Line C, Metropolitana

Tags

engineering, heritage, Italy, Metro, metropolitana, monuments

Rome remains a city of great interest to me and since we left some years ago I still follow what is going on. It remains really our second home and very dear to us.

The completion at snail pace of the Line C of the Metropolitana di Roma, the infamous line C which connects line A and B in Rome is something I have been following for years. When we left Rome in 2011 I thought it would be completed in a year or two. This is a very long metro line which crosses Rome from one end to the other however given that Rome is a very compact city building a metro line over 24 Km should not be a long tedious affair, well think again. The first tranche of Line C is now complete from the Eastern Suburb at Monte Compatri-Pantano to San Giovanni where is intersect with Line A.  San Giovanni is the site of the ancient Basilica of San Giovanni Laterano, the Pope’s church since he is the Bishop of Rome with a Papal Palace attached. The first section now functionning opened in 2014 and two more stations in 2018. The biggest hurdle is all the archeological sites along the route, as the construction gets nearer to the historical centre of Rome the engineers have to dig ever deeper and at the same time all work must stop the minute they hit any ancient site. Archeologists and historians are brought in and a major study is undertaken, which can take a couple of years, so this causes many long delays.

The result the digging has now reached the Roman Forum area and the Colosseum, continuing down the Via dei Fori Imperiali, as you can see from the photo upper right corner down to the Altar of the Nation, ( the big white monument) the tunnelling is now more than 90 feet under ground to avoid any ancient structure. Some stations because of the complexity of avoiding any archeological structure or monument have been cancelled out right, like the planned station at Lago di Torre Argentina where four ancient temples of the Republican era around 2200 years old are located and also it is the site of the Theatre of Pompey where Julius Cesar was assassinated in 44 BC.  So far the line is 15 years late in completion and billions in Euro over budget.

Centre of Rome, Piazza Venezia in front of the Altar to the Nation. 

In any other city, engineers and politicians would have compromised and agreed to save some monuments and ignore others, based on the importance historically of what should be preserved and what should be discarded. In North America, this is a common compromise, in Canada often everything is bulldozed and only a plaque will recall what was destroyed. However in Italy it is a very different matter and any question of not studying what is found and not taking measures to preserve it is considered barbaric. So I have seen years of discussion between the various Mayors of Rome, Prime Ministers of Italy, Ministers of Culture, archeologists, University deans, members of the public etc. go on and on and on, enough to drive you crazy.  If this was not enough there was also a big discussion around the two boring machines or Talpe (Italian for moles)  underground digging the tunnels, what to do with them, should they be left in a side gallery once the work is over or …

How much this is costing in total is not even considered. it is not important, what does matter is to preserve the past of Rome. Some Metro station will have museums built within to exhibit the artefacts, so that riders can view it all as they come to the Station. The design of each station in the historical centre must be practical but also appropriate to the surrounding area and style matters. The Piazza Venezia station will be unique in the world given the Palaces of noble princely families, like the Colonna and Doria Pamphilij in the neighbourhood and the importance of this square in the heart of Rome.

In the digs discovered so far are barracks of the Pretorian guards with beautiful mosaic floors intact and some wall paintings, then at Piazza Venezia the forgotten Athenaeum of Emperor Hadrian was unearth which prompted great excitement amongst Academia. Not to mention all the other finds and artifacts.

Line C is important for the future of the City and public transport, it needs to be built and the delays only make things worse in terms of traffic congestion in Rome a City with a population of almost 3 million people, you have 2.6 million cars. This week the Mayor of Rome announced that the Colosseo Station will open in 2025 more than 8 years late and Piazza Venezia should open thereafter, but what about all the other stations going across the Tiber and beyond St-Peter’s, no one knows.

Rome for Romans remain the Capital of the World and it seems that from what I have seen this belief is entrenched in how people see themselves and their City.

Line C is in pale green, remains 6 stations to be built from Colosseo to Clodio Mazzini.

Grooming day

Tags

cuisine, dachshunds, Food, Italy, Vet

Well Monday 15 June is grooming day for our little Dachshunds, it has been many months since the last grooming and we are happy they can get it done. Next week we are going to the Vet Clinic for their annual shots and physical exam. Both are 11 and half years old and in good health. Though we have noticed that Nick is becoming anxious if I leave the house and he does not like to be left on his own.

