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G l o b e t r o t t e r

THE NEWS LETTE R F OR ME MBE RS O F THE BR ITI SH GU IL D OF TRA VE L WRITER S

FEBRUARY 2015 EDITED BY TIM LOCKE

Guild members in operatic mode at our January AGM in La Scala (photo Kiki Deere)

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Lombardy and the 2015 Expo Over eighty Guild members attended the January AGM in Milan, with tours of the city

and post-fams to historic cities and the Italian Lakes. This was our first-ever AGM in

Italy. We had our Gala Dinner and AGM in the country’s second city which this summer

hosts Expo 2015. Most delegates stayed on afterwards for one of two memorable post-

fam tours of Lombardy.

Press contact for Explora Alicia Iglesias alicia.iglesias@exploratourism.it

www.exploratourism.it twitter.com/exploratourism

Milan: a word from the Expo organisers

Milan is an eclectic city. As the fashion capital, it is the setting for world-famous

fashion week runway shows and has some amazing shops in Corso Buenos Aires, Via

Torino, Corso Vittorio Emanuele, Via Montenapoleone andVia della Spiga. It is also the

undisputed queen of design and plays host to the Salone Internazionale del Mobile

(International Furniture Fair) and “Fuori Salone”, which brings to life the Brera and

Tortona areas of the city with a multitude of fringe events.

As you stroll through the elegant historical centre, visit the basilicas and churches,

explore the museums and ancient waterways, enjoy a drink in the Navigli, in Corso

Como, at the Arco della Pace or in Brera. You really get a feel for the atmosphere of

Milan and can get up close to a city that has an immense wealth of history, art and

culture.

One of the most striking things about Milan is its innovative character and its huge

creativity, which is fully expressed at exhibition spaces like the Triennale, Hangar

Bicocca, Fabbrica del Vapore and Rotonda di Via Besana. It is also the capital of culture.

The prestigious La Scala theatre, the temple of opera, opens its season on 7 December

(Saint Ambrose’s Day) and leading figures from politics and industry are traditionally

present for this. The Pinacoteca di Brera museum showcases some of the world’s most

famous art collections.

Last but not least, Milan is an exquisite culinary hub.

Expo 2015 beckons as Milan welcomes the world

Murray Stewart; photo by Stuart Forster

Under the thematic banner ‘Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life,’ Milan is hosting

Expo 2015 from 1 May until 31 October. More than 140 official participants –

countries, international organisations and corporations – will be involved in this

‘Universal Exposition’, firmly themed around the history, culture, tradition and

future of… food, and specifically sustainable food production. Milan knows food.

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And for those who know Milan,

the ‘makeover’ to which the city

is treating itself in preparation

for this massive ‘coming-

together’ will undoubtedly

showcase it at its all-time best;

for those who are newcomers to

this urban powerhouse of

fashion and food, Expo provides

a perfect reason to make a first

visit.

Even before you delve into its actual content, Expo 2015’s sheer numbers ought to make

you sit up and take notice. A 1.3 billion euro investment from the Italian state, enhanced

by a further billion euros from the participating countries. The return? An expected 5-

billion euro benefit to the tourist sector, within the six-month life of Expo. Some 20,000

trees have been planted on the million square-metre, purpose-built site (twice the area

of Euro Disney). Around 60,000 people have been employed, directly and indirectly and

15,000 volunteers recruited to help oil the wheels of the giant Expo machine. And,

perhaps the most impressive statistic of all: in excess of 20 million visitors are expected

at Expo, with nearly 8 million tickets already sold.

Big numbers that don’t begin to paint the big picture. The many participating partners

have funded the design and construction of their own ‘pavilions’ on the Expo site to

showcase their contributions. The pavilion contents have been carefully vetted to

ensure their consistency with the overall Expo theme, for this huge event is no

marketplace, nor an opportunity simply to sell. On the contrary, the pavilions’ contents

will be instructive and educational and a primary objective of Expo is to raise the level

of debate regarding the challenges facing us on how to feed ourselves. Food security,

sustainable development, water shortage and ‘slow food’ are key watchwords here.

Piero Galli, General Manager, Event Management Division, Expo 2015, recites a

sobering statistic, which starkly illustrates just one of the issues: with a booming global

population, by 2040 we will need 15 billion animals on the planet to feed ourselves.

