Monday, May 27, 2013

Italy Remembers a Memorial Day for Americans

Two by two they flutter in the breeze.  Thousands upon thousands of them side by side, their bright, cheery colors contrasting starkly against somber green and white backgrounds.  Little flags, one American, one Italian, two of them for each of the 4,402 white crosses planted neatly row by row.  One flag celebrates the country where a fallen soldier was born, the other memorializes where he died.  
Angie and I spent our Memorial Day morning at the Florence American Cemetery and Memorial.  It is located between Florence and our little town of Impruneta, and is the smaller of the two U.S. Military cemeteries in Italy that are the final resting place for many American soldiers killed in Italy during WWII.  Additionally, both cemeteries also have huge memorial tablets to recognize the unrecovered soldiers and airmen Missing In Action, and the sailors either lost at sea or buried at sea during the Italian campaign.

The Florence American Cemetery and Memorial is a beautiful, well kept, well run facility.  It is immediately obvious to any visitor that the American and Italian administration and the American volunteer helpers take great pride in preserving this legacy and keeping the grounds pristine. 
The hour long service was replete with the customary speeches, honor guards, and salutes;
And there was also a sizable contingent attending from the American VFW in Vicenza (west of Venice) who traveled down to represent American Vets currently stationed in or retired and living in Italy; 
However, the real focus of the day was all about the service and sacrifice of the thousands of Americans who died in Italy during WWII. 
Today’s Memorial ceremony was very moving; it was inspiring to see the American flag raised and our National Anthem played on foreign soil, soil that so many Americans fought and died for.  It was also touching so see that the Italians have not forgotten.  They have remembered who set them free from the tyranny of Fascism, and they actively honor them still.
It is estimated almost 30,000 American military personnel died during the Italian campaign of WWII.  So many Americans have sacrificed in service to their county, so many different times in our history, that it is sometimes easy for us to lose track of the incalculable cost of freedom: 
Wars fought by American  Soldiers
When
Soldiers Killed
American Revolutionary War
1775–1783
~25,000
War of 1812
1812–1815
~15,000
Civil War: total
1861–1865
~625,000
World War I
1917–1918
116,516
World War II
1941–1945
405,399
Korean War
1950–1953
36,518
Vietnam War
1955–1975
58,209
Gulf War
1990–1991
294
Iraq War
2003–2011
4487
Afghanistan
2001–present
2,031
Several statistics provided by The Oxford Companion to American Military History
              (Oxford University Press)
Gulf-Iraq-Afghanistan statistics provided by DOD

Saturday, May 25, 2013

A Sunday Drive to Certaldo

Sunday, May 19th 2013 –

Angie’s sister Teresa arrived from NJ late Friday afternoon, and after a spending Saturday in Florence, on Sunday we took a 45 minute drive to the town of Certaldo (chair-TALL-doe).
Certaldo is not your run-of-the-mill historic, 12th century, medieval hill top town that dots the Tuscan landscape like so many others, its roots run much deeper.  Its origins are easily traced to the Etruscans thanks to excavations in the 19th and 20th centuries that unearthed pottery and other artifacts dating to the 2nd century BC.
Like some other medieval towns Certaldo has a walled historic city center on a hill, with a modern “suburb” of sorts that as grown up outside the ancient city walls.
The Church of Santi Tommaso e Prospero is the oldest church in Certaldo, with one wall inscription dating to 1215.   The church is no longer used for active services, it is used as part of the palace museum, to which it is attached.
Housed inside the church is the Benozzo Gozzoli Tabernacle of the Condemned depicting the fresco, “The Descent from the Cross”. 
The Palazzo Pretorio (Pretorio Palace) is an imposing superstructure that sits at the high point of the old city center.  In the early 1,400’s it was the seat of the Florentine Republic Vicarship and housed local government including the judicial courts, jail, and judicial administration.  It towers above other buildings and bares the coats of arms of its many owners throughout the ages. 
The lower section of the palace and the covered loggia, an alcove of frescos, can be seen in this picture of Angie and Teresa.
Like so many well lived in medieval towns, the Certaldo’s residents augment its beautiful architecture with colorful flowers.
The palace is located right at the end of the main street which can be seen in the background.
Frescos of the official seals and coats of arms leave no doubt about the sovereign authority of Certaldo’s leaders.
Contrasts of old and new:  13th century frescos carefully revealed by artisans restorers in stark contrast to the modern expressions from the Cinzial Fiaschi exhibition currently on display throughout the palace.
After our walk up to the top of town a break for lunch and our tour of the Palazzo Pretorio it was time to call it a day and head for home.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Road Trip to Alsace


