Italy

Intro to Italy
Italy was lovely. The sun and food were fabulous. The humidity and characteristically disorganised Italians, amusing at best and annoying at worst. Our break in Italy really had two parts. The first five days or so were spent in great company, at the ISMSC Conference in Salice Terme, Liguria, Italy. The second part of our holiday was spent in Genoa, on the coast of Italy about 2 hours south of Milan. Great people and good conversation characterised the first five days, and lots of exploring and discovery in Genoa. Not that Jason and I dislike each others company :-).

An overall impression - Italy is covered in all manner of ancient ruins and buildings from its long history. The Italians are justifiably jaded by all this I think. The tourists don’t impress them much either. Being polite, respectful and at least trying to speak Italian will go a long way to making any visit to Italy more enjoyable. Otherwise they may just throw their hands in the air and turn away. Don’t expect everything to be exactly like home, or you will be in for a rude shock!

Day 1
On Saturday we travelled from Basel to Milan, a long and tiring train trip. The mountain scenery and lakes around Bellinzona were a refreshing view. This is an area worth revisiting and spending some time in the future. The Ticino area of Switzerland (where Miss Switzerland hails from!) is apparently blessed with the best of Swiss - polite, clean and organised people, with the best of Italy - spontaneous, vivacious night life with truly good food!

We opted to spend the night in Milan, and catch the main sights there. As we travelled to Milan by train, our introduction to the city was anything but magnificent. Milano Centrale railway station is dirty, ugly and spectacularly badly organised. The sweeping industrial arcades do have a kind of hulking appeal I guess. Thankfully we stayed in the old city in a family run Albergo. The highlight of Saturday evening was a Gay Pride parade.

The parade proceeded around the centre of Milan, before stopping in from of the Castello Sforzesco. Beautiful semi-naked people having a good time is always fun! It was great to see, and really lifted our spirits. Especially watching the cute carabinieri being accosted by a stunning transsexual for a photo.

We had dinner just off the Duomo square. The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele connects the over the top Gothic Duomo with the rather more austere Piazza Federale and Piazza della Scala. The Galleria is one of the largest and most prestigious arcades in Italy, with its old cafes, bars, bookshops, and restaurants. It has an amusing collection of shops at its hub including for example Louis Vuitton … and McDonalds no less! What a tourist trap! We were successfully trapped, at least for a little while. It’s a beautiful example of essentially a covered street, fused with gorgeous architecture and technology (the glass roofed arcade and dome were built in 1865-1877).

Day 2
We started Sunday quite early as our train left in the early afternoon, and the day promised to be sultry and hot. The matriarch of the family running our hotel turned out some eye-watering espresso for breakfast on Sunday, which revived our flagging spirits before we did a little exploring.

We were five minutes walk from the Duomo, which was as spectacular as the railway station was under whelming. The cathedral was commissioned in the 13th century, and is an outstanding example of the Lombard Gothic style of architecture. It is also one of the largest churches in the world after St Peters in Rome, and the Cathedral at Seville. Somewhere on top of the marble pile sits a statue of the virgin Mary, one of the symbols of Milan. Not that you can really pick it out of the literally thousands of decorations.



The pigeons in the square fronting the Duomo were hilarious. Their randyness was not at all suppressed by the milling tourists. And boy - were they grotty little creatures. Most visitors (not us!) seemed to think that it was absolutely necessary to have these little rats with wings roost on their hands/arms while having their photo taken. Hmmm.

The Sforza Castle (Castello Sforzesco) was commenced in 1450, and delightfully illustrated what life would have been like for its denizens. It grew organically as different rulers and families occupied it at different times. At other times it was used as barracks and stables. It could be seen as a defensive structure, or a prison depending upon your perspective.

One mother spent over a decade living here protecting her son’s claim to the rulership of Milan (he was too young to take up his hereditary role as Duke). At its height it was a central place for culture, arts and sophistication. Michelangelo was commissioned to paint the frescoes in one room, and they were unlike anything I have ever seen. Imagine a dense canopy of Mulberry trees, with wood panelled walls suggesting the heavy gnarled trunks rising up to the ceiling. I found the Castle magnificent, if quite claustrophobic. The Castle has been adaptively reused and now houses the civic museum (like many urban castles in Italy). It has a very impressive collection of ancient musical instruments.



