It was December 2016, my husband and I had just the day before taken our exam for the first semester – Level A1.1 of Italian and we were flying to Italy for Christmas. Even more than 4 years later, I can still feel the euphoria.
I remember the last meal we had at home before the flight, a delicious salad of the leftover vegetables in the fridge, all the eggs and of course a can of tuna, which was added only to ease our extreme reluctance to eat something purely vegetarian.
Leftover Salad
The flight was a movie marathon accompanied by in-flight dining. We landed in Rome at about 2pm and immediately went to pick up our rental car, the service provider was Noleggiare, incidentally noleggiare is an italian transitive verb which means – to hire, what a wonderful way it was to learn a new verb.
We were headed north of Rome to Tuscany, and had chosen the town of Orbetello to break journey for the night, after many nervous wrong turns on the freeway we managed to drive through the centre of Civitavecchia to our night stop reaching Orbetello just before dusk.
Orbetello is a small town located at the tip of an isthmus running through a lagoon south of the Parco Regionale della Maremma. We located our hotel and our first chit chat in Italian bore us ripe fruit when the cheerful friendly Receptionist of our hotel – Hotel Relais Presidi guided us to a wonderful ‘tipico’, a local restaurant – Trattoria Rugantino for dinner. It is one of our most memorable evenings till date. The staff was indulgent, the ambience incandescent, the flavours decadent, and the mood ascendant. I could return to Italy, just to eat there….magari!
Meat and Two Veg
The libations and partaking continued till late at night after which we strolled through the town, not a soul in sight not a sound in the night and admired the piazzas and buildings through the canopy of Christmas lights.
Piazza Eroe dei Due Mondi
The next morning we took a brisk walk along the shore admired the birds and the palm trees, had a wonderful breakfast at the hotel, the orange juice, which we could squeeze ourselves, being the highlight and set off further north.
Compassion, nostalgia, apprehension, anger, boredom, time, selfishness, selflessness, history, posterity, fallibility and a gamut of other factors and emotions have lead me to penning down these our happy memories of Italy. Read next – Sienna.
Perugia to Padova having been covered in my Fiat 500 the day before, my partner and I woke up in Padova, on the morning of Monday the 2nd of October, 2017, rested and bursting with anticipation as we were headed to the mountains – the Dolomites, le montagne dolomiti in Italian. We had a quick breakfast at the Hotel and were on the road by 8am. There was only a 200km ride between Padova and Prags, where we would lay our heads down for the night but we wanted to ensure an unhurried joy ride up the mountains and ample time to stop at the passes that we had planned to traverse.
We drove due north from Hotel Garibaldi, Padova via Borgoricco to Castelfranco Veneto and picked up the SP (Strada Provinciale) 667, a provincial strada – road, till Cornuda, in the province of Treviso where we took the SR (Strada Regionale) 348, a regional road that spans the provinces of Treviso and Feltre in the Veneto region of Italy. The scenery was unremarkable thus far, suburban homes and industrial zones, aesthetic relief was provided by the occasional pretty church and ornate cemetery. We had driven 40kms, when the foothills of the Dolomites started teasing at the horizon, the thrill was on. With the mountain climb imminent we made a quick pit stop at Le Rive Autoristogrill, our conditioning prompting us to top up the petrol as a precaution against any infrequency of gas stations later.
Now driving on the SP 1 the river Piave our companion, we crossed the river at Villapiana, turning right at Busche to follow the SR 36 onto the SP 12 and eventually to the SR 203 crossing the pretty Lago di Alleghe on our left, past Caprile, where we took the winding SP 20 to Selva di Cadore. From Selva di Cadore which is at an elevation of 1350 mts. we took the SP 638 up to the Giau Pass at 2236 mts. The distance only about 10kms, but an enthralling visual feast.
Lago di Alleghe
The drive took us past pine forests interspersed with green meadows, the regal grey Dolomite peaks starting to dominate the skyline. As we drove higher the proof of autumn was upon us and soon there were clumps of trees that had decided to precede their verdant neighbours in donning their fall attire, much to our delight.
The pockets of fall colours
Driving through tunnels the landscape became more barren the green giving way to the brown and the brown eventually to the majestic grey swathed in white cloud at Giau Pass.