Currently, we have only 9 billion. Clearly, the debate is one with which we have to

engage.

In addition to the individual country pavilions, the transnational character of Expo is

underlined by the creation of nine thematic ‘cluster pavilions’, housing displays which

straddle geographic boundaries. The advantage of these is that smaller nations can

participate in Expo, undeterred by having to fund the construction of their own

exhibition space. Many of these multinational clusters are themed on food chains: thus,

the Coffee cluster takes you from cultivation to consumption, with plenty of tasting

opportunities on the way. To tell the story in the Fruit and Legumes cluster, Kyrgyzstan

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shares space with Equatorial Guinea, while in Cereals and Tubers Haiti is brought

together with Bolivia and Mozambique.

So there are serious messages to be delivered at Expo 2015, but a whole load of fun is

promised, too. On-site, you’ll find the world’s biggest restaurant, as well as a 12,000-

seater open-air theatre, children’s activities, DJ sets, cooking shows, concerts and the

world famous Cirque du Soleil performing a show designed exclusively for Expo 2015.

In addition, most participating countries will host a ‘National Day’ during the six

months, pushing themselves temporarily towards centre-stage, with many Heads of

State expected to grace Expo with their presence.

It’s Not Just About Technology, Tourism, and Trends

The theme for EXPO is ”Feeding the Planet” and to this end millions of people will converge on Milan and other towns in Lombardy to enjoy a rich programme of events from May to October 2015. From art exhibitions to scientific conferences, from sport to tourism, the events on show will cover everything that impinges on our planet. Milan being the city of Leonardo, the artist’s work will feature in many events as will other iconic artists during this Expo 2015.

More on this from Mari Nicholson on http://wizzley.com/expo-milan-2015/

In a continent currently searching for economic growth, the benefits of Expo 2015 are

expected to stretch far beyond Milan itself, embracing not only Lombardy and Italy, but

wider Europe as well. The logical assumption is that, if you’re coming to Expo from the

Far East, you’re likely to visit London, Paris, Rome or some other European highlight, as

well as Milan. For evidence of Expo’s global appeal, we resort, once more, to the

numbers. Around 1.5 million tickets have been sold in China; over 150,000

Bangladeshis have already booked their place.

Away from the Expo site itself, the whole of Milan is putting on a truly outstanding show

for its guests. There are new and refreshed museums to drool over, the largest

Leonardo da Vinci exhibition ever hosted in Italy, sculpture and tapestry exhibitions,

jazz, poetry and dance. A ‘Pianocity’ festival in May, with pianos deposited in unusual

locations across Milan, will feature 300 performances over three ivory-tinkling days.

Even the stately La Scala will join in the party, hosting recitals, opera and ballet amongst

its 140 events during the lifespan of Expo.

Putting the sweet icing of Expo as well as the myriad associated events onto the already

tasty Milanese ‘cake’ of art, food and fashion should be more than enough to challenge

the prospective visitor with one question: not ‘Shall I visit?’, but rather ‘How long can I

spend there?’

Whatever the answer is, there will not be enough time to exhaust the possibilities

offered by Expo and Milan in 2015. The city is hosting a thought-provoking, unique,

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truly special party, with an open invitation to all. The city is putting on its most stylish

outfit: you should do the same, engage in the debate – and join in the fun.

A privileged view of Leonardo’s Last Supper was made available for the Guild (it’s normally closed on Mondays); huge thanks to our hosts for arranging that. Restored, bombed, repainted, repaired and nearly taken to Paris by Napoleon – it’s surprising there’s anything left of the original, multi-layered composition, completed 516 years ago. For its last restoration in 1999 several layers of heavy repainting were removed.

My first AGM

Lottie Gross; photo of Lynn Houghton at the AGM by Stuart Forster

Beyond the act of travel itself, there is perhaps nothing more inspiring than

sitting down to dinner with some of the (probably) most well travelled people in

Britain. Through the eyes of my esteemed peers, this weekend I explored

Antarctic icebergs (that’s you Nori), traversed Ethiopian mountains (thanks

Trisha), and felt the sting of fire plankton in the middle of the ocean (ouch, Lynn).

I had been warned of two things before heading to Milan for the Guild’s 2015 AGM: the

heated debates at the day-long meeting, and the post-gala dinner hangovers. As it

turned out, neither was a problem.