Sunday May 5, 2013
This morning we got up early and drove to France.  Specifically, to that north eastern corner of France close to Germany called Alsace, sometimes referred to as Alsace Lorraine.  Our trip took us to the marvelous little medieval town of Ribeauville (re-beau-vil-LAY), 755 kilometers north (470mi) up over the Italian Alps, driving straight across Switzerland, and into Alsace.  10 hours after we had started, the Hotel de la Tour was a welcome sight as we were ready for a break and so was the Saturn. 
 We had thought about going to Paris at one point but after 5 months of living in Florence we both had had enough of cities for a while.  Our plan was to stay in Ribeauville, a town on the Route des Vins d’Alsace (the Wine Route of Alsace), a road lined with towns that each contribute their own special approach to the wines, primarily white, that flow from this region.  Our goals were to sample the local wines and most importantly a few of the tremendous hiking opportunities offered throughout this part of France.  The little town of Ribeauville proved to be a charm, everything we had hoped it would be.  Every building in the town center and along the Grand Rue (Main Street) was of original or restored “half -timber” construction.  The Grand Rue and several side streets are closed to cars from 9:00am to 6:00pm, making a casual stroll from restaurants to shops to wineries a thoroughly pleasant experience






















Monday, May 6, 2013
After breakfast we walked up to the top of town and picked up the trailhead for the hike up to the castles of St. Ulrich and Haut-Ribeaupierre.  We had packed lunches and bottles of water in our knapsacks, and set ourselves into the climb up the mountains.  Most of it really wasn’t too steep, and on our way up to our first planned stop at Haut-Ribeaupierre we passed by the castle of St. Ulrich.
The castle at Haut-Ribeaupierre is mostly ruins, fully half of it fenced off in the interest of safety, but its overlooks were beautiful and it made for a great mountain top trekking destination just the same.
 
With that we headed back down to St. Ulrich.  Although the entirety of the roof was gone, many of the walls and archways were still in good form.  The castle was quite large - it was fun exploring its rooms and courtyards, and its views overlooking the Alsace plan below were outstanding

Angie broke out our lunch of French bread, cheese, spicy mustard, and fruit.  I can honestly say it was our first ever lunch in a French castle and it was great!  We had everything we needed except a bottle of French wine, but we had deliberately decided to forego that due to our need to get back  down the mountain in time for our evening plans. 
 After lunch we headed back to town for showers and a rest break, then took an hour long walk around the lower end of town and its flower gardens.
As we headed back uptown we stopped for some wine tasting at JOGGERST et FILS, Vins Fins d’Alsace.  Our young, energetic host, C.G., was the 5th generation of the family wine making business, and she kept us well plied with her family’s best wares.  Our wine tasting was made all the more enjoyable by the young, friendly German couple seated with us, and the 5 of us joyfully conversed in English, German, some French, and with a smattering of Italian thrown in when we could manage it. 



























We left with 4 bottles and dropped them off at the hotel before continuing on to our evening repast at the restaurant Au Cerf Chez L’Alsacein.  Dinner was excellent – Angie had a fresh salad with shrimps and I had veal with an amazingly spicy peppercorn sauce.  Both were outstanding, and including a carafe of good Riesling the entire bill came to 37.  A great end to a great day! 


