Giro d'Italia

The Giro d'Italia came through Lucca yesterday. The stage started in Lido di Camaiore, on the coast, passed through Lucca before continuing on to Florence. This is the closest it has come to our house in the nine years we have been here so we thought we should take advantage of it and go see it.


Geri and Karen were interested in going so we packed up a picnic and went to the river park just outside Lucca. We arrived there about 1 pm and the riders were due to go right across this bridge at about 3 pm. We ate our lunch under some trees not far from here.


After lunch we strolled down Borgo Giannotti, a commercial street right outside the Lucca walls. Most of the shops were closed for their three hour lunch break but it looked like lots of the people who worked there were hanging out waiting for the cyclists to go by. Here is a banner saluting the Giro put up by the salumieria (salame shop) downstairs. More and more people gathered on the sidewalk but it was never too crowded.


At about 2:30 pm the police and emergency personnel started getting in position. Any large cycling race requires a lot of guys on motorcyles. Here are some of those that went ahead to make sure everything was set for the cyclists. We thought standing in the street where the riders had to turn was a good spot but all these guys ended up right in front of us.

I tried to take pictures of the three breakaway riders as they went past. Here's two of them. I really admire the camermen on the motorcycles. Can you see the one at the left side of the photo just behind the cyclist?

Geri and I moved down the street a ways where we had a clearer view. Here comes the main pack. It only took 30 seconds for over 175 riders to stream past us! They were about 2-3 minutes after the three breakaway riders and went by so fast it was impossible to tell who was who.

Here are more of them. Lance Armstrong is in there somewhere.

Finally the team cars streamed by.

It was lots of fun but when it was over it was over. Within seconds of the car with a big "end of race" sign on it (in Italian of course!) the spectators headed off to work, home or wherever. I think it was one of those things that was fun to see once in person but it is much more interesting watching the entire race on TV.

Today Geri and Karen have gone off to Florence on their own. Dom and I are doing chores around the house and relaxing.

A Day in Florence at the Palazzo Vecchio

Hall of Five Hundred


Fresco of Florence under siege


Portion of colorful fresco


Yesterday we drove to Florence, partly to celebrate my birthday and partly because we try to spend at least one day there whenever we are in Italy. It only takes us about an hour to get there by car so we rose at a leisurely hour, stopped for coffee and pastry along the way and arrived there shortly before noon. When we left the house it was sheeting down rain and the heavy downpour continued until we were about a third of the way there. It did not bode well for a day of sightseeing on foot but amazingly during our five hour stay in Florence it only spritzed for a short while.

We decided to visit the Palazzo Vecchio, the city hall located in the center of town. Its tall tower presides over the sculpture-filled Piazza della Signoria, most famous for being the original site of Michelangelo’s David and the gateway to the Uffizi museum. I had never been further inside than the first courtyard so it was with great interest that I toured the palace. It was extensively remodeled when the Medici family was returned to power as Grand Dukes of Tuscany in the 1500s. The renovations were undertaken with the mandate that the interior space be updated without changing the exterior. Thus, a building that began life as a fortified castle was enlarged and transformed into a royal palace. The changes created some interesting spaces—windowless studies, tiny chapels and views into narrow light wells.

The most stunning space is the Hall of the Five Hundred, an immense hall that started out as the room where the city council met. Under Cosimo I and his architect, Giorgio Vasari, it was transformed into an awe inspiring ducal audience chamber. Later, in the late 1800s, it served as the house of parliament for the newly unified Italy. The carved and painted ceiling is particularly interesting as is the fact that the room itself is a rectangle set into a trapezoidal building. Thus, narrow triangular spaces sandwich the great hall at the north and south ends.

There is some painting and sculpture throughout the palace but most is not terribly interesting. More noteworthy are the frescoes and paintings that decorate nearly every ceiling and many walls. I especially liked the map room that has wood panels painted with depictions of the world as it was known at the end of the 16th century. Unfortunately, the battery in my camera gave out well before we reached that part of the palace.

After we completed our explorations of the Palazzo Vecchio, we found a spot near the Duomo for a late lunch. Dom had tomatoes and tuna while I had a plate of Tuscan antipasto—cold cuts, bruschette and olives. We then looked for skiwear at a couple of stores (for my birthday!) but did not find anything appealing. On the way back to the car the shop windows were brightly lit. High fashion clothing, leather handbags and gloves, Florentine paper and traditional ceramics glowed with color and life. The dull autumn daylight was fast fading and we drove home in the dark.

The rain started again when we were halfway back to Lucca. Lightening lit up the sky and traffic was heavy. Nonetheless we arrived back home about 6:30 pm. Later, rain still pouring down, we went for dinner at the nearby Ristorante La Terrazza. Unlike most evenings we ordered both pasta and meat courses plus dessert. What are birthdays for if not an excuse to indulge!