“The name of Italy has magic in its very syllables.”
Mary Shelley
The invention of wheels brought about a revolutionary change for the human civilisation, we all aware of that , so wheel is something that denotes a moving or dynamic thing that constantly on the move.
Like wise , this time when we started our journey at Italy for the second time , it’s a continuous effort to travel as much as possible by the road to enjoy the beautiful views the uncommon yet unique exploration of those places that are less traveled by the others.
After exploring beautiful Aurora Borealis, when we reached at Milan from Tromsø and after delaying of flight for one hour , and received only one luggage while other two had not seen anywhere at conveyer belt , we understood that our adventure will be as interesting as experiencing something very unique.
So after lodging complaints and all we had our respective car hiring from one of the well known car hiring centre and with the companionship of a beautiful setting sun we were starting towards Turin, one of the most beautiful yet less traveled ancient city of Italy .
Of course “Wheels on Italy” means the way one explores by the self driven car.
Turin > Portofino > Bologna > Siena > Tuscany > Pompeii > Amalfi > Roma
So , these were our routes to travel Italy on wheels.
So first we have to explore Turin where we experienced late seasonal fall which was as unique as a new experience to us , before that we didn’t experience fall like this way.
At our earliest convenience when we stepped out on the cobblestoned road within the beautiful city architecture,it was indeed a reminiscent of those days and again experiencing the same thing at the present situation.
I don’t want to tell about how many churches we had seen there or how much we had walked to view an open piazza , it was all about the experience that had gathered by us at this beautiful ancient city of Italy.
The same day we were off for Portofino , one of the most beautiful coastal site of northern Italy. It took almost one and half hour to reach Portofino from Turin.
When we just reached there the sun was about to set and it was really beautiful to be there with such scenery,where the sky was little bit cloudy and the rays of setting sun created a surrealistic approach towards the entire sky.
Portofino is mainly a coastal town with certain old places, castles , picturesque sea areas which makes this place for the favourite destination wedding place for the Hollywood celebrities.
If anyone reminiscing the famous Andrea Bocelli song “ I found my love in Portofino”, that concert was performed here in the year 2013 at the Portofino Harbour. So these are the place to be felt to be explored by walking in the nature , these are not the typical tourist spot like we have to complete certain places within limited time or period.
If you want stare at the sky throughout the night with a glass of wine in your hand, all these places are the visual treat to eyes as well as treat to the soul.
So, after a long walking along the beach , we had a sumptuous Italian dinner with the chicken steak with baby potatoes sautéed with cheese and oregano and that typical Italian spaghetti with the fresh cheese and pomodoro. It was indeed a gastronomical treat.
So next day morning when I opened my eyes listening to the sound of raindrops, it was a different type of view which I enjoyed from the big window of our hotel. Then we had a breakfast with the hot cup of Darjeeling tea which was really amazing to me . Having a cup of first flush at the morning, gives a different statement for the rest of the day.
After enjoying the beautiful sceneries , having a nice photoshoot ,we again started on the road for our next destination to Bologna, which is a city combined both the ancient as well as modernity simultaneously in a beautiful way.
It is a city with true European history .
- Piazza Maggiore
- Two Towers
- Basilica di San Petronio
These are the places of interest here .Getting lost in the cobbled stoned roads , in the midst of 12th century architectural buildings, there are no beginnings or endings , just to give the impression of a beautiful city which is a combination of new as well as the old.
So, after having a lunch with the hot white pizza with cheese and ham , along with a cup of espresso,again we were on the wheels to reach our next destination at Sienna.
And the same day we received our lost luggages and then we reached a beautiful Italian home stay at Sienna.
Sienna is a typical Tuscan beauty with elixir of wine and cheese, with the pointed evergreen trees which is the mark of Tuscany accompanied by the vast green meadows which are uniquely beautiful and treat to eyes.
You just open your eyes and enjoy the views.