Nora now barks at the smallest noise, which is annoying but she looks around and seems nervous. She also had another episode of what could be described as some kind of stroke, though it was short and quickly resolved itself. But we took her to the Vet Clinic immediately and within one hour the Vet told us that she was stable and could come home. We don’t know exactly what happened. But we do realize that we have two old dogs who are used to their daily routine and as long as it is not disturbed all is well. It has to be said that they are spoiled and like good Dachshunds always try to control what is going on, just too clever I think.

After Nick’s grooming and a snooze, so stressful, even a cookie does not compensate enough. He has the most beautiful colouring, old gold and dark chocolate. 

Nora, back at home and resting in Nick’s kennel, which annoys him but he puts up with it. Though she is one week older than Nick, same colouring but tuffs of grey hair here and there.

Today Tuesday 16 June, the Art Gallery of the Confederation Centre re-opened after 3 months of closure due to the pandemic. We were the first to arrive and the new sanitary procedures are in place, the exhibits are those of March since the gallery closed a few days after they were unveiled. They will now be on show until September 27. The 2020 Summer show has been postponed until next Summer 2021.

Lemieux, Fathers of Confederation

Many stores in town have closed permanently due to the pandemic and no tourists. Many restaurants will not open while other did open with a new menu and new Chef. One such place is Terra Rossa on Queen Street, new (well known) Chef, and a newish concept returning to the original idea for this Italian regional cuisine restaurant, sorry no pizza, no spaghetti. A grocerant/eatery with lots of specialty products like fresh anchovies in oil or burrata or N’Duya sausage, charcuterie from various regions of Italy and cheeses, most if not all unavailable in PEI up to now, so you see a refinement of gourmet offering. Fresh Anchovy as a fish is very delicate in flavour and can be eaten as is or on toast or in pasta or salad. This was a real find. A wine bar is also part of the establishment.  We were at Terra Rossa this morning and am very impressed with the place. Happy to see they have returned to the concept of four years ago which had been abandoned by a previous owner with little success and now re-instated with this new owner.

Sunday and Saturday we met with friends we had not seen in the last 3 months and it was so nice to actually see people in person, to talk and enjoy sweets. This is one thing that this pandemic has made us realize, the importance of friends.

 

 

 

 

 

Stay HOME!

Tags

Covid 19, Health, home, Italy, message, people

This little film is basically saying to all people living in Rome, don’t be stupid tonight just stay home. This way Rome will remain the Rome we know and love and we will all be safe. A simple message for all easy to follow. Italy has been hit very hard. Not all people have been careful. Enjoy this gentle poetic video addressed to us all.

 

Azzurro

Tags

anxiety, Canada., coping, danger, Friends, Italy, Stress, troubles, World

Italy has been hit very badly by COVID 19, the number of sick and dead amongst the elderly population is staggering, 60% of sick people are over the age of 60 and 100% of the dead are over 80 yrs of age. The Government in an effort to control the spread of the virus has ordered people confined to their homes. But those dear Italians are resourceful, people all around Italy organized themselves to sing from their balcony or windows or terraces in the afternoon at 6pm each day in an effort to socialize with neighbours. Italy gave us the Opera more  than 400 years ago and so it is normal to sing in times of joy but also of great stress.

I know that friends living in Italy have told me that they will sing this afternoon Azzurro and on other days Volare will be sung, etc.. The idea is to sing a song that is well known and popular with everyone, Italy has lots of those. Here is Adriano Celentato singing Azzurro.

Porto Azzurro is a comune in the Province of Livorno in the Italian region Tuscany; it is on the island of Elba, located about 130 kilometres southwest of Florence and about 90 kilometres south of Livorno. A beautiful place.

 

As Spring approaches

Tags

Italy, memories, opera, Souvenir

I was listening to Renata Scotto sing Ch’il bel sogno di Doretta from La Rondine by Puccini. It reminded me of the many times we went to the Teatro del Opera in Rome where we had Season tickets.

Listening to the music and looking at the pictures posted here reminds me of our life in Rome. The memory of which is as strong today as it was then.

 

Opening night at the Teatro del’Opera in Rome waiting for the arrival of the President of the Italian Republic. The night Will had a funny conversation with an Italian Princess on too much botox.

On the Belvedere looking towards the Roman Forum

from our terrace, the view at sunset on Via dei Villini

Our terrace with all the plants Will and I planted, I loved those tiles with a greenish blue colour.