Tuesday May 7, 2013
Today we drove to Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle, the biggest castle in Alsace.  Built in the 12th century and towering high up in the Les Vosges mountains, it overlooks the town of Rodern and out across the Alsace plain that separates it from Germany. 



It underwent a massive reconstructive renovation in 1900, and it has obviously been well cared for in the many years since then.  Haut-Koenisbourg is very impressive and is a must see when traveling in Alsace
 
 
 As we walked through the castle we used hand held speaker phones that explained not only the castle history but the function of each of the rooms as we self-toured our way around.  We had just finished our tour and were pausing for a cappuccino and tea when the rain let loose, so I got the car and we headed back to Ribeauville, pausing for a lunch stop in the town of Bergheim.  Bergheim, like Ribeauville, is one of many small towns that sit on the Route des Vins d’Alsace, however, its particular claim to fame (or infamy) is its inclination to burn witches.

 If ever there was a town that qualifies as “Village of the Dammed” it is Bergheim.  The small hamlet is a dichotomy of past and present – on the one hand its old churches, buildings, and alley ways were eerily quiet with practically no one on the sidewalks.  On the other hand, a seemingly never ending convoy of cars paraded right through the middle of town, using it as a throughway to get somewhere else.  Its as though the town has been cursed with a plague of traffic from people who have no interest in being there.   All I know is, Bergheim has a genuinely creepy vibe, right down to its tortured, gnarly trees in the town center.  We were just thankful that due to the rain the day’s witch burnings had been cancelled.….
Once back at our hotel in Ribeauville we checked the weather forecast and found there would be one more day of good sunshine before the rain really moved in, so we made a decision to stay in Alsace one more day.   

Wednesday May 8, 2013
The small town of Ribeauville and the lovely Hotel de la Tour had provided a great stay for us –the hotel staff spoke some English and they were friendly and accommodating, offered a good breakfast and secure parking at reasonable prices, plus the hotel was right on the Grande Rue in one of the best parts of town. 
Still, we wanted to move further up the Wine Route of Alsace so the next morning we said our goodbyes to Hotel de la Tour, loaded up the Saturn and headed north for the town of Obernai – with one important stop along the way.  Angie had researched the hiking around the abbey at St. Odile, which like Haut-Koenisbourg was located high up in the Les Vosges Mountains. 
Its peaceful setting and mountainous terrain made for wonderful hiking opportunities and we quickly picked up the trail head for our trekking for the day – to a castle in the woods called Chateau d’ Ottrott
The castle was really just a ruins, and fenced off from exploring for safety reasons, but it made for a nice hiking destination and a good spot to take our break for a simple lunch of French bread and cheese. 
 After lunch it was a long climb back up to the Abby, with a stop along the way at the Elsberg hut where we met a U.S. couple.  They were college professors from Syracuse University NY who were winding down their 4 month long assignment teaching Syracuse students music in France.  We exchanged experiences in Alsace as well as our past 5 months in Florence, a city they also knew well from previous teaching assignments.  We resumed our climb and once we got back at the abbey we took a few moments to walk around the buildings and observe the tremendous vistas over Alsace plain below.


Then it was time to head off to Obernai for our final night in Alsace.  The town center of Obernai was every bit as charming as Ribeauville, but about 3 times bigger.  It was filled with the same “half -timber” structures and houses, and its larger size offered more restaurants and stores for shopping, but it was clear that it also had a bit more of a touristy feel than Ribeauville. 
 
 
Though squarely on the beaten path of the Wine Route of Alsace, the town of Ribeauville seems more like a hidden gem that is somehow managing to hide in plain sight.  Anyway, after our evening at the Le Gouverneur Hotel we were back on the road for home.  Due to heavy traffic getting out of Switzerland, and also on the Italian Autostrada near Milan, it took us 11 and a half hours to get home.  Still, we were ending on an incredibly high note, having spent four nights in France  where we enjoyed outstanding hiking, excellent food and white wines, and most of all the slow measured pace of the small towns that line the Route des Vins d’Alsace.

Au revior!