Sunday afternoon was occupied with a brief train trip to Voghera, where we were picked up and transferred to Salice Terme. Salice Terme is a small resort town in Northern Italy which has had a reputable and supposedly medicinal spa since Roman times. Some of the things they would do with the healing waters were well, quite personal really. Ladies, beware when ordering a spa treatment, you might be in for more than you bargained for! A cocktail party welcome, and a chance to catch up with Len and Faye, and other more familiar faces at the conference followed.

The people around at the conference included:
* Prof. Len Lindoy, Jason’s supervisor from Sydney and his delightful wife Faye,
* Jack Clegg, a younger member of Len's group in Sydney, and Jack’s partner Louise, congratulations BTW :-)
* Andrew, an Australian Chemist who works for the Australian Defence and his partner Marianne,
* Christine a Canadian chemist, working with Peter Tasker in Edinburgh,
* Marco Wenzel (originally from Germany and working with Karsten Glöe in Germany)
* Thomas Gottschalk and Felix, German chemists currently working in Zurich, Switzerland.
* the Constable-Housecroft group, particularly Kate Harris, Paulina Chwaliz, Pirman Rösel and Jonathon Beves.
* Prof. Antonio Poggi, a member of the organising committee and a delightful conversationalist who we chatted to while on the tour of Pavia

If I have left anyone its, that’s my fault – I have a lousy memory.

Day 3 & 4
You can see we spent lots of time hanging out with fellow Aussies, and relishing the language, humour and some really good wine (thanks Jack J). Louise and I spent many days lazing about, soaking up the sun in careful quantities, swimming in the pool and climbing some big hills. I managed to get us lost looking for the road up the big hill behind our little resort town. Pathetic I know, Jason just laughed of course. Once we found our way, we walked up to a lovely castle overlooking Salice Terme, with associated church.



The castle and church have panoramic views across the valley.



Day 5
Wednesday, the penultimate day of the conference included a trip to Pavia, with guided tours. I think the tour guides had a meltdown when they saw the number of visitors and variety of languages spoken. They were not completely prepared! It was quite lovely, although pity the poor scientists. I sympathised with Jon, who pointed out that he was thoroughly stuffed after listening to so many lectures and presentations. See if you can pick the Aussies in this photo ... Jon and Jason in some very erm, practical hats.



Jon didn’t cope with a rapid fire guided tour of Pavia, with accompanying dense history and commentary! Tempers frayed, and Jason was thoroughly cranky by the time we arrived at our buffet dinner. Dinner was nice, but queuing for it on sore feet and on a hot day was not! Prof Poggi sat with us during the coach trip back to Salice Terme, and with good conversation, air conditioning (rare) and soft squishy seats on our coach - mental equilibrium returned.

Day 6
Thursday night was the final day of lectures, and the conference dinner. The Italians ensured a memorable evening - magic tricks and opera in the one night?!? The magician was none other than the award winning speaker at the conference, Professor David A. Leigh of the University of Edinburgh. and he tirelessly visited each table ensuring everyone got a taste. Prof. Luigi Fabrizzi head of the conference organising committee was the MC. The three tenors regaled everyone with a rendition of 'O Sole Mio'.



The ISMSC Tabernacle Choir led by John Lamb (USA) raised the roof with She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain. The wine must have been good, everyone was still smiling and laughing by the end! Overall a productive and enjoyable time was had by all. Because there was only one stream of lectures, generally everyone got to see everybody else. There was loads of good chemistry (by all accounts), and a sense of community.

Jason and I remained in Salice Terme on Friday night, decompressing from the conference.

Day 8
Saturday was a short trip from Salice Terme to Genoa. Genoa Piazza Principe, like Milan is an ugly railway station. Many stations seem to be perpetually under renovation, which does nothing to enhance the logistical situation! Again a rather chaotic experience. Mind you, this is compared to Switzerland and Germany. I think I am being lulled by smooth and seamless public transport services! The bus trip across town was quite an introduction to the old shopping arcade fronting the port, and some of the ancient gates surrounding the largest ‘old town’ CBD in Europe.

We introduced ourselves to our hosts and deposited our luggage before heading back down the hill to explore central Genoa. What struck us was the very narrow windy streets and lanes. Here is some maintenance being carried out on the cobblestones. That's how you keep the sand in between the cobbles. A pretty miserable job. That tar is really potent!






Oh and the smell - not entirely pleasant at times, and the street crime. Pickpockets and hookers were rife only metres off the main tourist thoroughfares. A very reasonable dinner was had for less than €30.

