Northern Italy - Venice, Florence and Pisa

---

After hogging an entire first class compartment and sleeping most of the trip from Innsbruck we arrived in Venice on a cool Italian night which was actually warmer than most of the maximum day temperatures we'd experienced in Western Europe. We'd been looking forward to hitting Italy, not only for the food, culture and art, but also to escape the sub-zero weather we'd had to date. The forecast temperatures of 10 - 12 degrees across most of Italy seemed positively balmy after freezing our good bits off for the past month. We walked out of the Venice train station to be greeted by a huge church dome towering over the famous Grand Canal - it immediately made you realise that you were standing in Venice which was pretty exciting. We rolled our bags down the street towards our hotel and ended up walking around in circles - our hotel happened to be down one of Venice's many uninviting side alleys and we walked passed it three times before having to ask for directions. Ironically when we got to the front door the hotel was closed for renovations and we'd been booked into another place back on the main street we'd just been walking up and down! So we eventually checked into our room before heading back down into the city to explore a little. We wandered around our local area just trying to get a feel for the city and looking for somewhere to eat. Every restaurant in the city is aimed at tourists, so it was a little hard to find a place to eat some truly local food, so eventually we gave in and just ate the touristy food on offer, which was still pretty good. The funny looks from the locals that we received whilst walking back to the hotel in the 'cold' eating gelato were priceless!

The next morning was our day to explore. We walked back to the train station and boarded a vaporetto, or water bus, that is one of the major sources of transportation in Venice. The city itself sits upon a series of 117 islands connected by minor waterways, most of which flow into the Grand Canal which serves as the major arterial through the city. The vaporettos not only link Venice with the mainland, but also provide much of the local public transport. Before leaving the US we'd downloaded a couple of MP3 tours, one of which was a tour of the Grand Canal based on the route taken by the vaporetto we were on. From the train station we enjoyed an hour long cruise through the Grand Canal with an audio tour pointing out the fading palaces and regal buildings which line the canal. The boat dodged gondolas complete with singing drivers as it wound it's way through Venice to the political and religious centre of the city - St. Mark's Square. Venice enjoyed it's golden age between the 14th and 16th century when it was one of the most important trading posts in Europe. The emergence of Western European colonial powers such as France, England and Spain saw a steady decline in Venice's importance, but the city remains in much the same way as it did back then, albeit in a somewhat shoddy state of repair. Local government ordnances prohibit new construction and modification to the cities buildings, so they now lay in various states of decay. The ground floor of most buildings are generally not used and remain dank and moldy due to the continually flooding caused by the rising water levels. Even the outside of the buildings haven't seen a lick of paint in years which really gives the whole city a decrepit feel. Having said that, it doesn't take too much imagination to picture the city in her glory days - the faded paint of fresco covered buildings give you an insight into what she once must have looked like.

Anyway, we arrived at St. Mark's square and wandered into it's huge expanse. It's surrounded on three sides by government buildings which are in desperate need of some paint and a bit of maintenance. But the crowning glory of the city lay up the other end of the square, St. Mark's Basilica and the huge bell tower which collapsed in 1902 (obviously since rebuilt). St. Mark's Basilica is an interesting combination of various architectural styles; Gothic, Venetian and Byzantine - all of this I know courtesy of another of our MP3 tours (it's amazing how much more you appreciate these things when you have an audio track telling you all about it!). The Basilica is famous for housing the remains of St. Mark (hence the name) which were 'liberated' from the town of Alexandria a couple of centuries ago. We walked into the Basilica and were met by a cavernous interior bathed in a glowing golden light reflected from a roof completely covered in gold leaf mosaics. The interior of the church was not overly impressive, but the roof was absolutely stunning - hundreds of giant mosaics telling various biblical stories looked down from the numerous domes which adorned the nave of the church. The floor was also covered in mosaics which made it look like it was covered in giant persian rug. Alarmingly the floor rolled up and down as a result of warping caused by many years of flooding. We climbed up to the second level of the church and enjoyed the commanding view across St. Mark's Square and into Venice's lagoon - it was a great spot to sit and take it all in. Apparently the place is packed during summer, but it was reasonably clear of tourists while we were there, so it was quite relaxing just enjoying the view. Right next to the church is Venice's clock tower which contains the world's first digital clock (it shows the time numerically in 5 minute intervals) and is topped by a huge bell that is rung by giant statues wielding hammers. Apparently viewing the ringing of the bell from the second level of the church is something not to miss, so Fiona and I waited some time for the turn of the hour to watch the ringing of the bell. Unfortunately we hadn't timed things well and it with it being 1pm the bell was only stuck once and I managed to missed it! Feeling pretty stupid we climbed back down into the square, checked out the Palace of the Doges (The Duke's Palace which was the centre of power in Venice for centuries) before deciding it was time to just wander the streets. If you ever want a European town to get yourself lost in, Venice is the place. Not only is it filled with picturesque winding streets, you are on an island and can't get off, so you'll never get too lost!

