Views of Italy: Siena

Siena, a robust mountain town 30 miles outside Florence, was not what I expected. The central walled city, a common find in rural Italy, was surrounded by a bustling Tuscan city home to thousands. In its center sat the historic rival to Florence and birthplace of St Catherine, patron saint of Europe.

The Duomo is impressive as it sits, beautiful on the inside and one of the largest in Italy. This makes the fact that they had planned an expansion in the 1300s that would have made the current nave merely the apse and extended a new nave hundreds of feet to the east that much more impressive. Plague decimated the population before it could be completed (damn rats), but the view from the completed base is spectacular, doubly so when the countryside is covered in a pristine blanket of snow.

The train trip out and back was short and pleasant, so Siena is a day trip anyone in Florence should consider. In fact, I met several visitors to Florence that had spent the weekend in Siena and spoke highly of their stay.

Views of Italy: Venice

As Carnivale di Venezia descended on the canal-laden city, so did I. Vendors were setting up their shops, and thunderous music boomed down the narrow, walled waterways. Visitors were all a twitter.

I was cold.

Temperatures dipped into the teens as cool seabreezes bellowed in off the water. The sites were beautiful, though we had been warned the canals themselves may have been frozen over. No such luck, however.

The Piazza San Marco was full of revelers and tourists, and I'm glad we decided to take the day trip from Florence to see the rival city. I took some great pictures (I'll put together something soon... Those attached to the blogs are from my phone) and toured the Museo Correr and Doge's Palace, a most interesting walk through princely grandeur and prisoner's pain.

Though I had visited the piazza over twenty years ago, I had few memories of it (save a 10 year old's constant need for fastfood... Never did find that Wendy's).

Venice is certainly worth the trip, a destination for both the architecturally and historically inclined, as well as the photographers of the world.

Views of Italy: Florence

Florence is as American a place as you'll find outside the U S of A. Everyone speaks English well, they're friendly, and hundreds of American art students wander the streets.

Walking through the city, you quickly gain the understanding of why so many artists and artisans flocked to the city during the Renaissance period. It just 'feels' artistic. The Uffizi Gallery is a must-see, and the Galleria dell'Accademia houses Michelangelo's David, worth the trip to Florence alone. No matter your expectations, the sculpture will exceed them.

I hadn't planned on having Kidd visit Florence in the sequel to Number 181, but I'm going serious thought to changing the Rome locale to Firenze, as the locals call it. The Duomo is amazing and gives visitors a gorgeous view of the entire town and countryside.

I'm looking forward to getting back to writing, but Florence is certainly providing inspiration.

Views of Italy: Pompeii

Shawn Kidd braved the icy mountains of Switzerland in my book, Number 181, and I've competed in the GORUCK challenge led by Green Berets over miles and miles... And hours and hours. But, neither Shawn nor I can imagine what the residents of Pompeii faced in 79 A.D.

Watching the top of Mt Vesuvius mushroom 20 kilometers into the sky wasn't enough to scare off enough of the people of the sprawling city. Those that stayed through the day would perish, thankfully quickly, as the first pyroclastic cloud rolled down the narrow streets.

The city itself is far more impressive and expansive than I expected. Roads strike off into the distance and hundreds of small houses and shops line the recently-excavated cobblestones. With the silent killer towering in the distance over the Temple of Jupiter, it was eerie imagining what the thousands of residents experienced that day. Beautiful houses and gardens line the city walls, and an ornate stadium and theater stretch to the sky. The city was surprisingly developed given the earthquake it faced 17 years prior - an earthquake they were still rebuilding from prior the eruption - and one could spend hours wandering the ghostly ruins.

I imagine it's crowded and stifling in the summer, but the sporadic groups there on Tuesday (thanks to the cool weather) made it a quiet and somber walk... Much like it was in the weeks following the eruption, I'd imagine...

Pics to come when I get back...

Views of Italy: The Vatican

Kidd probably won't get anywhere near Vatican City in the sequel to my novel Number 181 that I'm working on. But, that doesn't mean I shouldn't. I spent the morning on the excavation tour leading through the original necropolis two levels below the floor of what is now St. Peter's Basilica. MOST impressive. Seeing the burial site and remains of St Peter was humbling and inspiring. My past studies in history took it to a new level as I heard about the digs that occurred during World War II.

Walking through the Basilica itself was awe-inspiring. The scale is immense and the history overwhelming. Understanding how the golden age of Rome and the subsequent Dark Ages led to the Reformation and Renaissance are keys to understanding our present and future.

The view from the copula was spectacular and is one of the few things I recall from my childhood visit here. Whether you share the faith or not, the city-state is not-to-be-missed.