How We Travel

    
   Again, my posts are out of order.  This post was originally posted between Ode to the Olive and Ostuni, the White Pearl.


I chose to travel with VBT Travel, a Vermont based group that specializes in walking and cycling tours around the world.

How This Works
     We had two guides, Luigi and Fabio. One guide would be the last cyclist of the group, while the other would drive our van. They would switch off these duties every day. The van was there to transport tired cyclists, or those whose bike had broken down.

Luigi to the left, and Mario, prepare a picnic lunch for us in a park in Castro, Italy.

      We would be given a set of directions, and maps, and could leave at our own pace. We all left within 20 minutes of each other. This allows cyclists to ride at their own pace, and we may not all be riding together. For example, on our way back from Monopoli, I rode with a couple, Chris and Robin.  For the first part of the ride Chris was lead, and I was last with the job of shouting out if cars were coming from behind. The roads are very narrow. After a shade break, I was the lead cyclist, and I set the pace.

Every day we would get instructions and would have a meeting to go over them.

        Our bikes are set up with water bottles, map/direction holders, and packs to carry things.


Our Cyclists

Mike and Jennifer - Dividing time between Oregon and Washington, Mike and Jennifer were a party waiting to happen!  We gave Mike the nickname of  "Roadrunner" because he was the fastest cyclist, and usually the first out in the morning.

 

 

Alan and Rosemary -  From New Mexico, this quiet couple were also front cyclists.

 

 

Chris and Robin- Hailing from Minnesota, Chris has his own pub, while Robin teaches school.  It was fun to watch Chris consider all the food we ate. I think he was thinking "Would this work as finger food back home?"

 

 

David and Jean - Wow!  The heroes to all of us, David was 86 and Jean 84 years young!  David cycled every kilometer!

Me- Sometimes I think I need to get a part-time husband to travel with me! Then when we get back home he could go live in his own house!

A Trulli Wonderful Day!

  


  I am not sure what happened, but this post is out of order.  It should be between the posts of Ostuni. the White Pearl and King of the Toilets.


  While I would not be riding this day, this was my very favorite day because I was at last going to see the Trulli of Alberobello, Italy. Our group was shuttled to Alberobello, and I got to ride with Luigi and Fabio!

This empty trullo was for sale - I found the listing while walking around Ostuni.  I asked Luigi and Fabio to stop so I could get this picture.

 

Munchkin Homes

       The Trulli of the Itria Valley are a major draw to tourists around the world.  The whitewashed homes with the conical roofs, and strange symbols have fascinated people for ages.
       For this day's visit, we would be in the hands of Mimmo Palmisano, a trulli historian and restorationist.

Mimmo and his father restore trulli.  His mother has a shop in Alberobello.

        According to  Mimmo, the trulli, (trullo is the singular word), are based on homes in the area of Aran, Turkey. Eastern Italy had long been subject to raids from the Ottoman Empire (Turkey).  In the cases where the Turks actually lost a battle, they had a choice, stay and work for the Italians, perhaps as a servant, or go home and be beheaded for being defeated by Christian infidels!  Mimmo claims Turkish ancestry, and told us that a great many people in Puglia also have Turkish ancestry.
        Trulli are built without mortar, and when the top stone is removed, the cone would come crashing down.  This trick would come in handy when the tax collector came around collecting taxes on a home.  If your home was demolished the taxes would be forgiven!  Since the roofs were easily rebuilt, fooling the taxman, or the local lord, happened - a lot!  Trulli were originally used for storage, or as small barns, with people using them as home much later.  One cone roof meant one room.  The more cones, the more rooms.
       The name Alberobello means beautiful trees.  However, according to Mimmo, this is not the true meaning of the town's name. Bella is the Italian word for beautiful.  Bello comes from the Latin Bellum, which means war. There was, at one point, a Spanish lord over the area.  The poor people built homes in the oak forests, and kept them short enough so that tree cover would hide them, and they would not have to pay taxes. It was learned that the lord was also not paying his fair share of taxes to Spain. When someone from Spain came over to check on this man, the poor people were found out, and they in turn, told on the lord.  This started a small war - Alberobello - war in the forest.  The lord was relieved of his duties, and the people allowed to live in peace.  This is a very simplified abridged version of what Mimmo told us.  Had I been thinking, I would have taken my smartphone, which contains a recording device, and recorded Mimmos entire presentation.

       Today, Trulli are protected buildings. Please enjoy the pictures! Alberobello is protected under UNESCO.

At the top of the cone is the pinnacle.  The design of the pinnacle was the signature of the trullo builder. This is a trullo church.

Looking up into the cone.

The altar is made of a soft limestone.

