After Gubbio, the plan was to drive down to the Adriatic coast, somewhere around Pesaro, in Le Marche region, and then head into Emilia-Romagna, and from there back home.
On the way to the Adriatic, we decided to make a short stop at Urbino. I have a vague memory of having gone there when I was a kid, when we stayed near Rimini for a couple of weeks with my folks. Anyway, the approach to Urbino was quite striking, the town being perched on its hilltop. Urbino is another one of those charming medieval Italian towns, mostly famous for its Duchal palace. We were starting to feel a bit fed up with doing touristy stuff by now, so we actually didn’t visit the palace (and not even the Duomo!), and decided to quite quickly head on towards the Adriatic.
Our initial plan was to try one of the beaches in Pesaro, but as we approached the town, we had second thoughts. The idea of spending an afternoon crammed like sardines on a beach didn’t; appeal to us – this was, after all, Italy in August. So in the end we decided to drive north, and try to find a more secluded beach. After crossing a natural park, we ended up in a small village (which I can’t even remember the name of), where we decided to lunch. We asked about a potential beach, and found out there was indeed one – but that a 20 minute downhill walk was required. Undeterred, we took the path down to the beach. And what a lovely beach it was – like a piece of paradise, almost. The beach was located in a kind of shallow lagoon, which made it pretty much perfect for a bit of leisurely swimming (no big waves to worry about). And best of all, there were hardly any people at the beach – I suppose that 20 minute walk puts a lot of people off. So we spent a pretty much ideal afternoon there, until we eventually reluctantly decided to head on.
Our next stop, where we were spending the night, was Faenza. I can’t remember now why we had chosen Faenza, I suppose it was just conveniently on the way. It’s a pretty unremarkable town, but quite pleasant with its pretty main square. Faenza is mostly famous for its pottery – it even lent its name to the kind they specialize in. We definitely had the impression we were in “northern, organized Italy now” – the Faenza “vibe” is definitely more Milan than Florence. We found a nice little Enoteca on the main square, where we had a light meal of local specialties, while trying a bottle of local wine. Very cozy, all in all.
The next day, we got up bright ‘n early and headed for Bologna, which is where we were planning to spend the next two nights. After a bit of heavy traffic, we eventually arrived, and even managed to find a place to park not too far from the hotel in the end (Bologna is again one of those cities where most cars are banned from the town centre). After checking in, we immediately started to explore Bologna.
We had quite high expectations for Bologna, as it’s apparently one of the coolest cities in Italy. It is known as the red city (partly due to its left-wing political tendencies, partly due to the fact that a lot of the buildings are apparently red there), and also has the oldest university in the world (haven’t I heard that before – at least in Cairo I think). Bologna is also famous for its arcades/porticos (there are 38 kilometers in total), as well as its towers (the vast majority of those are gone though – only 2 remain). And Bologna certainly didn’t disappoint. The city is indeed quite red, and there are indeed arcades everywhere. And it’s a very pretty place indeed, with its spread out historic centre (apparently it’s the largest one in Europe, after Venice’s).
We spent most of our first day wandering around the streets of Bologna, soaking in the atmosphere. We did visit the old town hall, which had been converted into a museum (which was free). It was all rather impressive, except for the modern art exhibition at the end – modern art just doesn’t tend impress me very much as a general rule. After this dose of culture, we checked out the famous twin towers of Bologna (the two aforementioned remaining ones…), one of which leans more than the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Naturally, we had to climb up one of them so that I could take my panoramic shots, too… I have to say the climb up was rather off-putting for me, and the walk down even more so… But what wouldn’t one do for a couple of great pictures, eh ? ;-). After some more walking through pretty arcades, and checking out the university area, we headed back to the hotel for a well-earned rest. For dinner, after consulting Tripadvisor, we ended up in one of the restaurants near to the hotel, where we had a very decent dinner indeed. I finally decided to have a go at my Bisteca Firorentina – half a kilo of pure meat, that’s my kind of dinner ;-). For dessert, Mathilde had a somewhat unusual delicacy, ice cream with 25-year aged balsamic vinegar from Modena (nearby Modena is not only the home of Ferrari, but also THE place to get your vinegar in Italy, and perhaps in the world). Quite an unusual combination, I have to say, but it’s absolutely delicious!