We stopped for lunch in a nice little Italian restaurant where I enjoyed a Calzone which was as big as my head, and Fiona enjoyed some Italian style pizza. The meals were so massive we had to sit for some time to finish them. We spent the rest of the day wandering the streets looking in all the shop windows at the tourist kitsch, Murano blown glass, Gelato and pizza shops. Once you get off the tourist track and into the residential back streets of Venice it feels more like a slum than a romantic tourist destination as the buildings haven't been renovated in hundreds of years and are slowly decaying. It was really easy to end up walking around in circles and we got completely lost a couple of times before winding our way to the Frari Church. This church was built by Franciscan Monks back in the 14th and 15th century and was intended to be a place of worship for regular Venetians. Now it seems much more of an art gallery than a holy place. Over time, the Frari Church became a favorite of many of Venice's famous artists and it now holds a number of their most famous works and also their tombs. It is an attraction way off the beaten path and we shared the entire place with only one or two other people which allowed us to linger at each piece of work and inspect it in some detail to gain a greater understanding of its importance in the art realm. We had another MP3 tour for this church which is a life saver for me because otherwise I feel like I am just looking at more of the same stuff that we have already seen. After spending an hour in the church we randomly strolled our way back to the hotel to have a wee little rest before heading out for dinner. After a couple of hearty Italian meals we felt like something light, so tragically we decided upon Chinese for dinner - a bit sad for our last night in Venice, but we figured we have another ten or so days to eat Italian food!

The following day we jumped an early train for Florence. We arrived to be greeted by some pretty crappy weather. Although it'd been really cold to date, we'd also enjoyed crisp and clear days much of the time. Unfortunately the clouds had rolled in making it overcast and dark and it was raining a little. We scurried to the hotel, checked in and as it was only early afternoon we set out to explore. Our first stop was the Galleria dell' Accademie, the home of Michaelangelo's famous statue of David. We planned to hit this Gallery first as apart from David and a few other of Michaelangelo's sculptures the rest of the museum was a bit so-so, so we thought we could knock it over pretty quickly and leave the next day available to spend as much time in the reknown Uffizi Gallery as we wanted. We paid the entry fee and walked in to the main gallery. At the far end stood David - 14 feet of highly polish marble standing under a dome with lighting specifically designed just for him. Although he stood some 60 metres down a long hall, he absolutely dominated the entire building. Lining the walk to David were several other Michaelangelo sculptures - his 'Prisoner' series. These are a group of what appear to be incomplete sculptures of men fighting to break free from the slabs of marble they are embedded in. Michaelangelo believed that all the images he carved we contained in the rock, and it was his job to free them. Unlike other artists he did not use scales or measurements to carve, and rather he worked free hand - this is what makes him so amazing. As you walk toward David the prisoners look like tortured souls forever struggling to break free from their stone encasements, the way Michaelangelo carved them almost had you barracking for them to win.