One of the more famous cemetery of Rome, it is a city in itself given the thousands of tombs and mausoleums. Many famous Italians are buried here and so are noble families. The Campo Verano is the one cemetery I know where even in death the dead compete with each other for social standing by the monumental graves built to proclaim who they were. A peaceful and beautiful garden cemetery.

Rome in Winter during a rare snowstorm

The Barberini Palace once the family home of Pope Urban VIII now a beautiful museum to classical painting. Setting for the movie Roman Holiday.

The Pontifical Academy of Science in the Vatican gardens, copied from Emperor Nero’s Palace built by the nephew of the Pope Pius IV, Cardinal Charles Borromeo later Saint Charles Borromeo. We were told by the Cardinal guiding us that originally this building was used by Cardinal Borromeo to receive his male friends and to party. It caused a scandal and he was sent to Northern Italy for a period. This area of the Vatican gardens is not open to the public.

Italian cooking classes where I discovered that the Anchovy is a delicate white fish and fresh is simply grilled and served with lemon juice or eaten raw marinated in lemon juice, it is quite good and more a shame we do not have it here in North America.

Our dining room at home set for a Christmas dinner party.

The Borghese Gallery built in 1605 by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, nephew of Pope Paul V and patron of Bernini. He built this gallery to house his art collection. The settings of the immense gardens all around makes for a nice park to walk and relax in the centre of the City.

Gardens of the Residence of the Canadian Ambassador at Villa Grandi in Rome set up for a staff picnique. This is also the site of the Villa of Scipio Africanus which is under the garden. This villa was given to Canada by the Italian Government in 1950 as War reparation, it formerly belonged to Dino Grandi the #2 of the Fascist Government who fled in 1944 to South America.

General view of Rome from the Gianicolo Hill in the background the Alban hills South East of the City.  St-Peter’S dome is just out of sight to the left of this photo.

Will making ravioli by hand, he made the dough and then put it through the machine, next he prepared the stuffing which was pumpkin. Cooking the ravioli takes only minutes. I remember they were quite good.

The entrance to Hell or the Underworld according to ancient Romans beliefs situated between the Arch of Septimus Severus and the Temple of Saturn.

The Arch of Titus commemorating his destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple. Part of this arch in the Roman Forum was damaged during the middle-ages and it was Rachele Guidi, second wife of Mussolini who had it restored around 1930. Walking in the Forum in all Seasons was always pleasant, so much to see and study.

Near Piazza Venezia

Entrance to our home in Rome on Via dei Villini

Italian cheeses, meats and wine shop, a real pleasure to discover the incredible variety of cheeses made all over Italy.

At dinner with our friend Diana in Rome.

The ancient Via Appia in Rome.

 

The parents

Tags

Capena, dogs, Italy, Wire hair

Today 19 February is Nora’s Birthday and I am posting photos of her parents.

Nora’s Mom named Lucy, she still lives at the Farm in Capena and is now 14 yrs old.

Nora’s Dad, named Monet, photo taken in March 2009.

Later this week we will have Nicky’s Birthday, his Father came from Budapest. As part of a breeding program for champion dogs.

The Birthday girl enjoying a bit of sunshine. 

 

Nostalgic for Rome

Tags

Italy, la grande bellezza, life, Nostalgy, Travel

Jep Gambardella has seduced his way through the lavish nightlife of Rome for decades, but after his 65th birthday and a shock from the past, Jep looks past the nightclubs and parties to find a timeless landscape of absurd, exquisite beauty, which is Rome itself the Great Beauty.

Friends are going to Rome in April, a great time to be in the Città. Despite all its problems and degraded infrastructure Rome remains a fantastic city unlike any other city in the world.

I read today a remark by someone who said that we are now in late Winter, 17 February? Really well I suppose that one month from now we will be at the end of Winter still mid-March but at the end nonetheless. By April restaurants will start to re-open in anticipation of the arrival of the first cruise ships. However with the Chinese Flu I wonder what impact it will have on people travelling.

Still April in Rome is a wonderful time.

Rome, the Tiber River on the Tiberina Island.

An Anniversary forgotten

Tags

auschwitz, Birkenau, Death, Fascism, Italy, Nazi, Primo Levi, WWII

This past week was the 75th Anniversary of the arrival of Soviet troops in Poland in their offensive to defeat Nazi Germany and so called liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau Camps. Currently I am reading a biography on Primo Levi, the celebrated Italian author from Turin who was interned at Auschwitz from February 1944. In the biography by Ian Thomson written in 2019 on the centennial of Primo Levi birth, we have a very good picture in Levi’s words of what that camp life was like, of the people he knew, of those who died and those who survived. We also read about the Germans at the camp who ran the factories for I.G. Farben and BASF. In order to survive Levi says; you had to find a way to do as little as possible to preserve your energy.

