing, since the ratio of visitors to residents is much more balanced compared with the other Italian cities we saw. There’s a feeling that mostly people are just getting on with their work and their social lives while trying to ignore the tourists as far as possible – much like our experience of New York (with the obvious exception of Times Square). As a consequence, it’s easy to meet friendly, genuine people, sample delicious food which the locals actually eat, and blend in with the crowds at hole-in-the-wall bars.

Most importantly, Ethan’s grandfather was from Milan, and many of his relatives still live in the city. We had an utterly amazing time with them full of great conversations, wonderful food, and good cheer. After traveling for some months it was fantastic to get to feel at home for a while and catch up on everything. We also got the benefit of knowing where to go from people who live in Milan.

A very well attended bocce tournament in one of the public parks over the weekend

We had both visited Milan before, and enjoyed a truly epic tour courtesy of Ethan’s younger cousins, but we had great fun revisiting the highlights. As in many other cities, the legacy of Italy’s fractured past – and the local ruling family, in this case the Viscontis – was visible everywhere. So was the spectre of Italy’s first king Vittorio Emanuele II, after whom countless streets, buildings and squares were dedicated across Italy in a rather transparent attempt to build a sense of nationhood.

The crest of the Visconti family, the central family in Milan’s history

The lavish Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, which transformed the formerly somewhat seedy area around the Duomo in the 19th century. Before electricity, there was a tiny, automatic train that would circle the dome every night to light all of the gas lamps which ringed it

 

One of the most amazing sights in Milan is the Church of San Bernardino alle Ossa, which houses thousands of skulls and bones for ornamentation. It’s a breathtaking place to visit, and was first shown to us by Ethan’s family last summer

The typical reaction of visitors defines the phrase “sepulchral silence”

A more modern, equally curious sight in Milan sits outside the stock exchange. Interpretation is left to the viewer…

Although the full effect is best seen on a grim, stormy day, the intricate, gothic features of Duomo of Milan are stunning whatever the weather. The best description we’ve heard is that it’s “dripping up”, due to the long vertical lines and the plethora of spires. Construction took more than half a millenium to complete, and a pretty significant proportion of the city’s population was involved in some manner. The result – bedecked with totally unique sculptures and other-worldly stained glass – is awe inspiring.

Our best attempt to fit the entire building into one photo

If you can make it past the over-zealous security guards, you can walk along the roof

The detail extends right to the top – in spite of the fact that most people will never get close enough to see it

Standing watch over the city

Due to the vast number of statues required for the Duomo, the sculptors had to resort to increasingly bizarre subjects such as local C-list celebrities from different eras

Marble, stained glass, and flowing action

It’s just breathtaking to see structures this big with so much decoration

As a final concession to the pursuit of high culture, we did view an opera at La Scala. Regrettably we could only get tickets to a non-Italian one, but it was kind of funny to be reading Italian subtitles to an English performance on the helpfully-provided translation screens.

La Scala is the much-storied opera house of Milan

La Scala (from the super-mega-uber-nosebleed seats, picture straining the limits of the iPhone zoom capabilities)