Category: Italy – Fall 2022

We had a few hiccups in our journey as we made our way from Fano to Fermo.  Our train arrived late and we missed the connection to another train that would get us to the Ancona Airport to pick up a rental car.  Eventually it all worked out and we picked up this tiny Fiat Panda…barely large enough for both of us to fit.

Fermo is another hill town – with streets just as steep as the ones in Urbino.  We have a small, very unusual apartment here with a good location not far from the city center.  It’s in a former 18th century palazzo and our room is not in the palace, but in the horse stable!

At first we were dismayed because it’s a bit dark and gloomy but Larry rearranged the lamps and it made a big difference in our moods.

It’s quirky but not too expensive and the Internet is good, the water hot and the bed comfy.  We can’t complain!

Views from the city center down to the valley are spectacular.  There is an elevator that will take us to a lower part of the town.  A view in the other direction looks out to the Adriatic Sea.

Today (Sunday) is bright and sunny.  There is a Wine Festival in the town square Piazza del Popolo with some serious wine tasting and also a market selling crafts, antiques and local products.

The Pinacoteca Civica is the main museum in town.  Our very favorite item is a wooden globe, 2 meters in diameter made in 1713 by cartographer Silvestro Moroncelli.  Larry noticed that in this library, the smaller books are at the top and the larger ones on the lower shelves.  That way, the librarian doesn’t have to carry the larger books as far down the wooden ladder (a theory anyway.)

There is also a painting by Peter Paul Rubens painted in 1608.

We had a delicious meal last night.  Ravioli with porcini mushrooms and truffles, all swimming in butter.  Plus a delicious salad of thinly sliced pork, topped with arugula and tomatoes.  The restaurant was the cozy Capolinea Cafe.  This nice arrangement  of sage, flavored honey, and oranges was on the bar.

Soon we’re going on a tour of the Teatro Dell’Aquila and the Roman Cistern.  LeMarche has turned out to be a wonderful region to explore!

It’s a rainy day so a good one for visiting the Museo Archeologico in Fano – it’s set in a lovely palace that was built in the 1420’s.  In addition to archeological findings from the region, there are several works of art.  The gallery is very pleasant space with many large works displayed.

We liked the very busy Annunciation by a local 16th-century artist Domenico Sacchetta – below is just one section of the larger painting but we liked that porticos were painted in this scene.

The beautiful polyptych (1420) is titled Madonna with Child and Saints by a Venetian artist, Michele Giambono.

This is a sculpture of Heracles Wearing the Nemean Lion Skin;

It’s not a large museum but the collection of art and artifacts is interesting and varied!

In the center of Fano is Piazza XX Settembre, a traditional marketplace with the 16th Century Fontana della Fortuna, topped with a bronze statue of Fortuna.  On the left, is the Teatro della Fortuna, where opera and musical performances are held today.

We’ve had some very good seafood food during our stay in Fano;

The people here are kind but not many speak English.  It’s been a good way for us to practice our Italian!  Tomorrow we’ll take the train to the Airport in Ancona to pick up a rental car.  Then, it’s on to Fermo!

We’ve read good things about Senigallia and planned to spend three nights there, but changed our plans when we read about the recent flooding.  Still, we wanted to see the town to decide if it would be a good place for a future visit.  The Fano Rail Station is a short walk from our hotel so we hopped on the next train to Senigallia for lunch.

We are sad to say that the beach town of Senigallia is not at its best right now.  There is still evidence of the flood waters that inundated the town two weeks ago.  We saw Red Cross workers and other volunteers around town helping with recovery efforts.

These floods were unexpected and the cleanup is taking time.  It’s not a story that was in our news but because we knew we would be in the area, we read  about it shortly after it happened.  At least eleven people died and more than 50 were injured.

The devastated shop near the river, (below) shows the height of the water.  The people here seem resilient and some shops are already back in business.  It was mid-day when we arrived so many things were closed but for lunch options, we found a couple of sandwich shops, a pizza-by-the-slice stand and  gelato.

It’s only 18 minute train ride between Fano and Senigallia.  Leaving the town, we saw dark clouds over the brightly colored rail station.  We are hopeful for better days ahead for the citizens here.

 

Urbino is a special place and three days there was just about the right amount of time.  The streets are steep so it takes a bit of energy to get around the city but it’s worth the extra steps.

On our last full day, we toured the enormous Ducal Palace and found a good place, Cafe des Artistes, for pizza.

We left Urbino by bus this morning for the one hour and 30 minute trip to Fano.   The bus was clean, comfortable and our tickets were a good deal at  €4.50 each.  This wasn’t in our original itinerary but after we read about the flooding in Senigallia we picked Fano as a second choice – it’s the third largest city in the Le Marche region and a major beach resort.  This mighty statue of Augustus guards the main entrance to the city.

There is also a relic from Fano’s Roman days – a travertine gate with one of its two original towers, built in AD2.

We’re staying in a small apartment near the city center…the kitchen table is set and it’s almost too lovely to use!

We walked to the beach but found it to be rocky not very scenic – it’s late in the season so many things are closed.  In season, it’s lined with beach umbrellas.

It’s a warm day and now late afternoon.  We’re anxious to see the city when things are more lively this evening and then looking forward to visiting the local produce market tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

Urbino is not easy to get to – and that may be why there aren’t so many tourists here.  On Sunday we took a slick regional train from Bologna to Pesaro and then a one hour bus ride from Pesaro to Urbino – it took a majority of the day but once we arrived, it didn’t take long to realize that it was worth the bit of inconvenience.

