An Italian odyssey

MANILA, Philippines - The taxi we were riding veered to the right then to the left followed by an abrupt screeching halt to avoid hitting a pedestrian. The car behind blew its horn. Cars are parked precariously left and right on the narrow cobbled streets. People crossing with careless abandon. Chaotic traffic to the max. Hey, I already feel at home. Welcome to the eternal city (another name for Rome).

Venezia (Venice). My Italian odyssey started when I picked up a rental BMW cabriolet in Nice (France) on a rainy Saturday morning. Our first Italian destination was Venezia or Venice. The 600-km. trip would take seven hours driving nonstop through a combination of wide and narrow Italian expressways called Autostrada via hundreds of tunnels and kilometer-long spans that connect mountains in the northern region of Italy. The rainy weather seemed to follow us as we traversed through Monaco, Genoa, Milan and Verona. It was already dark when we arrived in Venice. No vehicles were  allowed within Venice except boats, therefore, we had to lug our suitcases from the public parking area to the city through narrow winding streets reminiscent of a maze. Tired and hungry, we decided to get a room at any hotel closest to the city entrance. Fortunately, there were a few at Piazza Roma the entry point to Venice. We settled at Hotel Papadopoli which is run by the world famous hotel chain Accor (Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure, etc). As in any hotel in Venice whether three, four or five-star, the hotel building was old with the renaissance look. One little convenience that impressed me at the hotel room was a small box by the bedside that had all the charging connectors for cellphones, tablets and laptops which could charge solo or simultaneously. We didn’t even change our street clothes and immediately went to slumberland.

The next day wasn’t any different. Rain was falling and the temperature was four degrees. After downing a heavy breakfast, we borrowed umbrellas from the hotel concierge and started to hike towards our first stop — Rialto (the famous bridge on the grand canal). It was disappointing that at 10 a.m., most shops at the Rialto were still closed so onward to our final destination Piazza San Marco in the freezing rain which was another half hour away. The rains intensified as we got to San Marco. I was amazed to see an ocean of Asians (mostly Chinese, Japanese and Koreans) garbed in raincoats and parkas queuing for the 45-minute gondola ride on the choppy waters of the grand canal. Just looking at the way the gondolas were being tossed by the waves, we abandoned the idea of a romantic ride and just walked through the piazza where raised platforms crisscrossed to the church, museum and other historical sites for people to walk on in anticipation of the usual year-round flooding in Venice. Visually absent were the thousands of pigeons that live around the roofs and belfries that get fed by camera-toting tourists.

My wife who was totally awed by the landmarks at San Marco screamed, “This is the real thing! The original!” Before today, she has only seen the replicas in Las Vegas, Macau and Venice Piazza in Taguig. While she gleefully clicked a hundred pictures, I retreated to one of the cafés and sipped my cappuccino.

Firenze (Florence). Three hundred fifty kilometers away from Venice is a city I have fallen in love with since my first visit in 1977. Firenze is the home of Italy’s most revered inventors, painters and sculptors like Michaelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilei, Botticelli, Giotto, Dante, Machiavelli, Raphael and Fra Lippo Lippi (the painter not the popular Norwegian band headed by Per Sorensen) and the capital of the Tuscany region. It is the birthplace of the Italian renaissance and it feels like living inside a museum with a souvenir shop attached.

Florence is also the home of popular designers like Cavalli, Ferragamo and Gucci. Music-wise, it’s the home of Pinoy favorite Francesco Puccioni better known as Mike Francis who passed away a few years ago. Whichever direction you go points to a historical site. The green-and-white-colored Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral is so gigantic it will take hours just to look around. Struggling artists dot the perimeter and eke a living by offering tourists personal sketches and caricatures. There are endless shops that intersperse with museums and galleries that house priceless paintings and sculptures like Michaelangelo’s David which we only see in books and movies. I found out that Michaelangelo’s last name is Buonarotti. The most popular museums or art galleries include the Palazzo Medici, Palazzo Pitti, Palazzo Uffizi, Palazzo Palatina and the Palazzo Vecchio.

The first thing I did after checking in at the hotel was eat pasta and cheese at the public market where endless stalls of delectable meats, fruits, vegetables, cheeses, pasta and fish crowd both two floors. Late October through early December, the fragrant aroma of highly-prized white truffles or Tartufo from Alba in the Piedmont region wafts throughout the market. A kilo of white truffles will set you back between $7,000 to $15,000 depending on scarcity of harvest. Outside the market were hundreds of shops selling leather goods, kitchenware, clothing and souvenirs. Some leather shop owners clandestinely offer designer knock off Gucci, Prada and Louis Vuitton bags that they import from Asia.

A few steps from my hotel at Via Tournaboni is Ponte Vecchio translated as “old bridge” in English and spans across the Arno river. Only pedestrians are allowed to cross the span that houses two levels of jewelry shops that specialize in Italian gold (.750 or 18 carats). This is where I first laid eyes on golden tri-colored (yellow, white and rose gold) bracelets, necklaces and rings and would assume it was invented. Two days in Firenze was not enough but I had to move to my last Italian city to keep up with my limited schedule.

Roma (Rome). A three-hour leisurely drive from Firenze was Rome. Rome or Roma as Italians would passionately call it, is the most popular and I would say the most visited city of Italy. Traffic is always chaotic but it’s a small price to pay considering everything you see in Rome screams history. The eternal city is a smorgasbord of “must-see” sights from the ruins of the Coliseum to the Vatican enclave. Mythically named after twins Romulus and Remus who were suckled by a she wolf, Rome has existed even before the birth of Christ.

The first thing we did upon entering the city was to return the rental car and explore the city on foot or by public transport. It was a task that took us over three hours to do even if we had GPS. First place to visit was the Coliseum which was being partly restored. Despite the constant drizzle, there were thousands of tourists having photo ops like me. Posing with a centurion set me back 10 Euros. Next was the Fontana de Trevi which was teeming with more tourists. I had to throw my coin from 200 meters away as the steps were packed solid with people. It’s a custom to throw a coin in the fountain for good luck and a wish to come true. Before sunset, we headed for the Vatican. I noticed that there were more security cameras, barriers and a constant security patrol from the police. A far cry from the Vatican I visited in the ’90s where anyone could waltz freely into St. Peter’s Square and stay for as long as he wanted without the watchful eye of security personnel. In my past two visits in the ’90s, I was blessed to receive communion from Pope John Paul II himself. After purchasing some rosaries and souvenirs at the Vatican souvenir shop, it was a visit to the fabled Spanish Steps before having dinner at the hotel and then some shut-eye.

Next day was the return flight to Manila. It was a six-day Italian odyssey. So short yet sweet. My fervent wish is for Qatar Airways to announce more “Buy One Take One” offers so that I could travel more. Wait a minute…I wished for that when I threw a coin at the Fontana de Trevi.