I was unsure of what to expect really –

except for long speeches and perhaps some

soporific talk on the finer points of the Guild

constitution. And after I spent Saturday

strolling Milan’s sunny streets, eating pizza

and sipping hot chocolate as the sun set, all

while talking travel with a couple of

colleagues, the prospect of Sunday’s AGM

was less than exciting.

But in reality, sitting in that room for five whole hours, discerning, debating, and voting

on important Guild matters – from membership fees to wording of the Articles of

Association for the proposed incorporation of the Guild – was an engaging and

pleasingly democratic experience. I felt, for the first time in my so-far short

membership, completely involved: I was no longer just a newbie, I was allowed to

weigh-in on the important decisions, to vote with direct impact on the results, and hear

every point of view to aid my understanding.

Of course at times the room was tense, but at others there was a sense of complete

togetherness: unanimous votes of thanks or rounds of applause – and rightly so – for

various committee members and the secretariat showed me just how powerful this

union of creative travellers really is.

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What followed was an evening of excellent food, compelling conversation and some

wonderfully smooth Italian reds (fortunately, good wine never gives bad hangovers).

This weekend I realised how much there is for me to learn, and that I might even have

something to teach others. As the weekend drew to a close, I sipped my final Negroni,

and reflected on how lucky and excited I am to be a member of this group of successful,

professional travellers. So thank you for a wonderful weekend, and see you all at the

yearbook launch.

Hidden Gems

Words and pictures by Tricia Hayne

I’m not sure what I’d expected as ‘hidden gems’, but Milan’s Duomo wasn’t one of them.

With its intricately carved embellishments soaring skyward above the square that it

dominates, the cathedral is one serious architectural statement. Castello Sforzesco, too,

makes quite an impression at the end of the Via

Dante, currently set off by the twin white A-frames

promoting EXPO 2015. And La Scala surely needs

no introduction, even to the least musical.

If the logic remained unexplained, our personable

guide, Laura, did reveal facets of these Milanese

icons that were not immediately visible. At La

Scala, we were privileged to share the audience’s

view of the richly adorned auditorium, and to gaze

out from the ‘royal’ balcony, once the preserve of

powerful dukes. Yet although most day visitors are confined to two lesser boxes, the

opera house is by no means exclusive to the wealthy: anyone can queue for the 150

tickets in the gods that are released just a couple of hours before each performance, a

snip at just €10–15 – though a head for heights would be handy.

A promenade through the Galleria delivered on the gem front, too: four mosaics

encircling the central dome, each depicting one of the four (yes, four) continents –

Africa, Asia, Europe and America – as if to put the likes of Prada, Versace and Giorgio

Armani in their place. But beyond lay the real jewel, the Duomo. Framed by a cold blue

January sky, the top of its magnificent façade appeared to be crawling with tiny people.

For €12 you can be beamed up to join them; for €6, you can tackle the 200 or so stairs.

Either way, the reward is exceptional, as if a magnifying glass has been taken to the

artistry of the cathedral’s stonemasons. At each turn, marble walkways and staircases

worn smooth by the passage of time – perhaps by those very stonemasons, or by priests

drawing nearer to God – reveal dragons and dogs and improbably tall saints on long,

thin pillars. And then, right up on the rooftop, the glittering golden Madonnina keeps

watch over her city spread out below.

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And so to the Castello, not so much hiding as

masquerading, for almost the entire building is a

reconstruction. Twice destroyed by fire, it was

rescued from demolition and rebuilt in 1905, taking

as its model one dating to the Sforza dukes of the

15th century. Today it houses many of the city’s

treasures, prime among them the last of

Michelangelo’s three Pietà, which he agonised over

for the final ten years of his life. It’s kept in the

Museo d’Arte Antica, which closed at 5 o’clock. So one gem at least remained hidden –

this time.

Our guides in Italy were top class and really made the trip for me – entertaining, engaging and really knew their stuff – three cheers for Cesare in Milan, Elena in Cremona and Giulia in Padova.

Mike Pedley

Art & Culture Tour

Words and photo by Kiki Deere

A procession of dishes flowed to our tables at LARTE on Via Manzoni, a unique

restaurant-gallery in the heart of Milan with a funky and stylish interior where stacked

wine bottles and wall art add a pinch of fun.