The Giau Pass
You can see the Refugio Fedare (refugio is a mountain hut/refuge) in the photo above, you can walk up to it for a snack, meal or a stay. Walking enthusiasts can head further up to Refugio Nuvolao, the oldest refuge in the Dolomites, located atop the flat Nuvola peak, stay overnight and continue ahead for the various treks or mountain climbs available in the Dolomites, booking accommodation in advance at the refuges is a must. This aside about more strenuous pursuits is for your benefit, it was not on our agenda. We were out to enjoy the solemn beauty of the Dolomites from the comfort of our beloved Cinquecento and we stopped admired and drove on, on the SP 638 till Pocol from where we headed west on the SR 48 towards Passo Falzarego.
The SP 638 a Bikers delight
From Pian di Falzarego we took the SP 24 north towards the Badia Valley in the autonomous Italian province of Trentino. The landscape turning rather otherworldly, grey and white boulders, strewn across the now flat mountain top.
Pian di Falzarego
The otherworldly experience
The Badia Valley down below
The SP 24 becomes the SP 37 when you cross the border between Veneto and Trentino – South Tyrol and as you enter the Badia Valley you are treated to a heavenly display of colour, the lush green meadows, the trees green-yellow-red, the brown wooden chalets, and the more basic wood and stone baita, proudly embellished with flower boxes, with red, yellow, white, lilac or purple flowers dancing in the wind. It is a view that runs on loop in my mind’s eye!
The Badia Valley
Hunger pangs caught up with us at about 2.40pm, we were too late to find a restaurant as in Italy they generally stop lunch service at 3pm and in Trentino, the Austrian culture coming into play they usually stop even earlier. While driving through the beautiful commune of La Villa in Badia, we spotted the Bar Pizzeria Ariston and turned into its parking. We ordered a Capricciosa, a pizza topped with Artichokes, Mushrooms, Pepperoni and Ham, its range of colours and flavours mirroring those from nature we had just witnessed. We sat out and gazed at the beautiful flower lined building opposite us and the rolling green hills beyond it, with the Dolomites towering above and savoured our delicious pizza.
Pizza Capricciosa
The View from Bar Ariston
Lunch over, refreshed and sustained we drove on. Next stop was at the nearby Despar Supermarket in La Villa, the next few days we were going to be in a self catering apartment, we had just another 45kms to go before we reached our temporary home so it made sense to stock up on wine, meat, fruit and vegetables. We already knew from the reviews that we had read of the apartment, that in all likelihood our hosts would be providing milk bread and eggs for the duration of our stay.
The ensuing drive, now on the SR 244, through the stunning valley left us spellbound my hand cramping from all the photos that I was taking along the route. Pretty little villages winked at us from the surroundings their proud church spires rising above as if in competition with the mountains in their backdrop. At Floronzo we turned right heading east on the SS (Strata Statale) 49.
Floronzo, South Tyrol, Italy
By 4.45pm our trusted Tomtom had brought us easily to the doorstep of Apartments Jagerhof, in the municipality of Prags in the province of South Tyrol in Trentino. Booked in advance via Booking.com this was going to be home for the next three nights
Apartments Jagerhof on the left
A beautiful Apartment on the Second Floor of the building with a fully equipped kitchen, including dishwasher and a washing machine just outside the entrance to the apartment to be shared with the one other apartment on the floor.
The Apartment
The next two days are devoted to this region of South Tyrol, join us for a walk around Lake Braies, Lago di Braies (in Italian), Pragser Wildsee in German and a pilgrimage to the Tre Cime – Three Peaks, where we meet a young local who kindly recounts the history of this autonomous region of Italy, which I will share with you.
This Diary, which I will bring to you in parts, is an account of my three week adventure in a Fiat 500 car in Italy in October 2017, retold from an audio and visual diary maintained during the road trip.
In August 2016 I suggested to my partner that we study Italian. He was hesitant, bilingual since childhood, but unlike I, who had studied both French and Portuguese, he had never studied a foreign language and felt it was not his cup of tea. I seduced him with the prospect of a classroom romance, with me, of course, and a romantic code language for us and he was sold.
We took weekend classes at our local Istituto Italiano di Cultura and our love for the language and the culture began to grow. Contrary to his belief, my partner picked up the language with ease and studied with much gusto, all the while casually flirting with me. Incidentally the word gusto’s origin is Italian and in Italian it means taste, and Italy Is all about taste isn’t it. We became ardent Italophiles, feeling more at home in Italy than at home.
In this backdrop I come to the Fiat 500 car or the Cinquecento (five hundred in Italian) as it is fondly called in Italy, being one of the icons of Italy we decided that we must do a road trip in it. The road trip was to begin in Perugia, Umbria.
