Travelog 2011: Italy

Travelog 2011 Italy



Dear Friends:


We have had a great adventure in Italy! I am at the Charlotte NC airport just finishing up some of the journaling as we prepare to fly home to Arizona! Below is the travelog as it happened.  Enjoy!  I look forward to your comments! 
Ciao, Leslie


I am currently heading to Rome where I will attend the International Women’s Forum Cornerstone Conference on Art Transforming the World. This should be fascinating! Then Jack will join me and we will head north to Orvieto, Cetona, Florence, Bologna, Parma, etc. Travel along with us through our travelogs and photos. They will be posted on http://lesliestravelog.blogspot.com/. I am having some technical problems (getting it posted, uploading photos, etc.)...hopefully that will be resolved soon!


Wednesday, May 25, 2011 Rome Italy


After flying all day from Phoenix to Charlotte to Rome, and then transferring to the hotel, I got settled and tried to connect with friends. I had made the decision that I wanted to narrow my focus of what I would try to see in Italy since there is so much and I have to have some focus. So one of my points of study are the mosaics of Italy….and from what I’ve learned Ravenna is second (maybe) only to Constantinople for Byzantine mosaics. So we are planning a trip to Ravenna.

                                 Mosaics of Santa Maria de Maggiore

Santa Maria de Maggiore




Meanwhile, there are a handful of churches that are supposed to have spectacular mosaics in Rome. So I set out to hit at least one place this afternoon: Santa Maria de Maggiore. The last great period of Roman mosaic art was the 12-13th century when Rome developed its own distinctive artistic style, free from the strict rules of eastern tradition and with a more realistic portrayal of figures in the space. Santa Maria is one such place. It is a work of Jacopo Torriti from 1295.


Visiting the church on this increasingly cloudy day presented some challenges in lighting. The good news about the visit is that a choir was rehearsing and the visit was accompanied by wonderful singing: it really created a very ethereal atmosphere. There were many priests and nuns visiting and praying at the church and many tourists visiting. The confessionals of many languages were in use. The only disappointment is that the loggia, which is made of golden mosaics, was closed for some reason today and I could not find out when it would be open. However, I did enjoy the mosaics I did see and will research them further.







Which is the real building and which is a cover up???


I wondered around this area and made my way to Plaza de Republica to try to spend some time at a museum of antiquities where I understood there to be some other great mosaics.However, by the time I took in some other aspects of Italian life (watching scooters, every day sculptures, and facades over facades (which one is real?) I was getting a bit tired. So I left those mosaics for another day.




I returned to the room where I met up with my roommate and old friend Sandy Wilbur and then my newer friend Courtney Meyer joined us…we headed off to the opening reception of the IWF Conference As the description of the evening accurately stated, we went by bus to “Terrazza Caffarelli directly overlooking the ancient Foro Romano. With one of the most exquisitely stunning panoramic views of Vatican City, the Tiber River and Trastevere, IWF members and their guests will be treated to a Roman evening that includes a private walk through the Capitoline Museums. The museums - situated in the adjoining twin palaces on the Michelangelo Piazza del Campidoglio with the magnificently adorned statue of Marcus Aurelius beckoning us to enjoy one of the most prestigious and ancient collections in the world - will be closed to the public for IWF guests to pass through and view her ancient marbles, bronzes and collection of imperial portraits and old masters paintings that include Caravaggio, Rubens and Titian.

Marcus Aurelius Welcoming us Girls???

Band Welcoming us!

              We were greeted by a band performing welcoming songs of every nationality, made our way through a number of the rooms of this spectacular museum (even saw a few mosaics) and

Sunset through the Buildings

Reception at Dusk

were entertained by a contemporary jazz/folk band while we ate a light dinner and watched the sun set over the city. What a greeting!


Thursday, May 26, 2011 Rome




Slept like a baby after a day of travel without much sleep…and woke up to the alarm which I would have loved to ignore!


But a fascinating program awaited.


