14. Rome - Other bits (including six Caravaggios)

Above: One of the loveliest piazzas is Piazza del Popolo.
We particularly like it for the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, wherein are housed two magnificent Caravaggios - Conversion of St Paul and Crucifixion of St Peter. These two were designed by Carlo Rainaldi - Santa Maria dei Miracoli (left) and Santa Maria in Montesanto. To appear symmetrical, the one on the right was given a circular dome, the one on the left an oval, because the site on the left was narrower. Below: Conversion of St Paul 1600
Below: Crucifixion of St Peter 1600

Below: A typical Roman street scene.

Other bits include a few churches, which we only visited to see Caravaggio paintings inside.

San Luigi dei Francesi, the French church in Rome has the Matthew cycle. Outstanding. Ben was really impressed by these. In fact he was pretty impressed by Carvaggios generally and was interested in the use of light and dark, the hallmark chiarascuro technique.

Below: The Calling of St Matthew 1599-1600
Below: The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew c 1599
Below: The Inspiration of St Matthew c 1602
Below: Around the corner from San Luigi is San Agostino, and another Caravaggio, Madonna di Loreto, c 1603

18. Pompei - The new town

Pompei is more than an ancient site. The modern town of Pompei is a thriving, bustling centre. Its other "claim to fame" is a religious sanctuary, the Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of Pompei, founded in 1900. There were bus loads of pilgrims arriving every day and we witnessed a procession one evening when we were dining. the church seemed to be full of people sayign the Rosary at any one time. The souvenir stands and shops of Pompei town are an eclectic mix of ancient site mementoes and religious paraphenalia.
It has a few other distinguishing features, including:

. more gelaterie than we have ever encounted in any other town. Delicious gelato!

. a large number of sleeping dogs. Well, they sleep by day, and stroll by night. If you walk after dark, you will inevitably be accompanied by descendents of the subject of ancient Pompei's Cave Canem ('Beware of the Dog') warnings! Actually they are a pretty friendly bunch....we didn't meet any aggressive ones at all! Wish i'd taken some pics of the sleeping / strolling Pompeian canines.

. the simply wonderful Hotel Diana (see separate blog entry).
Above: The Santuario della Madonna del Rosario - church and campanile in the centre of Pompei.

30. Lucca - Churches

Lucca has some magnificent examples of Romanesque church architecture.

San Frediano

San Frediano features a magnificent 13th century mosaic of The Ascension. Inside is an even better treat - the body of one of Lucca's patron saints, Santa Zita.



Above: Santa Zita. Her body is brought out once a year to be touched by the devout. Born 1218, died 27 April, 1278. Canonised 1696.

The Legend of Santa Zita

Zita was born in Monsagrati, a small village not far from Lucca.

She was employed as a domestic by the Fatinelli family in Lucca, and every day she would give away leftover bread to the local poor.

Mr. and Mrs. Fatinelli were good people who had several workers. Zita was happy to be able to work and send money to her parents. She tried to live responsibly. She formed habits of praying that fit in with her schedule. She rose early to go to daily Mass. Zita was diligent in her work. She felt it was part of her very self. But the other workers were annoyed. They tried to do as little as they could get away with. They began to pick on Zita and oppose her without their employers noticing. Zita was hurt but she prayed for patience. She never told on the workers. She insisted on doing her work as well as possible no matter what they thought.

When one of the workers tried to kiss her, Zita fought him off. He left the room with several scratches on his face. Mr. Fatinelli questioned her privately about the incident. She told him honestly what had happened. After that, Zita became the head housekeeper. The Fatinelli children were placed under her care. Best of all, the other workers stopped persecuting her. Some even began to imitate her.

A jealous fellow employee betrayed her to the owner of the house, who in turn challenged her.
When he asked her what she had in her apron, legend has it that flowers fell out instead of the original bread.

Zita spent her whole life with the Fatinelli family. While others came and went, she stayed. She served them lovingly. She loved them like she loved her own family. By her example, she helped people see that work is beautiful when it is done with Christian love. Zita died peacefully on April 27,1278. She was sixty years old.

On April 27th, 1278, the bell of the church of San Frediano (near where Zita worked and lodged) was heard to ring. What was strange was that nobody was pulling the ropes -- The ringing is said to have coincided with Zita's last breath.

From Welcome Tuscany website

San Michele in Foro

Built on the site of the old Roman forum. Its facade is a fabulous example of Pisan-Romaensque architecture. Every column is different. ost of the decorations are pagan. It was built between the 11th and 14th centuries. There is a huge winged figure of St Matthew on the pediment.

The Cathedral - San Martino

The campanile was built first, so the facade looks rather cramped. The campanile was begun in 1060 as a defensive tower. The facade dates from 1204.

33. Pisa - the town

We visited Pisa on a day trip from Lucca. In 2005 I was there with my friend Collette, and had everything - money, cards, passport - stolen at the ticket office of the Leaning Tower. We then spent a day travelling to Rome to get an emergency passport, instead of enjoying Lucca where we were staying. We were pleased to see that the arrangements at the ticket office have since changed to make the "crush scam" I was involved in less likely. And nothing untoward happened - we had a great day.

