Romans

Sojourn in Arles

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DonQui has stayed in Arles before and loved the city. So he is going to revisit for a couple of days before heading to the Mediterranean coast.

He loves simply wandering around the streets without any particular plan just to see what is around the next corner.

And Arles is an eminently walkable city. At this time of year (May) it is not overrun with tourists apart from a few small gaggles temporarily let off their cruise ships for good behaviour.

An important Gallo-Roman town and capital of Roman Gaul in the 5th C AD, there is plenty of good Roman stuff for DonQui to enjoy. The Roman arena served as walls of the city in the middle ages with most of the town (much reduced after the Roman era) being crammed inside it.

The arena was cleared and partially restored in the early 20th century and now once again functions as a place of entertainment — although without  gladiatorial combat as far as DonQui can ascertain.

The well-preserved Roman amphitheatre is also still in use for plays and concerts.

After a good trot around the place, DonQui pauses for a little sustenance at the delightful Restaurant Escaladou, just around the corner from the Roman arena.

When abroad DonQui likes to sample local dishes rather than something he might have at home. In this case his meal starts with this delicious Provençal fish soup complete with croutons, cheese and rouille (a sort of aioli made with egg yolks). It is followed by a traditional stew of Camargue wild bull (gardiane de taureau)— well, partially wild as although roaming freely through the salt marshes of the Camargue the herds are looked after by humans. The slow-cooked meat is lean, tender and flavoursome.

Arles was immortalised by Vincent Van Gogh who stayed here to paint some of his most famous works (1888–1889). 

There are couple of places that have been maintained more or less as they were when he painted them.

With the weather warming up to a pleasant 27º DonQui now heads to the sea to cool off and relax for a few days.

From Italy to France

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DonQui could quite happily have spent another day in Verona but he must be on his way to the south of France.

It is a long journey first through the flat fields of Lombardy and then into the Ligurian alps. He decides to break his trip with an overnight stay in Genoa.

Genoa is perhaps not the most exciting of cities but it is pleasant enough for a quick visit and it is about half way along his journey. DonQui spends an enjoyable afternoon trotting around the streets before stopping for an aperitivo to watch the evening passeggiata. 

Then he has his last meal in Italy which includes a delightfully flavoursome tortelli with sea bass, clams and bottarga (cured, dried fish roe). The bottarga adds a taste not dissimilar from parmesan cheese.

His car fuelled with petrol and his body fuelled with super concentrated Italian coffee, DonQui continues his journey the following morning. His route takes him along the coastal road that winds its way through the Ligurian alps and then the French alpes maritimes. 

Reaching Monaco at around lunch time he makes a brief pit stop.

Then he heads up the small winding road to La Turbie to visit the massive ‘Augustus Trophy’ (Tropaeum Alpium). Dominating the landscape for miles around, this monument was built between AD 14 and 27 to commemorate the subjugation of the last Gallic alpine tribes by the Romans.

It probably looked like this when first built.

A fine statue of Augustus, which was probably on the top of the monument, is now housed in a small museum.

The views from the top are stunning.

Saying goodbye to Augustus,  DonQui dives on along the Côte d’Azur to Arles where he shall be resting and exploring for the next couple of days.

Romans and Juliet

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Famous around the world as the setting for Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Verona is a wonderful place to spend a couple of days. Once you get through the ghastly industrial and commercial sprawl that blights the surroundings of most Italian cities — it is really stunningly beautiful.

DonQui is a bit of a sucker for Roman stuff and Verona has some very good Roman stuff. So he hightails it over to the Roman amphitheatre and museum to get there just as the doors open. The amphitheatre is impressive but little museum does not have much of note apart from this nearly intact floor mosaic featuring Baccus — DonQui’s favourite deity by far.

At the other end of the old city is a nearly intact Roman arena. Both the amphitheatre and arena are still in use — hosting regular concerts.

The old city is compact and mostly pedestrianised. DonQui spends the better part of a very pleasant day trotting around the place and taking in the atmosphere. 

Around midday the town has pretty well filled up with tourists (presumably day trippers as there were very few of them in the morning). So he takes shelter in a little bottega around the corner from the Roman arena to pay homage to Baccus. Here he spends a delightful hour with Bruno learning about the wines of Verona’s Valpolicella region.

Of course DonQui tastes some too — working his way from the relatively light twice-fermented Ripasso, up through the heady full bodied Amarone made from partially dried grapes, to the most ancient of the Valpolicella wines — the sweet Recioto which Bruno recommends having with cheese. Before getting into the Valpolicella DonQui also has a taste of a delightfully fresh and minerally white Lugano from the shores of nearby Lake Garda. Bruno explains that the retreating sea which created Lake Garda left salt deposits in the clay which gives Lugano wines their unique taste.

On less steady hooves than before, DonQui explores the delightful streets and squares a little longer.

Although not a great fan of churches he is most impressed with the 13th century church of San Pietro the Martyr.

He particularly admires the fantastic medieval art from the 14th and 15th centuries.

After a bit of a rest he heads out in the evening to taste some of the local specialties at the delightful Tosca Bistro.

Here he samples an excellent risotto with Amarone, and horse meat stew with polenta. Both washed down with a glass of rich Amarone wine.

Tradition has it that the Veronese got a taste for eating horse after the battle between Theodoric and Odoacer in AD 489 which left large numbers of dead horses on the battlefield to provide an unexpected feast for the locals. The stew is rich, full of flavour and utterly delicious — it is something he will never be able to have in the UK.