The next day, we decided it was time for a bit of touristy action again. We started off with the Santo Stefano religious complex, which is made up of no less than 5 churches from various eras (the oldest of the churches dates back all the way to the 5th century). It’s a pretty atmospheric place, less impressive than some of the big cathedrals we’ve seen during our trip, but more intimate places. And not overrun by tourists. There is one funny little artifact in the complex – the so called “Pilatus basin” – where apparently Pontius Pilatus washed his hands after that famous Biblical scene. Unsurprisingly, it has all been proven to be nonsense afterwards, I think the basin dates to the middle ages.
We continued our church tour by visiting the very impressive Basilica of San Domenico. Most Italian cities seem to have a church dedicated to St. Dominico, and one to St. Francis (I guess they are kind of in competition), but this one is special since St. Dominico is actually buried here, in the sublime main chapel of the church. That chapel is indeed stunning, it has to be said (not surprising, considering it was decorated by Michelangelo, amongst others…). The wooden choir stalls found in the basilica are rather exquisite, too. In spite of all the churches we’d seed during our trip, this one left us well impressed…
We also visited the famous anatomical theatre in the Palazzo dell'Archiginnasio, which is actually a public library these days. It’s possible the most beautiful public library I’ve even been to… And the anatomical theatre is rather beautiful as well.
We rounded off the day with yet more walking – in this city that activity is a real pleasure, since there is just so much to see. Clearly, two days isn’t quite enough to do the place justice. Oh, well… We rounded off our visit with another exquisite meal, again “recommended by trip advisor”. This time I went for local specialties – some tortellini. Washed down with some local wines, and followed by another ice cream with balsamic vinegar. Yummie. But the real dessert came afterwards, when I asked for a limoncello. THEY LEFT THE BOTTLE AT THE TABLE. And guess what happened when I asked for some grappa. Yes, they left the bottle at the table ? And when I got the bill, guess how much we were charged ? Zero, nothing, nada, niente! I tell you what, that would NEVER happen in Finland, that’s for sure… ;-) So one could almost say it was the perfect end to our Bologna visit!
From Bologna, we continued on our way to Parma, where we were spending the last night of our lovely trip. We arrived at the hotel a bit after noon, and after a brief rest at the hotel room, summoned our strength for one last burst of touristic energy and headed out to explore town. Parma is mostly famous for its food (no surprise we planned a stop here then, I suppose?) – Parma ham and Parmesan cheese being the most famous specialties. The most famous son of Parma is no doubt Giuseppe Verdi, the opera composer. The town itself is typically pretty, with its famous cathedral and Baptistery being the most famous buildings, probably. But all in all, Parma didn’t impress us that much from an architectural perspective – I suspect we’ve simple seen too many incredibly pretty towns over the last couple of weeks to properly appreciate Parma. But the cathedral was well worth the visit – as was the Baptistery.
We finished our visit with a proper meal of local specialties in a cozy restaurant in a lively part of town where the locals seemed to spend their evening. A very decent meal to finish our Italian odyssey with…
The last day was basically a case of driving back to home sweet home – although we did make a stop in Finale Liguria for a refreshing swim in the sea.
