Lake Orta

Since this is the last day of our trip this will be my last post. We are staying at a very nice hotel in Orta San Giulio on Lake Orta. In the middle of Lake Orta is the island of Isola San Giulio.

 

This is the view of the island from our hotel.

 

 

And this is the view of the island from in the town.

 

 

We took a brief tour of the lake. There are some very nice homes on the water.

 

 

 

 

 

We were then dropped off to explore the island.

 

 

 

There is, not surprisingly, an amazing church.

 

 

This is a mural on one of the pillars.

 

 

And this is the pulpit. I love it!

 

 

 

Then we explored the town of Orta San Giulio.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And how about this for a rain gutter?

 

 

Ciao!

 

 

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Cinque Terre, Levanto, Bonassola

[from Wikipedia] The Cinque Terre is a rugged portion of coast on the Italian Riviera. "The Five Lands" comprises five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. The coastline, the five villages, and the surrounding hillsides are all part of the Cinque Terre National Park and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Over the centuries, people have carefully built terraces on the rugged, steep landscape right up to the cliffs that overlook the sea. Part of its charm is the lack of visible corporate development. Paths, trains and boats connect the villages, and cars cannot reach them from the outside.

 

Proceeding south to north, first up is Riomaggiore.

 

 

Next is Manarola.

 

Then Corniglia.

 

 

Vernazza

 

 

On the far right of the picture of Vernazza is this awesome restaurant.

 

 

And Monterossa al Mare.

 

 

We stayed at the first village north of the Cinque Terre, Levanto.

 

 

Some of the sites around Levanto are ...

... a 13th century loggia,

 

 

... the restaurant where we had dinner,

 

 

... this cute church which was originally built in 1222, The striped facade is made with white Carrara marble and local green serpentine.

 

 

 

 

 

While in Levanto we did a three mile walk to the next town to the north, Bonassola, for lunch.

 

 

This is the restaurant where we had lunch.

 

 

We discovered a lovely church while wandering around town after lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Carrara & Portovenere

We visited Carrara today, famous for its snow white marble which was a favorite of Renaissance sculptors. It was pretty amazing to see. The marble is in a huge vein that runs through the mountains. The minors cut out giant blocks of it to be made into all sorts of things.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To separate the marble from the mountain a giant chain saw ...

 

 

... and pulleys with a diamond-studded cutting wire are used to cut off the blocks.

 

 

This is a marble cemetery in the area.

 

 

We stopped off in Portovenere on our way to the Cinque Terre. There was a cute church.

 

 

 

With a spectacular location.

 

 

Some nice views.

 

 

 

A great interior.

 

 

And nifty doors.

 

 

The town was really pretty too.

 

 

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