The morning focused on how art can transform the world. We had several panels-one of “designers” and writers on the topic of “design thinking” and another with artists (sculptor, composer and author/photographer) speaking about their work and transformation….a couple of highlights from these programs that struck me:


1. An opening speech by The Honorable Allyson Maynard Gibson the President of IWF and a Senator from the Bahamas,
whose quote from Leonardo Da Vinci was fabulous: "Life is pretty simple: You do some stuff. Most fails. Some works. You do more of what works. If it works big, others quickly copy it. Then you do something else. The trick is the doing something else."  That certainly mirrors my practical approach to life! She also quoted Degas: Artistic endeavors are not about what artist sees; but about what they’ve made the rest of us see. As such, I believe, artists are leaders and leaders must be artists.


2. Of the first panel on impact of art on cities, the most provocative speaker was Fabio Novembre, Italian architect and designer for Cappellini, Driade, Meritalia, Flaminia and Casamania whose projects are influencing change around the world. His symbol for himself is the snake that eats his tail. He feels we must do more with less-his designs take away material (e.g. a toilet that is sculptural and has less space for water; a faucet for a sink that you press down on and lets a smaller jet of water come out for a shorter period of time.) Some other comments he made:


-Engagement of man in the final touch
-Things should have a death as well as a life
-Meaning of space: absences as well as what is there
-Dream behind the project
-Art is what allows us to be human beings
-Create solutions
-Create engagement
-Create universality




The next program was the most interesting of all: on Design Thinking with
-Tom Kelley: IDEO General Manager (US)
-Ilse Crawford, Dedsigner and Foudner of StudioIlse
-Asiya Sadiq architect, urban designer, Pakistan
-Warren Berger: author of “Glimmer: How design can transform your life and maybe even the world”



My friend from Phoenix, Clara Lovett, was the moderator of this panel and made the following introductory comments:


-The arts give us a way to understand our world
-Design is a way of looking at the world to improve it
-Design thinking applies to more than products: but to envision and shape the systems in which we live. Many systems are failing around us, we need that help;
-Creative minds and thinking as applied to resolve complex critical problems around the world: design thinking.

Tom Kelley: His brother, David came up with the idea:

innovation,  something new in the world come from 3 sources:
1. Technical factors (feasibility)

2.  Business factors (viability)

3.  Human factors (desireability)

Need to start with human factors and make sure you start with true wants and needs so there is a market for products.

  Her Excellency Anne Leahy, Canadian Ambassador to the Holy See

Then we went off to “behind the scenes tours” and I lucked out to get the one I wanted: behind the scenes at the Vatican and Vatican museum. 80 of us got a private tour, arranged by a member who is the Canadian Ambassador to the Holy See (i.e. the Vatican).


 We were addressed by the head of the Vatican Museum as well and then taken on VIP tours.

Kings on Horses Entrance to the Vatican

We came into the museum via the entrance used in ancient times by kings who came up the stairs on their horses (closed to the public now). That was interesting! With guards in colorful suits.




I will attach more photos from this amazing collection—collections that were assembled by Popes over the centuries!




After returning to our hotel for a brief freshening, buses took us to our “dinearounds” where we were entertained by local IWF Forum members in their homes or clubs. Because the Italian Forum is so small (less than 40 members) each hostess had more like 40 guests, rather than 10. Yet each of us had an extraordinary opportunity. I was hosted in a 17th century Palazzio owned by the family of our hostess, Laura Montana Trezza. Laura was proud of her Sicilian background and loves cooking. So, not only did she tell us about the art, furnishings and neighborhood of this Royal home, but she personally cooked our dinner and gave us a mini-cookbook with the recipes of the dinner and some bonus ones (however, in Italian)…the finale was a wonderful dessert that looked like a volcano-the symbol of her family name.

Laura explaining the background of the 17th Century Palazzio

At my table of fascinating women, was the hostess, the President of IwF (From the Bahamas), a young woman from Equador (whose daughter will start at Stanford this fall, but who spoke very little English) Cathy Cheechi, from Southern California (who speaks Spanish well and who spoke with the guest on my left and translated some); another woman from Italy and another from the US and the Vice Mayor of Moscow and her translator. What an interesting group!

Hon. Ludmila Shvetsova

On the way there, I visited with a woman from Vancouver who edited a major magazine and has written a memoir about her mother and herself and now teaches memoir writing. On the way home I visited with an Israeli attorney who is in practice with her husband and daughter (a family business!). This mother of 4 is quite busy and was answering calls from her 15 year old son, planning a visit to eastern Europe for a celebration at the home of her 24 year old son’s new in-laws, and enjoying her 31 year old daughter’s children. Her 21 year old daughter is still in school. I hope to visit her someday in Israel!


