2025 - Three Weeks in Italy
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The Hendersons 2025 - Three Weeks in Italy - Roma |
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2025 - Three Weeks in Italy |
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Saturday, 26 April I don’t think any of us
slept well, as we were worried about be ready for our 7:05 am flight to
Roma. The receptionist at the hotel made arrangements for a taxi to take us
to the airport as the fare on Uber was very high. The check-in was very efficient even though there was a problem
with the online boarding passes for the Toms. Both had Nonno’s birthdate and
full name. Our flight was on a relatively new carrier,
AeroItalia. It is a budget airline like Ryan Air, but they don’t try to sell
you stuff all the time. The crew was friendly and professional, the flight
was on time and the plane was clean. Then came Fuimicino. Upon landing and taxiing to the
terminal we saw Air Force I and II parked in the airport, obviously in Roma
for the funeral of Pope Francis. I was somewhat concerned that we would have
problems collecting our luggage and getting our car but it wasn’t as bad as
I had expected, although still trying because of the size of the airport. Son Tom drove and Nonno
navigated. Our destination was the Italian Air Force Museum about 50 miles
from the airport, on the shores of Lake Bracciano. It is an active Air Force
Base, seaplanes only, and the location of a very extensive museum with
aircraft and related displays chronicling the development of flight from the
Wright brothers to the 2000s. The displays are in five hangars, each with
collections from specific time periods (early flight, the Great War until
WWII, WWII, the 1950s thru 1980s and 1990s to present). The focus was on the
Italian Air Force, but they had some gems from other countries, including a
Spitfire and a Mustang. We spent almost three hours just browsing the
collection, although we had a late breakfast in the cafeteria as we hadn’t
had time to get a breakfast before we left Olbia. Tom and Nonno had a new treat, a Maritozzi, an
Italian bun filled with whipping cream. No calories, of course. Our next destination was outside a very small town
called Sutri. The roads were bumpy, similar to the country roads on
Sardinia. After so much time in the museum we wanted a lunch and stopped at
a McDonald’s. It was very busy, but efficient and quick. Then we drove to
our lodging, Antico Borgo di Sutri. The grounds are lovely, but the
restaurant is closed because of a wedding, Italian style. Everyone is
dressed up cutting a ‘bella figura’.
Since the restaurant in our hotel was closed we drove
to a nearby restaurant and had a good meal but were really disgusted when a
party of four humans and a dog came in. Back at the hotel we were even more
disgusted when a couple of dogs in one of the rooms started barking. I don’t
understand why the Italians are such dog lovers but we see people with dogs
everywhere. The airport in Olbia actually has what is labeled a ‘dog
toilet’. We often see dogs in the airports but fortunately we haven’t had
any on our flights.
Sunday, 27 April Today we concentrated on the Etruscans, those people
who later became Tuscans. We drove to Tarquinia where there is a large
museum with artifacts from the necropolis in the town. Many of the artifacts
were made 8000 years or more before Christ. Some of them were sarcophagi for
members of the same family, which were identified by the carvings in the
stone and the burial location. The museum also had a large collection of
ancient Greek pottery which seemed to indicate both trade with Greece and
the Etruscans’ wealth. One display which particularly struck me was a pair
of winged horses fashioned in terracotta. The artist created them so that
the forefronts were in more detail than the rear ends, thus creating a
feeling of rapid movement. These horses are now the symbol of the city of
Tarquinia.
We headed to our next stop, Cerveteri, not without
some anxious moments. Our navigation system took us through the port city of
Civitavecchia – narrow streets, lots of traffic and pedestrians, then up a
small road that I thought was a mere tractor trail. Eventually we got to our
next destination, the Necropolis of Banditaccia. It, along with the
Necropolis in Tarquinia, is a World Heritage Site. It is very large and
there are a lot of tombs which look like round buildings covered in
vegetation. We went into a couple of them, which required steps that were
rather uneven, once inside there wasn’t much to see. The necropolis is
famous for the frescos in the tombs, but only one is visible and that is
through a glass that protects it.
We decided to go to the museum in the town, but
parking was impossible and, once again, really narrow streets. We took a
wrong turn and ended up in a tiny lane with no way forward. A kind woman
stood in front of our car and gave directions to poor Tom who had to back
out of the lane slowly, slowly. Thanks to her kindness Tom was able to get
the car on the road and we decided that more ancient treasures weren’t worth
the stress, so we headed back to our hotel where we had a late, light lunch,
got caught up on everything, then had dinner in the hotel restaurant. I was
taken aback when they brought out a small plate with three carpaccio. Not
being a fan of raw meat, I sampled it reluctantly, but it was actually
tasty. My main was too salty for my liking, but because we had such a late
lunch I wasn’t that hungry. Monday, 28 April Our last full day in Italy. We drove to the Villa
Adriana which is just outside if Roma. It is another World Heritage Site.
There aren’t any intact buildings, but the descriptions of what the Emperor
Hadrian had built are impressive. He chose the site because it was close
enough to Roma to allow him to carry out his duties while enjoying the
beauty and luxury of the villa. Hadrian must have been a very busy guy. He
travelled around much of the Roman empire, including a visit to Britain,
where Hadrian’s Wall was constructed to keep those nasty Scotsmen out of the
empire.
The site has some amazing old olive trees in addition
to a lot of ruins. The place was very busy, it appeared that many school
children were being given a history lesson while touring the grounds. Good
for them learning about their heritage.
We walked to a small pizzaria for an indifferent
lunch, then Tom drove to Fiumicino airport, where we turned in the car and
took the airport shuttle to the hotel. Tomorrow we fly home. |
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