Sorrento and Orvieto, Italy
October 21st-30th, 2007
(Thanks to AC for the text and most of the pictures.
Thanks also to GP and VS for pictures.)

From October 20-31, 2007, the intrepid Objectivist Travelers took their third trip to Italy.  We should be awarded “honorary citizen” status soon! This time 23 of us spent our first week in Sorrento at the Grand Hotel Flora with side trips to Positano, the Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, and the Isle of Capri.  The second week we stayed at the Grand Hotel Italia in Orvieto and ventured to Florence, Perugia and Assisi.

Sunday, our first day all together, was rainy and windy!   At the Welcoming Reception that night we shared travel tales of missed connections, lost luggage, frantic races around the Rome airport and expensive taxi rides!  But Enrique, our campus director, promised better days ahead and he was right.

Our first excursion was down the Amalfi Coast and what a ride it was!  Breathtaking views, sheer cliffs and hairpin turns were all part of this unique seaside region. 

 

 

 

We stopped at Positano (photo on right), Italy’s most vertical town.  The spectacular scenery continued on to Amalfi where we explored the shops and took endless photos.

 

 

 

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Pompeii was very interesting and we enjoyed the tour of many of the recovered ruins which included the Forum, Temple of Isis, homes and shops, even a brothel !  Founded about the 5^th C. BC, the city was buried after the violent, volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.  The excavation sites provided a view of life of the ancient Romans. 

 That evening we met with a college student who talked about life in southern Italy, Sorrento and Naples.  He stressed the difficulty for young people to save enough to buy land or even rent and apartment.  Many postpone marriage and live at home while trying to find jobs.  Italy’s birthrate continues to drop.

The next day, we ferried to Capri and transferred to a bus which took us to Anacapri, high on the hillside overlooking the harbor.  Stores were upscale and pricy; the views here were also spectacular. 
 

 

 
After lunch we explored the town of Capri which was even more glamorous with many jewelry stores, dress shops and cafes, then a funiculare brought us back down to the waterfront and our ferry.

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That night a “dinner gala” , complete with music and dancing and a parade by the waiters with trays of food and sparklers, completed our day.  This was only one of many delicious meals both at the hotel and local restaurants.

On Friday we departed Sorrento for the ride to Orvieto.  On the way we visited a lovely vineyard for a tour and wine tasting.  The beautiful old family villa overlooked a valley of olives trees, vineyards and, in the distance, the shores of Anzio Beach where US and British troops landed during WWII.  The ride through Umbria included hill towns, olive and cypress trees, vineyards and open fields of red-brown earth. 

We reached Orvieto by late afternoon and had our first of many wonderful meals at Zeppelin.  The owner and chef conducted a pasta making class one day.

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Our stay in the ancient walled city of Orvieto (above) included a lecture on the Umbrian region, the Etruscan and Roman history and a walking tour, the highlight of which was the huge 12^th C. cathedral complete with sculpture, gilt work, mosaics and paintings.

 

 

The narrow winding streets with intricate brickwork seem present all over southern Italian towns. 








 

We especially enjoyed the open air market with cheeses, meats, nuts, fruit and flowers.

 

 

 

 

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One never tires of  Florence with its beauty and amazing artistic and architectural heritage.  We spent the day admiring the Duomo, the palazzi built by the Medici, as well as the Ponte Vecchio, the Church of Sanata Croce, and the Piazza Della Signoria with its fountains and statues.  Some visited the Uffizi Gallery with its masterpieces of Renaissance art or the Academia, home of Michelangelo’s David. 

Our trip to Perugia took us up a series of escalators to this medieval town, a center of culture for 2000 years.  Of special interest was the Fontana Maggiore in the Piazza IV Novembre.  Perugia was one of the twelve members of the ancient Etruscan defensive league in the 6^th C. BC.  We were happy to find the café with the best hot chocolate open this day.

 

 

The historic character of Assisi (right) stands out, even in a country full of such picturesque towns.

 

 

 

While there, we stopped by the church of the Poor Claires and noted the flying buttress helping to maintain the structure which was damaged in the earthquake 10 years ago. The streets there again are narrow and steep and lead to the awesome St. Francis Basilica.  Many frescoes decorate the walls, including Giotto’s “Life of St. Francis”.  He is buried in a crypt in the lower level.

Our last day included free time to explore museums, walk around the walled city, do more shopping and take photos.  Our farewell dinner at Zeppelin included wonderful food, wine, and the song John wrote to recount our excellent trip.

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