Trips

OAT: Italy: Tuscany and Umbria

September 20 - October 16, 2016

Itinerary: Tuscany and Umbria

        In the fall of 2016 we returned to Italy to do the OAT: Tuscany and Umbria tour, with a pre-trip to Bologna and Parma and extra days in Rome (September 20 - October 16). It was an excellent trip and, although we had already been a few of the places we visited, it was nice to go back to Siena, Florence, Rome, and others. We had especially wanted to get to the Borghese Gallery in Rome, which we were unable to schedule a year ago. We were able to visit that beautiful gallery this year and thoroughly enjoyed the wonderful paintings and Bernini sculptures. The same applied to the Duomo Museum in Florence, which was closed for remodeling last year. It is another exceptional gallery in a country known for its wonderful works of art. The food and wine throughout the trip were exceptional. Several food and wine tasting experiences were included as well as several cooking classes where the preparation of local dishes was experienced.

Trip Map
9/20-21	Estes Park - Munich - Bologna
9/22	Bologna: Milan: The Last Supper; Sforza Castle; Cathedral of Milan
9/23	Bologna: Urbino: Ducal Palace
9/24-25	Bologna: Sala Borsa; Meridian Line; Archiginnasio; Seven Churches; St. Luke's
9/26	Bologna: Ravenna: San Vitale; Galla Placidia; Saint Apollinare Nuovo
9/27	Bologna to Parma: Parmigiano Cheese; Balsamic Vinegar; Modena
9/28	Parma: City Tour; Parma Cathedral and Baptistry
9/29	Parma: Polesine Parmense; Black Swine; Culatello Ham; Boat trip on the Po River; Castle of Fontanellato
9/30	Parma to Lucca: Pontremoli; Testeroli
10/1	Lucca: St. Michael's church; Basilica of St. Martin; Lucca City Tour
10/2	Lucca: Carrara Marble Quarry
10/3	Lucca to Chianti: Florence: San Miniato; Duomo Museum
10/4	Chianti: Montesiepi Chapel; San Galgano Abbey; Chiusidino; Via Francigena
10/5	Chianti: Olive Oil Tasting; Cooking Lesson; Monteriggioni
10/6	Chianti to Pienza: Siena: City Tour; Contrada Della Selva; Siena Cathedral and Baptistry; Bagno Vignoni
10/7	Pienza: San Biago; Villa S. Anna Winery; Montepulciano
10/8	Pienza: Pitigliano; Citta del Tufo
10/9	Pienza to Trevi: Morning in Pienza; Isola Maggiore; St. Martin’s church; Trevi
10/10	Trevi: Spoleto: City Tour; Il Ponte delle Torri; Duomo di Spoleto; Bevagna: Medieval Arts and Crafts
10/11	Trevi: Assisi; Truffle Hunting
10/12	Trevi to Ostia: Narni: City Tour; Narni Sotterranea
10/13-14	Rome: Borghese Gallery; Church of San Luigi dei Francesi; Basilica of San Agostino; Largo di Torre Argentina; Forum Area; Trajan’s Column; Santa Maria del Popolo; Da Vinci Museum
10/15	Rome: Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica; La Romana Gelato

 

OAT: Tuscany and Umbria with the pre-trip to Bologna and Parma

Tues. & Wed., 9/20 & 21/16- Estes Park to Munich to Bologna, Italy
         Our Lufthansa flight departed at 4:10 PM and arrived in Munich the next morning.  We then flew Air Dolomiti to Bologna and arrived 22 hours after leaving Denver.  An OAT representative met us and took us by taxi to the Zanhotel Europa hotel, that is located about 1½ blocks from the Bologna Centrale train station. 
        We checked in, took an hour nap, and then went out to explore our neighborhood.  We visited the train station and learned how to purchase tickets and found the 19 train platforms.  Then we walked to and down Indipendenza Via (Independence Street) by way of Amendola to Piazza dei Martiri where we found a nice COOP grocery with take-out foods.  We walked on down Via del Mille and found a street of restaurants where we chose Il Moro and ordered lasagna and ate a nice meal sitting outside and watching people and many bicycles going by on the cobbled street. Bolognan lasagna is different and very good.

Thurs., 9/22/16 – Bologna & Milan
        We came to Italy three days early in order to visit Milan and Urbino.  This morning after our buffet breakfast we bought our tickets (44 € each) and rode the fast non-stop train to Milan.  The train reached speeds of 300 km or 180 MPH.  It was a smooth, fast ride.
        Before our prearranged tour of the city, we set out on the Metro (4.50 € for an all day ticket) to find the Pinacoteca di Brera Museum of Art.  We only had an Internet map with a few street names so we had to ask people on the street four times for directions. Inside the museum we found and admired Bellini (Gentile and Giovanni), Mantegna, Raphael, and Piero della Francesca (no photos allowed).