Day 9
We stayed at a B&B - Il Salotto di Lucilla. I highly recommend it. Beautiful breakfasts, a peaceful and central atmosphere and delightful hosts. They were happy to help in any way possible, and we got some great tips for restaurants in town, which helped save us from tourist traps. We prised ourselves out of bed on Sunday morning, and were greeted by a sumptuous spread of apple cake, coffee, blood orange juice and pastries for breakfast. All immaculately laid out in the cool and quiet surroundings of the living/dining room, which looked like it had been decorated straight out of Country Life magazine, with a splash of modern art thrown in. Thank goodness J, Country Life isn’t exactly my taste! Although the airy, bright bedroom was delightful to come back to after our lengthy expeditions.



The area where we stayed was just uphill from the Via Roma, a prestigious shopping district in Genoa. This was the local 'mall':



Genoa is quite hilly, and everyone uses scooters. Even the fashionable young ladies as the photo of this lass shows. She was quite restrained, and actually stopped to speak on her mobile phone. Many people would ride and chat at the same time ~:-).



On Sunday we decided to head up to the huge urban park encompassing the old forts which defended Genoa. On our way however, we stumbled upon the Edoardo Chiossone Museum of Oriental Art. Wow! I really wanted to visit this museum, but didn’t realise that it was so close to our B&B. A moderately sized, but exquisite museum displaying a fraction of a large and striking collection of eastern artefacts. This place is an absolute treasure, and one of a few Japanese art museums repeatedly referred to outside of Japan itself. It is limited to objects almost exclusively from the Edo period, but has such a depth of artefacts, and a wonderful interpretation.

Some teasers for those who are interested ...

This is a small lacquerware box, perhaps for holding tobbacco, with what appeared to be a netsuke (toggle for attaching the box to the sash of a mans kimono) carved in the shape of a cicada.




Below is shown a Japanese Ukiyo-e or 'floating world' print ... these often depicted the lifestyle of the Edo period, when they became very popular. Scenes were generally cheerful and focused on the experiences/events/sights of townspeople. The prints were made by woodblock printing, with many famous artists referred to here, with a brief introduction to the artform.



By way of background to the collection, Edoardo Chiossone was one of a few thousand foreign advisors hired by the Japanese government for their specialized knowledge to assist in the modernization of Japan at the end of the Bakufu and during the Meiji Era. He moved to Japan in 1874 at the age of 41. Both diplomatic, friendly and well integrated into Japanese society, he was allowed to remain in Japan until he died. His avid collecting is represented by 20,000 pieces he amassed during his 23 years there. These were sent to Italy after his death in 1898.

Edoardo’s legacy is held in an architecturally designed modern gallery, located in the gardens of Villa Di Negro. I found most impressive the Neolithic artefacts (including stone arrowheads), sculptures (of course including the exquisite and tiny netsuke style animals), porcelains (oh my god, the porcelain!), lacquers (I think the cicada bottle was the most exquisite, if that is possible), arms and armour (the interpretation of the Samurai armour, and its impact on society was particularly excellent, and bronzes (Buddha statues beyond counting!). I wish I had found this article before we arrived.

Jason and I then took the rack railway up to the edge of the park. A long and tiring hill walk followed. Be warned, the Forts are very enticing, and fun to explore, but not all are open to the public. So get your information right before venturing up there! A sample of the fortifications:



We felt like mountain goats by lunchtime. As you can see the road was little more than a goat track.



Jason assured me there was lunch up there somewhere. My temper was really frayed when we found a tiny, isolated pub with a terrace where we had a delicious lunch overlooking Genoa. Jason was first attracted by the promise of simple panini!



We then discovered that they had rabbit, fish and all manner of delights on the menu. The locals were all rather amused by our appearance, and the waiter really looked after us, since it was obvious this place was a local haunt. No doubt kept that way by virtue of its location and lack of advertisement. We feasted and drank while looking at the delightful view over Genoa.


The maps, and information to navigate within the park is totally inadequate. We took a wrong turn, and had a very long walk to the edge of Genoa, where we finally caught a bus back to our rooms. Miraculous given this was a Sunday. Quite literally this experience took on a religious dimension - a painful, tiring pilgrimage highlighted by the ecstatic experiences of 1) lunch and 2) actually finding a bus home at long last!

