Titian

On Saturday, May 25 the team ventured over to Castello di Miradolo to see an exhibit of eight works by the Renaissance artist Tiziano or Titian.




Titian was a very famous and successful painter from Venice. His many works are universally admired.




His portrait paintings are particularly famous for his style of creating a faithful representation of the subject, and including symbols to tell something of the life or personality of the subject.




Castello di Miradolo sits on extensive grounds beautifully landscaped in the style of an eighteenth century English garden.

Forte di Fenestrelle

On Friday, May 24 the team visited the Forte di Fenestrelle with Andrea, another Pinerolo Rotarian.  This impressive structure sits above the valley of Pinerolo.




The fort consists of three parts, each one further up the mountain. The fortresses are connected by a massive stairway containing 4,000 steps.




While we only climbed about 1,500 steps, the view from the Devil's Tower was pretty amazing.



The structure was so imposing that no battles ever occurred there. Enemies coming from the north would skirt the valley knowing that Fenestrelle was impenetrable.

After all that climbing we felt we deserved a hearty lunch. We were pleased to discover that the dumpling like specialty of the restaurant at Fenestrelle was the answer to our culinary prayers.






Following lunch, we ventured further up the mountain to see some of the locations for the skiing competitions of the 2006 Turin Olympic Games.




There was still quite a bit of snow in Sestriere, home to the downhill competitions of 2006.




For dinner we had some more excellent pizza with Sergio.  We enjoyed the fellowship as well.

Torre Pellice

On Thursday, May 23 vocational visits resumed. While we all had wonderful professional exchanges, Kirby and Mike found themselves in hot water for bragging about the incredibly sweet strawberries they tasted on the farm they toured, but failing to bring back any for the ladies to try.

In the afternoon we all traveled to the village of Torre Pellice. This small mountain town has an interesting history.



Torre  Pellice is the headquarters for the Valdese or Waldensian Church. This small Protestant sect faced centuries of persecution by the Catholic Church and civil authorities. However, thanks to the difficult mountain terrain they were able to persevere against their foes. Though small in numbers, they have managed to spread their faith to all parts of the world.



In the evening we presented to the Pinerolo Rotary Club. We enjoyed meeting and talking with many club members.

Pinerolo

On Wednesday, May 22 we transferred to the city of Pinerolo. We were very excited to learn that we could see the Alps from the city.




Upon our arrival we were greeted by Sergio, President of the Pinerolo club, and Marco, the coordinator of events for our time in Pinerolo. We enjoyed lunch at our very comfortable hotel.




Following lunch we had a guided tour of the local cavalry museum. Soldiers and riders from all over the world used to come to Pinerolo to train at the famous Caprilli Riding School  Their collection of cavalry uniforms from all over the world is vast.



Dinner in the evening was at a market place called "Eataly." Eataly focuses on high quality foods by small, local producers. We enjoyed browsing their selection. Who knew there were so many types of pasta!

Cuneo

On Tuesday, May 21 we traveled to the city of Cuneo.  There we met Fabrizio and the local Rotary club president. They spent the day showing us the city.

Because of a lack of translators we opted to combine our vocational visits. First, we had a very interesting conversation with the regional director of the Italian welfare system.




Next, we toured a building site of a local construction company. Kirby talked animatedly with the construction team about building codes and materials. The rest of us were just excited to be wearing hard hats!




Next we were treated to a very relaxing lunch at a local country club. Fabrizio was kind enough to have the kitchen prepare several local specialty dishes so that we could sample them all.




Following lunch we toured a museum featuring the history of the Catholic Church in the area. Because of Cuneo's location it was a place where religious pilgrims often passed through on their way to Rome or other important shrines. As such, many interesting and important aspects of Cuneo's history are related to the church.




Our next stop was at the municipal center of Cuneo. The Mayor was kind enough to meet with us briefly. We were received in a lovely room. The Mayor took time to explain how the frescoes on the walls told the story of the History of Cuneo. We were very honored that the Mayor made time for us in his busy schedule!




Following our visit to city hall we were allowed to make a special trip to the top of the bell tower in the center of Cuneo. Because of the need to conserve such a vital piece of history, few visitors are allowed to enter the bell tower. How lucky we felt when we reached the top and were treated to beautiful views of the city. Quite a treat!




Since we had kept a brisk pace all day, Fabrizio suggested a leisurely stroll and some gelato to relax before our presentation. Needless to say, gelato is now one of our favorite things about Italy.




We enjoyed a lovely meal and nice conversation at our meeting with the Cuneo Rotary Club in the evening.

Cittadella

On Monday afternoon we were treated to a private tour of an important fortress known as the Cittadella di Alessandria.


The Cittadella or citadel is famous for its star shape and three layer defense system. Three sets of walls guard the buildings inside. Large moats between the walls could be filled with water to add to the difficulty of gaining access to the fortress.



Silvio, our guide, showed us all the varied buildings and explained their uses. We particularly enjoyed touring the extensive underground tunnels which had been used for storage.