Bellies full, we made our way to the world-famous La Scala Theatre nearby, where we

were fortunate enough to have a private tour of the premises. Built on the site of the

Church of Maria della Scala, the theatre was commissioned by Empress Maria Theresa

of Austria and opened its doors in 1778. Many leading Italian composers have had their

works premiered at the theatre, including Giuseppe Verdi, whose first performance of

Nabucco took place here, and acclaimed musician Arturo Toscanini was Principal

Conductor and subsequently Music Director of the theatre. Every year the theatre’s

opening night, held on the festival of Milan’s patron saint St Ambrogio (7 December),

sees Milan’s elite don lavish ball gowns and dinner jackets. A ticket for this exclusive

venue is a cool

€2000.

From La Scala we

leisurely sauntered

across the

sumptuous Galleria

Vittorio Emanuele

II, a 19th-century

covered walkway –

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today a shopping arcade – that links Piazza della Scala with Piazza del Duomo. Beneath

the glass cupola is a circular mosaic with the symbols of the cities of unified Italy,

including a bull for Turin. It is considered good luck to place one’s heel on the bull’s

testicles and spin round three times (which some BGTW members eagerly tried their

hand at!)

We soon found ourselves in Piazza del Duomo, home to the world’s largest Gothic

Cathedral, and the third largest Roman Catholic Church in the world. Construction of the

Duomo began in 1386 although it was only completed in 1813, resulting in an eclectic

mix of styles. Our tour ended on the cathedral roof, where we strolled around pinnacles

and statues while enjoying the fine views of the city and the Alps beyond.

A food and fashion tour of Milan

Stuart Forster

Milan is, of course, one of the cities at the forefront of the world’s fashion industry and

Italian food is immensely popular. So when I was offered a choice of guided tours in

Lombardy’s capital this one grabbed my attention.

I would have loved to have learned more about the works of Leonardo da Vinci and

view The Last Supper in the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie. However, one of my

great passions, after a long day in front of my laptop, is cooking supper, so any

opportunity to gain insights into Milanese style cooking and recipe ideas took priority.

Among the dapper dressers of downtown Milan our band of notebook bearing, camera

toting Guildies shambled through the broad streets behind a guide named Laura. “Not

Law-ra, Low-ra,” she explained with rising and falling hand gestures that would not

have looked amiss on the conductor of an orchestra.

We were stood outside one of the neoclassical palaces that date from the late 18th-

century, a period during which Lombardy fell under Austrian rule. Italy was not then

unified and “a mere geographical expression,” according to the 19th century Austrian

statesman Metternich. The Risorgimento – Italy’s national awakening – would change

that. We were stood in front of the house once occupied by Alessandro Manzoni, the

author of The Betrothed, and a key figure in the evolution of patriotic feeling.

After pausing outside the Teatro alla Scala, the opera house commissioned by Austria’s

Empress Maria Theresa, we sashayed onwards into the airy Galleria Vittoria Emanuele

II. Some of the best known names in haute couture have stores in the glass-ceilinged

shopping mall. Keeping a group of journalists together is often compared to herding

cats. Laura let us off the leash to view store windows dressed with clothes fresh from

the catwalks then rounded us up to head to the Duomo. The cathedral was not

completed until the mid-20th century though the ornate Gothic façade hints at its

origins 600 years earlier.

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No-one wanting to see the current season’s designs in the flagship stores of leading

fashion houses should fail to stroll along the Via Monte Napoleone, Corso Venezia, Via

Sant’Andrea and Via della Spiga, all streets in the fashion district. Perhaps it was a cold

January breeze that caused my eyes to water when I saw the price of €21,000 neatly

printed by a chic red handbag in one shop window. Many stores don’t display prices,

making me wonder if viewing their displays then counts as window shopping or merely

as an observational walk.

Prior to the commencement of our tour we’d eaten well during lunch at Larte (Via

Manzoni 5, +39 0 2 89096950, http://lartemilano.com), a chic restaurant serving well-

presented, modern interpretations of traditional Italian dishes. Food though, had been

conspicuous by its absence subsequently. In a city such as Milan, with strong culinary

and couture credentials, perhaps it would have been best for a tour to focus on one or

the other, as either subject could have kept us occupied for significantly longer than a

single afternoon.