Friday, May 27 Rome


Another full day in Rome!


This morning’s program started with the Transformative power of Cinema and featured speakers from the world of entertainment: Elide Melli, Italian actress and film producer whose recent filmography includes Vallanzasca – Gli angeli del male (2010), producer; Maradona, la mano di Dio (2007), producer; La Contessa di Castiglione (2006) producer; and Vipera (2001), actress; Gale Anne Hurd, IWF member and Hollywood film producer and writer whose box-office hits include The Terminator (1984); Aliens (1986); The Abyss (1989); Terminator 2 (1991); Raising Cain (1992); Terminator 3 (2003); The Incredible Hulk (2008) and the AMC drama series The Walking Dead (2010); and Nandita Das, award-winning Indian film actress and director known for her films Fire (1996); Earth (1998); Bawandar (2000); and Firaaq (2008). Moderated by Gita Pullapilly, an award-winning television journalist and film producer.





The next part of the program was composed of break out sessions and I attended a fascinating one on the art as dialogue to solve problems: Art: A Bridge in the Dialogue Among Peoples and Nations. While some of the presenters spoke about art, most presented fascinating stories of survival and the panel represented a fascinating cross section of women from around the world.


Culture and art are often used as a vehicle for dialogue among peoples and nations both at the diplomatic level, for official exchanges and informally. Art and cultural projects also have been used in the reconciliation process in areas of high conflict. Bringing together communities, breaking walls and building bridges of understanding, the transformative power of art helps rebuild what's been broken and connect what's been kept apart.


There were two Ambassadors and a humanitarian worker whose experiences in Pakistan, Yugoslavia and Jordan reveal what is possible with Art Transforming the World. Featuring Her Excellency Géri Benoît, Haitian Ambassador to Italy; Angéline Fournier, Co-founder and International Director of ARTS Global, a non-profit foundation based in Paris and Cairo that aims to establish a bridge across boundaries, societies and nations through art; and Laura Iucci, humanitarian and corporate social responsibility expert, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Italy -- providing aid in a region critically important to the international protection regime.H.E. Thenjwe Mtintso (South African leader, ambassador),Moderated by Samia Salfiti, Board of Trustees, National Center for Human Rights and Member, Amman Greater Municipality, Jordan.


Each woman told fascinating stories. I loved the quote from Thenjwe Mtintso from her regional dialect (Xhasa):


Umntu Ngumntu Ngabantu" which means: "A Person is Person through and thanks to other persons." She spoke of this philosophy of interdependence throughout her comments. What a gracious and interesting woman!


We reconvened for a lunch that was not that inspiring, unfortunately, because of the format, It spoke to the convergence of science, art, technology and economic development.



We were on our own for the rest of the afternoon and my friend, Sandy and I took off for Trastevere and visited the Santa Maria of Trastevere Church—another famous mosaic church. This was actually the first Christian Church in Rome and later (12th century) themosaics were added. They were spectacular.



We had  cappuccino, wandered around the shops in the area and then headed back to the hotel to relax for a bit, reconvene with Jim, Sandy’s husband who had just arrived and head off to the closing dinner.





We had an elaborate stand-up dinner at the Palazzo Ferrajoli –- located just opposite the Prime Minister's palace in piazza Colonna. The abode of major prelates, military leaders and cardinals since its construction in 1626, the palace was the seat of the French Embassy and residence of Cardinal Joseph Fesch, uncle of Napoleon Bonaparte. In the 19th century, the ownership passed to the Marquis Ferrajoli. One room in this Palazzo looked like it was still a family home, with a sidebar of liquor and family photos.


Saturday, May 28, 2011 Rome

Our Tour Group

Courtney arranged a food tour of Rome: what fun! We met up with our tour guide, Hande in a part of town that was far from where we had been and visited the weekend farmer's Market.  From there we visited the every-day market, the spice market and the best pizza shop in Italy!  Our guide is a sommelier and a "foodie" and knows her ingredients as well as which stall has the best of everything!

