Incidentally, this facade was built around a pre-existing structure and the proportions had to be adjusted to fit. The bays might seem to be of uniform width, but if you look carefully you can detect that some bays are much wider than others - and yet the whole effect still looks OK. It takes a master architect to achieve this.
Hi Pete, Great pictures, keep them coming.... I leave for Italy just as you're getting back....leave 24th July, return 2nd August, heading through France, Belgium, Germany and Austria, staying in the Dolomites for a couple of days off, maybe a day without luggage playing on the mountain passes, then back via Switzeland, Germany, Belgium...... Can't wait now, enjoy the rest of you trip! Steve
On Wednesday I rode from Vicenza across the baking hot plains to Bologna, then into the Appenines over the very twisty Futa Pass and Raticosa Pass to Florence. Paused briefly for refreshment at the top of the Raticosa. Southwards via Perugia and Terni to the hills of Sabina, where I reached my destination at 6 pm. Tired and worn out from a long, tough ride, I was welcomed by my old friend Z with ice cold gin & tonic, dinner, and a much needed bed.
This is the villa I am staying in as a guest, taken this morning (Thursday). I may be tempted to stay longer than planned ...
There's one very much like that (Palladio) on the canal between Padova and Venice. What struck me was magnificent it looks from the outside but how relatively small it seems on the inside...
Was talking to a BMW rider last night, who's just come back from a very similar trip. He reckons Ravenna is a little visited gem and that Ostia, outside Rome and the ancient Roman port, is well worth a visit. Loads of intact ancient remains and very little in the way of crowds.
Hi Pete, Delighted to hear the doctors have given you the all clear and that you're managing to get in a proper European tour this year. I'd certainly recommend Ravenna - I took a day trip there by train from Cattolica when I was over for World Ducati Week 2014. Fabulous Byzantine mosaics. You can buy a ticket that gives entry to the 5 or so main sights with the mosaics (Basilica, Mausoleum of Gallida Placida, which is like a jewel box, etc). I loved the way that even the street name signs in the historic city centre were mosaics. Do post with your impressions if you make it there. I expect you'll get better photos than I did on my phone. Got back from my WDW 2016 tour on Monday, and am suffering withdrawal symptoms. 1st time I'd been to Austria - would definitely go back. Wished I'd had an extra night at Heiligenblut (Glocknerhof Hotel was excellent) to better explore the Grossglockner. Also wished I'd made a note of the hotel you recommended in Landeck as when I turned up at the one I'd booked (Enzian) they told me they'd overbooked and had no room for me, and they sent me over the road to the Mozart (ok but dull). You were also right about the B500 in the Black Forest - like the Black Mountain in Wales, what would be a potentially great biking road has been ruined by maliciously slow speed limits (50kmh!!!!!)
Yesterday (Monday) I rode my Multistrada in Rome down the Via Salaria, parked near the Market of Trajan, and spent several hours sightseeing. It was so hot and sunny that I had to stop for an ice-cream more than once - and those real Italian ice-creams are fantastic. I took some photos as I went, so I'll post a selection of them on here. This is the Piazza Venezia and the Vittorio Emmanuele II monument.
The Spanish Steps in the Piazza di Spagna are undergoing restoration at the moment, so it is not possible to see them properly.
This is the Castel Sant' Angelo (i.e. Hadrian's Tomb), as seen across the Ponte Sant' Angelo which is a footbridge these days.
This is the road of conciliation, viewed from St Peter's Square looking West, as built by Mussolini in 1930 in recognition of his deal with the Pope (by which the Pope supported the fascist regime and Mussolini designated the Vatican as a "sovereign state".).
This is the Piazza San Pietro showing the cathedral, the obelisque, and parts of Bernini's colonnade.