Laura said arrivederci (goodbye) to us the wonderfully named Eataly (Piazza XXV

Aprile 10, +39 02 49497301, eataly.net) food concept store. Occupying the site of a

former theatre, this cavernous place should be on the itinerary of any foodie visiting

Milan during the Expo. It’s a combination of delicatessen, book store, grocery shop and

wine emporium with several areas to eat and drink, including a Michelin-starred

restaurant, Alice (+39 02 4949 7340). Eataly has a kitchen for cooking lessons and live

music is performed up on the stage each evening.

Who says that food needs to be regarded as any less stylish than fashion when it is

presented correctly?

Lombardy: an introduction from our hosts

At the core of the Northern Italy, Lombardy is one of the biggest regions in the country

and boasts a wide variety of landscapes, from mountains to plains, hills and lakes. When

you say Lombardy, you think of Milan, the city that will open its doors for Expo 2015,

but also the Italian capital of fashion and design, of the happy hour, of art and science.

Lombardy, however, is all this and much more. Just take the street along the famous

Navigli (canals) to find out: you’ll hit the treasures of the Province of Pavia, where the

rice paddies and sparkling marble of the Certosa await you. Or walk a few kilometres to

find yourself in the Province of Monza and Brianza, a green land, famous for its

craftsmanship and the Formula 1. The wonder of the plains and its running waters lead

to the beautiful Province of Lodi, dotted with castles, vielle di campagna and abbeys, or

to Cremona or Mantova, citadels of flavour. An almost untouched wilderness and

glimpses into the pastoral life await you in Valleys of Bergamo and Brescia, while the

most celebrated Italian lakes can be found in Como, Lecco and Varese. The alpine arc

occupies the zone to the north, where the Valtellina remains a paradise for skiers and

wilderness lovers.

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Whether you’re travelling solo for business, in the romantic company of a partner or

with the whole family, Lombardy is ideal for every kind of vacation and budget.

I’ll long remember the evocative smell of wood and varnish in the workshop of violin maker

Stefano Conia in Cremona – such a treat to see the work of a true craftsman.

Loved the rendition of “Land of Hope and Glory” played for us on the church organ in

Cremona. And to hear the organist admit that it’s different every time he plays it. Such talent!

Fabulous spread of organic farm-produced fare at Lago Scuro near Cremona.

Gillian Thornton

Chris Hawksworth got more than he bargained for after this year’s AGM. Not only Milan, Cremona and Mantova, but an extra day in Dusseldorf, courtesy of a strike by security staff at the German airport. After all the efforts by senior Guild members, particularly Lisa Gerard-Sharp, to get Chris and other guilders to Malpensa in time for their return flights to Manchester and London, a strike at Dusseldorf scuppered the Yorkshireman’s connection home.

But Chris was impressed by the response of Lufthansa low cost partner German Wings. A night at the Tulip Inn, meals and taxis before a flight next day. Home Friday night eventually. The extra unwanted 24 hours gave Chris time to reflect on a productive, well debated AGM with splendid sights, sounds and hospitality from our Italian hosts. It could have been a more uncomfortable delay in Dusseldorf. Our man from the Pennines was told he had bagged the last hotel room in town and that all the other stranded passengers behind him in the queue were getting camp beds for the night.

A musical tour of Cremona

Words and pictures by Tim Locke

I’d hardly stepped off the bus before the musical heritage of Cremona began to make

itself apparent. Firstly, in its street names: Via Claudio Monteverdi give a nod to the

composer of the very first operas, who was born in Cremona in 1567 – the annual

Monteverdi Festival of early and baroque music is one of the city’s big events. This

street leads into Via Guiseppe Verdi, who lived out of town. The third opera house to be

built in Italy, the early 19th-century Teatro Ponchielli honours Cremona’s Amilcare

Ponchielli – known pretty much solely for his opera La Gioconda (those who’ve seen

Walt Disney’s Fantasia will hardly be able to forget the animated dancing ostriches of

the opera’s Dance of the Hours). The theatre

is a luscious, scaled-down version of Milan’s

La Scala, in a horseshoe arrangement of

boxes rising tier by tier.

Fausto Caporali, the organist at the

cathedral, treated us to a virtuoso

performance – literally (I think) pulling out

all the stops in variations on Land of Hope

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and Glory, improvised in our honour on one of the largest church organs in Italy. We sat

listening to this glorious sound in the magnificence of the building, an amalgam of

Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque, and every square inch of which inside is adorned

with decoration. The fresco frieze, painted 1508-22, contrasts archaism and mannerism.