Before resuming his journey the following morning, DonQui visits the reconstructed house of the Capuleti — better know as ‘Juliet’s house’ as the Shakespearian heroine was from the Capuleti family (anglicised to Capulet by the bard). 

By arriving just after opening he is able to beat the hordes of tourists who were choking the place the previous afternoon. It is said that if you touch the statue of Juliet in the courtyard you will be lucky in love. DonQui does not bother as he is already lucky in that department.

Exploring ancient Sicily

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DonQui not only loves his food and drink, he is also a bit of a history fanatic, particularly when it comes to the ancient Greeks and Romans.

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Mosaic of a late Roman soldier

Fortunately for him the Greeks and Romans left lots of stuff behind in Sicily. The Arabs and Normans also left their marks. There are even a few traces of the Carthaginians which is pretty rare as the Romans did their best to eradicate everything Carthaginian they came across.

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Carthaginian and Greek foundations of ancient Lilybaeum

In Marsala (ancient Lilybaeum) there are traces of the early Carthaginian city. This probably looks like a pile of old rocks to most people but DonQui gets quite excited by it.

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Salt pans near Marsala

He is also fascinated by the salt pans which have been in operation (with a few breaks) since Carthaginian times. The salt is still harvested by hand.

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The temple of Juno at Agrigentum

Three magnificent Greek Doric temples still proudly stand at Agrigento (Greek Akragas, Roman Agrigentum). The beauty of their perfect architectural design takes DonQui’s breath away. 

While appreciating their beauty DonQui spares a thought for the 25,000 enslaved Carthaginian prisoners of war who were put to work building the so-called Temple of Juno (Juno being a Roman goddess) circa 450 BC . It is hardly surprising that newly victorious Carthaginians did their best to destroy it half a century later.

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The Temple of Concordia

The temple of Concordia is still pretty well intact thanks to the fact that it was converted into a Christian church in the 6th century AD

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Late Roman city walls and tombs at Agrigentum

Parts of the Roman city walls are also still standing. Carved into them are Christian tombs from the 5th-6th  centuries AD when Agrigentum was controlled variously by the Romans, Vandals and Goths. 

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The huge late Roman villa near Piazza Armerina

Some way inland lies the 3rd – 4th Century Roman villa at Piazza Armerina. It is utterly stunning in its scale and in the beauty of the incredible floor mosaics. 

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Hunting scene mosaic

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Expedition to India mosaic

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Mosaic of female gymnasts

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Mosaic from the floor of the master bedroom

DonQui has seen photographs of some of the mosaics before but nothing compares to seeing them in-situ.

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Norman cathedral of Palermo showing Arab influences

The Normans came to Sicily to drive out the Arabs in the 9th century AD, more or less at the same time as they took over England.

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The Norman cathedral of Monreale decorated by Byzantine craftsmen

The Norman conquerors of Sicily employed Arab and East Roman craftsmen to build some magnificent churches incorporating Arabesque features in the architecture along with Roman mosaics to rival Ravenna and Constantinople.

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The remnants of the walls of Syracuse

The ancient Greek City of Syracuse rivalled Athens in the 5th century BC. Its strong defensive position on a small island allowed the city to fend off many invaders over the centuries. Not much remains of classical Syracuse but wandering around the narrow streets, DonQui gets a sense of the ancient city. 

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DonQui enters the Labyrinth

Plunging underground he is able to explore the foundations of the Greek city below modern Syracuse. Trotting around the dimly lit, deserted underground passages, he feels a little bit like Theseus descending into the Labyrinth. 

Some fine old stuff

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There cannot be many places in Western Europe which had their glory days at the end of the 5th century AD. Ravenna Italy is probably the only city which did. This is where DonQui finds himself — as ever on the trail of ‘old stuff’.   And what a wonderful collection of ‘old stuff’ it is!

San Vitale
The 6th century Basilica of San Vitale

If you are thinking of a few piles of rubble which mark where this or that ancient Roman building used to stand, think again. Not only are many buildings still in tact, thanks to the fact that they were Christian churches, but their interiors are covered with incredibly vibrant mosaics.

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The 5th century mausoleum of Galla Placidia

Ravenna was the capital of the West Roman empire in her last years as it was more easily defensible than Rome thanks to the surrounding marshes. The Ostrogoths made it their capital in the 6th century and later the East Roman empire took it back.

train

To get here, DonQui flew to Bologna and then took the train. Compared to the sleek modern intercity which took him from Madrid to Toledo a couple of weeks back, the small regional train was far less swish but it did the job, getting him to Ravenna after a journey of 1 hour 30 minutes through fairly uninteresting countryside.

street

It is not just old stuff in Ravenna. The beautifully kept, elegant streets are filled with fine restaurants, stylish shops and fashionably dressed people.

food shop

It is just as DonQui expected — this being northern Italy after all!

Martins Caffe
Martins Caffe

At 7pm it is far too early to eat by Italian standards so DonQui goes in search of a watering hole where he can sit down to write. Spotting a young man with a computer in front of Martins Caffe he decides this will do the trick. Half the place is devoted to selling stupidly expensive handbags to fashionistas who inexplicably like such things. The other half houses a tempting bar. DonQui cannot help but admire the business acumen of the owners in providing a shop for ladies and a bar for their men-in-waiting.

bar snacks

DonQui sits himself down and orders a Moratti Bianca — a ‘white’ wheat beer which is perfect for the 27 degree evening temperature.  It comes complete with an astonishing array of tasty comestibles (at no extra charge) which does away with the need for supper given that DonQui had a very good lunch earlier.

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Mosaic of the 6th century Emperor Justinian at San Vitale

Tomorrow he will explore some more.