We booked a car through Economycarrentals, a site we had used before and were satisfied with, there never having had any problems with the booking and the terms, never having had any hidden charges foisted on us. As you know, when you book a rental car, you book a category so our booking said ‘Fiat 500 Automatic or similar’, there was no guarantee we would get a Fiat 500, but when choosing the service provider we had opted for ‘Sicily by Car’ having researched through reviews etc. that they did actually have a fleet of Fiat 500s.
Perugia is a lovely Italian hill town. It is the capital of the region of Umbria, Tuscany’s neighbour to the east. It is famous for its universities the University of Perugia and the University for Foreigners which since 1921 teaches Italian language and Italian culture to foreign students. It is easy to navigate as there are escalators on three sides of it, which reduce the trudging up and down hills entailed in other hill towns and the Minimetro that is burrowed into the hill connects the train station, which has direct trains from Rome, to the upper town. To get to Perugia from Rome there is also the cheap and comfortable option of Flixbus which stops close to the Pian di Massiano stop of the Minimetro.
Piazza IV Novembre, Perugia
Perugia has a perfectly preserved Centro Storico or Historical City Center and numerous restaurants to savour Umbrian cuisine. It is well connected to other towns in Umbria by train and by bus and makes for a good base to visit Assisi, Spello, Arezzo, Corciano, Lago di Trasimeno, Fogliano by public transport. The students make the town vibrant and rather noisy till late at night over weekends.
Fontana Maggiore, Perugia
Passageway, Rocca Paolina, Perugia
Steps to Aqueduct, Perugia
Porta Trasimeno, Perugia
Oratorio San Bernardino, Perugia
We reached the Sicily by Car office in Perugia on the morning of 30th September, 2017 and were ecstatic on getting our Fiat 500, one because we wanted an iconic road trip and two because a compact car is a boon to navigate the narrow roads of Italian towns and villages. The Fiat 500 is a two-door car, which, there being just the two of us, was not a problem, the boot is small, you can fit in one cabin luggage size suitcase and one medium, the rear seat of the car, if there are no passengers, provides ample space do dump stuff. The car looks small but even with our longer than average limbs and ample proportions we felt no discomfort getting in or out of the car, nor did we feel cramped for leg space even during long journeys. We carry our own Tomtom, satellite navigation device as this not only saves on the additional rent entailed in hiring one from the car rental company but also enables us to pre-programme the addresses and avoids the feeling of having a new stranger to adjust to on every trip. We were headed to the Dolomite mountains due north of Perugia, with our first night stop planned at Monselice, a village which was chosen because it had a reasonably priced hotel with good reviews, just off the highway.
Part Man Part Machine
We enjoy the countryside so avoided the fastest route via the Autostrada-Highway which would have taken us west to Florence and then north and instead took the Strada Statale-State Highway via Lake Trasimeno, Arezzo and Ferrara to Monselice a total distance of about 350 kms. It was a sunny day yet cool and we were in our element. We listened to great music on the radio, parroting the presenters to improve our pronunciation watched the rolling countryside and vineyards go by and felt we were in Utopia.
We first drove along Lago di Trasimeno or Lake Trasimeno which is where Umbria meets Tuscany, a beautiful lake with several pretty towns, each with its own hill fort, dotting its shores. There are three islands in the Lake and a boat ride from Passignano sul Trasimeno to Isola Maggiore, the biggest island, a steep yet satisfying hike up to the beautiful 15th Century church and a peaceful amble back admiring the fauna and the twinkling blue waters of the lake, stopping to savour your tasty picnic lunch makes for a wonderful day trip in itself. Or, go to the island and come back for a delicious and beautifully plated meal at Ristorante B43, as we had done on an earlier date via train from Perugia.
Passignano sul Trasimeno
View from Isola Maggiore, Trasimeno
Pork Medallions at Ristorante B43
Next we drove past Arezzo, a town made famous worldwide by Roberto Benigni’s epic film La Vita è Bella – Life is Beautiful. Arezzo for a lazy or tired traveler has the added advantage of not requiring any uphill treks other than the gentle slope of the Piazza Grande-the main square. Also, a town where we ate very well, the Pizza al Taglio, or the pizza by weight, from the Pizzeria del Corso on Corso Italia is the best we have ever tasted in Italy. There are also good slow food restaurants I must mention the Trattoria Saraceno where we have on an earlier trip had delicious meals.