The cathedral is part of an astonishing ensemble, including Europe’s tallest brick tower,

itself sporting a huge astronomical clock that still works with its original mechanism.

You can’t go far in Cremona without being reminded of its heritage as a musical

instrument making centre. Within the Museo Civico is a world-renowned collection of

early guitars, lutes and other plucked instruments made in Cremona; one guitar here is

faithfully reproduced in every detail in a Degas painting.

Most famously, in this town of Stradivarius and Amati, it’s violins: some 150 violin-

makers are based here, and the industry is celebrated by the magnificent new violin

museum (Museo del Violino) which features Stradivarius’s tools of his trade and one of

his most celebrated violins, the Cremonese, worth around €12 million and owned by the

municipality. The concert hall within the museum is itself shaped like a musical

instrument – like being inside a huge cello – and within its perfect acoustics we were

given a recital on a Stradivarius by the young violinist Lena Yukuyama of the Meditation

from Thais by Massenet and Paganini’s 24th caprice.

In the evening gloom we entered

Stefano Conia’s violin-making

workshop. Within, a sweet smell of

resinous varnish greeted us. He is 42,

and tells us he made his first violin in

his grandfather’s workshop at the age

of 14. Each instrument takes two

months to make, and he completes 12

a year, selling them for €10,000 a

time. We ask what makes a great

violin stand out from the others – it’s

down to attention to detail: ‘They are

my children. I put my personality into

them, and they are the mirror of me.’

Accommodation: Imperia Hotel (www.hotelimpero.cr.it/en), a very adequate four-star

hotel right in the middle of things, and a minute’s walk to the cathedral square. On the

day we left, the Wednesday market was setting up stalls right outside the front door.

Eating: Lunch was a supremely memorable, unhurried event at the Cascina Lago Scuro

(http://www.cascinalagoscuro.it/ENG/index.html), an agriturismo serving home-grown

country food, including their own cheeses: seating around one long table. They’re

adherents of the Slow food movement, and the farm itself is endearingly rustic and

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unfussy. For dinner we ate close to the hotel in the modern minimalism of the excellent

Locanda Torriani, www.locandatorriani.it

Guide: our excellent tour guide was Elena Piccioni of Target Turismo

www.targetturismo.com

Cremona is renowned for its musical heritage and I enjoyed gaining insights into the city’s violin making. I’d recommend anybody visiting does so on market days, which prove a great opportunity to stock up on attractively priced regional food products.

Mantua is a lovely place to wander. Its compact, pedestrian-friendly centre makes strolling to explore the city’s history and architecture a real joy.

Stuart Forster (go-eat-do.com)

Palatial Mantua

Roger MacDonald; picture of Hall of Mirrors by Stuart

Forster

The four great lakes of Mantua – one dried up at the end

of the 18th century – once formed part of a network of

inland waterways that enabled continuous travel by boat

between the land-locked towns and cities of the

Lombardy plain. William Shakespeare said as much in

Two Gentlemen of Verona and revealed a remarkably

detailed geographical knowledge of Italy in his plays.

Perhaps as a humble actor in the entourage of the Earl of

Oxford, during the seven long years when nothing is

known of Shakespeare’s whereabouts, he may have seen

the medieval wonders of Mantua for himself.

Shakespeare probably borrowed from a 15th-century

Italian novel to create Romeo and Juliet, in which Romeo

of the Montagues is banished to Mantua after slaying

Tybalt of the Capulets.

The patronage of the ruling Gonzaga family reached its zenith at Mantua in the mid-

sixteenth century but much of their famous art collection had to be sold off to England’s

Charles I to make ends meet. Only the vaulted ceiling frescoes escaped, most notably the

scene of Olympus and the Chariots of Day and Night, whose horses, in an ingenious trick

of perspective, seem to change direction at either end of the glittering Hall of Mirrors.

When the Austrians ousted the last duke, he stripped the Ducal Palace of its fine

furnishings; but many of the carts sent to collect them disappeared, complete with their

contents, on the way to Milan. The Palace remains almost empty and a relentless

draught permeates its corridors in winter.