All in all, it was a rather fantastic holiday. Perhaps the only problem is that we tried to cram too much into our trip, in the end I think we got a bit saturated towards the end of the trip. Probably we should’ve contented ourselves with just visiting Tuscany and Umbria, and left Emilia Romagna for another time. Not that we have any regrets, we enjoyed every minute of our trip! Hard to single out any particular highlight, but if I had to pick one, it would have to be, surprise surprise, Florence. There’s a reason for it being one of the most visited places in the world…
On the way to the Adriatic, we decided to make a short stop at Urbino. I have a vague memory of having gone there when I was a kid, when we stayed near Rimini for a couple of weeks with my folks. Anyway, the approach to Urbino was quite striking, the town being perched on its hilltop. Urbino is another one of those charming medieval Italian towns, mostly famous for its Duchal palace. We were starting to feel a bit fed up with doing touristy stuff by now, so we actually didn’t visit the palace (and not even the Duomo!), and decided to quite quickly head on towards the Adriatic.
Our initial plan was to try one of the beaches in Pesaro, but as we approached the town, we had second thoughts. The idea of spending an afternoon crammed like sardines on a beach didn’t; appeal to us – this was, after all, Italy in August. So in the end we decided to drive north, and try to find a more secluded beach. After crossing a natural park, we ended up in a small village (which I can’t even remember the name of), where we decided to lunch. We asked about a potential beach, and found out there was indeed one – but that a 20 minute downhill walk was required. Undeterred, we took the path down to the beach. And what a lovely beach it was – like a piece of paradise, almost. The beach was located in a kind of shallow lagoon, which made it pretty much perfect for a bit of leisurely swimming (no big waves to worry about). And best of all, there were hardly any people at the beach – I suppose that 20 minute walk puts a lot of people off. So we spent a pretty much ideal afternoon there, until we eventually reluctantly decided to head on.
Our next stop, where we were spending the night, was Faenza. I can’t remember now why we had chosen Faenza, I suppose it was just conveniently on the way. It’s a pretty unremarkable town, but quite pleasant with its pretty main square. Faenza is mostly famous for its pottery – it even lent its name to the kind they specialize in. We definitely had the impression we were in “northern, organized Italy now” – the Faenza “vibe” is definitely more Milan than Florence. We found a nice little Enoteca on the main square, where we had a light meal of local specialties, while trying a bottle of local wine. Very cozy, all in all.The next day, we got up bright ‘n early and headed for Bologna, which is where we were planning to spend the next two nights. After a bit of heavy traffic, we eventually arrived, and even managed to find a place to park not too far from the hotel in the end (Bologna is again one of those cities where most cars are banned from the town centre). After checking in, we immediately started to explore Bologna.
We had quite high expectations for Bologna, as it’s apparently one of the coolest cities in Italy. It is known as the red city (partly due to its left-wing political tendencies, partly due to the fact that a lot of the buildings are apparently red there), and also has the oldest university in the world (haven’t I heard that before – at least in Cairo I think). Bologna is also famous for its arcades/porticos (there are 38 kilometers in total), as well as its towers (the vast majority of those are gone though – only 2 remain). And Bologna certainly didn’t disappoint. The city is indeed quite red, and there are indeed arcades everywhere. And it’s a very pretty place indeed, with its spread out historic centre (apparently it’s the largest one in Europe, after Venice’s). 
We spent most of our first day wandering around the streets of Bologna, soaking in the atmosphere. We did visit the old town hall, which had been converted into a museum (which was free). It was all rather impressive, except for the modern art exhibition at the end – modern art just doesn’t tend impress me very much as a general rule. After this dose of culture, we checked out the famous twin towers of Bologna (the two aforementioned remaining ones…), one of which leans more than the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Naturally, we had to climb up one of them so that I could take my panoramic shots, too… I have to say the climb up was rather off-putting for me, and the walk down even more so… But what wouldn’t one do for a couple of great pictures, eh ? ;-). After some more walking through pretty arcades, and checking out the university area, we headed back to the hotel for a well-earned rest. For dinner, after consulting Tripadvisor, we ended up in one of the restaurants near to the hotel, where we had a very decent dinner indeed. I finally decided to have a go at my Bisteca Firorentina – half a kilo of pure meat, that’s my kind of dinner ;-). For dessert, Mathilde had a somewhat unusual delicacy, ice cream with 25-year aged balsamic vinegar from Modena (nearby Modena is not only the home of Ferrari, but also THE place to get your vinegar in Italy, and perhaps in the world). Quite an unusual combination, I have to say, but it’s absolutely delicious!
