Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Il Bel Paese
Five days is a very short time to cover all that "territory" and see part of Il Bel Paese (the beautiful country – how Italians colloquially refer to their country)! Are the visitors traveling by Europass (train)? If so, they may want to "experience" Il Pendolino (ETR 460) – the high-speed train between Florence and Rome. It's called Il Pendolino because of its "pendulum" rocking or tilting motion at top speed (about 220 km/hr = 160 mph). It will get you to Rome in a little over an hour (as opposed to almost 4 hours on the regular train). They can get to Florence from Pisa very quickly by regular commuter train service. I only visited Pisa a few times, but not to miss, of course, is the Torre Pendente (Leaning Tower – http://torre.duomo.pisa.it/index_eng.html), actually the bell tower of the cathedral. While "shoring up" still continues, visits to the tower are once again allowed - if you dare - with a maximum of 30 persons at a time! Of course, don't forget the magnificent Duomo (the cathedral) and the Piazza dei Miracoli (the square between the Tower and the Duomo), where you can take your famous photo, holding out your arms to "steady" the Tower, if you frame the shot in your camera just right! Of course, if they have time in Florence they should at least "pay a visit" to Michelangelo's Il David at the Galleria dell'Accademia (in English at http://www.polomuseale.firenze.it/accademia/). The lines to get into the various museums in Florence can remind you of those at Disneyworld, so plan accordingly! Of course, you can also see David if you attend my first lecture in 4th semester! I could write a book (actually several!) on Roma (Roma is Amor (Love) spelled backwards!). Since Rome has a very good public transportation system, for getting around Rome it pays to buy a Roma Pass (an open 3-day ticket for unlimited rides on all buses and the Metro [the subway] available at all tabacchai [cigarette shops; square black sign with a white "T"] and ATAC [the municipal transport company] kiosks throughout the city). With just a day or so, I would try to at least take in the Vatican Museums (Metro stop Cipro-Musei Vaticani on the linea A (A line). Subway stations are marked above ground with a square red sign with a white "M". The Metro has a great site (in English, with interactive maps – Java required) at http://www.metroroma.it/MetroRoma/HTML/EN. At the Vatican Museums, get on line early – around 7 AM – so as to be the first ones in). Also not to miss – St. Peter's Basilica (the elevator ride to the roof and climb by foot up the circular staircase from there to the top of the cupola are well worth the magnificent photos of Rome you can get) and Piazza San Pietro (St. Peter's Square), and the Foro Romano (Roman Forum), Colosseo (Coliseum), Piazza Venezia, and Piazza di Spagna (the Spanish Steps). These can all be reached easily – and quickly – by subway or bus. There is also a wonderful – and cheap (cost = 16 € [symbol for euros] = about US$20) – overview bus tour of the entire city conducted by ATAC (the Rome municipal bus company). It takes about 3 hours, with 20 minute stops at each major site. There are departures every 15 minutes from Piazza del Cinquecento (square in front of Termini [Rome's prinicipal train station]) on the red open-decker #110 bus (linea 110 open ["hop on-hop off"] bus) - with multilingual hostesses. "Back in my day" it was conducted by a real Roman bus driver pointing out the sites in Romanesco dialect and some English. It didn't really matter if you understood what he said – it was just fun to hear his beloved city described in the very colorful "language" of that city (it was like having Ralph Kramden of "The Honeymooners" drive you around NYC in his bus!). Complete information on this – as well as all other activities in Rome, including detailed maps – is available on a fantastic interactive site (in English) at http://www.romaturismo.it/v2/en/main.asp (you'll need FlashPlayer 6). This site is well worth a "visit". If you're a fan of Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code, you may be interested in the "Angels and Demons Tour of Rome". Angels and Demons was his "prequel" to The DaVinci Code in which the mystery plot is entirely set in Rome, with famous historical sites in Rome offering "clues" to unraveling the mystery! More information on this very unusual "activity" (and a rather extraordinary way to "see" Rome) may be found at http://www.angelsanddemons.it/tour.asp. Speaking of The DaVinci Code, don't miss Leonardo DaVinci's Cenacolo (The Last Supper) at the Church and Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. A useful website (in English) is http://www.cenacolovinciano.it/html/eng/home.htm. While for me (an opera fan), Milan means Teatro Alla Scala (the opera house) [ http://www.teatroallascala.org/public/LaScala/EN/index.html], if you're not an "opera buff" DaVinci's masterpiece is about the only worthwhile thing to see in Milan – apart the Gothic cathedral with its gargoyles (like Notre Dame in Paris!). Milan will "feel" somewhat like NYC with its "grid-pattern" streets (vie) and broad avenues (viali) at right angles to each other, as well as its extensive bus and subway system.
