The Proof Of The Pudding Is In The Eating

I don’t expect to find any surprises in liquor stores with drive-through windows.

That’s why I prefer to buy wine in big city mega-stores. The little local suppliers around here cater mainly for the below average or mass produced well-known wines. I guess that’s to be expected if half the store space of these smaller stores is devoted to beer, hence, the drive-through window.

If you out shopping there is probably nothing that gives you a bigger kick than to find something that you like or would like to have and at a bargain price. This happens a while ago when I had an hour or two available to slowly cruise the aisles of a big liquor store in Lexington. I came across a Petrolo “Torrione” Toscana 1998 for below $25, marked down from $46 because it was the last in the bin. And there was little chance on them getting anymore because only 38,000 bottles were made that year.

The Fattoria Petrolo (above) with its famous winery is located on a slope of the Aretini hills that overlook Tuscany’s Chianti region. The estate is about 1 kilometer away from the towns of Mercatale Valdarno and Bucine, 30 km northeast of Siena, and 40 km southeast of Florence. The farm, which also produces sought after Extra Virgin Olive Oil, was part of the medieval fiefdom of "Galatrona" and its tower (torrione in Italian), built in the 12th century atop Roman ruins, still exists and is featured on all the labels of the winery’s wines. The winery makes just two red wines: “Galatrona” a pure 100% Merlot and “Torrione” a pure 100% Sangiovese. Furthermore, the winery specializes in small batch production where quality is far more important than quantity. In general they produce only about 3300 cases a year of “Torrione” and even fewer cases of “Galatrona”.

So why was I so excited to find a Petrolo wine? Petrolo wines are nearly always rated in the 90’s out of 100 on the wine rating indexes. And nearly all highly rated wines like that are normally out of my financial range from a non-special occasion prospective. For example, the 2007 “Torrione” has just been named as one of Wine Spectator’s top 100 wines of 2009 with a 94 rating, and the “Galatrona” 2004 is rated at 97/100. Of course, at the time of buying this specific bottle I had no idea what the 1998’s rating was, I simply bought it because it was a bargain price for a Petrolo wine. Nor am I really someone that cares that much about wine rating in general, because it’s another man’s taste description of the wine. Each person has its own likes and dislikes in wine, but I would agree, it could be useful in giving you some idea of what others think about it, when buying wine, especially if it is a foreign language label.

The Galatrone tower on the hill above the vineyard

When I recently made a Greek leg of lamb with rosemary-garlic roasted potatoes the culinary occasion was favorable to open the Torrione. It had a little sediment, not unusual for an old wine, and there’s nothing wrong with sediment, but I nevertheless poured it through a wine filter/”sediment catcher”. The color was deep, dark red, nearly garnet, turning purple at the glass’s edge. But that’s unfortunately where the good part of the story ends.

I am not one that can or would really like to describe wine in some of those imaginative words like muscular, energetic, racy, big-boned, easygoing, lively, poised, graceful or angular (what the hell is that?), but I do understand the terms flabby, tinny, bitter after taste, even thin/lean as oppose to full-bodied. All of the last mentioned terms applied to the Torrione. The wine was a disappointment! I expected a full-bodied, smooth drinking or supple wine with soft tannins and intense aromas. What I got was a dry, nearly harsh red wine that tastes like any other cheap, mass-produced red wine, sold in gallon bottles (ses-man kanne) and through drive-through windows, and at best, drank after it was in a refrigerator for a day or two.

Did I buy a bad bottle of wine or a bottle of bad wine? Sangiovese, famous for being the heart of Chianti, Brunello and many super Tuscan wines, is a difficult grape to grow and even more problematic to turn into a good varietal wine. Many wine lovers either loves it or hate it as a varietal, but when it is done right the grape's soft tannins, tasty acidity and moderate to intense blackberry and cherry flavors make Sangiovese very easy to drink and a versatile wine at the dinner table. When in Italy and at home I have tasted many good Sangiovese wines and because Petrolo’s other vintages of Torrione are highly rated by experts and the fact that I found during the research of this post that both Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate magazines gave the 1998 Torrione 89 out of 100 rating, I have to conclude that I bought a bottle of bad wine and not a bad bottle of wine. It probably overheated at some point in time, or was badly transported or was stored for a long period at uncompromising environmental conditions.

To use clichéd expressions, wine is like a book that should not be judge just by its cover; the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Cathedral of Siena's Piccolomini Library

Heading picture: The Fonte Gaia, Fountain of Joy, on Siena's Piazza del Campo.