High-speed train to Milan	Milan street scene
Exterior of the Pinacoteca di Brera	Entrance to the Cenacolo Vinciano - site of The Last Supper painting
Back to the Metro stop and a ride to the center of Milan near the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie to meet our 2:20 tour - the “Last Supper and the Best of Milan.”  Taking a tour is just about the only way to be assured of getting tickets to see Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper that is painted on the wall of the refectory (dining hall) of the Dominican monastery at Santa Maria delle Grazie.  We entered the museum through three climate-controlled rooms.  Our guide talked about the painting while we were being dehumidified.         The Last Supper is magnificent.  It was painted with tempera instead of fresco so it did not last as well and restoration is more difficult.  Our guide described the scene, identifying each disciple and their emotional reaction to Jesus' declaring that there was a betrayer among them.  Peter holds a knife, hoping to protect Jesus, and Judas clenches a money sack, reaches for bread (an indication of his guilt), and has knocked over a salt bowl, which means bad luck.  None of the men have halos indicating they are human and no two faces are the same.  Leonardo looked among the people of Milan to find countenances to include in the scene.  The doorway to the refectory's kitchen was enlarged at one point which took out the part of the picture including Jesus’ feet.  The table cloth and plates are painted the same as those the monks were using in the dining room.  Da Vinci’s signature is in the lower left corner. His signature is a knot and is in the corner of the tablecloth.         There were once 50 Dominican monks in the monastery, now there are 5.  We walked around the courtyard and into the church.  The church was built in two eras so part is simple Dominican and part is elaborate and paid for by the Sforza family.
Leonardo da Vinci - The Last Supper
The Last Supper - detail	The Last Supper - detail
The Last Supper - detail	Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie
Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie	Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie
Our guide then walked us through the city streets toward the Sforza Castle.  Milan is the fourth largest city in Italy and is a financial and fashion center.  Modern sculptures of a needle and thread and a knot like those used in carpets decorated one plaza.	Interesting sign
Canopied street	Street sign
Needle, Thread, and Knot sculpture by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen in Piazzale Cadorna	Another sculpture in Piazzale Cadorna
The Sforza Castle is huge!  It was a fortress in 1353 and was added onto over the centuries.  Leonardo, who was also an engineer, improved parts of the fortress.  The castle had a wide moat that is now a grassy area with feral cats who keep down the population of mice, and unused stone cannon balls.  We walked into the center of the fortress and then had a 15-minute coffee break (2.20 € for a “cafe Americano” or “long black” – espresso with added hot water).
Sforza Castle	Sforza Castle
Sforza Castle - Coat of arms of the House of Sforza	Sforza Castle
Sforza Castle - Feral cats and pigeons coexisting in the moat	Sforza Castle
Sforza Castle	Sforza Castle
Sforza Castle	Our tour continued to the fourth largest cathedral in the world, St. Mary of the Nativity.  It is built with porous pink vein marble from Lake Maggiore, in the Gothic style, and has many spires each with a statue of a saint on the top.  The main spire has a gold Madonna on the top that was added in 1778.  We did not get to enter the cathedral.
Gererali Insurance Building	Statue of King Vittorio Emanuele II
Milan Cathedral or Duomo St. Mary of the Nativity	Milan Cathedral or Duomo St. Mary of the Nativity - note the gold Madonna at the top of the main spire
Milan Cathedral or Duomo St. Mary of the Nativity	Milan Cathedral or Duomo St. Mary of the Nativity - this sculpture was reputedly a model for the Statue of Liberty
Milan Cathedral or Duomo St. Mary of the Nativity	Across from the Cathedral is the glass and iron 19th c. vaulted Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II with the high-end fashion stores and cafes known as “Milan’s drawing room.”  At the other end is the Piazza della Scala surrounded by the City Hall, the Bank of Italy, and the La Scala Opera House.  In the square in front of the opera house is a statue of Leonardo with four of his students at the base.  Milan is an interesting city and many of the streets were once canals.
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II	Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
La Scala	La Scala
Statue of Leonardo da Vinci in the Piazza della Scala	We took the Metro back to the train station, bought tickets from the biglietti (ticket machine) and rode back to Bologna for 34 € each - slower train.  We arrived at 9 PM and were too tired to eat more than peanut butter and cheese in our room.  It was a long but interesting day and we were proud to have done it all by ourselves.

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