Category Archives: Italy

Apr8

The Heights of Tirano

Posted on by
The Heights of Tirano
The Heights of Tirano

With a few hours to spare after my visit to the Basilica, I spotted a pair of travelers toiling up the mountainside. I determined to track the same path skyward, towards the minute stony structure perched up there in the hills.

The journey delighted at least as much as the destination: over a sprawling river by bridge, threading my way through vineyards, and emerging at last into the sparkling air.

The nearer I advanced, the more the stony church in the sky grew in size — while down below the Basilica shrank.

Read the rest of this entry →
Apr7

Touring Tirano

Posted on by
Touring Tirano
Touring Tirano

A modest town in the shadow of the Alps: Tirano attracts visitors, one must admit, mainly because there the Bernina Express terminates.

An afternoon spent exploring the surrounds did not disappoint, however. One main restaurant manfully acts as the tourism center: steps from the train station, it promises hot meals prepared fast all day (“no break in the afternoon!” – a marketing strategy revealing of the local customs), plus luggage storage and, naturally, wi-fi.

I dropped off my backpack and turned my steps towards the town’s true attraction: la Basilica Madonna di Tirano, a church founded more than half a millennium ago.

Read the rest of this entry →
Apr5

Morning in Milan

Posted on by
Morning in Milan
Morning in Milan

You must see the Castello, the hotel receptionist said, shaking his head sorrowfully. You can’t come to Milan without seeing the Castello.

The cultural contrast after crossing the Alps struck me forcefully at moments like this. In Liechtenstein’s little corner between Switzerland and Austria, a restaurant dinner cost triple (10 EUR, say, for a plate of pasta in Tirano — 30 CHF if you were lucky at a sit-down restaurant in Liechtenstein). On the other hand, the sun-swept cities of Italy couldn’t quite match, it must be admitted, that same sparkle of care and cleanliness.

Above all, the German-speaking staff had regarded me with polite distance, making themselves more invisible than not. In Milan, my newfound friend fetched out a map and planned my itinerary, suggesting enough sites to occupy me for several days.

The next morning, after I tore myself away from Il Duomo, I went to see the Castello.

Read the rest of this entry →
Apr4

Milan’s Marvel

Posted on by
Milan’s Marvel
Milan’s Marvel

The Bernina Express deposited me in northern Italy, where a bevy of airports offered flights back to London.

Some internet sleuthing decided me on Milan, a city too glorious for the meagre half day my itinerary afforded it — but too marvelous to pass up the chance of visiting either, however brief.

I determined to brush off my Italian and attend an early mass at the Duomo, Milan’s crown jewel: a Gothic cathedral of dazzling proportions.

Read the rest of this entry →
Sep4

the golden apples grow: Sightseeing in Rome

Posted on by
the golden apples grow: Sightseeing in Rome
the golden apples grow: Sightseeing in Rome

originally published June 9, 2022

Read Part IV: Conference in Rome

Gabrielle and I had talked all year of her visiting me in England, but in the last-minute rush to finagle my quarantine-free entry to the conference, she obliged me by redirecting to Rome. Joy squeezed my heart at the sight of her – a little piece of home, arriving in a blaze of sunlight. Five days of freedom beckoned, a generous allowance for exploring the city at our leisure.

Read the rest of this entry →
Aug29

with bell and voice and drum: Conference in Rome

Posted on by
with bell and voice and drum: Conference in Rome
with bell and voice and drum: Conference in Rome

originally published May 25, 2022

Read Part III: Winchester and Theale

A solid six weeks without traveling (what a relief after the past two months!) has afforded me the leisure to revisit my international summer of 2021. I left off at the end of my time in Oxford, dashing home to the USA for fourteen days to clear my travel history so that I could disembark freely in Rome, the eternal city.

For my first visit to continental Europe since childhood (excepting the European areas of Turkey), I must thank a Christian conference for inviting me to a week of talks, fellowship, and scavenger hunts.

Read the rest of this entry →