Standing in front of David is really quite an amazing experience - he is carved at the moment in time that he is about to take on the Goliath and whoop some giant ass. Fortunately for us there were very few tourists so we were able to get a good close look, and the details are amazing - the veins on his hands, the locks of his hair, all very detailed, realistic and free hand carved at 14 feet tall. One thing that strikes you straight away is that his head and hands look startlingly out of proportion to the rest of his body, but we heard a tour guide saying that the statue was intended to stand atop a church dome, and from that height and angle it would all look in proportion. Not having an artistic bone in my body I just couldn't believe that a bloke could take a big piece of rock and turn it into this amazing statue let alone doing it freehand - pretty freakin' impressive, even for an art deadshit like me. The rest of the museum was pretty forgettable, but well worth visiting just to see the Michaelangelo sculptures.

After leaving the museum we walked the historic town of Florence armed with another of our MP3 tours. The first stop was the Duomo an absolutely massive church intricately decorated with carved figures, spiraling columns and bright pink coloured marble. It was difficult to work out whether we liked it or not. It looked so completely different from any other church we had seen and it seemed almost gourdy, but it's uniqueness was attractive in a strange way. We (aka Dan) took photo after photo but one thing we couldn't capture was the sheer size of this place - it was bloody huge, one of the largest in Europe! In fact when they were building it they didn't have the architectural mastery to complete the crowning dome, so they simply left a huge gaping hole in the roof until building technology developed and they could build a self supporting dome big enough. It was over two hundred years until they could complete it, and I wondered in the mean time if they had jerry rigged a series of blue tarps together to keep the rain out.......

From the Duomo we strolled down one of the major old roman roads that was now a pedestrian area to the Piazza della Signoria which had been the centre of town for centuries. The piazza is dominated by the Vecchio Palace which has been the historic seat of Florence's Government, but the square clearly shows how Florence's fame was forged in the art world. On one side of the palace stands a huge statue of Neptune, while the main entrance to the Palace is guarded by two huge statues, one of which is an exact replica of David as this was the place the famous statue stood for a couple of hundred years. In the centre of the square is a bronze disc which marks the spot where a monk who tried to overturn the Renaissance was burned alive - the same thing he had done to works of art and literature in his attempts to turn people back to the church and away from material things. An open air building next to the palace contains a series of sculptures which could easily hold their own in any of the world's greatest galleries, but in Florence they sit in the open air free to the public. Pretty amazing really. We wandered across the river over the Ponte Vecchio bridge, the only one to survive the Second World War and found somewhere to eat. We strolled into a restaurant at 6:30pm and got some really strange looks from the staff. They asked us what we were doing and after telling them we wanted something to eat they looked at us like we were stupid and said they didn't open until 7:30 pm. Pretty much every restaurant was the same.......lesson learned - late lunches are the go, that way I can make it to 7:30 for dinner without my stomach eating itself! With some time to fill in we walked around and found a small alcove in a building which housed several vending machines that served hot meals. A whole heap of different pastas were on offer and you put in your 3.50 euro and a minute later you could be eating a hot Lasagna, ravioli or whatever you liked straight out of a vending machine- the ultimate in fast food. I really wanted to try one, but unfortunately we didn't have the right amount of change so I couldn't partake which I think pleased Fi a little. We found a small bar and had a quick beer before heading back for dinner. The food was worth the wait and after dinner we strolled back to the hotel in the rain.

The next morning we got up early and had a quick feed before heading down to the Uffizi gallery. If you are ever traveling through Europe this gallery is definitely worth sticking your head into. The significance of the Uffizi is that Florence was the birth place of the Renaissance which drew art work away from painting stiff, religious images of 'Madonna and the Child', to more realistic and personable art. In other words - people started painting boobies, and I could look at that sort of art all day. The gallery holds a huge collection of both pre and post renaissance art including works by Michaelangelo, Botticelli, Raphael and Titian. Seeing the originals of these works and following the chronology of art over time has really given me a greater appreciation for art and an understanding of the importance of the Renaissance in not only art, but also politics, religion, culture and of course being able to look at paintings of knockers. The Uffizi is very impressive gallery, and both Fiona and I thought it was more enjoyable than the Louvre (it is hard to compare though because the Louvre is a museum and the Uffizi a gallery). I have to say though, if I see another freakin' picture of the Madonna with the child I am going to lose it and maybe even kill someone - surely there was something else to paint back then for God's sake.