Monday evening we made our presentation to the Rotary Club of Alessandria. We were welcomed warmly and enjoyed meeting the Rotarians, including young members of Rotaract and Interact.

Mignone Farm

On Monday, May 20 the team enjoyed touring the farm of a local Rotarian, Signore Mignone.



The visit included information on the crops the Mignone's grow, as well as, a tour of a recently remodeled building on the property which will soon be open for holiday makers to enjoy. Rachael is all ready planning a return trip so that she can stay in the old farm house!



After the tour we were served a delicious homemade lunch prepared by Signora Mignone. The food was amazing and the conversation even better. We felt as if we were, not only welcome guests, but old friends. We all hope to see the Mignone's again.

Milan

On Sunday, May 19 we had the pleasure of exploring the two "F's" of Milan. Faith, in the form of the strikingly beautiful Duomo or Cathedral, and fashion, in all the amazing shops such as Armani and Valentino. What a treat!

Rotarian Giuseppe was kind enough to meet us in the city center and give us a proper tour of all the best sights.

The Duomo is unique in appearance because of the beautiful marble which decorates the outside. The amazing stone comes from the nearby Alps.

Giuseppe treated us to a lovely lunch at a boutique wine and food shop. As ever, the food was delicious.



We enjoyed a walk around the central shopping area, stopping in Armani. The ladies drooled over the items in Valentino and Prada, but in the end we restrained ourselves from buying.



 We also participated in a local custom that is meant to bring good luck. One places his heel on the testicles of the bull in a sort of plaque in the famous arcade. Then he twirls around as many times as possible. We were skeptical of this rite truly bringing luck, but it must have worked as the forecast was for rain and all day the sky was ominous. In the end we were able to enjoy a rain free day walking around the city.

Ahh.. Genova

It has been a wonderful, fulfilling journey so far.  Each location that we have visited has been new and exciting in its own way, and Genova is keeping up the tradition.

Monday morning started with everyone checking out of our home at the Best Western Luxor in Turin. We

Rest stop with hills in background

then headed south for about a two hour drive to Genova.  For the first 80 minutes or so, we were in the plains... much like the area around Alessandria.  Lots of farming and agriculture.  Then we entered the hills that form the northern border of the Liguria region that we were heading into.  Locals call these hills the Alpini, or "small Alps".  I would describe them as the mountains of West Virginia.  Not mountains like the Rockies (or the Alps!) but definitely something I wouldn't want to cross with horse and buggy.  After a brief rest stop and  more driving through hills, several tunnels, and some impressive bridges we arrived on the outskirts of Genova.

Genova is squished into a very small area between the sea and the hills.  The difficulty of building on the hillside has caused the city to extend very far (10-20km or so) along the coast, but not very far inland.  There are about 700,000 inhabitants.  And 150,000 scooters; but more on that later.  Well...  why wait?  The scooters here make driving an experience unlike anywhere else I've ever seen.  They are considered to be the savior of the city (because they are small and don't take up the space that a car does) but they make every excursion an experience to be talked about, and video of a typical drive would make wonderful "chase" footage for your average action movie.  Add to this the hills and tiny streets (yet extremely curvy), this city holds the record, in my book, of the most intense driving experience yet.  Locals tell us, however, that this is nothing compared to driving in southern Italy.

Our van in the area around the Marcelline

Anyway, back to the story...  We made to our home for the week at the hotel Soggiorno Suore Marcelline and then walked down the hill to the seaside to find a place to eat.  A quick panini lunch followed,

and then we were off to an incredibly beautiful and perfect Italian scene

to wait to meet up with our Rotary contact for the week, Gian Michele Gancia.  We had coffee and drinks while we discussed our schedule for the week.

After this, we headed back to the Marcelline and prepared for a pizza dinner with one of the three rotaract clubs in the area.  This was a great evening.

 The rotaract members were very friendly and provided for a lot of interesting conversation.  In addition, there was live singing for the evening,

and everyone had a great time.  All in all, a wonderful first day in Genova!

The next day, I had a vocational visit to the Italy Institute of Technology.  The rest of the team visited a confectionery factory.  Following this, we all met together at the Hotel Bristol Palace for a lunch meeting with

RC Genova.  It was an interesting meeting.  There was a presentation on the history and current status of a garden park near Genova.  The presentation was given in Italian, but helpful translators at our tables, as well as nice pictures on the slides made it quite nice.

Following this, our helpful Rotarian friend Stefania took us on a brief walking tour of the city as we made our way down to the Genova aquarium.   We stopped at a church along the way and took a few pictures.   Down at the waterfront, we met our guide Mariam, who was incredibly knowledgeable about all-things-aquatic and we had a great time visiting the fishes and other marine wildlife.

After leaving the aquarium, we walked around the port area for a while and then we had an hour or so of free time.  I walked around more and took some pictures.

The team had dinner at a restaurant near the waterfront and then we headed back to the Marcelline for a much needed night of sleep.