Unfortunately, I can offer you no "enlightenment" about Monaco or Nice (Nizza in Italian - it used to be part of Italy [the powerful seafaring Republic of Genoa] until it was ceded to France as an award for French assistance in Italy's Second War for Independence against Austria in 1860). I've never been to either.
I leave you with an interesting "tidbit" about a famous Roman site with a "medical connection". As you walk out of St. Peter's Square, with the Basilica to your back, and head down the broad, straight Via della Conciliazione which will lead you to the Ponte Sant'Angelo (Holy Angel Bridge) across the Tevere (the Tiber River), the Castel Sant'Angelo (Holy Angel Castle) will pop into view at the end of the via. This "castle" was originally the Emperor Hadrian's mausoleum, but was converted into a papal fortress in the Middle Ages (and is connected to the papal apartments in the Vatican by a "secret" covered corridor [il Corridoio Vaticano]). While perhaps best known – at least by me (an "opera buff") – for the climax of the 3rd Act of Giacomo Puccini's opera Tosca, when the heroine jumps to her death from its roof in desperation after the execution of her lover at the hands of the papal troops (during Napoleon's siege of Rome), it also "hides" a little-known bit of art (and, in a sense, medical) history. There is a statue of the Archangel Michael (the Sant'Angelo [Holy Angel] in the castle's – and adjacent bridge's – name) at the very top. The archangel, very oddly, is not drawing – but sheathing – his sword. Why???
It is in commemoration of Pope Saint Gregory the Great having been said to have seen the Archangel sheath his sword in sign of the passing of the great bubonic plaque of the year 590!
Buon Viaggio (Have a good trip) and Salutami a Roma (Give my regards to Rome)!!!
Unfortunately, I can offer you no "enlightenment" about Monaco or Nice (Nizza in Italian - it used to be part of Italy [the powerful seafaring Republic of Genoa] until it was ceded to France as an award for French assistance in Italy's Second War for Independence against Austria in 1860). I've never been to either.
I leave you with an interesting "tidbit" about a famous Roman site with a "medical connection". As you walk out of St. Peter's Square, with the Basilica to your back, and head down the broad, straight Via della Conciliazione which will lead you to the Ponte Sant'Angelo (Holy Angel Bridge) across the Tevere (the Tiber River), the Castel Sant'Angelo (Holy Angel Castle) will pop into view at the end of the via. This "castle" was originally the Emperor Hadrian's mausoleum, but was converted into a papal fortress in the Middle Ages (and is connected to the papal apartments in the Vatican by a "secret" covered corridor [il Corridoio Vaticano]). While perhaps best known – at least by me (an "opera buff") – for the climax of the 3rd Act of Giacomo Puccini's opera Tosca, when the heroine jumps to her death from its roof in desperation after the execution of her lover at the hands of the papal troops (during Napoleon's siege of Rome), it also "hides" a little-known bit of art (and, in a sense, medical) history. There is a statue of the Archangel Michael (the Sant'Angelo [Holy Angel] in the castle's – and adjacent bridge's – name) at the very top. The archangel, very oddly, is not drawing – but sheathing – his sword. Why???
It is in commemoration of Pope Saint Gregory the Great having been said to have seen the Archangel sheath his sword in sign of the passing of the great bubonic plaque of the year 590!
Buon Viaggio (Have a good trip) and Salutami a Roma (Give my regards to Rome)!!!