Visiting the Quirinale Palace

Guarding il presidente

 

One Sunday morning in Rome, my plans extended no further than finding a decent cappuccino. Then I read in my guide book that the Quirinale Palace, official residence of the President of the Italian Republic, is open to the public for just a few hours — on Sunday mornings. Being a good tourist, I immediately rushed up there – pausing only to finish my coffee. The Palace is on top of the Quirinale Hill, the highest of Rome’s seven hills. It’s the 6th largest palace in the world (in area), and the largest residence of a Head of State. 

Visiting the Vatican Museums

The Pinecone Courtyard, Vatican Museums

 

How to visit the ridiculously enormous Vatican Museums without having your head explode? It’s a question many serious tourists ask themselves. The first time I visited was about twenty years ago with three young children in tow. Four months in Europe with the kids had shown that adaptation was necessary in the great galleries – hitting the highlights was the order of the day. In the Vatican Museums, general consensus would have it that the ‘highlight’ is the Sistine Chapel.

Rome: The View

Despite numerous visits to Rome, I’d managed to omit a visit to the Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland), also known as Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II) or “Il Vittoriano” — or, less formally, “the wedding cake”. I thought I should rectify this omission, given that the building is visible from just about everywhere in Rome, and I’d hurried by it many times on my, er, way to the Forum.

Chianti

Chianti Country – Tuscany.

Chianti is a wine and a place. Of course, the wine comes from the place. But it’s also an atmosphere and a reputation. And a look. Those Tuscan landscapes with a row of cypresses drawing the eye through the vineyards to the farmhouse on the ridge — quintessentially Chianti.

The Striped Duomo of Siena

Duomo di Siena

It was dusk when I strolled out to take my first look at Siena, and stumbled upon the piazza of the Duomo, the Cathedral. The ticket office was still open, though there was only 45 minutes to closing time. It proved to be an excellent time to visit – the long queue control barriers suggested that at peak visiting times there would be large crowds, but at this hour everyone seemed to have chosen an aperitivo over the church. I was almost alone.

Piazza del Campo: Siena

Moonrise over Piazza del Campo, Siena.

In all of beautiful Siena, the wide, central Piazza del Campo is the focal point. Here the tourists meet, the pigeons flutter, the moon drops behind Renaissance and medieval buildings, and cafés and trattorias serve happy customers. Twice a year (in July and August), it’s also the location of the famous Palio di Siena, a medieval horse race around its perimeter.

Ten Reasons to Visit Turin: Part 2

Turin: Chocolate Capital of Italy.

 

…continued…

6. To find the masterpieces in the Savoy Gallery

Turin has several well-regarded galleries (including one housed in a gorgeous Renzo Piano building) but if time is short, pop in to the small but exquisite collection in the Galleria Sabauda behind the Royal Palace.  Here you can find works by Mantegna, Jan van Eyck, Botticelli, Filippo Lippi, Fra Angelico, Tiepolo, Guido Reni, Titian….

Ten Reasons to Visit Turin: Part 1

 

Turin. Enjoy.

It’s possible to feel a little sorry for Torino (Turin). In the race for visitors, it competes with the likes of Rome, Florence, Venice. I’d heard various things about it – that it’s ‘industrial’ (because it’s the home of Fiat); that it’s more like France than Italy (is that a compliment or a denigration?); that it’s dull. But Nietzsche considered it a jewel of a city:

“Do you know Turin? Now that is a city after my heart, a breath of true 18th century. Palazzi that speak to the heart, not Renaissance fortresses! And the sight of the Alps from the center of the city. I would have never thought that the light could make a city so beautiful.”

So I had to go and see for myself. 

In March the mists were still rising from the River Po in the mornings (the River Po is famous for its mists – I’ve mentioned these before, when visiting Mantua and San Benedetto Po). I spent two extraordinary days in Torino – far too short for such rich city. I didn’t have time to venture beyond the old city, to visit Fiat or to do justice to the city surrounds. But even so, I can easily compile a list of Ten Reason to Visit Turin.

The REALLY old churches of Bologna

 

Chapel of the Holy Sepulcher – old, really old.

When I say old, I’m thinking 1st century AD, a pagan temple to Isis built over a spring (which is still there); followed by an extraordinary construction, around the 5th century AD, that was built to resemble the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.

San Petronio

Fresco, ‘Annunciation’, Basilica di San Petronio – by Lorenzo Costa

I have another saint for you! Though my main reason for adding San Petronio to my pantheon of Roman Catholic saints is not so much his interesting story – he has one, of course – as his interesting and enormous Basilica in Bologna. On the day I visited, workmen were verrryyy carefully moving the effigy of San Petronio down from his wall pedestal – he’s life-sized – and onto a wheeled trolley.