A Passageway, Arezzo
Duomo, Arezzo
Piazza Grande, Arezzo
Trasimeno and Arezzo, had been visited by us earlier so today we stopped at Ferrara in the region of Emilia-Romagna for a late lunch. Thanks to the Tomtom we located a Parking at a comfortable walking distance from the town center, got a two-hour pre-paid parking ticket from the machine, displayed it on the dashboard and pranced off to visit this new town. Another reluctant walker’s delight, no steep climbing necessary, a wonderful town square with the ubiquitous Pizza al Taglio shops in the many lanes that run off the town square for a quick lunch or a snack, the beautiful 12th Century Duomo-Cathedral, with its three-layered marble façade admired within and without, we stopped to pick-up gelato or ice-cream as we mere mortals call it and got back to our car and drove off towards Monselice in the Veneto region.
Façade of the Duomo, Ferrara
Piazza Cathedrale, Ferrara
Such is the wonder of Italy that we knew in advance that even poor Monselice, chosen only because of its proximity to the Highway would have some treasures in store for us, we were not disappointed. A quick check-in done at the Hotel Blue Dream, booked well in advance without any pre-payment through Booking.com, town map in tow, we left our car at the hotel, crossed the highway and walked into Monselice, a quiet town, well worth a visit, it was getting dark so we did not climb up to the Rocca-Fortress or to the Seven Churches instead we roamed the town center, admired the shop windows, observed from a café in the Piazza Mazzini the gentle rhythm of the towns people winding up their shops, heading home and figuring out dinner from and then proceeded to have yet another fantastic meal with excellent local food, wine and cheese at Kairòs Wine & Food and took a leisurely stroll back to our Hotel and fell asleep pleasantly tired and satiated to the beat of the DJ playing at a wedding function taking place at the Hotel.
Torre Civica, Piazza Mazzini, Monselice
San Paolo, Museum, Monselice
We woke up early the next morning, had a sumptuous breakfast and headed off to Padova, which was only a stone’s throw away. We had chosen Hotel Garibaldi on the outskirts with a bus stop out front so we could leave our car parked in the free hotel parking and head to Padova center by bus, to avoid the tension that ensues in driving through a busy city center, however this was not to be, it being a Sunday there was no bus service, this is often the case in Italy. The weather was inclement, the car beckoned. Not wanting our spirit to be dampened and emboldened by our previous day’s hassle-free parking in Ferrara, after briefly considering taking a Taxi into the Padova city center, we let Tomtom lead us to a huge parking lot just a 200 mt. walk from Padova’s mammoth square, aptly named Prato della Valle – Meadow of the Valley measuring 90,000 Sq. Mts. It is the largest square in Italy, and one of the largest in Europe. It is like a solar system with an elliptical orbit, the people circulating around it on foot or cycles the planets, cars are not permitted, the park in the center the sun, which everyone eventually gravitates towards. One can, I guess on a sunny day just spend hours lounging around the park. We had the added attraction of a fair being underway. We walked around with the locals admiring the stalls having a chiacchierata-chat here and a merendina– snack, there. We then strolled raincoat hoods up, in silent bonhomie, to the Basilica of St. Antony, where we were blessed to see a discretion of priests, resplendent in their clerical formal wear of red, white and black, walking in ceremonial configuration in the preparation of Sunday Mass.
Prato Della Valle, Padova
Basilica of St. Antony, Padova
We stepped out of the Basilica and continued our meandering through the city, a city of numerous beautiful shop lined squares. In Piazza delle Erbe we chanced upon a group of hospital employees preparing fresh gnocchi, a pasta, to sell and raise funds for the Hospital. Gnocchi literally meaning ‘lumps’ in Italian, it is made from potatoes and flour, we had found lunch, we opted to have it with Bolognese sauce. It was piping hot and scrumptious and the steps around the fountain were put to use for wonderful al fresco dining, the rain giving welcome respite. The lunching locals sitting around this public dining room chatted amiably and lunch done at an economical 8€ a piece we wandered off in search of our daily dose of gelato.
Gnocchi Preparation, Piazza delle Erbe, Padova
We walked ahead into the Piazza dei Signori, bought our gelatos and wandered beyond the clock tower to a small square with artists displaying their paintings, admired their work and eventually completed the orbit around Prato della Valle back to our car, we had left a prepaid parking ticket for 6 hours, not a second was wasted.
Piazza dei Signori, Padova
Tired and Padova dusted we drove back to our Hotel for a much needed rest in anticipation of our impending drive into the Dolomites the next day. Follow the next part of the journey on winding mountain roads, through high mountain passes to the Italian autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige.
Driving through San Ciascian, South Tyrol, Italy on 2nd October, 2017
Oselation 