The next day, we decided it was time for a bit of touristy action again. We started off with the Santo Stefano religious complex, which is made up of no less than 5 churches from various eras (the oldest of the churches dates back all the way to the 5th century). It’s a pretty atmospheric place, less impressive than some of the big cathedrals we’ve seen during our trip, but more intimate places. And not overrun by tourists. There is one funny little artifact in the complex – the so called “Pilatus basin” – where apparently Pontius Pilatus washed his hands after that famous Biblical scene. Unsurprisingly, it has all been proven to be nonsense afterwards, I think the basin dates to the middle ages. We continued our church tour by visiting the very impressive Basilica of San Domenico. Most Italian cities seem to have a church dedicated to St. Dominico, and one to St. Francis (I guess they are kind of in competition), but this one is special since St. Dominico is actually buried here, in the sublime main chapel of the church. That chapel is indeed stunning, it has to be said (not surprising, considering it was decorated by Michelangelo, amongst others…). The wooden choir stalls found in the basilica are rather exquisite, too. In spite of all the churches we’d seed during our trip, this one left us well impressed…
We also visited the famous anatomical theatre in the Palazzo dell'Archiginnasio, which is actually a public library these days. It’s possible the most beautiful public library I’ve even been to… And the anatomical theatre is rather beautiful as well.We rounded off the day with yet more walking – in this city that activity is a real pleasure, since there is just so much to see. Clearly, two days isn’t quite enough to do the place justice. Oh, well… We rounded off our visit with another exquisite meal, again “recommended by trip advisor”. This time I went for local specialties – some tortellini. Washed down with some local wines, and followed by another ice cream with balsamic vinegar. Yummie. But the real dessert came afterwards, when I asked for a limoncello. THEY LEFT THE BOTTLE AT THE TABLE. And guess what happened when I asked for some grappa. Yes, they left the bottle at the table ? And when I got the bill, guess how much we were charged ? Zero, nothing, nada, niente! I tell you what, that would NEVER happen in Finland, that’s for sure… ;-) So one could almost say it was the perfect end to our Bologna visit!
From Bologna, we continued on our way to Parma, where we were spending the last night of our lovely trip. We arrived at the hotel a bit after noon, and after a brief rest at the hotel room, summoned our strength for one last burst of touristic energy and headed out to explore town. Parma is mostly famous for its food (no surprise we planned a stop here then, I suppose?) – Parma ham and Parmesan cheese being the most famous specialties. The most famous son of Parma is no doubt Giuseppe Verdi, the opera composer. The town itself is typically pretty, with its famous cathedral and Baptistery being the most famous buildings, probably. But all in all, Parma didn’t impress us that much from an architectural perspective – I suspect we’ve simple seen too many incredibly pretty towns over the last couple of weeks to properly appreciate Parma. But the cathedral was well worth the visit – as was the Baptistery.
We finished our visit with a proper meal of local specialties in a cozy restaurant in a lively part of town where the locals seemed to spend their evening. A very decent meal to finish our Italian odyssey with…The last day was basically a case of driving back to home sweet home – although we did make a stop in Finale Liguria for a refreshing swim in the sea.
All in all, it was a rather fantastic holiday. Perhaps the only problem is that we tried to cram too much into our trip, in the end I think we got a bit saturated towards the end of the trip. Probably we should’ve contented ourselves with just visiting Tuscany and Umbria, and left Emilia Romagna for another time. Not that we have any regrets, we enjoyed every minute of our trip! Hard to single out any particular highlight, but if I had to pick one, it would have to be, surprise surprise, Florence. There’s a reason for it being one of the most visited places in the world…
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