 

Visited a Great Spice Shop on our Food Tour

Next:  Jack arrives in Italy!


Finally, Jack arrives in Italy and we explore more of Rome.
Our friends the Simons had told us about, Tratorria Abruzzessi, that they loved.  So we searched the web, then maps, then neighborhoods to find it.

Alas! we discovered it!! It had changed names since they had been there, but we had Jack's favorite (Ravioli) and wine and other goodies to start our visit together in Italy!

Sunday, May 29, 2011 Rome/Orvieto/Cetona

Sunday, May 29, 2011 Rome/Orvieto/Cetona

On the eve of our 6^th anniversary, Jack and I along with our “chaperone” Courtney headed out of Rome for a wonderful day in Tuscany and Umbria.  Personally, I prefer to travel in towns smaller than Rome at just under 3 Million people.  So I looked forward to exploring Orvieto and spending the night at the Fabulous Mondo X, Padre Eligio’s 7 room hotel, restaurant and refuge for “lost boys.”

Although I had “Googled” the directions from our hotel to Orvieto, following them was not so easy.  We huddled in our Ford Focus-and tried to see the street signs in the hills of Rome where the Rome Cavalieri sits.  We gave up after a while and used my intuitive navigational process and amazingly ended up finding the autostrado A! that heads north towards “Firenze” (Florence) with a cutoff to Orvieto.  Once we got on the highway, it was easy.  Driving through the hill country was beautiful. 

Soon enough we found ourselves at the train station/parking lot and ticket center at the foot of the mountain on which Orvieto sits.  It is a  mesa, that sits about 1000 feet above the plain,  made of volcanic ash or “tufa” much like we saw in Cappadocia, Turkey and in parts of Arizona and Utah.  It’s population is only about 23,000.

We had heard that the Cathedral in Orvieta was spectacular and that there were interesting Etruscan artifacts, including an entire town below ground-cut in the tufa.

We knew the town would provide for some interesting exploration.  We also heard that it is difficult to deal with cars up there, so we parked, took the funicular and began our exploration. 

Our starting point was the Duomo which was magnificient! The stone work (stripes of white travertine and blue/grey basalt) gave the church a striped appearance, except for the magnificent front with beautiful mosaics and bronze sculpted doors.

 

On the eve of our 6th anniversary, Jack and I along with our “chaperone” Courtney headed out of Rome for a wonderful day in Tuscany and Umbria. Personally, I prefer to travel in towns smaller than Rome at just under 3 Million people. So I looked forward to exploring Orvieto and spending the night at the Fabulous Mondo X, Padre Eligio’s 7 room hotel, restaurant and refuge for “lost boys.”

Although I had “Googled” the directions from our hotel to Orvieto, following them was not so easy. We huddled in our Ford Focus-and tried to see the street signs in the hills of Rome where the Rome Cavalieri sits. We gave up after a while and used my intuitive navigational process and amazingly ended up finding the autostrado A! that heads north towards “Firenze” (Florence) with a cutoff to Orvieto. Once we got on the highway, it was easy. Driving through the hill country was beautiful.

Soon enough we found ourselves at the train station/parking lot and ticket center at the foot of the mountain on which Orvieto sits. It is a mesa, that sits about 1000 feet above the plain, made of volcanic ash or “tufa” much like we saw in Cappadocia, Turkey and in parts of Arizona and Utah. It’s population is only about 23,000.

We had heard that the Cathedral in Orvieta was spectacular and that there were interesting Etruscan artifacts, including an entire town below ground-cut in the tufa.

We knew the town would provide for some interesting exploration. We also heard that it is difficult to deal with cars up there, so we parked, took the funicular and began our exploration.  Our starting point was the Duomo which was magnificient!
The stone work (stripes of white travertine and blue/grey basalt) gave the church a striped appearance, except for the magnificent front with beautiful mosaics and bronze sculpted doors.

Bronze Doorhandle!

Interior of Duomo

Detail of Mosaic on front of Duomo-Magnificent!

We also took a tour of a few of the 1000 caves that are under the city of Orvieto.  Fascinating! There are rooms and evidence of life as far back as Roman times (first or second century BC).  These spaces were also used to house pigeons who were grown here as a food source. 

 
Courtney in one of the ancient alcoves