almesq

We just loved the scenery of Rapallo, the vibe was great. Nice waterfront area, great pedestrian streets. And very easy transportation for day trips. Took a trip to Cinque Terre, Portofino (walked), Genoa. It was just beautiful. Restaurants: Hostaria Vecchia Rapallo was very good, as was Bella Napoli (went there twice--great pizza). For gelato, La Carapina (right across from Vecchia Rapallo).

bvlenci

I've been living in Italy one month shy of 21 years.

bvlenci

In Leely's photos, the first photo is the Roman tunnel, constructed in the 1st century. I'm not sure you can drive through it any more. Until very recently you could, but then the road was closed because of a flood which washed away part of it. The second photo is the entrance of the earlier Etruscan tunnel, which is along the river side of the newer tunnel. They think the newer tunnel was constructed because the original tunnel seemed precariously close to the edge of the cliff, and in danger of collapsing into the river. It's still intact 2000 years later. The third photo is the River Candigliano, near the tunnels.

A mile or two past the tunnel, there is a park which has some ancient Roman flood control works, so this is an ongoing problem. At the edge of this little park, there is a small, simple, early medieval abbey church, San Vincenzo, which is almost always open but unattended. I love these very old churches, with simple lines. There are remains of some 15th century frescoes on the walls.

Leely2

bvlenci, you could drive through it as of this June (2019).

Dayle, I forgot to say congratulations on your retirement! You certainly have worked for this trip. And I am sure you will enjoy it.

Dayle

almesq, bvlenci, leely, I so appreciate all your input! We are having a very rainy and cold fall day here so I have been working on my trip plans. I didn't see a lodging choice I liked on first pass for Camogli, so I booked the same hotel we stayed at back in 2000 in SML, the Hotel Laurin. I think I'll keep looking further for other choices, but I know I would be happy there. Definitely do a daytrip to Camogli at the least.

I've got my Piedmonte choice booked. Next I'll do Lago di Orta. Since the beginning in Bologna was decided, and the last part was decided, I'm leaving the middle for last. Makes perfect sense, right? Ha! I can spend more time on the Umbria/Le Marche part.

Love all these details. I think the Le March part is going to be a very fun and interesting exploration with surprises - something I just love!

Thanks again. I will keep posting and continue to ask for input from the Fodorites.

TDudette

It will be great to read your trip report, Dayle.

It's been a long time, but do you have to get a bus up to Fiesole from Florence? Is there a train to Fiesole?

Dayle

TDudette

The Basilica of San Francesco in Arezzo has pretty nifty mosaics. As mentioned in my TR, Once a month antique market in the big piazza (it was being dug up). It might be a skip for you unless someone can bring up something I've forgotten! Although interesting, I don't think Casa Varsari would hold a candle to a Ducal Palazzo! No help with Urbino here. As you wrote, never enough time.

bvlenci

You need to get a bus up to Fiesole. Trains aren't very good at going up hills.

bvlenci

Those are frescoes in the Basilica of San Francesco, not mosaics. It's a famous frescoe cycle, called, "The legend of the true cross", by Piero della Francesca. He was one of the great Renaissance artists, born in the nearby town of Sansepolcro, where you can see more of his works at the civic museum.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piero_della_Francesca

Sometimes they have good temporary art shows in the crypt under the church.

The National Gallery in of Le Marche, in the ducal palace of Urbino, has another of his famous paintings, " The flagellation ".

Dayle

Leely2

As bvlenci mentions, the Piero della Francesca fresco cycle in the basilica in Arezzo is the city's top sight (other than the Piazza Grande itself, which is beautiful), although I found other things of interest, including a Cimabue crucifix in San Domenico.

How long are the public transportation routes you are seeing from Arezzo to SML? Could you drive to Pisa, drop your car and then train to SML from there?

There is also Raffaele's "La Muta" in the Ducal Palace in Urbino. It really is a great museum.