Levi had a long career in Turin as a chemist and he became a celebrated author of poems, short stories for children, science fiction and on his own life experience. His work took him to Germany in the 1950’s to 1970’s and he writes about his view of Germans and Germany and also of his own country Italy and its long period under the Fascist dictatorship which led to Italian Jews like himself being singled out and how after 1945 Italy continued and continues to this day to have in its political life the heirs of Mussolini’s ideals.

Levi’s book If this is a man and his other book Truce speaks of his experience while incarcerated. Levi survived the camps because he had been educated and worked as a Chemist, his skills were in demand. After the Soviets arrival he then recounts how going home was not so simple. The Soviets had their own agenda, a harrowing tale.

During my posting to Warsaw, Poland I was delegated to go to Auschwitz- Birkenau 3 times for official remembrance ceremonies. The camps are near Krakow and a small sign on the highway to Krakow indicates the cut off to the village of Oswiecim. A quiet little village with a railway crossing it the camps are just outside the village limits.

My first visit was a commemoration for the Sinti people and the mass extermination of 2 August 1944 in the sector of the camp housing them. The Sinti and Roma imprisoned in the camp came primarily from Germany, Austria, the Protectorate of Bavaria and Moravia, and Poland, with smaller groups arriving from France, the Netherlands, Yugoslavia/Croatia, Belgium, the USSR, Lithuania, and Hungary. There is also mention of Sinti and Roma citizens of Norway and Spain.

It is estimated that about 23 thousand men, women, and children were imprisoned in the camp. About 21 thousand were registered in the camp (including the more than 370 children estimated to have been born there). A group of about 1,700 Polish Sinti and Roma was murdered immediately after arriving at the camp, without being entered in the records.

Of the approximately 23 thousand Sinti and Roma deported to Auschwitz, some 21 thousand died or were murdered in the gas chambers. There was one man at the ceremony who had missed being gassed simply because the night before he was transferred to a labour camp and survived. It was very strange to see one survivor out  of many thousand who perished being present to bear witness. His survival depended on Fate.

The terrible thing about those camps was how they had been set up as of 1933 to exterminate all enemies of Nazi Germany at first all German Opposition political figures were targeted, intellectuals and artists. Then the long list of enemies of the Reich, people from all walks of life, from criminals to political prisoners, to activists, people belonging to groups declared to be sub-humans like the Sinti and Roma people, Jews, priests, nuns, any religious denomination, resistance fighters, POW who were marginally better treated, homosexuals, and anyone who simply did not fit into the Nazis book for a perfect society. This also included members of Royal families of Europe who worked against Nazi occupation of their respective country.  Everyone had a badge to wear to identify the group they belonged to and the number tattoo on their arm. Since the usual life expectation was 3 months, the number on one’s arm could show if you had lived beyond the usual 90 day period, some like Levi did. The memory of Auschwitz-Birkenau is that of a large industrial death factory whose sole purpose was to exterminate quickly those the Nazi had identified as undesirable.

Today some 75 years later, Auschwitz has become a name in history books. Far too many docu-drama have in my opinion cheapened the memory of the atrocities to the point of trivializing them. During my visits to Auschwitz I did hear comments from visitors which illustrated the depth of ignorance and indifference to what they were seeing, I could not help thinking that these same people could probably have been inmates if we went back in time.  In the biography of Primo Levi, a quote from him illustrates how to think of this horrible episode in history, Levi says: We must master the past otherwise the past will master us.

Primo Levi (174517) 1919-1987, born and died in Turin, Italy in the same house at Corso Re Umberto 75. 

Singers and Palaces

Tags

Alexander Palace, Architecture, Europe, Italy, Nicholas II, Revolution, Romanov

We went to the Pour House / Old Triangle which is a pub on Great George street in Charlottetown for the first night of Winter Jazz. The band featured well known professional musicians and singer Dylan Menzie of Belle River, PEI. Dylan has a great voice and an easy way with the audience.  I did not know about Winter Jazz, year round we go to Island Jazz but this is different, the calibre of the artists seems better. We are going again on 15 November to hear another artist, Erin Costello from Halifax.

