Tuscany verso Veneto (Part 2)

Checking our luggage at Pisa Centrale Station, we decended upon the city with purpose. It’s a pity that the Piazza del Duomo and it's structures, the Baptistery, the Duomo and especially the Campanile dominate the interest of tourists in this scenic city bisected by the river Arno. But in the interest of time we succumbed to this failure of respect as well. And so much as it had been twenty four years ago for Denise and I, and despite its history and other splendors, Pisa was again for us a quick stop on the way to somewhere else.

The Duomo Pisa (Cathedral Pisa) was built between 1063 and 1118 and is the largest Romanesque church in Tuscany. And the Duomo, the Baptistery and the Bell Tower have great unity in spite of using various architectual elements such as Byzantine mozaic, pointed Islamic arch, small arcade of Lombardy and colonnade of Old Roma.

The famed Leaning Tower of Pisa, also Romanesque, is the bell tower of the Cathedral. Its construction began in 1173 and continued (with two long interruptions) for about two hundred years. The tower is 55.86 m (183.27 ft) from the ground on the lowest side and 56.70 m (186.02 ft) on the highest side. Its weight is estimated at 14,500 metric tons (32,000 pounds). The tower has 296 or 294 steps; the seventh floor has two fewer steps on the north-facing staircase. The tower leans at an angle of 3.97 degrees. This means that the top of the tower is 3.9 meters (12 ft 10 in) from where it would stand if the tower were perfectly vertical.

In the past it was widely believed that the inclination of the Tower was part of the project from its beginning, but this is not so. The Tower was designed to be vertical. It started to incline during its construction. And even if it did not lean it would still be one of the most remarkable bell towers in Europe.

Denise and I enjoyed the thrill of seeing our children mount the leaning tower and stroll the exquisite lawns of Piazza del Duomo beneath a brilliant blue sky as we had alone so many years ago...Deja Vu.

As our day in Pisa came to a close, we found ourselves back on the train and bound for Siena.

The Duomo Siena was begun in the twelfth century and remains a great example of Italian Romanesque architecture. Its main façade was completed in 1380. It is unusual for a Christian cathedral in that its axis runs north-south. It was originally intended to be much larger, with a north-south transept and an east-west aisle, as is usual. After the completion of the transept, construction was halted by lack of funds and the onset of the black plague and was never resumed. The outer walls and floor of the beginnings of the addition, intended to be within the larger cathedral, remains today as an exterior façade and parking plaza.

Piazza del Campo is a medieval square and the principal public space of Siena. The piazza is paved in a herringbone pattern of red brick with nine contrasting lines of division which converge at the low center. Eleven narrow streets extend from these divisions of the piazza and represent areas of the city which each bear their own unique flags and symbology.

The Torre del Mangia was built between 1325-1348. The tower is the exact same height as the Duomo as a sign that the church and the state had equal amounts of power.

We stayed in a lovely bed and breakfast in the heart of historical centre of Siena. The Antica Residenza Cicogna dates back to the middle ages and is an enchanting building with spacious rooms each with frescoes dating back as far as the thirteenth century. We were treated to the room of the “Lions” and the room of the “Angel”. It is operated by a father and daughter team that offer impeccable service. And the “genuinely homemade breakfast” was astounding!

Montalcino was MG's gift to our family. We departed Siena early via private limosine for the Castello Banfi Montalcino where we enjoyed a full day of fine food, wine, a tour of the grounds and winery and more wine. To make this day even more special, we appeared to be the only guests on this day and were treated to service especialle.

Castello Banfi is a family-owned vineyard estate and winery in the Brunello region of Tuscany. Upon their 2900 hectare estate (7100 acres), one-third is cultivated in noble vines, and the balance in olive groves, wheat, truffles and plums, and forests filled with deer, wild boar and pheasants.

Teodolinda Banfi, who inspired the founding and naming of Banfi Vintners, earned a place in papal history by being the first lay person ever to head a pope's household staff. Her nephew, John Mariani, Sr., established the company that bears her name in 1919.

We returned to Siena as we arrived, except for wine and memories within and of course the "burden" of twenty some bottles of excellent souveneers.

On the heels of the rich history and majestic art and architecture of Roma and the awsome beauty and charm of Tuscany, we were about to fall head first into the absolute enchantment of the Veneto. WOW!

By all accounts, Venice possesses a breathtaking attraction. Its reliance upon water, and the simultanious threat of water, combined with the romanticism of Italian culture and a juxtaposition against a rich history of Pursian and Islamic influences all combine to compound upon themselves to create a unique city that borders on the surreal. It's allure is perhaps beyond the discription of words and beyond the capture of photography. I think perhaps that the wonderous enchantment of this "City of Water" can only be held in poetry...

White swan of cities, slumbering in thy nest
So wonderfully built among the reeds
Of the lagoon, that fences thee and feeds,
As sayeth thy old historian and thy guest!
White water-lily, cradled and caressed
By ocean streams, and from the silt and weeds
Lifting thy golden filaments and seeds,
Thy sun-illumined spires, thy crown and crest!
White phantom city, whose untrodden streets
Are rivers, and whose pavements are the shifting
Shadows of palaces and strips of sky;
I wait to see thee vanish like the fleets
Seen in mirage, or towers of cloud uplifting
In air their unsubstantial masonry.

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Venice has a population of almost 300,000 stretched across the mainland and 118 small islands in the marshy salt water of the Venitian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy. During the 20th century wells were sunk around the perimeter of the lagoon to pump water for local industrial uses. As a result, the city began to sink into the sea. In 1960, wells were banned and the sinking stopped. However the city routinely experiences flooding as tidal waters rise.

We stayed in a lovely pension, La Calcina on the Zattere waterfront. It is known also as "Ruskin's House" as it served for a time in 1877 as the residence of the art and architecture esseyist John Ruskin. The pension is family owned and operated and affronts a pedestrian promenade on the edge of the Giudecca Canal and holds an incomparable panoramic view.

We ventured one day by private boat to the island of Murano known for its world renowned glass artisans. In 1291, Venice ordered all of its glassmakers to move their foundries to the island of Murano to quell the risk of fires. In the century that followed, Murano held a virtual monopoly on Venetion glass and exports supported the flourishing industry. Glass and crystalline stemware, chandeliers, multi-colored glass jewelry, artwork and figurines are everywhere within shops, studios and foundary showrooms. The sheer beauty and elegance of this craft is stunning.

And as if Venice needed additional intrigue, the wares of the Maskmakers Guild hold a mystical prominace among the many shop windows along the Venetian promanades. The mask-wearing tradition of Carnevale Di Venezia dates back to 1268. This festival is observed each year between Christmas and Lent.

Our last day was spent much like the rest, enjoying the many tiny bridges and tangled walkways along the water within the city. Literally every view was picture-worthy and yet, paradoxically no picture could ever adequately convey the nature of Venice.

Before sunrise on our fourth day, I would watch from the promanade as Denise, K, J and MG together with the bulk of our luggage and all of our Tuscan wine boarded a small chartered boat bound for the airport and slipped away into the silent mist of the venitian night.