Our plan is to cut across the top of Italy to France, via a quick detour to see my cousin in Switzerland, and then through to Spain for winter. There are two reasons for this; many camping grounds close over winter especially outside bigger cities, as I’ve mentioned before, and we don’t fancy spending a chilly winter in the campervan so will do our best to avoid this by finding the mildest climate possible for the winter months.
We have also secured our first house-sitting assignment in the south of France so have to keep the pace on to ensure we get there in time. We signed up to a couple of house-sitting sites before we left New Zealand as we thought it would be a good way to experience everyday life and to give us a break from the campervan and touring, and now after almost 5 months on the go it’s time to slow down for a while.
Having this timeline to stick to we allowed ourselves just over a week in northern Italy with four nights in Venice, two in Milan and two at Lake Orta in the Piedmont region, near the border with Switzerland. Of the three, the one place we wished we could have stayed longer was beautiful Lake Orta and the charming town of Orta San Giulio, perhaps one of the more under-rated places we have visited.
Venice
After driving through from Slovenia, we arrived at our Venice campsite in the early evening and decided to wait to the next day to see the city. We awoke to a thick sea fog covering the campsite, an occurrence that was repeated the next three mornings. The fog hadn’t lifted by the time we left for the city, and as we travelled by bus across the long road bridge that connects Venice to the mainland we could barely see the lagoon beside us. When we arrived at Piazzale Roma, the entrance to Venice, we were greeted by a city wearing a mask of mist, adding a dreamlike feel to this magical place.
They say the best way to see Venice is to get lost. From our experience it’s the only way, as it is impossible not to lose yourselves in the maze of lanes that make up this incredible floating city. We wandered through Venice for three days and got blissfully lost on many occasions.
Venice is built across 118 small islands all interconnected by bridges and with canals running between. The charm of Venice is its absurdity. How can a city can be built not only across islands but across water? The actual land area of these low-lying islands was not enough to cope with an expanding city, so they built it over the water. The imposing 17th century Santa Maria Della Salute church with its huge baroque dome is built on a platform over the lagoon. Over 1 million wooden stakes, each measuring 4 metres, were driven underwater to create the foundations. Imagine the scale of this undertaking.
Why would people choose to live in this water world? There are traces of civilisation on the islands from before Roman times, but the general consensus is that people moved from the mainland to flee Barbarian invasions in the 5th century. The lagoon protected them from their aggressors. Ironically, the very water that kept Venice safe may be its demise. Rising water levels could eventually claim this city for the sea.
There are no roads in Venice and any vehicles that cross the bridge can go no further than Piazzale Roma, where there are multi-storey carparks and the bus depot. The other way to travel in, and the only way for many years, is by train. Once you’re there you have two options, walk or travel by boat. The options by boat include the plentiful water taxis, the very pricey gondolas, or using the very efficient waterbus network. We mostly walked apart from taking the waterbus across to Murano.
Bridges are an iconic part or Venice and there are about 400 in the city. The most significant are those that cross the Grand Canal and of those four the shop-lined Ponte di Rialto is most famous, with the wooden Ponte dell ‘Academia a close second, a favourite for its stunning view of Santa Maria Della Salute. While we were standing on Ponte dell ‘Academia we watched a cruise ship pass by, dwarfing the cathedral as it came past and into port.
Sumptuous St Mark’s Square is the main square in Venice and is dominated by the ornate St Mark’s Basilica at one end, with the clock tower and its winged lion of St Mark beside it, and the decorative arcades running along the sides. The inside of St Mark’s Basilica is dark and opulent. The marble terrace above the entrance allows you to get close to the four bronze horses that overlook the square and take in the majesty if the place. Standing on the terrace I tried to spot Mr Love in the square below and realised a lot more people wear bright blue than I expected.
Andrew never likes food to go to waste and it’s not uncommon for him to be carrying stale bread with him when we head out for the day in case we happen upon some birdlife. We pretended we didn’t see the signs in St Mark’s Square and soon had a swarm of pigeons descend on us. Some tourists thought Andrew was an official bird feeder and asked for bread, so they could also get a photo of the pigeons eating out of their hands and sitting on their heads.
The bell tower of St Mark’s Basilica is one of the most recognisable images of Venice. It stands alone in front of the basilica and towers above the square. We got lucky and the line to take the elevator to the top was almost non-existent one afternoon as we walked past. We took the opportunity and with the morning fog long cleared the view was lovely. From above you realise just how built-up Venice is. Every square metre is utilised. I joked that there are no trees in Venice and I’m not far wrong. The few trees that are there are growing out of the tops and sides of buildings, as though not allowed to claim any space of their own.
We didn’t take a gondola ride. Both of us had done this in previous visits to Venice, and as romantic as it might be the 80-euro price tag for 40 minutes (100 euro after 7pm) was more likely to kill any romance. We opted instead to watch from a café drinking an Aperol Spritz, as you do in Venice.
Apart from the chilly morning fog we had fantastic weather, sunny and warm with little wind. The sun was out when we took the vaporetto (waterbus) to Murano where the famous glass factories are. We watched a glass blowing demonstration with the artist masterfully creating a rearing horse with what seemed like only a flick of his wrist and a couple of twists. Murano is different. Slower and quieter, with wider lanes that the let the sun stream through, and of course lots of shops selling glass. We bought a glass horse.
We contemplated buying a mask too. The emporiums that fill the laneways of Venice are very seductive. So many bejewelled and hand-painted masks – beautiful, but strangely unsettling with their empty eyes.
On our last night we celebrated 6 months married with dinner by a canal near a bridge. Fresh fish for me and pasta for him.
Milan
When we drove through from Slovenia we noticed the air quality in this part of Italy is not great. The sea fog in Venice may have been just that, but a brown smog lingered around the horizon long after the fog had lifted and there was a continual haze. The haze remained as we headed west to Milan. Northern Italy is the engine room of the Italian economy and industry comes at a cost.