Some of the most colorful frescoes we saw in Italy were in the Cathedral of Siena in the Piccolomini library. The bus trip to Siena and San Gimignano had many ups and downs. The biggest damper was the rain. Secondly, the whole day tour was too quick. Too many distractions. You need time to really appreciate San Gimignano and Siena. It was the cities where you could easily step of the tourist route, stroll down a narrow alley and step back into time, back to the Middle Ages. Standing in the middle of Piazza del Campo consuming every drop of the surrounding architecture, recalling the history, one can almost hear the noise of people and horses on a Palio Saturday.

Nevertheless, there were highligths too. In San Gimignano I took 20 minutes to step off the well beaten path and explored some quiet alleys and the towers. Another highlight was the Piccolomini library. The vivid colors, coming from a darkish cathedral into the brighter library makes it so much more striking.

The library was commissioned in 1492 by cardinal Francesco Piccolomini Todeschini (then archbishop of Siena and later pope Pius III) for the humanists texts and manuscript collection of his uncle, cardinal Enea Silvio Piccolomini, who was Pope Pius II. The frescoes were executed between 1502 and 1507 by the Perugian painter Pinturicchio and his assistants.

Pius III never actually saw the end product and the collection never made it to the library, because he died in October 1503, only 26 days after he was elected pope. He died of an ulcer in his leg although some believe he was poisoned by the governor of Siena. It was turbulent times in Rome and in Italy at that point in history, during the last days of the papacy of Alexander VI, who was one of the most murderous popes ever and from a family steeped in vice and crime.

The early beliefs of humanism were that, although God created the universe, it was humans that developed and industrialized it.

In the middle of the library is a copy of the famous statue Three Graces.

The frescoes depict ten important events in the life career of pope Pius II. Interestingly, Pinturicchio painted himself in several of the frescoes. I guess he reasoned that the person who commissioned the frescoes was deceased and couldn’t complain, so what the heck, why not put myself in it too.

Scene 3: Piccolomini being crowned as court poet by emperor Frederick III

Scene 5 and 6:

Scene 5: Piccolomini, then bishop of Siena, presents emperor Frederick III with his bride-to-be Eleanora of Portugal at the Porta Camollia in Siena.
Scene 6: Piccolomini receives the cardinal's hat in 1456.

Scene 8: Piccolomini, as Pius II, convokes a Diet of Princes at Mantua to proclaim a new crusade in 1459.

The library's ceiling.

I don't know the aritst or paiting's name, but liked the overall picture and colors, especially the glow they came from the colors. Siena Cathedral.

More Vatican Treasures

Going through some pictures of our travels through Italy that I am trying to rescue from a archived CD I came across some that I have never used previously or have used in a different format, either as part of a heading or a collage. I thought they should shine in their own right. These were taken at Vatican City. You can also see more Vatican images by clicking here.

A quiet gallery off a busy walkway with marble horses and several other statues.

Perseus with the head of Madusa.

Delicate sculptures above an entrance door to a gallery.

Artimes with her many breasts. Indian inspired Greek art work.

A Bronze Herculus. Not many bronze artwork from the Roman or pre-Roman period survived the smelter's oven. There is another rare bronze of Herculus in the Capitoline Museums. (look out for it in another post soon.)

I am not sure about this piece, but I think it is Apollo.

A magnificent detailed frieze against one of the gallery walls.

Angel in the Sun

From my Italian collection.

Venice: The San Marco Companile (Bell tower) in the late afternoon.

Venice: Sleeping Gondolas

From my Italian collection.

Gondolas still resting in Venice in the early morning.

Italia! Arrivederci!

Italy is truly something special. For the art lover, especially Renaissance art, this is heaven on earth. For the historian or lover of architecture this is medieval actuality at its best. For the romantic traveler Italy offer real “slow travel Italy.” It has a lot of beauty, lots of special places and provides many memorable memories. But there is another side to Italy. Thanks to the weak US Dollar against the Euro and high cost of living in Italy, it is very expensive. Being a southern Mediterranean country it takes life in its stride. Let me use the Spanish term to describe it better “alla yo siempre manana”, there is always tomorrow. As our host in La Spezia elucidated to us; Italy can be a very frustrated place to live in if you don’t understand it, grew up in it and except it for what it is.

Rome is proverbially not built in 7 days, not even seven centuries. Its beauty lies in it perseverance to exist as a major city through the ages. It survived the raids and plundering of the Northern Barbarians during the late Dark Ages and the early middle Ages mainly to the existence of Roman Catholic Church. That so many of its ancient ruins are still standing for today’s travelers to see is amazing. Florence’s lasting imprints on my mind is terracotta red/orange and light reddish-brown. These colors are everywhere in its ancient buildings. The city can thank a few Allied soldiers and pilots during WWII for not bombing it and all its treasures to rubble. I am sure the city fathers would have rebuilt the city, but most of its 14th and 15th century buildings would have been destroyed and it would probably not have been the jewel it is today. The Cinque Terre and most of Liguria are what it has always been: A treasure cache to be discovered, savored at that moment and memorized for one’s “golden” years. And Venice, so different than any other city on earth, so amazing that it actually still exists and maintain so many medieval characteristics in spite of the onslaught of mass tourism and the demanding modern world.

