NEWSLETTER 7
April 21, 2006

Italy Trip Successful!
March 31 - April 15

We traveled from Rome to Venice to Siena...the first week touring with a violin group from Sandpoint, Idaho.

The first afternoon in Rome, exhausted from 24 hours of traveling on planes and sitting in airports, we went exploring.  Just a few blocks from the hotel was a big park with an old palace converted to a museum.  Reservations were required, but the two of us were included with the last group at five.  We had no idea what was inside.  We had stumbled upon Galleria Borghese filled with masterpieces by Bernini!

Apollo and Daphne

David

I don't think we saw anything of higher quality during our time in Italy.  Could have skipped the catacombs...depressing.  The Coliseum was astounding.  We walked everywhere, hours and hours, seemed the best way to really see things.  Tiring though.

From Rome by bus north to Pisa, passing by Orvieto, a hill town in Umbria impressively sited on top of a high rock cliff. 

The Leaning Tower and me.

Then, on to Florence and the Uffizi.  Next, Cremona on the shore of the Po river, where the Guarneri and Stradivari workshops and others produced the finest stringed instruments as is still done today.  Our guide was Patricia Kaden, who speaks very good English and specializes in tours of interest to musicians.  On display in the museum are Stradivari's own tools....

Loi fell in love with a cello and had to buy it.  It was made by a world class maker, Raffaello Di Biagio .  It is named Roma and had a window seat all the way back.

Then, Venice.  So cold and windy the first day the locals were wearing down parkas.  The gondola ride was canceled, so I went to bed at 5 that afternoon and slept for twelve hours.  Up before sunrise and walked to Ponte dell' Academia...

Chiesa dell' Salute

Gondolas near S. Mark's
and the building above
from the other side.

At this point the group left for the return trip to the US.  Loi and I stayed another week.  We rented a car and took our chances on the Autostrada.  Actually, Italians are good drivers, safe and courteous.  But, don't get in the fast lane unless you're serious.  While the speed limit is 130 kph, 150 is common, some are going much faster and they don't want to slow down for you.  Never saw an accident or a policeman.  Lots of tunnels in the hill country.

The towns were harder to drive in.  Narrow streets, traffic circles, good signage, but in a foreign language.  No problem really.  When lost we headed back to the center of town by following the bull's eye symbol and started over.  A navigator/map reader is a necessity... Only got really lost once and ended up in Switzerland!

Smart Car and Loi
58 mpg

Then to Lenno on Lake Como to see Jerry Fresia who lives in a 16th century Spanish castle...

View from the deck

Jerry is a very good artist who opens up his studio for workshops starting the last week in April.  Lenno has it all, big lake, snow capped mountains, old buildings, fishing boats, narrow cobblestone streets, roof-scapes, flowers, hotels, restaurants.   He teaches the authentic methods of the impressionist as handed down from artist to artist in an unbroken line to the masters.   Worth thinking about.

Lucca and Cinque Terra were next on the way to Siena.  Stayed a night in Siena with Carla, an American who is Siena Sojourn residential director, a cultural immersion program for young adults.

And finally to Pienza, a World Heritage Site in a valley on the list of UNESCO's World Cultural Landscapes.   Pope Pius II, who was born there, had the entire village rebuilt as the ideal Renaissance town starting in about 1459, the first application of so-called humanist urban planning concepts.

Pienza Street

A friendly cafe owner recommended family-owned Camere Andrei just outside the city wall and easy to miss...just four clean rooms each with a view, a bathroom and they had the heat on!  Only E48 a night...no elevator or phone.  We were quite comfortable there.

The area of Tuscany most people have seen pictures of is called Crete Senesi.  We were in the middle of it.  This is our first painting spot...

Afterwards we discovered that secondary roads were much better than this highway...easy to find a field to set up in and very little traffic.  Here it is - my first Plein air Italian painting.  Great fun.  Planning to have a show with all Italian paintings, maybe the end of summer.  Check the main website for a new portfolio page for these. 

Tuscany Hills
9x12", a/c

The paint boxes with added legs worked fine, as did the Fredrix Canvas Pads.  We took a warm and a cool of each primary, plus white and Burnt Sienna.

There you have the high points of a wonderful trip...highly recommend...Ciao!

Loi and a typical Italian breakfast

New! - Italy Portfolio 1 - Plein air - April in Italy

P.S.:  Between the two of us we took over 3,800 3.2 mp photos and stored them on the Epson P-2000, which worked very well.  I also shot a couple dozen video clips of mostly street musicians and the violin group.  I put it together in a 12 minute movie.

Copyright © 2005 Robert Bissett. All rights reserved. 

I encourage you to forward all or part of this newsletter as long as you include the above copyright information and this link: http://www.buildart.com . Internet Explorer users can forward this page by selecting "File," then "Send" then "Page by E-mail.

Current Newsletter

Archive
Newsletter 17 - Feb, 07
Newsletter 16 - Jan 26, 07
Newsletter 15 - Dec 22, 06
Newsletter 14 - Nov 14, 06
Newsletter 13 - Oct 27, 06
Newsletter 12 - Sep 27, 06
Newsletter 11 - Aug 18, 06
Newsletter 10 - Jul 12, 06
Newsletter 9 - Jun 26, 06
Newsletter 8 - May 17, 06
Newsletter 7 - Apr 21, 06
Newsletter 6 - Mar 14, 06
Newsletter 5 - Feb 20, 06
Newsletter 4 - Jan 17, 06
Newsletter 3 - Dec 30, 05
Newsletter 2 - Nov. 17, 05
Newsletter 1 - Oct. 17, 05