Our first impressions of Milan were not great. A topless prostitute was standing on the verge as we pulled out of a gas station, and another was on the corner as we turned into the campsite. What was this seedy place we’d come to? The campsite had high fences and electric gates which spoke volumes for the area. Inside it was great, and we set up camp next to some friendly Germans. As we always say, we try not to judge a place too quickly.
Milan is a sprawling city and the campsite was quite far from the centre, in fact we were surrounded by a mix of wasteland and allotments. Bikes weren’t an option so the next morning we took a bus and then the metro into town. The journey was seamless and took just over 30 minutes.
Arriving in the centre we stepped out into Piazza Duomo and our first impressions on Milan from the day before were gone in an instant. Before us rose il Duomo di Milano, the Milan cathedral. A marble Neo-Gothic masterpiece glowing in the sunlight. With 135 intricately carved spires reaching for the sky this is a huge cathedral and truly magnificent. To get inside you need to buy a ticket from the nearby ticket outlet where we waited in line for about 15 minutes, and then headed back to the cathedral and through rigorous security screening. It was nice inside but didn’t equal its exterior – this cathedral displays its beauty on the outside.
It was pizza for lunch in a hip side street pizzeria and then a walk to Castello Sforzesco. Originally a fortress this castle was later the residence of the Sforza dynasty – the ruling family of Renaissance Italy. The Sforza Castle now houses museums libraries, galleries and exhibitions. Through the castle courtyard is Parco Sempione. We wandered through the gardens to the Arco della Pace, the triumphal arch of peace. A fashion shoot was taking place under the archway.
Even though we knew we couldn’t see it we walked across to Santa Maria delle Grazie, home of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous artwork The Last Supper. We hadn’t planned on going to Milan when we first decided on a route across the top of Italy. Verona and Como were in the original plan. I had always had the impression that Milan was an industrial city with little going for it apart from the fashion industry and Leonardo’s Last Supper. Had we committed to visiting Milan earlier then we would have been able to see the latter in the “flesh”. Unfortunately to visit the masterpiece requires plenty of forward planning as only 25 people can view it at any one time due to its fragility – humidity is slowly destroying what is left of the original painting and therefore it needs to be in a temperature controlled environment. Tickets are in hot demand and when I investigated a week prior I was told we had no show of seeing it unless we were prepared to wait another 2 weeks. Maybe next time. It was a pretty church all the same.
From there we walked through streets lined with stylish eateries with equally stylish patrons, and past fashionable offices and on-trend boutiques, back to the central square. Galleria Vittorio Emanuele sits on Piazza Duomo and is one of the world’s oldest shopping malls. Featuring a glass dome, cast iron roof and mosaic tiles, it’s an architectural marvel and transports you back to a time of refined glamour and sophistication. We wandered through and window shopped.
Milan is a shopping Mecca with Haute Couture at every turn. It’s the home of Gucci, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana and the rest of the Italian suite of top labels. Andrew was drawn into the Ferrari boutique, three storeys of Ferrari fashion, and cars too. He was almost tempted by the soft Italian leather bomber jacket.
Milan is a cool, chic city and so much more than we anticipated. We liked it.
Lake Orta and Orta San Giulio
Like Lake Bled, we found out about Lake Orta through an article on Europe’s most beautiful lakes. We had originally planned on going to Lake Como, but were tempted by the mystique of this lesser known lake and its sacred mountain.
Lake Orta is a 1 ½ hour drive from Milan, in the Piedmont region and not far from the Swiss border. We arrived at our campsite on the lake and as there weren’t many vans there had the pick of the pitches, so of course took a lakefront spot. As the sun set we sat on the water’s edge looking out across stunning Lake Orta and pinched ourselves, could it really be this good?
The historic town of Orta San Giulio is on a peninsula that juts out into the lake and was only a short walk from our campsite. Its narrow streets are all faded elegance and ochre charm, straight from an Italian classic movie. A smattering of tourists wandered around, but there wasn’t a touristy feel to the place – this is a good secret kept.
Just out from Orta San Giulio is the small island of San Giulio, home to a Benedictine monastery of nuns. The first evening while we were walking around the bay we saw two nuns jump in a speed boat and zoom off out to the island, we had to look twice. The next day when we were back in town we found a water taxi, and for 4.50 euro return we headed out to the tiny island. The boat stopped alongside a jetty where a sign welcomed us to the island and asked for respect and silence. The most prominent building on the island is the Basilica di San Giulio. This 12th century Romanesque church is simply gorgeous. The nave is elaborately decorated with frescoes and down a small spiral staircase is the beautifully adorned crypt. Later we walked around the island, and being so small it didn’t take long. There were no nuns to be seen, just a couple of fellow tourists. All along the pathway were messages endorsing the virtue of silence.
Back on the mainland we had a sacred mountain to visit. Above the town is Sacro Monte di Orta, a place of pilgrimage for Catholics and a UNESCO World Heritage site. In amongst the trees on the mountain top are 20 small chapels dedicated to St Francis of Assisi. Inside each chapel are wonderful frescoes and incredibly realistic wooden figurines recounting different parts of St Francis’ life. Built over the 17th and 18th centuries the chapels vary in style depending on the time they were built, from the Renaissance to baroque and rococo. The frescoes were painted by prominent artists of the time. We spent a couple of tranquil hours wandering from one chapel to the other. There was barely anyone else around and we marvelled that these historic chapels of such significance are freely accessible. The muted autumnal light and colours of the trees added to the atmosphere. It was a surreal and serene experience.
After two charming days at Lake Orta we reluctantly headed on our way. Next stop Lausanne, Switzerland.