Above and Below: The Arno river and the church of Santa maria della Spina. Spina means thorn, and the church supposedly houses a thorn from Jesus's Crown of Thorns. It was built between 1230 and 1323. It was rebuilt above the river, to prevent flooding, in 1871.
Below: Coconut snacks for sale near the railway station
Below: Piazza dei Cavalieri. This building is one of Pisa Universiy's most prestigious colleges, the Scuola Normale Superiore. It was designed by Vasari in 1562. The decorative effect is called sgraffito - designs scratched into wet plaster. It represents allegorical figures and zodiac signs.It was headquarters of the Cavalieri di Santo Stefano, an order of knights created by Cosimo I in 1561.
Below: Also in the Piazza dei Cavalieri is Palazzo dell'Orologio. It contains the library of the scuola normale superiore. Until 1804, it was an infirmary and residence for elderly knights.
Below: Through a door off the Piazza dei Cavalieri, you can find these gardens

Below: Piazza Garibaldi, near the river. It is in the exact middle of Pisa. They were setting up for a concert.
Below: eating pizza in the main street, Borgo Stretto, after a hard day's sightseeing.

34. Pisa - Piazza dei Miracoli

The Main Event in Pisa is, of course, the Piazza dei Miracoli. There are four main buildings of interest:

The La campanile - better known as the Leaning Tower
Il Duomo (cathedral)
Il Battistero (the baptistery)
Il Camposanto ("Holy Field", or cemetery)

The Leaning Tower is the raison d'etre of tourism to Pisa. It has been an attraction ever since it was built (leaning). It was begun in 1173 and strate dto tilt before reaching the third storey. It was completed in 1350. A fantastic history of the tower, and the politics around it can be read in the very entertaining and easy to read book Tilt by Nicholas Shrady.

The Cathedral was begin in 1064. It is a wonderful example of Pisan - Romanesque architecture.

The Baptistery was begun in 1152 and finished a century later. It was begun in Romanesque style and finished in Gothic style by Nicola and Giovanni Pisano.

The Camposanto was begun in 1278 by Giovanni di Simone. World War 2 bombs destroyed much of the frescoes. There is a major restoration underway.

Below: Approaching the piazza, past the tourist stalls.

Below: The cathedral, roof of the baptistery and leaning tower. Below: One good shove.
Below: ooops! Too far!
Below: Oh no! It's going to topple the other way.
Below: Inside the cathedral. Playing with fire (artificial).
Below: Ceiling and interior of the cathedral
Below: Inside the baptistery from the gallery
Below: View of the cathedral and tower from the baptistery
Below: The Leaning Cathedral of Pisa
Below: Nose in a book, baptistery, while mum lingers at photos
Below: The camposanto


Below: Frescoes in the camposanto
Below: Statue of Fibonacci

Fibonacci was a Pisan mathematician, whose name was Leonardo of Pisa (c. 1170 – c. 1250), also known as Leonardo Pisano, Leonardo Bonacci, Leonardo Fibonacci. Fibonacci is best known for spreading of the Arabic numeral system in Europe, primarily through the publication in the early 13th century of his Book of Calculation, the Liber Abaci, and a modern number sequence named after him known as the Fibonacci numbers, which he did not discover but used as an example in the Liber Abaci.

The nickname Fibonacci came about because his father Gugliemo was nicknamed Bonaccio ("good natured" or "simple"). Fibonacci is derived from filius Bonacci, meaning son of Bonaccio.

The statue was finished in 1863 and placed here to honour Fibonacci. It is not known what he looked like.

Below: Chains which used to close the medieval harbour of Pisa. They were taken by the Genoese rivals who won the Meloria battle in 1284 and they gave them back to the city only in 1860.

35. Menton - the old town

Menton is a beautiful town right on the French side of the border with Italy. Its climate is exceptionally mild. It is reputed to be the warmest place on the Côte d'Azur in winter - a subtropical microclimate.

These photos take us on a walk through the old town, starting at the main Place in the lower part. There can be found many cafes, restaurants and shops. The streets then wind upwards until you are rewarded with the most beautiful views over the port, beaches, town and Italy.

For views and tours of Menton every day of the year, visit Jilly's blog: Menton Daily Photo.

Below: In the main square, there are lots of restaurants and cafes, a great place to rest after a walk, or get the energy to set off.

Below: And the location of a terrific restaurant, Le Balico

Below: Another great place for a rest
Below: Oops! Road blocked! Jilly says that work has been going on in the main street through the old town for many months.
Below: The main church of Menton, Eglise Saint-Michel is on the right side of this place, which looks over the port and beach. That's Italy in the distance. In August there is a music festival held in this Place. The mosaic paving depicts the coat of arms of the Grimaldi family (the royal family of Monaco, who once held much more vast territories) Below: A lovely house of the old town
Below: Lots of rooftops
Below: Terracotta rooftops, so typical of the Mediterranean. Australia is another country which adopted terracotta for roofing houses, especially in the early 20th century. Our house in sSydney has Marseilles tiles, shaped differently, but similar colour.
Below: Roofing work underway.

Below: Views of the port and towards Italy
Below: The steeples of two churches in the old town. The taller one is Saint-Michel
Below: The cemetery in the old town is the final resting place of many foreigners who came to Menton for their final years. One famous Permanent Resident is William Webb Ellis, who is credited (probably spuriously) with inventing the game of Rugby.



Below: The cemetery can be seen on the upper level at the right