Will I go back to Italy? With a drop of a hat. Will our next trip be to Europe? Probably not, but who knows. There are so many other places I would like to see in the rest of the world. We could have enjoyed several State-side vacations for the cost of one trip to Italy, but there are no regrets. We see it as a once in a life time experience. We obviously hope that more European trips can be taken in the future, France is already in the dreaming-about stage, but for the time being there are several other non-travel plans and projects in the works that another European trip will have stay on the backburner and stew until ready to be devour.

And so my series of posts about Italy comes to an end. I wanted it to be different than so many other descriptions of Italy you can find on the Internet. From the start I decided against crunching 16 days into a single page with 3 tiny pictures. You, the reader deserve more. I wanted to describe Italy day by day as we experienced it so you could share our experiences. I also wanted it to be mainly a picture diary instead of a wordy diary. I hope I succeeded. I also hope all the regular readers have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Ciao!

PS: Just like a chef wants to know whether you are enjoying the meal or not, so the blogger wants to know whether the content of his posts are enjoyable. So leave me a comment or chat or criticize, whatever your fancy!

Picture Paintings of Italy - Venician Hats

Venician Hats

Picture Paintings of Italy - Venician Masks - Red & Black

Venician Masks - Red & Black

(As always: All Posts headings and Picture Paintings can be clicked on for a larger, more detailed view.)

A Final Swing Through Rome

Very early on the second last day of our Italian vacation, at 5:30 AM, we took a vaporatto to St.Lucia stazione. Our visit to Venice was nearly over and another few hours to explore Rome were on the cards. But before that we first had to complete a four and a half hour train ride to there.

At our arrival in Rome we walked the short distance to the Hotel RomAntica, unpacked the necessary and then headed back to the Rome Termini to take the Red 110 bus for a two hour drive to look at Rome’s architecture from a different view, the top of an open bus. Sure the view was different and we saw a few places we missed the first time we were in Rome, but nothing special to really report. Upon our return Monica went for a walkabout to do last minute shopping.

Late the afternoon she and I went for a walk to visit the Santa Maria Maggiore church. It was one of the churches on my list that I wanted to see on our first visit, but time ran out and we never got to it. I was so glad we made time for it on our last sightseeing day in Italy. What a beauty! Make that with a capital B! St Peters was impressive with all its big name artists and sculptures and St. Mark’s basilica in Venice was beautiful with its incredible mosaics, but both felt cold. There were a lot of treasures but no feelings, no warmth. Santa Maria Maggiore was totally different. It was alive! There was warmth and spirit and it felt like a dignified place were people come to give something, say thank you, or just wanted to be at. The place was full of people that came to prayer, and a service was actually in progress when we arrived there, which limited our access to certain areas of the church, understandably so. No wonder so many popes decided to be buried in this church. Maybe they also felt the difference.

That evening a thunderstorm dampened our plan to take a last, open air terrace dinner under the Roman sky. We were forced indoors at the La Mense il Bucco ristorante, where we also had lunch earlier the day. The dinner (and the lunch) was simple, real Roman food, but excellent. One of the few good dinners we had in Italy. During our trip we seldom ate indoors, mostly under an umbrella on the sidewalk. I loved that, gives one time to do people watching and in Italy it just feels do natural to eat outdoors. Being indoors makes me feel separated from the experience of traveling.

The last morning was a whirl of activity to get to the train station and then to the airport. What was supposed to be a non-stopped train to the airport, the train stopped several times because of maintenance work on the tracks and caused us to have very little time at the airport to board the plane. We certainly would have missed the plane if it was not for the fact that the plane was late at leaving by 30 minutes. Thank goodness for that.

We left Italy with a little sadness because it was a monumental experience for us and there is so much beauty, in all forms, in this country. No wonder it is most people’s favorite country to travel to and the country where most travelers return to for a second and third visit. But we also felt good to go home again. We were tired. We needed a real, don’t-disturb-me, do-very-little, late-sleeping vacation. Even though we walked every evening a mile or so for weeks before our trip to get ourselves in shape, the real thing made us understand that we have to walk five to ten miles every day to be ready and fit before the next trip of this kind.