Dayle

Hi Leely. Yes, I definitely want to see both. T renitalia is showing 5.5 hours from Arezzo to SML. Thats hard traveling solo when you have no one to watch your luggage during a restroom break!

Was looking at driving further, but would hope for an easy drop location. I would hope to stay away from airports. Do you know if Pisa is easy?

bvlenci

Another very interesting painting in the National Gallery in Urbino is "The Ideal City". It's one of the iconic paintings of the Renaissance, although there's no agreement on the identity of the artist.
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Dayle

Leely2

Dayle, re: Pisa and returning rental car. I haven't been to Pisa in ages, but if I remember correctly, the airport is really close to the train station, maybe a 10 minute taxi ride? I know you want to avoid airports, but if it were me I'd return at the airport. Or maybe just suck it up and do the long train trip from Arezzo. Depends on which you hate more: driving or sitting in trains. I mentioned Pisa because I imagined that trip to SML from Pisa would be fairly short and straightforward.

You could also post this as a question on its own thread (here or Tripadvisor).

bvlenci

I just did a little research on the Ideal City to see if they've discovered the artist. It turns out that it was recently in an exhibit in the US along with a copy of the painting in the collection of the Walters Gallery in Baltimore. There's another copy in Berlin, but it was too fragile to travel to the exhibit. The two copies are by a different artist.

Dayle

Leely, yes the train between Pisa and SML is very simple. We took it from Orvieto to SML back in 2000! Stopped off for 3 hours in Pisa to see the Tower, etc. and checked our bags. It worked out great. I'm hesitant to drop an an airport just because of traffic and long lines for rental cars that I always hear about. I've never picked up or dropped at an airport ever!

Still researching the car timing. I would pick up another car in Asti for Piemonte and it looks like it would be best to keep it for Lago d' Orta so I would end up dropping that one at MXP anyway. I have an obscenely early flight out and will just stay at an airport hotel the night before.

bvlenci, great research! I'm going to google it right now. Should be very interesting to see an artist's concept of the "Ideal City" from that time!

I've been working on the Umbria/Le Marche portion. I think with the relatively short drives between sites, I can do:
Spello to Ascoli Piceno - stay 2 nights
Ascoli Piceno to Camerino - stay 2 nights
Camerino to Corinaldo - stay 1 or 2 nights? Plan to see sites along the way in Fabriano and Pergola definitely
Urbino - 1 night
Arezzo - 2 nights

If I decide to just do one night in Arezzo, I could still make my brief site visits in Florence......

My neighbor down the street is leaving Friday for Cortona. She and a life long friend have rented a large home just outside the town for an entire month! They have visited Italy before and traveled this way before. I can't wait to hear how it goes. Their trip will be so different from mine. I am honestly trying to have enough time in most places to allow for relaxing down time without constantly feeling like I have to go and see this and that! Most all of my day trips and stops will be optional. Ha Ha. I know myself well enough to know I will do most of them!

TDudette

Sorry for my Arrezzo 'mosaics' error! Senior moment but mosaics on my brain as well. Not sure about your preferred direction, but you could train from Arezzo to Florence in 2.5 hours if my googling is correct.

I know what you mean about worrying about leaving luggage unattended whilst traveling solo. It is less a problem if you have a non-stop trip. If traveling light enough, there were always spaces above train seats to stash smallish case.

Dayle

A new site has been added to the Rome stay and I'm going to move heave and earth to get there! The Ninfa Garden! I must go there. Trouble is, it's only open to the public certain days during the year and must have a guided tour of the garden. English tours only 2x daily on those days. They have not published their 2020 days yet so I e mailed and received a prompt answer that it will be open on May 1. Ugh. Big holiday. However, in 2019 it was open for several days at the end of April. I'm going to write again and ask about April dates. I don't know why they didn't provide any. Commercial bus tours are expensive, all day, and get very poor reviews so I would rather just go on my own.

Have you ever visited bvlenci? This would be a highlight for me, I am certain. I loved my visit to Villa d'Este in Trivoli in 2005.