Driving thorough the green velvety meadows of Tuscany and to explore it’s richness and heritage you can check out my previous blog post on Tuscany.
So, from Tuscany,next day morning again enjoyed the beautiful views, we left for Pompeii, the city stopped in time.It will take almost three and half hours from Tuscany by car.
- *What is Pompeii- In one word that can be defined as a place frozen in time.
- On October 79 AD , after more than 800 years of inactivity, Vesuvius suddenly erupted. The power that had built up over the centuries destroyed the ancient crater, creating such an immense column of smoke and dust that the sky was plunged into darkness for three days.
- Ash and pumice known as lapilli rained down over the entire area around the volcano: in a single day, the houses of cities like Pompeii and Herculaneum were submerged up to their roofs.
- Few of the roughly 15,000 inhabitants managed to escape.Others sought refuge beneath roofs in cellars and were destined to die.
- On this day life in Pompeii came to standstill.For over 1,600 years , everything remained intact.
- Shortly after the eruption, some people returned to the buried city in an attempt to recover precious objects, bronzes and marble:the general appearance of Pompeii was still recognisable and the roofs of houses and temples jutted out from the accumulated detritus.Only the areas of large public buildings such as the forum were plundered.
- The rest of the city fell into deep a deep sleep lasting well over a thousand years until the spring of 1748, the city known by the Romans as Pompeii and by the Greeks as Pompeia.
The excavations – What we have seen today, the very first excavations, which began in 1748, used a system of shafts and underground galleries( known as ‘cunicoli’.The walls were stripped of their frescos which were installed in the museum built by the king of Naples.They can now be admired in the Archeological Museum of Naples together with statues,furnishings and other objects unearthed during the excavations.
During the nineteenth century the methodology of archeological excavation made huge qualitative advances: archeologists began to observe the stratigraphy and the sequence of the various natural and artificial sediments.
- The four Pompeian style- four styles can be identified in the wall decoration of the houses of Pompeii. Identifying them makes to easy to dates back to the Samnite period ( 3rd -2nd century BC) and is marked by pseudo -machinery in multi – coloured stucco.
- The Second Style ( c.100- 20BC) is marked by the realistic representation of architecture,taken from the theatre sets.The stucco relief decoration was also abandoned.
- During the third style( c.20 BC – 55/60 AD) the architectural features became increasingly abstract and ornamental; large monochrome panels painted in red and black with mythological scenes in the centre began to appear.
- The Fourth Style- It was in fashion when Pompeii was buried in the ash , is the most widespread: the use of small mythological paintings continued and there was return to less abstract, although often fanciful, forms of painted architecture on a white background.*
After experiencing the ruins stopped in time , again we were on the way to beautiful Amalfi Coast which is situated at the southern part of Italy
The curvy roads led us to the beautiful riviera ,the picturesque white coastal town of Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi.Actually you have to enjoy the road which is accompanied by Tyrrheniam sea.The road is narrow enough with hair pin bend and each bend reveals a new scenery in front of your eyes.Don’t forget to taste the lemons of Amalfi and take some ceramic souvenirs from this beautiful white coastal city of Italy.
Like all roads lead to Rome, we also choose the road again which led us to the city of establishment of Roman Empire.This time we stayed just in front of beautiful Colosseum,another ancient wonder of the world.
As it is the second visit of this place, the next day morning after having breakfast we just started roaming at Rome again on that beautiful cobblestoned road.From Colosseum we went to the Trevi Fountain, it seemed that half of the Roman population or visitors were there to throw the coins and fulfilling certain wishes.We had a lunch with thin crust Artichoke-egg – chicken pizza followed by gelatos.
As the sun started to set over the crown of the Colosseum ,lighting up Rome in it’s last glorious golden rays, the music from the street performances livened up the atmosphere but set a heaviness in our hearts as we went back home and started preparing for the next day departure to our country.
[*bibliography: Ministero Della Cultura, Pompeii]