Monica takes a last look at Venice from the water bus that took us to the train station.

Rome: The Temple of Herculus Victor on Forum Boarium. One of the best preserved buldings from Republic era (509 BC when the monarchy was overthrow until 44 BC when Julius Caesar was appointed live long dictator.)

Castel Sant'Angelo, also known as the Mausoleum of Hadrian. Built in 135-139 AD, the ashes of many emporers were scattered or stored here. In the 14th century the popes converted it into a castle and built a fortified corridor that link the castle with St. Peter's as an escape route for popes.

Rome: Trajan's forum and obelix with the Virgin Mary on top of the obelix. It is not strange for Rome to see Christian symbols mixed with pagan buildings. It is simple, who ever rules at the time takes over buildings from the previous rulers and use it for their own purposes.

One of the front doors of Santa Maria Maggiore Church.

The rose window above the entrance of Santa Maria Maggiore Church.

The altar of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the largest and most important place of prayer dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The altar was done by Pietro Bracci, who also sculptured Neptune of the Trevi fountain.

Picture Paintings of Italy - Venician Masks - Blue & Gold

Venician Masks - Blue & Gold

Gliding Gondolas

Venice is certainly different than the rest of Italy. It is so compacted; the streets and alleys are narrower than anywhere else. There is no rigid city layout; it is still medieval in layout, crooked alleys; it is said that if Marco Polo should return today to Venice he will still recognize most of Venice because most of it is still as it was in the 15th century. Well, take that with a grain of salt because he will not believe his eyes when he sees how many people today visit Venice on a daily basis, not will he believe there can be so many shops selling the same masks, t-shits and other tourist-focused goods as there are in Venice. The obvious thing that makes Venice different than any other place is the fact that there are no cars and no noise from motorbikes (thank goodness.)

But what I have a hard time to understand is why it is labeled as a romantic city. Maybe it is because of the gliding gondolas on narrow canals and the water everywhere and so many bridges. It is not particularly more beautiful than Florence or Rome (most certainly better than Naples). Sure, it architecture is different; more Byzantine than Romanesque like the rest of Italy and it has just as many old building like Florence and Rome (Rome’s naturally much older). And then there are the people or rather, masses. When we got there on the Sunday one could hardly walk a meter or two before one has to stop and try to pass someone or let someone pass you. Today there was slightly less people, but Piazza San Marco was still crowded and the lines still long to visit places. I am not complaining, just giving a point of view, and it is definitely worth the visit. Actually I wished we could stay another day or so, to explore all the sections of Venice because we only had time to explore San Marco and San Polo sestieries. I wish we had more time to take a vaporetto and cruise up and down the canals, get a different view of the city from the water instead of just from the streets, or walk the alleys less traveled by tourists.

This morning we visited San Marco Basilica and the Doge Palace next door. The basilica was incredible. Beforehand every research on the Internet was raving about it and I must say I was not disappointed. It truly is one of the marvels of Italy. The mosaic art inside is of the best if not the best we have seen in Italy. It was worth paying the €3 to go upstairs to the balcony and to see the bronze horse, circa 4 BC, and to see the mosaics from up close. It does give one a different perspective and appreciation of the true talent of these ancient artists. A view of the piazza from above was also worth the while.

The Doge Palace or the Palazzo Ducale, next door was a bit of a disappointment after San Marco. There are no furniture in the palace. (The Doge was the ruler of Venice, like a President, but with very little real power, lots of prestige though. And when he became the doge, he was expected to provide his own furniture to the living quarters of the palace and upon death the family promptly removed it again, hence no furniture.) Walking through the Palace was like walking through a art gallery where the surroundings are really cold and non-distractive and although I think some of the ceilings were very good, most of the frescoes were not that great. But then, after you see the Pitti Palace and the Uffizi and use that as a yardstick, not many other places can hold a candle to them. However, I do think some of the doors in the Doge Palace are magnificent pieces of art in their own right.

The rest of the day we spent walking (and shopping) through San Marco and San Polo sestieries (San Polo is on the opposite side of the Grand Canal from San Marco sestieri (neighborhood)). By 4:30 PM we were exhausted and sat ourselves down on the steps outside a small church in a quiet calle, away from the main streets, and savor a gelato. (I have never eaten so many ice creams in such a short period of time in my life, but Italian ice creams are fantastic. I think it is because they taste so “fresh”, if that’s the right term to use, and because of the many flavors to choose from.)

