FROM THE UK TO ROME & CITTA DELLA PIEVE BY PLANE, COACH & TRAIN

In a couple of weeks time, on Friday May 31st in fact, it will be a red letter day for Jon and I marking the first anniversary of the purchase of our holiday home in Citta della Pieve, Umbria. It's caused me to think back and remember the eventful weekend we had when we went over to sign up for and take possession our Umbrian apartment.

We could only afford to make a quick weekend visit to Umbria so for the first time we decided to try flying out to Rome to take the train from there to Citta della Pieve. This proved to be a sensible decision because our usual carrier, the renowned Ryanair, had a flight at a good time of day to Rome's second airport Ciampino - which lies 12 kilometres to the southeast of the city centre just beyond the greater ring road.

THE GEOGRAPHY OF ROME'S TWO MAJOR AIRPORTS
CIAMPINO LIES TO THE SOUTHEAST OF THE CITY CENTRE JUST
OUTSIDE THE OUTER RING ROAD

Opened in 1916 to operate as a military base it eventually became Rome's main airport until 1960 when it was overtaken by Fiumicino. After a long and gradual decline in scheduled traffic Ciampino's fortunes have improved in recent years as budget airlines like Ryanair have started to use it. It had over four and a half million passengers travel through it in 2013 and its now Italy's fastest growing airport. I'm hoping it doesn't get too big though and spoil what is at present a good passenger experience. Additionally, anyone who has been to Rome's main airport will know that it's vast and can involve doing a minimarathon from check in to departure gate and vice versa on landing there. Ciampino on the other hand, because of its small size, is easily negotiable and the distances involved from stepping off the plane to getting to the arrivals hall takes only moments - and you don't have to trudge through the endless malls of boutique and overpriced shops which you do at the other place. People say that size matters and I would applaud this sentiment wholeheartedly in this particular case where small is definitely better! With no hold luggage on this particular journey it took only minutes to arrive at the bus stop where we took a coach to the main railway station in Rome.  At just six euros each the fares seemed a bargain.

ROME'S CIAMPINO AIRPORT AND AN ARRIVING RYANAIR JET FROM THE UK

Back in the 1960's and whilst a pupil at secondary school (that now seems an awful long time ago!!) I became attracted to Geography as a subject area - largely due to the excellent teacher I had at the time. His name was Mr Butler and he was young, good looking and extremely enthusiastic in all his lessons; we used to call him the "welsh wizard" on account of his pronounced accent. His influence on me as a teacher proved to be profound, however, because I would later move on to study the subject at 'A' level and then study it as an honours subject at University. Anyway the point of this memory is something he taught me and my fellow pupils to think about when making any journey by private car or public transport and I've never forgotten it.
It's a good replacement for the well known cliche "Are we nearly there?"!! He argued that any journey through a landscape, be it urban or rural or a combination of both is a source of fascination for the curious mind. It can be viewed as  a sort of "transect" which can be looked at and observed, recorded, and thought about in geographical terms. Any trip can thus be easily thought of as following a map and as I think of this I am reminded of those eighteenth century now antique English strip maps which highlighted towns and villages on coaching routes between major destinations in England. It's easy enough with a bit of practice to envisage a route mentally in these terms and I still take pleasure today in thinking of a journey in this way. So moving from an airport to the centre of the urban area it serves and onwards by train to the final destination can become an intriguing experience and so it was on our journey from Rome's Ciampino to Citta della Pieve in Umbria. Here are a few of the highlights.

ANTIQUE STRIP MAP OF THE ROUTE BETWEEN LONDON & DERBY
REMINDING ME OF THIS JOURNEY FROM CIAMPINO TO UMBRIA 

After leaving the airport precincts passing by the usual dull looking car parks and other anciliary service areas the coach joined the main route which led to Rome's outer ring road - an especially busy traffic zone on a late Thursday afternoon. At the major nodal junction many of the bustling and typically mad and jostling vehicles were heading either northeast towards Florence or southwest towards Naples and Calabria. The road we took towards the city centre - the Appia Nuova - was surprisingly light in traffic - most of what we could see through the coach windows was heading out of the city centre rather than towards it. Once inside the ring road we then appeared to be in a modernish (ie 20th century) district lined with numerous blocks of apartments with businesses of various kinds on the ground floor.

