Archive for April, 2009

Vespatour 2006 part 20: Recanati… THE END!

What’s beyond the hedge of the infinity?

The hedge “that excludes the greater part of my view of the farthest horizon“, as wrote Leopardi in his immortal poem, The Infinity.

The end of a journey? The beginning of a new one?

For me it was just like that: on august 31, 2006, in Recanati, the last stop of the journey on my Vespa that gave me endless emotions and surprises, I climbed upon the hill of the infinity, where the native house of Leopardi is located.

In company of a guide from the Centro Nazionale di Studi Leopardiani, I reached the hedge, she left me alone and… I looked beyond! 🙂

The quiet panorama beyond the hedge, with the Sibillini Mountains in the background, mixed with what eyes couldn’t see: the tide of sensations I felt along the journey and the uncertainty of the future that was waiting for me once back in Como.

Three years later I almost feel like being there again, thanks to the photo of the hedge I always keep on my desk.

The 52 photos of the twentieth gallery are dedicated to the last stop of the journey, between Loreto and Recanati, with the last one shot in Rimini before going back to Como.

I hope that through the report of the Vespatour I managed to give back some of the pleasure of traveling, while meeting people and discovering new things.

It’s also my Thank You to the people who recommended me where to go before leaving, welcomed and helped me during the journey and to whom, after reading the report on the blog, will be willing to visit the wonderful places I described.

Safe Travels! 😀

Siepe dell'infinito

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Vespatour 2006 part 19: San Giovanni Rotondo and Vieste

San Giovanni RotondoMy relatives in Bisceglie are devoted to Padre Pio and they often talked about San Giovanni Rotondo.

On august 28, 2006, I went there with my Vespa to visit a holy place so important for all those devoted to the monk from Pietrelcina.

It was an important stop even for me, especially since a few days earlier I visited Assisi and the Eremo delle Carceri of San Francesco, another great example of humility.

Deep thinking and meditation are the words I could associate to the visit of the places where Padre Pio lived and received the stigmata, now valorized by a modern church designed by Renzo Piano.

After the visit to San Giovanni Rotondo, before getting back to Bisceglie, I went to the beach in Vieste on the splendid Gargano coast.

When I was a kid I used to spend the summer holidays there, camping with my parents, and that’s where I learned to swim! 😀

The 53 photos of the nineteen gallery describe the last two days in Apulia.

On august 30 I was going to leave from Bisceglie to the last stop of the Vespatour: Recanati, searching for the hedge of the infinity! 🙂

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Vespatour 2006 parte 18: Bisceglie

Castel del MonteThe sea, at last! 🙂

After 21 days traveling at close stops, riding my Vespa for a total of 3000 kilometers, a week at the seaside in Apulia was the closing panacea of the Vespatour.

I needed to rest not only physically, but also mentally, since during 21 days I stared for the first time at some of the artistic marvels that Italy preserves, and for each one of them the sensations were deeply intense.

Using an effective metaphor: I got drunk with art! 😉

The welcome of my relatives in Bisceglie, in the province of Bari, was special to say the least: for a few days Nicola and Rosa made me feel like a member of their family.

Nicola accompanied me to visit the town and its surroundings, while Rosa made me taste her culinary specialties: one day meat and fish the other, nothing was missing on the table at all! 😀

During those days of relax at seaside I visited the mysterious Castel del Monte, a strategic observation point of Frederick II, now depicted on the 1 cent italian Euro coins.

To the castle, the welcome of my relatives and the seaside of Bisceglie, are dedicated the 41 photos of the eighteen gallery of the journey.

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Vespatour 2006 part 17: Caserta

Reggia di CasertaA 3 kilometers-long garden, with an incredible view both towards the hill and the royal palace! 🙂

The Royal Palace of Caserta really surprised me and I think I did a good choice by stopping there in the morning of 23 august 2006, while I was traveling from Rome to Bisceglie, in Puglia, where I was going to spend a few days at the seaside to rest after the long journey around Italy riding my Vespa.

The 54 photos of the seventeenth gallery are entirely dedicated to the Royal Palace of Caserta, to the sumptuous royal apartments, which I visited while listening to an audioguide, and most of all to the marvelous garden and its fountains. The complex was actually built by Carlo III di Borbone with the aim to rival with the Royal Palace of Versailles.

I’ve never had the chance to visit Versailles yet, but I think the astonishment I felt in Caserta will be still in my mind when I’ll do that. Who knows, maybe in the next Vespatour… 😉

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