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Published: August 31st 2015
Western Italy
Milan Interesting place to drive around. The city is spread out with farming in between residential precincts or suburbs. No known campgrounds. Big city. Looked like ABC. Another Bustling Centro. Camping is not encouraged and two possible places in the city that we thought we might camp at no longer allow camping. Another possibility for an overnight camp was on some agricultural museum and research set up which was on a farm not far from Milan CBD. We declined that one and went on to Pavia.
Centosa (Monastery ) di Pavia We camped out amongst some rice paddies near Pavia – just south of Milan.
Adjacent to the rice paddies is a large and significant Monastery. Building took from 1396 to 1620 for the Carthusian Order.
No photography is allowed inside the generously proportioned monastery. I can assure any interested readers that the interior is in excellent condition with ornate marble and timber work more than enough to keep any monastery enthusiast gawking for months if not years.
There is large quadrangle behind an entrance portico leading to a great big church built in a Latin Cross layout. Behind the main body of the church there is a generous sized chapel and various other smaller (say 150 sq meters each) rooms and specific areas for things like baptisms etc. Beyond that there are a number of quadrangles the largest of which looks like a soccer pitch – say 80 meters by 50 – On three sides facing into the soccer field there are 24 large secluded “cells” each containing a bedroom a living room and a large courtyard – more an apartment than a cell.
I wanted to go back to take particular not of some items of interest but it was closing time and we got hunted out.
Across Italy further North On our eastward trek across Italy we took a direct route from Genova through the city of Cremona to Rovigo. That route was across broad acre level farming land – much of it black soil and so roads were bumpy.
This westward trip was further north from Padua via Verona, lake Garda and Milan towards Susa ( west of
Torino). The farming land looked more fertile with smaller holdings with orchards and smaller cropping areas. With a more undulating countryside and better road surface the trip was a lot more varied and visually appealing.
Asti See Pictures Below
A thriving city of about 78,000 residents. We camped right in the middle of town along with 2 German and about 6 Italian camping cars. The city prides itself on its food ( including truffles) and wine as well as its many towers and a standard Italian city’s bucket full of monuments, cathedrals and museums. But little mention of its Asti Spumante – which we discovered is made from Moscato grape, which is horribly sweet. A fruit and vegie market was setting up near us as we woke and it was unfortunate that we had fully stocked from a supermarket the day before.
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John & Jean Moon
non-member comment
Western Italy
Looks like your seeing some amazing places and better places than what we saw in Rome, Enjoy your travels and take care