Dinner was on the San Polo side of the Grand Canal with a great view of the canal and the gliding gondolas, but the service was way too fast, as if they wanted our money and then wanted us to leave so they can turn the table a few times per evening. The food was average to poor. After dinner, as the sun was setting, we took a gondola ride down the canal and up several smaller canals. (Right: Inside the gondola.) It was expensive, the 30 minute glide was the same price as 3 train tickets from Rome to Florence on the Eurostar, but that is what you do when you come to Venice as a tourist. You pay the money for that one time experience.

Afterwards we stood at the rail on the Railto Bridge, watched the reflecting lights of Venice in the Grand Canal, and just enjoyed and took in the moment. Behind us, in the center of the bridge, a guitarist was picking a flamenco tune on his strings. The moment and we were not anything special to Venice, but Venice, at that moment was special to us.

Piazza San Marco with the basilica and the campanile at the end of the square.

San Marco basilica façade with the bronze horses on the balcony.

The San Marco clock tower, probably the 2nd most famour clock tower in the world after Big Ben in London. Built between 1496 and 1506, the clock indicates the relative positions of five planets: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury and could be read on concentric circles, together with the phases of the moon and the position of the Sun in the zodiac (in times past these allowed seafarers to discern the most favourable times for setting out to sea) and last, but not least it tell the time in the Italian 24 hour system.

The façade of the clocktower contains the three symbols of powers that govern Venice, namely the civic authority, symbolised by the Lion of San Marco, the Christian faith, symbolised by the Three Wise Men paying homage to Jesus, and the knowledge of science and mechanics, symbolised by the complex machinery of the clock itself.

The burly Moors on the roof of the clock tower, made of gun-metal and cast in 1497, they strike the bell on the hour. We were fortunate to see the moving Moors in action at the time that we were on the basilica's balcony.

View from the San Marco basilica's balcony towards the lagoon. On the left is the Doge palace.

San Marco's Horses and Monica. These horses are bronze copies. The originals are inside the basilica. No one really knows how old the originals are, but the date from the Classical Antiquity period (7th century BC - 5th Century AD). They think the horses once adorned the Arch of Trajan and that they were also long displayed at the Hippodrome of Constantinople. In 1204 they were sent to Venice as part of the loot sacked from Constantinople in the Forth Crusade. Off course Monica is not from the same period and far younger than the horses.

The Giant Staircase inside the Doge Palace.

A view of Venice from our gondola.

Gliding Gondolas

A view of Venice at sunset from the Railto Bridge.

Venice Venezia

Early morning we left La Spezia and the train slowly made its way through a series of tunnels and mountain passes before we arrived at the flatlands of Emilia-Romagne. The day was overcast but luckily no rain. The passage through the mountains was slow going on the Inter regionale train, but once we got to Fornovo, the train sped up and the trip to Bologna via Parma and Modena went quickly. After a light, stand-up lunch on Bologna station we boarded the Eurostar train for Venice. We only planned for a day and a half in Venice based on research of many people that traveled there before who felt 2 days was enough for Venice. In hindsight I should have planned for another day or so.

Arriving at Venice we sat on the steps outside of the station just to get our bearings and enjoyed a cigarette. A vaporetto (water bus) took us to the Rialto Bridge where a person met us and took us to our apartment. We would never have gotten there using a map for we walked along far too many alleys and had to make far too many lefts and rights. Venice, occupying 117 islands in the blue waters of the Adriatic Sea is a massive watery maze of grand canals, 177 smaller canals, and over 400 bridges. Maps aren’t very useful here. I tried to use my map a few times, but because there are no beacons to use (we would quickly learn to create our own beacons by remembering little squares and shops) and because there are so many narrow alleys and really no straight streets or calle, one really just walked and followed the few signs to famous places or general beacons. Venice is walkable but it is a mesmerizing experience.

After we dropped our luggage at the apartment, Monica and I walked to San Marco Square and then just all along the lagoon, pass the Doge Palace, hundreds of shops until our feet were sore. Heading home we got terribly lost, but eventually found our apartment after walking in circles for 30 minutes. I am sure we passed near it several times, but just couldn’t find the little narrow passage that led to the apartment. But not discouraged by getting lost in the afternoon, we attempted the maze again for dinner was at a ristorante on the Grand Canal and in full view of the Rialto Bridge. On the return journey we found our home easily.

A view of Venice from the canal.

San Marco's Basilica. Most impressive! Can't wait to see the inside tomorrow.

The Doge Palace on San Marco Piazza. The Byzantine influence is very strong in Venice and can be seen in many of its buildings.

The campanile of San Marco's Basilica.

A gondolier waiting for customers. Riding the gondola is the most expensive form of traveling in Venice, usually reserved for tourists and Venetians when they get married.

The Grand Canal at sunset from the Rialto Bridge. Our apartment was only a 5 minute walk from the famous bridge.