We arrived in Urbino in the late afternoon and found that  it’s surprisingly elegant, the people are friendly, and the city is fun to explore.  We’ve ignored the fact that the streets are very steep and trekked up and down hills to taste the best gelato, the most interesting crescia sfogliata (a flat bread sandwich which has been made here since the Renaissance), and wine with dinner at a great restaurant.

There is so much history in Urbino – this morning we visited the birthplace of the artist Raffaello, the university botanical garden, and this afternoon the Oratorio of John the Baptist.  In between it all, we did our laundry!

Tomorrow we’ll visit the Ducal Palace and Wednesday we’ll make our way via autobus to our next stop, Fano.

The town is beautiful but so is the surrounding countryside!

We are surprised that we haven’t heard much about the results of the Italian elections.  We can speak a little Italian but not enough to understand the pros and cons of the Giorgia Meloni win.

We are very happy with our room at Albergo Italia but the Internet speed isn’t fast enough to upload many photos..  The hotel is perfectly located in the town center and a nice breakfast is included in the price.  We’re content in Urbino and all is well!

 

In the 1990’s I visited Italy with my Mom.  We were on a tour riding a bus from town to town and one of the lunch stops was in Bologna.  This statue of Neptune was what we remembered years later.  He stands in the Piazza Del Nettuno and is quite an impressive figure – seeing him again brought back a happy memory of time spent with Mom.

Our time in Bologna has gone by quickly but in that short time we’ve eaten much delicious food!  For lunch today we revisited Trattoria Da Cesari restaurant we liked from our first trip to Bologna several years ago.  Evening reservation spots were filled so we took the first available spot and arrived for lunch when they opened at 12:30 today. Porcini mushrooms are in season, a good reason to try porcini mushroom flan;

…pasta with porcini mushrooms and tortellini in brodo (no mushrooms but delicious broth).   Da Cesari is a family-run trattoria with excellent service and great food.  By the time we finished, the place was packed and they were turning people away.

Gelato is a highlight of any trip to Italy and this small shop didn’t disappoint.  Favorite flavors were Cioccolato del Santo and Pistacchio di Bronte.

The flower shop across the alleyway has some lovely blooms!

We walked to the train station to buy tickets for our next stop.    Sunday we take take a train to Pesaro and then a bus to Urbino.

We could easily spend a couple more days here but it’s time to move on. Fingers crossed and hoping we make all of the connections!  Tomorrow (September 25) is a big day in Italy as it’s Election Day. We’ll be watching the results!

 

 

Bologna is a small city in the Emilia Romagna region with an interesting history and lots of character.  In the center are Due Torri (two towers); towers that lean, just like the famous Tower of Pisa!  The streets “fan out” from this central point and the towers make good landmarks for finding our way around the city.

When we walked to dinner in a far away neighborhood we used this tower to navigate our way back to the city center.

Cars are banned in some parts of the historic city center and the 22 miles of streets bordered by arcades make Bologna easily walkable – the covered walkways provide shade in the summer and protection when it rains (in the forecast for tomorrow!)

Today we took a tour of the University library led by a young graduate student from Poland.  The library is a fantastic space!

Students who studied at the University of Bologna include Dante, Copernicus, Fellini and Umberto Eco.

Bologna is known for food…shops with meats, cheeses and pastries, like these cherry tarts, are on every  corner!

Last night, we walked 20 minutes from the city center to this rustic Trattoria Da Vito.

The pumpkin filled tortellini in sage and butter was the perfect meal along with roasted vegetables and a huge portion of lasagna.

So, those are just a few reasons we really enjoy Bologna!  We’ll be here one more day before we head to our next stop, Urbino.

We’re recovering from jet lag a settling into La Dolce Vita!  We agree that…

We landed in Paris yesterday afternoon and after a short layover, we took a two hour flight to Bologna, Italy to begin a new adventure!  Our plan is to visit a few places that we know and appreciate (Bologna, Orvieto, and Rome) plus the Le Marche region (also called “The Marches.”) which is new to us.

The Marches region which runs along the eastern Adriatic Coast is one that we’ve wanted to visit for quite some time – it’s been called a less-traveled Tuscany.

For transport, we’ll use a combination of trains, buses, and a rental car which we’ll pick up at the Ancona Airport in a few days.  We’ve had to reorganize a part of our original  itinerary due to devastating heavy rainfall and flooding in Senigallia last week.  With no further hiccups, this trip will take us to:

• Urbino,
• Fano,
• Ascoli, and
• Fermo.

We’ve left a few days unplanned to spend time in places that we discover along  the way.  Our itinerary includes a combination of seaside villages, hill towns and cities.

The maps below shows the Le Marche region:

Our first stop before we travel to Le Marche is Bologna.  It’s  our first full day here and we’re enjoying a chance to practice the Italian that we’ve been learning,  tastes of gelato, and exploring the porticos of this city.  The university here was founded in 1088!

Our room at Albergo delle Drapperie is small, but the location on a pedestrian street with a pastry shop and a fruit market make up for piccolo space.

We’re having a great time so far…if you’d like to follow along, just come back to this link every day or two….we hope to post some more photos along the way!

Ciao!
Sharon and Larry