Both Menzie and Costello have won awards for their work and are successful. Again the music scene in PEI is great.

Now on a completely different topic, I have been interested all my life by history and archeology of sites around the world. I really enjoyed our time in Rome and travelling in Italy for all the ancient site one could explore and try to understand. Near Rome next to Fiumicino Airport is the original site of the ancient Port of Ostia with its great basins and warehouses, you can see how ships arriving from Egypt with their cargo where un-loaded and re-loaded on flat bottom barges to be floated down 35 Km on the Tiber river to the City of Rome. A site few people know because it is in a isolate and wild area once part of a Princely Estate, though it is next door literally from the Airport terminal. There are many other sites, in Jordan I visited many times the Graeco-Roman city of Gerasa or Jerash as it is know today. Built by the Romans it is fascinating to see, it is said to be one of the best preserved city of the Decapolis, it is mentioned in Mark 5.1  and Luke 8.26.

The Jordanian Government with the help of international archeological experts have preserved and enhanced Jerash. You can walk its streets and understand what a great city it was in its time.

In Poland which was devastated by the Second World War, cities like Warsaw were rebuilt to recreate the buildings lost thus reviving national history. Many other countries have done the same.

With the fall of Communism in the Soviet Union,  Russia has rediscovered its past, it is no longer taboo to talk about Imperial Russia or the Tsars. In the last 30 years much has been done to restore history to its rightful place. Vladimir Putin who is from St-Petersburg has invested enormous amounts of money to restore the former Imperial Capital. We visited the city a few years ago and I would love to go back to see more of it.

It is a city of Palaces and its suburb Tsarkoye Selo (Tsar’s Village) was the private residence of the Romanovs since Peter the Great built it. It is a collection of Palaces and great Orthodox churches more splendid one from the other. The Second World War saw St-Petersburg endure a brutal siege of 900 days and more than 1 million city residents died, mostly of starvation. Much of the Palaces and gardens of Tsarkoye Selo where savagely vandalise, looted and destroyed. What you see today when you visit is extensively re-built and restored. Historical photos show the extent of the damage and it is a miracle to see it all re-born.  Some of it was rebuilt in the 1950’s but most of it has been restored in the last 25 years and some is still on-going at great expense and it involves a great deal of expert artistry. Russia appears to have an army of incredible artists who toil at recreating the past.

 

Peterhof a baroque palace built for the wife of Peter the Great by Domenico Trezzini 1714-28. The top photo shows the palace in 1944 the bottom photo shows the palace today. A miracle of restoration. We visited it and it is impressive. 

Currently the Alexander Palace built in 1792 by Italian architect Giacomo Quarenghi is being refurbished. This palace was built by Catherine the Great as a gift to her grandson Alexander who would become Tsar and fight Napoleon. He is the Tsar in the novel Tolstoy, War and Peace.

Later in 1905 this palace would become a residence for the last Tsar Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra and their 5 children. The family lived there and not at the Winter Palace in town for security reasons. The Winter Palace was used only for Official matters, the Alexander Palace was a private residence. After the Tsar abdicated in March 1917, they lived for a time in the Palace until their arrest and deportation to Siberia, they were murdered by the Bolcheviks in July 1918 on the orders of Lenin. It was President Boris Yeltsin who gave the late Imperial Family a State Funeral and invited the senior Romanovs and others to come to St-Petersburg for the funeral in 1998. The Russian Orthodox church declared them Holy Martyrs.

After the abolition of the monarchy the Palace is then turned into a museum, but little by little all the personal artifacts belonging to the Tsar’s family is either looted by the Bolcheviks, sold off in international art markets. Some will end up in other palaces like Pavlovsk where it remains to this day.

During the Second World War the Alexander Palace is destroyed by fire and looted by the German Army. It will remain largely a ruin until the 1990’s when efforts are made to renovate and rebuild. In the last 10 years, enormous efforts have been underway to bring the Palace back to its former glory, in 2020 eight rooms will be re-opened to the public and by 2022 it is hoped that the entire palace can be completed. It will be a permanent Memorial to the Family of Nicholas II since it was their family home.

The left side of the Palace were the apartments of the Tsarina and her 5 children, the right side of the building was reserved for the Tsar. The palace itself is surrounded by enormous gardens with all manner of features, like a play house for the children, bridges over ponds, a hunting lodge for the Tsar and fantastical constructions to amuse and decorate the gardens.

