Saturday April 29, 2023
We do not eat breakfast in as our train is fairly early today. Our host Barbara stops by shortly before we leave to introduce herself as she was not able to check us in personally. We chat briefly, say arrivederci and walk to the mini metro for our last ride down the hill to the train station. We see Dave and Gwen eating breakfast sandwiches and we stop in our pastry shop to get to go pastries for the train. Everything goes smooth and we are in Arezzo at 1030. A slow walk to our house apartment and Francesco,the husband of Laura who we have been communicating with is there to let us in. The cleaning lady is also there as she speaks a little English and he does not. They did not realize there were four of us so she scrambles to add linens to one of the bedroom and get clean towels. They are very nice and give us a map and explain everything. We are sharing this two bedroom, two bath apartment and it has a nice backyard sitting area we hope to make use of. All checked in, we head out to town which is one half to one mile walk depending on where we are going. We find our way along the old town wall and into the old town. We stop at the Church of San Francesco to find out about reserving a time to see the famous chapel and its paintings here. The earliest they have is 1430 so we reserve that and they also make a reservation for us at Casa Vasari for 1600. This completes our booking work for the day. We now have time to find lunch and settle on a slice of pizza at a place called Doppia Pizza which means thick Pizza. It is on a foccacia type bread and very filling. A dangerous discovery may be the Moscow Mule bar across the street. We will see.
Even though it is lightly raining, we spend some time walking the streets of Arezzo and getting a feel for the town. We stop in one small square that has a sign for La Vita e Bella (Life is Beautiful) as it is in this square that the movie depicts a scene where Roberto Berninis character crashes his bicycle next to Principesa, his wife to be. Carol and I watched this movie before we left for Italy and even though it is all subtitles, we both enjoyed the movie. It was not what we were expecting but excellent and is the only non English speaking film to win the Academy Award. Check it out and see some of the town we are in.
It gets closer to our 1430 entry time so we find our way back to the Basilica of San Francesco. Built in the 13th Century it is one of the oldest churches in Arezzo. Pietro Della Francesca completed a series of Renaissance frescos in this church in the 15th Century and they are remarkably preserved. They are inside the chancel, and the series is titled the Legend of the True Cross. The Legend of the True Cross tells the story of the wood used to build the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. Every wall, arch and surface is covered with stunning paintings that depict the historic legend. They hand out a nice guide in English and you have 30 minutes to absorb it all in the small room. There are 10 episodes painted on the walls starting with the death and burial of Adam and the branch planted by his son which grows into the tree that will be used for the cross. The wood of the cross is buried, later Constantine has it searched for and found, the power of it helps defeat a Persian King Kosroes. It is a story either not known or long forgotten for us and quite fascinating as well as beautiful. The rest of the Basilica is nice also. The wooden Cross has what looks like paper on it so we ask and discover it is a the of tape they put over areas where they have restored the paint and it helps it cure better. Very interesting.
Leaving the Basilica, we meander towards the Casa di Vasari. Giorgio Vasari lived in this house in Arezzo. He is famous for having frescoed th interior of the Florentine Duomo, built the Vasari Corridor in Florence, and writhe the Lives of the Artists, where he collected stories about many of the great Renaissance masters. He was a painter as well as an architect and designed the Loggia in the Piazza grande here as well as many other buildings and art here and throughout the region. He painted his house and covered the ceiling and walls himself over the years. It is very nice and there is a small garden to sit in as well. Gwen hangs out by a strangely shaped tree and then it is time for us to move on.
We discover the Church of San Dominica which has an interesting facade. Inside it is rather plain except for a wooden crucifix by Cimabue and a wooden carving of the Virgin Mary and Child. Going down another street we pass some beautiful wisteria hanging down the walls and take a picture or three. Next up, we go to check out the Cathedral of San Donato. The Cathedral was built on top of one of the first christian churches in Arezzo. It was started in the early 1300 and due to economic reasons was never really finished until the mid 1500s. The facade was built using sandstone. The piazza surrounding the cathedral is very cool with medieval buildings all around. Inside there are beautiful stained glass windows, a wonderful altar carved out of stone, the tomb of Guido Tarlati (1330) and a wall painting by Pietro Della Francesco, the same artist who did the Legend of the Cross Chapel we saw earlier. Someone points out to us through a portal in the floor a crypt and tomb below which we think may be Sant Donato. There is also a chapel with a memorial and altar that holds the remains of the martyred St Petrarch. Definitely a lot going on in this Cathedral.
Leaving the cathedral, we walk along its side toward a green space we see and where the Fortezza Medicea lies. Carol and I watched a miniseries on the Medicis while planning our trip and their history fascinated us. This defensive structure was built between 1538 and 1560 by Cosimo I on top of Arezzos existing seat of power in order to reinforce Florentine dominance in the city. The stone to build it was quarried from the Roman Amphitheater in the city. There is also evidence of explosion damage when the French came through in 1800. Carol and I do not want to go in since I read there is not much to see inside but we do want to walk around the fortress from the outside. Dave and Gwen have had enough touring for the day and go to find a place to have a glass of wine. We start walking down and around the fortress and then hit a dirt path on the other side of it. We can see a cemetery below and the area where we started above but no way to get to either from here. We go a little further and then return the way we came. Dave and Gwen have found a nice little spot on the edge of the park to have wine ad we join them, not for a drink, but to rest our feet.
We made reservations at 1900 earlier while we were wandering at a restaurant that seemed to have a nice menu. It is about 1830 so we leave the park and start to meander toward the restaurant. We walk past a building which might now be a municipal building. It is interesting for the fact that it seems to have the coats of arms of the city’s influential elites carved in stone on the buildings facade. Walking further, we take a brief walk through Piazza Grande flanked by a beautiful loggia designed by Vasari, whose house we just visited today. Moving on we make it to Cavour 42 and are welcomed in with a table for Mr. Charlie. They had originally told me no on the reservation, then I could have one but needed to be done by 2030 (0830) and now say do not worry or rush. We order a bottle of Chianti from this area and peruse the menu again. Carol and I settle on an antipasto, tagliatelle pasta with Ragu and a local pork stew that I cant remember the name of. Everything was good but the stew was not what we were expecting. The stew was not like stew we were used to. the liquid was almost gone completely and they served it in the pot they cooked it in. that being said it was very moist, flavorful, and fantastic. A wonderful choice by Mr. Charlie. We finish up and are done about 0850 in time for them to reset the table for the original reservation they had. On the way home we stop for a gelato at Gelateria Cremi which was very good. We did most of our sightseeing so tomorrow should be a relaxing day. Expenses Train from Perugia to Arezzo 15.40E Pastry Breakfast 2.60E Doppia Pizza Lunch 7E Basilica San Francesco Combo Ticket 30E Dinner and Wine Cavour 42 47E Gelato at Cremi 8E Il Piccolo Ristoro 56.42E Walked 9.4 Miles
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