Dinner at a local Pizzeria just around the corner from out B&B. Groans of pleasure ensued. I had Pizza Valdostana - scarmorze, prosciutto crudo, preserved porcini mushrooms. Smoky and delicious. The kitchen was even funnier. 3 men and a dog. A recipe for disaster? Absolutely not. I suspect the dog was there to ensure the mice stayed out of sight behind the giant bags of flour. And evidently 3 men was the required number to produce absolutely delicious fare! We were not complaining!

Day 10
After our peri-urban excursion we decided to stay within the bounds of the old town on Monday. Yet more delightful exploring (for me anyway) and it was Jason’s turn to get cross due to sore feet! We had lunch in Porto Antico, again amidst many locals. Again, thanks to our hosts who steered us into the slightly lesser known parts of town to find repast. Boy do the Italians know how to eat! Some of the delightful narrow lanes in Genoa:



Genoa Aquarium was our next destination. One of the few spots in town with air-conditioning. We spend the afternoon strolling and ogling the beautiful displays.
These were some of my favourite animals:

A school of cardinal fish:



One of the saw-tooth sharks was very inquisitive,



Soles - I like their pretty spots and googly eyes!



A lovely emerald tree snake - from Australia of course,


Dragons - I am sure there are very good evolutionary reasons why these reptiles look so grotesque ... I think they look cool.



And some really strange interspecies love between a moray eel and a scorpion fish. Perhaps they are just hanging out together on the principle that nothing would dare attack two extremely toxic and dangerous animals!!



We had our last dinner in Genoa at a restaurant on our local Piazza. Yet more delicious seafood. A ligurian pasta speciality called trofie, served here with shellfish



and I followed that with accguihe (anchovies),



Jason started with testaroli al pesto a unique kind of baked pasta ...



and he then had a very yummy steak (I just had to steal a mouthful). The best beef we have had in Europe so far.



Again very reasonable prices for excellent food. Good conversation, and wonderful wait staff - a gorgeous young woman whose aunt lives in Australia. She was delighted to serve us and spoke excellent English, which was nice for a change! An early night followed to rest our tired feet.

Day 11
Our final morning in Genoa was spent catching a few things we missed, some views over the old town and the Museum of St Lorenzo. The Museum is located in the crypt of the Cathedral St Lorenzo. It has a facade decorated by marble of many different colours:



and some detail of the carvings decorating the entranceway...



The church possesses some truly boggling religious artefacts. They inlcude a beautiful green glass dish which was for many years believed to the the Holy Grail.



An exquisite solid chalcedony plate, which was supposedly used to present the head of John the Bapitist.



And a solid silver statue, taller than I was of the Virgin Mary, sculpted/cast by local artists. She stands before a small room holding an ark which is used on St John's day to parade the relic of St John the Baptist (usually held in a chapel in the church above) through the city. You can see it shining in the background.



There were also many additional smaller artifacts historically possessed by various bishops and popes with local connections. I couldn’t help thinking about the ‘God Complex’ which I saw recently. Perhaps somewhat sacrilegious in this context. Still I kept my thoughts to myself, so I trust that I will not be cursed, struck down etc ;-)!

I then spent a little time chasing up photos of my favourite food haunts, of which there were many!

Oh wow - the bread, yes the onion focaccia is to die for! The crowd outside this shop is justified.



And the sweeties, handmade fruit jellies, and strawberry tarts made of tiny wild strawberries. My one regret is that I never found the time or money (those tiny little tarts are a minimum of €9 each, the largest €28) to justify savouring one. I guess I will just have to come back for those!





Lunch at Trattoria Maria. Dad – I would have to say this might very well be the original ‘No-Names’ Italian restaurant. Although, as one can see it did in fact have a name, and that belongs to the elderly owner who has been turning out cheap, traditional food here for over 50 years. On Mondays one can have tripe, the first Tuesday of every month is seafood soup (which I had for an primi piatti), the usual pesto and pasta staples are there too. Fast, no fuss service and endlessly entertaining clientele in the form of local labourers, residents and office workers, with a sprinkling of tourists.

We made our weary way back home to Basel, after delays at Milano Centrale Railway station we were in bed well after midnight. While Jason enjoyed himself, I think I enjoyed Genoa more. He was left with a feeling of claustrophobia, and general filth! Jim, I couldn’t but fail to be reminded of your historical interests. You would love this place!

Arrividerci for now! Paula