After sticking it out at the Uffizi with Fi (she absolutely loved it), we jumped the train for a short trip out to Pisa. We thought that the famous leaning tower was going to be an unimpressive tourist trap, but as the train was free with the Eurail pass we had nothing to lose. We arrived at the train station and had to do about a 400 metre sprint to catch the train and boarded just as the conductor was blowing the whistles and closing the doors. After the hour long ride we walked through the town of Pisa and along with all the other day tripping tourists we arrived at the tower. The impact of the tower as it first comes into view is quite startling - you can't help but think 'Holy Shit, that buggar is falling over', it really leans on an alarming angle that you can't help but stand there looking at it leaning over with it. What makes it even more crazy is that stability works were completed in 1998 which straightened it a little as it had leaned over so far that it had passed the critical failure angle determined by a couple of computer models. So if you were lucky enough to see it before 1998 it would have been leaning over even further. Fi and I took all the same tourist photos as everyone else, pretending to push it over or hold it up. The funny thing was that in most of the photos we took it didn't actually look like it was leaning, and in some photos which included the surrounding buildings it appeared to be bending rather than leaning. We walked around the grounds which also included a Duomo and countless kitschy shops. We couldn't resist and bought a couple of fridge magnets which have been the one souvenir we have bought in every country. We then walked back toward the train before stopping for a hot chocolate. After paying just over $15 AUD we we given our hotel chocolates which were little more than melted cooking chocolate in a cup. It had a consistency thicker that custard and had to be eaten with a spoon rather than drunk. I physically couldn't eat it - it was just way to rich and sweet for me, Fi gave it a good shake, but it was too much for her too. Well, that was the most expensive drink that we didn't actually drink (or eat). We caught the train back to Florence, had a bight to eat and called it a night.

The next day we woke early and jumped the train to Naples. We had a big day traveling as we were heading to Sorrento on the Amalfi Coast south of Rome. We enjoyed our time in Northern Italy - Venice is an interesting city, although I would hardly call it beautiful. It is a very unique place and definitely worth the visit, but it is kind of sad to see it slowly rotting away when it was once a powerful and glorious town. Both Fiona and I were uninspired by the city of Florence, but it's deep roots in the art world, and importance in dragging the world out of the dark ages definitely makes it well worth spending some time here. Many of the world's famous minds were Florentines, Donatello, Michaelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo, Botticelli.....the list goes on. The artistic history of the town really gives the place a unique feel, but you can't help but think that without the Renaissance, Florence would be just another city.

---

Photos

The Leaning Tower
I was disappointed to find it was in fact not made from Pizza at all.....

Gondolas
Two of the famous money theiving machines moored in front of the Rialto Bridge.

Venice
A Gondola moored just waiting to strip over $100 from some unsuspecting tourists.....

St Mark's Square
The busiest spot in Venice - not so busy in Winter.

St Mark's Basilica
A pretty crazy collaboration of architecture.

Enjoying the view...
The view from top of St Mark's Basilica towards Venice's Lagoon.

Calzone as big as my head
Not even close to being as big as Jamo's head though.

The Grand Canal
The view from Venice's famous Rialto Bridge.

The Duomo
Posing for photos has sent Fiona loco!!

More of the Duomo
The facade of the Duomo and the accompanying bell tower. Still not sure if I like it or not.....

Public Artwork
Here's a group of sculptures on display in one of the cities Piazza's. Each of these could hold their own in any museum in the world.

The Ponte Vecchio
The only bridge not to be destroyed in WWII. The red roof is a private walkway which runs through the city to let the ruling class walk without 'mixing with the masses'.

Food Vending Machine
Here's Fiona trying decide if she really wants to try Ravioli from a vending machine.......

Mmmmm......Gelato
Fi enjoying checking out the famous Italian dessert.....looks much more appertizing than the Ravioli......

The same cheesy photo everyone has....
The newest 'Strong Man' event...

Italian Hot Chocolate
They aren't lying.....it's chocolate and it was hot.