Una Gita di Pullman (A Bus Tour)

Yesterday’s bus tour to the Po Delta area was fabulous! Our friends Mary and Orlando had invited Dom and I and another American couple, Bob and Joy, on the tour which was arranged by the wife of one of Orlando’s cousins. The cousin is a professional bus tour driver and they probably get a pretty good deal on the bus rental. The €69 per person price included lunch, guided tours and a boat trip. The only thing that might have given us cause for concern was the departure time of 5 am. It’s a good thing we were still suffering from jet lag or getting up at 4 am would have been horrendous. As it was we were probably the most wide awake people as we started out.

The bus left the nearby village of Vinchiana right on the dot at 5 and, after several stops to pick up more passengers, we got onto the autostrada and headed towards Florence. It was still fully dark as we turned north onto the A-1 but it grew brighter as we crossed the Appenine mountains. The morning was crisp and clear and the dark outlines of the trees were silhouetted against the gradually lightening sky. About an hour and half into the trip we made the first of our many stops—the Autogrill rest stop at Cantagallo just outside Bologna. Not too exciting but the chance to stretch our legs, use the restroom and have cappuccino and panini was welcome. After thirty minutes or so we were on our way again.

By now it was full daylight and we continued on across the flat-as-a-table Po Valley. In contrast to Tuscany, that part of the region of Emilia-Romagna has few olive trees but endless fruit orchards, cornfields, vineyards and rice paddies. Skirting the city of Ferrara we entered the delta region and began crossing canals and marshes interspersed with small towns and more farmland. Our first real stop on the tour was at the Abbazia di Pomposa. The abbey itself has been defunct since the mid 1800’s but after World War II the government took over the site and has since renovated the church and some of the remaining abbey buildings. Our group had a guided tour of the grounds which was very interesting. Historically the abbey was once one of the most important in Italy but its heyday was the Eleventh Century. Inside the church is fairly simple but has a beautiful, nearly intact series of frescoes on the walls. Although the technique is still early Renaissance the pictures have a uniformity that makes them a pleasing whole, almost as if the same hand created all of them. The colors have faded so that they a soft, well-washed look. The church is also interesting because much of the material was carted from nearby Ravenna where it was salvaged from old Roman buildings. Thus, the column capitals are nearly all different as are the pillars they top. An excellent example of early recycling!

On the outside of the church I was fascinated by the use of majolica bowls as decoration. The guide explained that it was to signify that the abbey was a refuge for travelers of all sorts and that they could expect to be fed if they stopped there. Unfortunately the majolica bowls now there are reproductions.

Another interesting thing about the abbey was the fact that it is where the commonly used system of musical notation was first codified. One of the monks set down the parameters and eventually they were disseminated throughout Europe and the world.

After seeing the church we proceeded to pay €3 to see the refectory (dining hall) and another room that had frescoes in a different style, darker and reminiscent of those of the artist Giotto at the church of San Francisco in Assisi. While interesting, neither locale seemed to warrant the admission fee but perhaps they felt better doing that than charging for the church itself.

Throughout the day we Americans had a tendency to wander a little farther apart from the main group and at one point one of the women managing things warned Mary about keeping “her group” together and with the rest of the assemblage. Mary was a bit surprised and amused that she HAD a group. Each time we boarded the bus, the organizers would check with Mary to make sure “her group” was all there. By the end of the day the organizers seemed more comfortable with the Americans idea of group togetherness being a little more expansive than the Italians.

After visiting the abbey the bus continued on to the town of Goro where we had a fabulous seafood lunch at the Ristorante Ferrari. We had two types of primi piatti—a clam and tomato risotto and penne pasta with a spicy tomato calamari sauce. The secondo piatto was a tasty plate of mixed fried fish—prawns, tiny calamari and chunks of fresh sardines. This was accompanied by mixed salad. A fizzy white wine, water, and bread were also available throughout the meal. Afterwards we had a glass of lemon sorbet and espresso. The entire meal took less than an hour which is exceptionally fast for an Italian Sunday lunch. Someone joked that it was fast because it was Ristorante Ferrari!

After lunch we walked about ten minutes to the port and boarded a tour boat. The vessel took us out into the canals that traverse the lagoon and delve into the nature preserve. We saw lots of birds, jumping fish, boaters and fishermen, isolated towns and the odd palazzo. The beautiful weather held and it was really pleasant cruising through the reeds, gazing at the gulls, egrets and herons, and watching the fishermen operate their giant dip nets. The dip nets are often very complex, fixed operations but we also saw several fishermen in small boats with proportionately smaller dip nets rigged off their sterns. Although we saw the nets pulled up several times, the only catch we saw was the odd, long dead fish hanging on the outer reaches of the nets.

When we returned to port, we boarded the bus once more and were taken to the town of Comacchio. It is known as una piccolo Venezia because of its system of canals and bridges. The first thing someone said was “yeah, Venice with cars” as there were a lot of cars. That had also been my reaction when we visited Chioggia (another town with canals at the south end of the Venetian Lagoon) last spring. Perhaps the true charm of Venice is not the water but the lack of motorized wheeled vehicles.

It was about 5:20 pm when we got off the bus and we only had until 6:30 pm to explore. Since we arrived in the middle of the annual Sagra dell’Anguilla (Eel Festival) the place was packed. With no other destination in mind we simply wandered into the crowd and headed towards the immense church we had seen from afar as we approached the town. Sure enough there were lovely canals and bridges, interesting storefronts, stalls selling all sorts of products, a large white tent where the festival dinner would be served, a dance troupe performing in a piazza, restaurants with grills out front serving eel and other local delicacies to passersby and LOTS of people. We Americans stayed together (sort of) and after a quick glimpse inside the white tent and a gander at the dance troupe we found the main part of the festival. We tried licorice flavored liqueur at one stall, peaked inside the giant church and found a bar where we could sit down and have a glass of wine. All of us pretty much agreed that it looked like an interesting town but it would be much more pleasant without all the people. One of the most interesting bridges was actually three connected spans with wide steps leading down on each side of the water.

The bus began its homeward journey just at sunset. I thought things would quiet down pretty quickly but the party continued most of the way back to Lucca. Soon after we left Comacchio the organizers announced a couple of rounds of tombola (Italian bingo) for those who were interested. The cost was €1 for two cards and the money went to charity. Dom dozed while I played. Unfortunately, I did not win but there were some small prizes for those who did.

The bus made another stop at the Cantagallo rest area. We were not interested in dinner but took advantage of the restroom (when in Italy ALWAYS take every opportunity to do so). It was 8:30 pm when we began the final leg of the trip home. As we approached Lucca, Bob mentioned that we had been traveling for 18 hours. That seemed like an incredibly long time but the only part of the day that dragged was the drive back. Fortunately, I read or dozed so even that was not too bad. Finally, we arrived back at Vinchiana and said good night to everyone and a sincere thank you to the trip organizers. It was really fun to have someone else make all the decisions, see a new and interesting part of Italy and reconnect with friends. Just about 11 pm Dom and I arrived home.

For the first time since we arrived in Italy we slept really well. Today it started out clear and mostly sunny. However, by the time we went out and ran errands it had clouded up. At noon I decided to go out and rake grass because it needed doing and I needed some exercise. Dom decided to join me and keep battling the grass with the strimmer. It was only an hour later that it started to rain so neither of us got much done before we came in for lunch. It later quit but continued to threaten the remainder of the afternoon.

Tomorrow is supposed to be another damp day but Wednesday promises better weather. We will see what other chores we can tick off the list.