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Federico II Gonzaga brought one of Italy’s most famous artisans, Guilio Romano, from

Rome and by 1535 Romano had rewarded him by creating the Palazzo Te, an exquisite

example of Renaissance architecture. One of the villa’s earliest rooms to be finished was

the Sala di Amore, noted for its erotic frescoes that leave nothing to the imagination and

its candid observation in a frieze that Federico spent the summers here “in honest

idleness”. With him was his beautiful mistress Isabella Boschetti, despite the vehement

objections of her husband the Count of Calvisano, destined to suffer a violent death in

mysterious circumstances.

To many, however, Mantua’s most memorable edifice must be its 18th-century Teatro

Scientifica, designed in late Baroque or early Rococo style by Antonio Bibiena. The

theatre’s bell-shaped design, with four rows of boxes that even run behind the stage, is a

breathtaking masterpiece. One of the first concerts held here, on Tuesday 16 January

1770, was by thirteen-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart but it nearly did not take

place. Mozart’s fingers were frost-bitten and painful and he was only able to play after a

local poet, Signora Edvige Sartoretti, eased his discomfort with a liberal application of

bear fat.

Eating The memorable last supper in our mini tour of Lombardy was at a family-run

agriturismo Corte Costavecchia, with local specialities (very local – zero kilometre)

served in a beautiful brick-vaulted room. Has deservedly got very impressive internet

reviews. www.costavecchia.it

Bergamo – a town in the clouds

Words and photo by Lynn Houghton – as published on her blog

http://theroamingscribe.co.uk

Many years ago I embarked on a journey to Italy with a group of opera buffs; one of my

first ever forays abroad as a grown up. Being obsessed with singing at the time, part of

the reason to visit Bergamo was to see a museum dedicated to Donizetti. Actually, it was

a school that had a few exhibits dedicated to the great composer but it was still very

interesting. I remember gazing into orderly shop windows in this medieval town and

taking a ride on the funicular from the Cittá Bassa to the Cittá Alta.

But the most powerful memory was the pealing of church bells.

Now, on returning to Bergamo, I understand why I remembered the bells. As our tour

guide, Marco, regales us with stories of yesteryear, he tells us that the church bells are

sounded every night one hundred times to announce the closing of the city gate. This

tradition began many hundreds of years ago and continues to this day.

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The stunning hilltop fortification,

which had built up over

millennia, was virtually

abandoned once town folk

decided it was safe to build

homes on the valley floor below.

Bergamo’s Cittá Alta, so the story

goes, became a ghost town

overnight. This came after the

unification of Milan and Bergamo

in the early 19th century under the rule of the Austrians; Bergamo was jointed together

with much of the surrounding area including the alpine lakes.

Austrians had a strong influence on the Bergamese dialect which is full of distinctly

Germanic umlauts. An example is the word for a polenta dish: Chisöl.

About a century ago, many Bergamese realised that they had a treasure on their hands

and began to move back to the old city and to renovate it. The popular and populated

Cittá Alta is now one of the most expensive places to live in Italy, if not Europe.

As we drove through the city gate and began our tour, the first place to be mentioned

was the famous gelateria and café “La Marianna” www.lamarianna.it. La Marianna is

famous for creating the chocolate ice cream flavour Stracciatella renowned the world

over.

We walked through the Piazza Vecchia which was revealed to be built upon Roman

ruins, something only recently discovered. We were amazed at the beauty of the

Cappella Colleoni (Colleoni chapel), which is annexed to the equally impressive Santa

Maria Maggiore, a masterwork of Renaissance architecture and decorative art. It

contains the tomb of the soldier Bartolomeo Colleoni. On leaving the Santa Maria

Maggiore, we noticed a strange coat of arms on the steel gate. It was a bronze depicting

three sets of male genitalia!!

We also popped into the stylish 5* Relais Lorenzo Hotel to see the ruins of the city wall

which are nestled in the basement room of the hotel. An extraordinary place to stay and

spend a few days in this unique and ancient town.

On this occasion, another highlight was a wonderful lunch at DaMimmo Restaurant on

Via B Colleoni. Featuring local specialities we tried the Piccolo antipasta (made from

pollenta), a dish of traditional ravioli followed by a charred, roast lamb shank on a base

of polenta. The pièce de résistance was a simple dessert of cheese accompanied by miele

del Parco dei Colli (local honey). Bellisimo!