Alberobello Trulli - yes, people still live in these.

While the outside of a trullo must adhere to certain standards of how it can look, the inside can be quite modern.  There are trulli vacation homes that one can stay in.

I will definitely try to find away back to Alberobello again.  It was a magical day!

The Colosseum

     Ancient Rome - the building that comes to mind is the Colosseum. The building was actually begun in 72 A.D. by Vespasian and completed by his son, Titus in 80 A.D.  Given that these two emperors are famous for bringing hundreds, if not thousands, of Jewish slaves after the sacking of Jerusalem, it should come as no surprise that this building was built by those Jewish slaves.

      The building's true name is the Flavian Amphitheatre, but has always been known as the Colosseum for its size and the fact that it was in the vicinity to the Colossus of  Nero - a huge statue of the emperor Nero. (Which makes me wonder why that statue was still standing, as Nero had been kicked out of Rome and labeled a villain by the Senate.)  Around 60,000 spectators could fill the amphitheater.  There are four stories with Doric, Ionian and Corinthian columns decorating the exterior arches. The fourth story has Corinthian pilasters.  There are 80 arches on the ground floor, of which four were entrances for the emperor and his family and the vestals.  Only the entrance of honor reserved for the emperor remains.  The entrance one went through for admission depended on one's class. Patricians in one entrance, plebians in another.

      Similar to a modern giant stadium, the Colosseum was the origin of the professional gladiators, who were trained to fight to the death - although there had been similar fighting factions/units before the Colosseum was built.  While the killing of Christians had come to high frenzy in the days of Nero in his Ager Vaticanus, this practice was still in place in the Colosseum.  One fact that I did learn while in the Colosseum was that women were not allowed in, unless one was related to the emperor. The killing orgies that took place were for men only. Historians believe that nearly 9000 animals were killed during the first 100 days of celebrations held to inaugurate the amphitheater!  The arena could also be filled with water to stage naval battles! The Colosseum was usually uncovered, but in case of rain, a huge velarium was maneuvered by two squads of sailors belonging to the fleets of Ravenna and Cape Misenum.  These two squads also took part in the naval battles that were staged. (How much water they used, and how they got it in the Colosseum, I never did  learn.)

       The Emperor Constantine, who allowed Christianity, tried to end the gladiator fights, but the Romans did not want to give up their shows.  At the beginning of the 5th century, a monk named Telemachus came to Rome.  One day he entered the stadium and tried to put himself between the gladiators.  He begged the people to give up their bloody and inhumane games.  The crowd hurled insults, sarcasm, and rocks, ultimately stoning Telemachus to martyrdom.  That day the games were brought to an end.

       By the mid-500s, the amphitheater was abandoned. It was used as a cemetery, a fortress, and after the earthquake of 1349, as a quarry for building materials.  The marble that once covered the building was appropriated for the building boom that came during the Renaissance. In order to save what was left of the amphitheater, Pope Benedict XIV (1740-1758) consecrated the Colosseum by setting up a Way of the Cross and raising a cross on the site.  The cross was dedicated to the thousands of Christian martyrs who died in Rome.

 

Note the large plaque with a cross on it.  There is a close up of that area a few pictures down.

Close up of the plaque with the cross.  This is the dedication of the Way of the Cross

Notice the two brides?  Having the Colosseum as a backdrop for bridal pictures is very popular for Roman brides.

This picture shows how the floor would look, and what was underneath, which is where the gladiators and animals
were kept prior to fighting.

The Forum

     Ancient Rome:  a fairly large city by today's standards.  To make things easier for the citizens, forums would spring up in various areas.  A forum had a covered market, a religious center, a civic center, and usually some kind of palace or circus.  A circus being a place to race chariots.

      Today in Rome, the Forum is a set of ruins next to the Colosseum.  This particular forum is the oldest of Rome's various forums.  It was originally an Etruscan cemetery dating from the 7th century BC.  During the height of Rome's popularity, this was a busy place.

     Around the 4th century, the area started to lose its importance, and by the Middle Ages it was a cow field. The Romans themselves plundered the area for stone, marble, and various pieces of artwork to decorate their homes, churches and palaces.  The Vatican has an extensive collection of plundered material!

     During the Renaissance a new appreciation for all things classical emerged.  The area around and in the Forum was excavated in the 18th and 19th centuries, and archeologists are still at work today.

     So let's look at the pictures while I describe them:

Before entering the forum with my group we were surprised by a group of Peruvians celebrating Inti Raymi - the Incan Summer Solstice celebration!  Having seen this in Peru, I ended up explaining it to our guide and group members.

