La Verna (Sunday 18th August 2013)

The Florence pictures are up!

The day started with breakfast on the terrace gazing out to the distant mountains. The morning was warm and sunny.... again. Today we plan to stay “local” again. After a lazy morning we jumped in to Fiat and drove the few kms into Caprese. We thought that being in the birthplace of Michelangelo we'd better see the house. We looked at the house from the outside only on the advice of our host. He said, “Save your ten euros, it's just a house that looks just like this one in the inside”. The original Caprese from Michelangelo's time was a small fortified village on the top a rocky outcrop. It's all still there today but the town has expanded somewhat over the centuries.

We took to the mountain road to Chuisa della Verna which was just 11kms away over the hill. But what an 11kms! The road was mostly a series of hair-pin bends up to the top and then the same down the other side. The view up the Caprese side of the mountain just kept getting better and better as we climbed.

When we booked this accommodation I was a bit concerned that it might be too remote from other parts of Tuscany and therefore difficult and draining to get anywhere. I am so glad we didn't change to something closer to Arezzo. This is beautiful country and worth the effort of getting here. I was a little disappointed that we didn't do much traveling in the French Alps or the Pyrenees. Being here in Italy's Apennine Mountains fulfills all those dreams I had of being and driving in the “high country” of Europe. To be amongst the mountains in Italy for these six days will sustain us for a while until we can get back to the Victorian Alps later in the year or next year.

Chuisa della Verna is a beautiful little town. It has that “alpine” look which is typical of many towns up here – well maintained houses, well kept gardens, parks, trees, lawns and views. After we filled up the Fiat we stopped for a coffee and a chat with the service station proprietor's son. He leaving Italy with his girlfriend in November bound for London. Things are not good for young Italians. Jobs are very hard to find and it's expensive for them to live. The chap who runs the B&B in Lucca had made the same comments. He anticipates another mass exodus of the young to the likes of America and Australia just like in the 1920's and 1950's.

We stopped further up in town when we spied a market in a park. There was lots of jewellery for sale, hand-made knitted garments and a range of local produce. We brought some cheese for dinner that night to go with my half full bottle of wine from last night.

"They were his moo-cows, Kerry!"

On to the monastery at La Verna which is just inside the nearby National Park. Many families were out enjoying the National Park. The side of the road up to the monastery reminded me of scenes we see each year while watching the mountain stages of the Tour de France. Car were parked wherever they could be on the side of the road. Frequently we saw people picnicing on the grassy, narrow verge of the road with picnic table, table-cloth, chairs, rugs and the whole she-bang. Hair-pin bends were the prime position to get as they afforded just a bit more room. The whole thing was so foreign and astounding to us. Image someone doing the full picnic thing on the side of the climb to Mt Dandenong or Mt Lofty and you get the picture.  We got a good park at the top and walked through the cool pine forest to the monastery.

This year is the 800^th anniversary of the monastery. In 1224 St. Francis of Assisi withdrew to the monastery having become disillusioned with changes in the Church. While praying on the mountain he is said to have received the stigmata, that is, the wounds Christ received on the cross began to appear in his body. A chapel was built on the site this event occurred.

We visited the Chapel of the Stigmata. On the way to the Chapel, while viewing frescos of St. Francis' life we witnessed the twice daily procession of the monks followed by pilgrims from the Chapel to the Basilica. We were very lucky to be there at that time. The Chapel is very small with a beautiful lead-glazed terracotta artwork behind the altar. On the floor on front of the altar is a stone which marks the place where St. Francis was. We visited the Basilica and the Museum.

The museum contained many priceless artifacts including massive books where events had been recorded by the monks, cloths, tapestries, embroideries, silver chalices, candelabras, other items used in the Mass and items used in daily life. It was a brief but fascinating insight into monastic life.

We left the monastery for the hill-top village of Poppi on the valley floor way below. Around the back of the village we found a pizzeria and bar in the most magnificent place overlooking a small valley.

It was too good to refuse so we abandoned our plans for cheese and wine in our room and opted to eat here. We were the only guests so we sat out on balcony in solitude and watched the shadows lengthen across the landscape as the sun slowly set. After our meal the customers began to arrive so we headed home up the mountain roads, through Chuisa della Verna and other villages and down the other side to Caprese. The drive, right on dusk, was great fun with very little traffic to slow us down. I think it was more fun for me than Kerry!