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The Italian Lakes

Words by Yolanda Zappaterra. Photos by Karoki Lewis

On a three-day whistlestop tour of Lombardy, Guild members discovered a region filled

with stunning art, culture, wine, crafts, gastronomy, and architecture in Brescia, Bergamo

and the lakes of Como and Garda – all of them within easy reach of Milan’s Expo 2015.

Our first stop was

Brescia, and what a

revelation it was. We

could easily have spent

days in this beautiful

town, with one of them

devoted entirely to the

wonders of the Museo

di Santa Giulia.

Deservedly gaining

UNESCO status in

2011, the complex is

made up of a clutch of

beautiful sites and

buildings. Inside these buildings are everything from impressively preserved Roman

mosaics and frescoes to treasures like this – the ninth-century Desiderius’ Cross.

Decorated on both sides with more than 200 stones dating as far back as the Roman

period, this processional iron cross is rightly given pride of place in the medieval Santa

Maria in Solario. It left most of us awestruck, and the surrounding town didn’t

disappoint either.

The first of our many

amazing meals was at La

Sosta in Brescia. In these

sumptuous surrounding

we ate a feast of local

dishes, beginning with

caramelle alle erbette al

burro e salvia. These

exquisite little pasta

parcels filled with cheese

and herbs, and served

with just butter and crispy

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sage leaves, proved the old gastronomic adage, keep it simple. By contrast, the wine

served with our meal, a Curtefranca rosso Barone PIzzini from nearby Franciacorta, was

complex, nuanced, and a perfect accompaniment.

As the sun began to

set on a day filled

with pleasures and

treasures, we

arrived in the

lakeside

promontory town of

Sirmione. Here, on

the banks of Lake

Garda and the

border of Lombardy

and the Veneto, we

found a castle fit for

Rapunzel, just one

highlight of a beautiful little walled town that looked like a Disney film set. Another was

our hotel, the Hotel Sirmione e Promessi Sposi, and its thermal spa pool. A sliding glass

door from the indoor pool to the steamy outdoor pool was a nice touch – once we

realised we didn’t have to swim under it!

Setting off from the elegant

town of Como at the

southern tip of the 60km-

long lake Como, and

travelling as far as Bellagio

on a beautiful boat ride, we

eagerly bobbed between

port and starboard to take

in the pretty villages

tumbling down the foothills

of the Alps to the water’s

edge. Our guide Laura

regaled us with absorbing

tales about the numerous lakeside villas, their inhabitants and the films they’ve starred

in – among them Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (Villa del Balbianello), Ocean’s

Twelve (Villa Erba) and Casino Royale (Villa La Gaeta). And yes, she pointed out George

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Clooney’s swanky pad, and we all zoomed in and snapped away like amateur paparazzi.

Well, when in Italy…

In praise of Rob and Benita

Organising and hosting a successful AGM and quality FAM trips requires a lot of

planning and effort behind the scenes. I’d like to extent thanks to the Secretariat, the

Guild members who were involved in making things happen and all of the people in

Italy who played a role in ensuring things ran well and smoothly. I enjoyed the fruits of

your labour and gained positive insights into Milan, Cremona and Mantua; for that I’m

grateful.

Stuart Forster

Although we all appreciate how much Benita and Rob did to organise the AGM – did you

know that Rob also composed the great music which accompanied those evocative

photographs he compiled to illustrate highlights of the Guild year. Perhaps that film

with sound, with credits to Rob, should be on the website?

Penny Visman

A quick note to congratulate Mary, Benita, Rob, the committee, our sponsors and

everyone else concerned with the organisation of another first-rate AGM.

On a more personal note, I would like to thank all my fellow members who lent me

assistance during the event. Your comradeship is much appreciated and I hope that with

a little kind help I will be able to attend many Guild meetings in the future.

Roger St Pierre

My first AGM

Lots of people warned me to expect high drama, contention and arguments at the AGM. In the event, business was conducted in an orderly and harmonious fashion with barely any fuss.

I couldn’t get over how incredibly welcoming and friendly everyone was. I half expected to be treated like the new kid at school but it wasn’t like that at all.

I quickly realised that it wasn’t just us ‘newbies’ who were constantly having to enquire, “And you are...?” Even long-standing members didn’t always know each other by name.

Andrea Montgomery (with a reminder that next year we should reintroduce name tags!)