I am not sure what was going on here other than these were mystics of some sort.  The man in orange sitting on the ground is hold a pole with a platform on which another man is sitting. My sister tells me they are street performers. The Forum is a fascinating place.

And for fun and tourist money, we have men dressed in gladiator costumes who will take a picture with you for 5 euros.  I should have broken down and done it!  Every now and then it is okay to do
something cheesy!

 The next seven pictures are of the "big picture" of how the Forum looks in modern Rome.

 

 

 The Vestal Virgins

     The Vestal Virgins were a college of priestesses who honored the goddess Vesta, keeper of home and hearth.  These priestesses had a variety of duties not allowed to be completed by male counterparts.  Romans thought that the well-being of the empire was in the hands of these women. Vestals had the power to stop an execution if appealed to.

    There were usually no more than six Vestals at one time.  They were chosen at anytime from the ages of 6- 10 years and usually from patrician families.  They were under contract to keep their virginity for 30 years. Once the thirty years was up, the Vestal was married to a patrician man if she so chose.  The Vestals had a paid salary, and a retirement pension! It was considered good luck to marry a retired vestal.

     Should a Vestal lose her virginity (give it away! Because it is just not something one can misplace.), she would be buried alive as her blood was not to be spilled.  The man in the crime would be flogged to death.

     This is what is left of the Vestal complex:

This is the palace of the Emperor Domitian in the Palentine - ancient Rome's version Palm Beach.
This palace overlooks the Vestal complex -I wonder why!

What is left of the Vestals Temple

 

Temples and Churches

      The ancient Romans worshipped a pantheon of gods and goddesses.  They basically borrowed the Greek gods, and gave them new names - except Apollo - he has the same name in both Greek and Roman mythology.

       Here are a few of the temples/churches, with a few arches thrown in:

(Despite my efforts, trying to get these pictures in the order I wanted them in was a futile effort.)



The Temple of Saturn was always used as the public treasury. It was also a repository for the decrees of the Senate.
An underground chamber held sacred treasures.

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The three remaining columns of the Temple of Castor and Pollux 

The Temple of Antonino and Faustina - this temple was erected in 141 A.D. by the Senate and dedicated to
the empress Faustina, and later to the emperor Antoninus Pius.  It was transformed into a church in the 8th century - not the cross on top. The church is the Church of San Lorenzo in Miranda.

Arch of Septimius Severus, a military commander who ruled from A.D. 193 - 211

Detail of the Temple of Antonino and Faustina.  Their names are visible.

 

 

Detail on the Arch of Septimus Severus. In this bas relief, Severus' sons Geta and Caracalla are shown. Geta was later murdered by his brother Caracalla, who later had his brother's name removed from the monument. Septimus Severus died of natural causes - a bit unusual for 3rd century Roman rulers!

The Basilica Fulvia Aemilia, built in 179 B.C., it was a shopping mall!  It was later turned into a church.

The tower here dates from the Renaissance.  Archeologists have been able to determine
that it sits on the remains of the Mammertine Prison, the prison the Apostle Peter lived in
before being transferred to the Ager Vaticanus to meet his death by crucifixion.  The Apostle Paul
may have spent time here as well.  As a Roman citizen he was given a swift death by beheading.

The entrance to the Basilica Fulvia Aemilia.  The columns of  purple granite come from Egypt.

An original Roman fresco in the Basilica Fulvia Aemilia



One of the original icons painted in the Basilica Fulvia Aemilia.

Temple of Venus and Roma - This was a huge temple complex. Some of the outside pillars have been reconstructed to
stand where they would have when the temple was intact.  At one time this was the largest and finest religious building in Rome. In the 7th century AD, the church of Santa Maria Nova was founded on the ruins of the temple of Roma, then
rededicated during the 18th century to Santa Francesca Romana. 

Arch of Titus

This detail on the Arch of Titus clearly shows a Jewish Menorah. The arch was built in 81 A.D. to celebrate the Roman
victories of Vespasian and Titus over Jerusalem, thus starting the Jewish Diaspora.  Roman Jews, for years, would
refuse to walk under this arch.

Interesting Details

Detail was very important to the sculptors of ancient Rome

Near the Forum is the Vittoriano, a huge white marble building.   It was built to commemorate Italian unification and honor
Vittorio Emanuele II, Italy's first king.  He is the subject of this statue on the top of the building.  I used my zoom to
get this photo.

A heart!

Rome is fed by a series of springs surrounding the city.  All over the modern city are faucets where anyone
can fill up their water bottles with clean cold spring water.  In the summer this is wonderful, and I never got sick
from this water.

Arch of Constantine

     There is much of the Forum that I did not get to see.  I will be better prepared the next time I go.