April 9: Over the Appenines

Today might be just a placeholder for a while. not because we didn't have a great day, but because the day has been just so amazing and full. Right now we are sitting in the best restaurant of our trip so far.   It is almost 10, and there is still the main course to go.  (The full version is now below!)

We began our day in Ravenna, and saw San Apollinare in Classe with its own murals and history.   We took the scenic route over the Appenines, where the towns looked like models and the road we traveled looked like a silver ribbon through green fields . Soon we were climbing the actual Appenines, where the towns looked like models and the road we traveled looked like a silver ribbon through green fields.   were climbing the actual Appenines, where primroses were growing wild and peeking through the rapidly melting snow.   A sight I will always remember is visiting the ruins of the  Castella di Pianetti, which didn't really have a path.   On we went past dozens of picturesque villages, to where the Garmin took us on the most beautiful detour I have ever seen.   We are staying at the Poggio del Drago, and the host recommended this restaurant.  First, however, we drove into Arezzo to see a museum, and to take part in the Passagio through the Medieval town.  I can't wait to boast about Ian's driving.

After a nice breakfast, we repacked all of our belongings into the little rented Fiat and prepared to say good-bye to Ravenna, a city that had certainly lived up to our expectations.  We had one last treat in the small suburb of Classe, which was a port city created by the Emperor Augustus.  In case there was any mistake, a large bronze statue of the emperor was there to greet us as we arrived.  So too were many groups of Italian school children, doing their spring trip to Ravenna. I stopped counting after 11 groups, each of about 30 students, although they weren’t all in the Chiesa at once.  Ravenna was voted the cultural capital of Europe for 2015, so the city is certainly getting its fair share of visitors this year.

San Apollinaire in Classe is one of the oldest Christian churches, and has many beautiful features.  Of course, the mosaics in the apse are what draws the crowds, and it is a pity that some Eighteenth Century person decided to plaster over the twelfth century frescoes – with the exception of the history of bishops and abbots – and replace it with Rococo décor that was in its turn stripped off in the 1920s, leaving the church a little more plain in appearance, than say, San Vitale.  I really liked this church, partly because it has so many windows to let in the light.  Also, the columns of Greek marble are works of art by themselves.  I also liked the fourth century baldicino and original mosaic floor, although we could see why they were replaced in the fifteenth century:  the mosaic that remains is frozen in undulations and waves.  

The mosaics in the apse really are spectacular, even if they do not particularly impress school children.  Unusually for a church of this time, St. Apollinaire is in pride of place, while a bearded Jesus looks down from the highest point in the church.  

They had some beautiful sarcophagi in the nave, dating from the same period as the church itself, and featuring Christian symbolic icons on what was a centuries old Roman form.  We argued about this one, sheeop or wolves?, and finaly decided it was wolves with cloven hooves.

It was hard to say goodbye to Ravenna, but we were certainly looking forward to the next part of our trip:  driving the scenic route across the Appenines to Arezzo.  We skirted the city of Arezzo and programmed the Garmin to take us down some scenic back roads.  The entire journey should only have taken a couple of hours, but we couldn’t resist stopping for pictures.  It was perfect weather, warm enough to roll the windows down, and green and lush everywhere we looked.  As we stopped at the tops of hills, the road we had just travelled glowed white and inviting below us.  We kept passing cyclists –serious cyclists, and soon discovered why as we came down into the valley.  I have never seen such switchbacks.  They made the Malahat look like the Trans-Canada across Saskatchewan.  

We went through tiny villages and a few towns, and couldn’t resist pulling over to get a closer look at the Castella di Pianetti, a ruined castle from the 12^th Century.  We had to crawl through brambles and briars to get to the don of the castle, and felt that we had somehow discovered it. 

The most spectacular part of the drive was just ahead.  We went through the National Forests and over the Mandaroli Pass.  I was excited to see primroses growing wild on the shady sides of curves – nothing much grew on the exposed sunny side.  Since most of the trees are deciduous, the views through the bar branches were spectacular.  Soon we were above the snow line, although the road was clear and dry.  I spent the entire drive gasping, sometimes with beauty, and just as often as Ian navigated hairpin turns and switchbacks and drivers who randomly changed speed – I assume to the soundtrack in their vehices.

We rewarded ourselves in the Arno valley by stopping for tiny macchiatos and a potty break, and visiting a gelateria for gelato.  We ended up on the wrong side of the highway when we got near our hotel, and I think the tiny road we took through a farming community and past a ruined tower town which was spectacular, would have been even better is we were sure we were headed in the right direction.  We arrived at Poggia del Drago at about 3:45, in the countryside, and it was a beautiful spot – but no one was there.  We waited had an hour and considered bailing on the place, but just then our friendly host turned up and we checked in.

We didn’t leave for Arezzo until nearly five, and Ian went from tiny single lane roads to the downtown of a major city with aplomb.  We headed straight for the Roman amphitheatre and decided we would take a brief tour of the archeological museum – no more than half an hour – to leave time to see the Chiesa San Fransisco.  We had two problems:  we’d forgotten our good cameras in the car, and we can’t do a museum in less than an hour.

We wandered the streets of Arezzo, and got to the major churches just in time to have the doors close in our faces.  We walked around and admired the historic buidlings, saw the aquares where the movie Life is Beautiful was filmed, and returned to the car.

We drove to a restaurant recommended by our B&B host, and drove out into the country.  Unfortunately, I have typed in the postal code, not the address, and we got a wee bit lost.  Once we typed the correct address in, the Garmin sent us up a tiny road to the top of the hill town.  There were walls on each side of the car, each about two feet from the side of the car.  When she (the Garmin) said, “Make a sharp left turn,”  Ian literally couldn’t.  What wa worse, when he tried to back down the road, two cars came up, and he had to pull over.  The poor guy did a three point turn, in the dark, on a road that was 12 feet wide.  I couldn’t believe it.  Well, I KNEW that somehow Ian would pull it off, but I couldn't for the life of me see HOW he was going to do it!  However, we had amazing food, and returned to our hotel ready for a good night’s sleep.