The Romanovs employed both Italian architects and French garden designers, Charles Cameron a Scot was hired by Catherine the Great as her personal architect. She loved Roman antiquities and the neo-classical style.

Needless to say the restoration of these palaces is a great asset in promoting tourism and the Russian State and the regional authorities in St-Petersburg have done a lot to ensure that the memory of the Romanov are kept alive.

Here are some photos of the work done so far. Remember that the Alexander Palace was in a very poor state.

The Maple room in 1945 used by the Tsarina as a living room.

The Mountain Hall in 1946 with Soviet Officials posing.

Another room in 1946, the tiles around the ruins of the fireplace are a deep greenish blue glaze.

Second floor rooms waiting restoration. Structural work has already been done.

The Maple room in 1920 some decorative elements have already disappeared, most of the large plants are gone. Much worse was to come. This room is under complete re-construction now since the war devastated the palace.

Some elements were saved by the Communist Curators of the Palace before the arrival of the German army in 1941.

Some pieces of furniture did survive, because they were taken away before the war. This lapis-lazuli console table has been returned to the Palace.

Original furniture and tiger skin rug which also survived, easier to move smaller objects in an evacuation. Now returned to the Palace.

The Turkish Bath of the Tsar just completed with a large pool. This room had to be totally re-built and the tiles recreated from fragments found on the premises. Many photos of the era also helped.

The study of the Tsar another room just completed in the renovations.

The Maple room undergoing a complete reconstruction, this included recreating the delicate plaster work of guirlandes of flowers in an art nouveau style.

The great library getting a new floor which will be an exact copy of the original.

Ornate ceiling recreated.

This work at the Alexander Palace has been on-going for 8 years now. I cannot help thinking that once it is completed it will remain a very sad place knowing the fate of this inhabitants in 1917. Somewhat like the Miramar Palace in Trieste, once the home of Maximilian of Hapsburg and his wife Charlotte, before they accepted to move to Mexico at the invitation of Napoleon III to rule that country until Maximilian was executed by Mexican revolutionaries in 1867. His wife Empress Charlotte of Belgium returned to Europe but suffered a life of mental illness, living in seclusion and dying in 1927, quickly forgotten by her royal relatives in Austria, Belgium and Britain.

 

 

 

 

Ferragosto

Tags

Ferragosto, Italy, Le Marche, Old Home Week, PEI, Pesaro

Ferragosto 2019 is upon us, in Charlottetown it’s Old Home Week with harness racing and parades, my neighbour already reminded us to not forget to come over for a stiff drink usually a Bloody Cesar, Canada’s Official Cocktail and food at 10am an old island tradition, no one misses the parade. It will be our fourth, yes 4 years already on the Island, time flies. This is also the peak or height of tourist season and signals also the end of the Season, after 16 August suddenly tourists vanish.

In Italy Ferragosto is the beginning of the Summer vacation for everyone, I mean everyone. It is pretty much the same in other European countries. Time to pack up and leave the cities for the beach, the mountains, the countryside. Leave the towns to the tourists. Everything shuts down and if you decide to stay in town better plan ahead because shopping is restricted and difficult to manage. ATMs machines run out of cash and gas stations are only open for a few hours if at all.

For us it was the best of time of the year, we would travel to Le Marche region on the Adriatic for spectacular towns, food, wine and festivals. A relax quiet time by the seaside and evenings at the opera.

We would stay in Pesaro, visit Rimini and Urbino a few minutes away.

Since Seafood is important on PEI, it is equally important in Pesaro and our favorite restaurant was Ristorante Bristolino “Lorenzo e Bibo” which use to be on the sea front at the Bristol hotel. However in 2015 it closed and just re-opened to the delight of its many fans on Via Mazzolari 54 in the centre of the city. Incredible quality of seafood and dishes so well prepared and presented with flair. So happy to see them back in action. Will wrote about this restaurant and so did I in my blog.

We came of course to Pesaro for the yearly Opera Festival to its most famous son, Gioachino  Rossini. We would drive from Rome on excellent Italian roads through scenic and dramatic at times, mountain views.

City centre park, Piazzale della Liberta, the Italian artist Arnaldo Pomodoro has left his golden sphere monuments all over the world. One of them has become the symbol of Pesaro in Le Marche. Tell any person from Pesaro that you’ll meet them at ‘la palla di Pomodoro’, and they instantly know where to go.

Wishing everyone a Felice Ferragosto!