VIA APPIA NUOVA

 The road was eventually punctuated by what I discovered was the Piazza Re di Roma - a green area with trees and the San Giovanni metro stop on the red line linking it with the city centre at Roma Terminii and even the Vatican. It turned out this whole area was part of an ambitious early 20th century city urban planning scheme initiated by the mayor to accommodate Rome's expansion in a controlled way outside the ancient city walls.

OLD PHOTOGRAPH OF THE PIAZZA RE DI ROMA ON THE APPIA NUOVA
 - SAN GIOVANNI DISTRICT OF ROME

Essentially a roundabout with seven branch roads the tram system, which travelled up and down the Appia Nuova, cut it in half, but when the metro station opened in 1980 it was turned in to a park with trees and play areas - a breathing space for the San Giovanni neighbourhood; though quite how the residents put up with the traffic pollution and presumably poor air quality today remains to be seen. Still a green space with trees is better than no space at all. Today the area is busy and 'Roman' in the sense it is way off the tourist trail and some have dubbed it as being "on the other side of the tracks" because of its location  outside the 'old' city.

THE PEDESTRIANISED PARK THAT IS PIAZZA RE DI ROMA

Just to the north of this large roundabout Piazza the urban landscape starts to get really interesting. On the left hand side of the coach I spotted the impressive facade of a Roman church which turned out to be of major significance and its an impressive sight. The church is the Archbasilica of San Giovanni Lateran - and the cathedral church of the Bishop of Rome - ie. the Pope. A bit of further research revealed it to be the oldest and thus the first of four papal basilicas in the city. As such it ranks above all other churches in Rome - even St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.

THE ARCHBASILICA OF SAN GIOVANNI LATERAN

This hugely impressive classical facade, designed by architect Galilei and completed in 1735, was essentially a new screen over an older building elevation. The latin inscription in the frieze beneath the pediment reads "CHRISTO SALVATORI" and is a dedication to Christ the Saviour. Surmounting the pediment if a figure of Christ flanked by sculptures of the apostles.Though outside the Vatican in geographical terms, the church has extraterrestrial status in terms of the Italian state; this being guaranteed after the resolution of what was known at the time as the 'Roman Question' which led to the signing of the Lateran treaty between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy in 1929. Inside there are evidently no less than six papal tombs. Until 1870 all Popes were crowned in this church and today the Pope conducts a Maunday Thursday mass here and an annual blessing of the people. A return journey to see the interior is already in my Roman "to do" list and I look forward to reporting on it in a future post.

Just round the corner from St John the Lateran the coach windows gave our first glimpse of the surviving and significant remains of the twelve mile in length Aurelian walls which have protected the city of Rome since 275AD. They took five years to construct by the Roman army during the reigns of Emperors Aurelain (hence the name) and Probus and enclosed all of the seven hills and the Campus Martius. The coach views revealed they were built of brick and faced with concrete. Originally built to a height of 26 feet they were raised in height 52 feet in the fourth century. They were especially important in the 3rd century AD, providing the city with protection from invasion by barbarian tribes which broke the German frontier and flooded south towards Rome. Interestingly the walls have defined the boundaries of the city until the 19th century after which time development started to take place outside them. In places they are remarkably well preserved and I found views of them through the coach windows very impressive. Evidently there were 18 main gates into the city and it was fascinating to see and then pass by one of them on our journey into Rome.

The gate is called the Porta San Giovanni and named after the nearby Archbasilica and it was built to commission for Pope Gregory XIII who was involved in improving the flow of traffic near the papal church - and designed by an architect called Gaicomo del Duca. Inauguarated in 1574 the classical structure (which has never looked particularly defensive in character) frames a single large arch. The gateway marked the end (or beginning if you like) of an important Roman road - the Via Campana; the Via Appia Nuova which we had travelled along from the airport had followed the line of this significant road out of the city.

PORTA SAN GIOVANNI AND THE IMPRESSIVE AURELIAN WALLS 

On the other side of the arch it was time now for the coach to makes its way through the older part of Rome to its final destination - Roma Terminii.

PART 2 - FROM ROME TO CITTA

I've always found railway stations fascinating places and this interest started as a boy when I travelled the length and breadth of England chasing steam trains. The large railway termini in London such as Kings Cross and Paddington I found particularly alluring, partly because of their grand architecture and sheer size and also the capacity each had to deal with thousands of passengers daily. Acting as huge conduits for arriving and departing travellers there was never a dull moment at any time of day. Rome's main railway station - ROMA TERMINI (dedicated to Pope Paul II in December 2006) follows this vein and it was an exciting if somewhat daunting place to arrive at when we got off the coach from Ciampino last May. The bus disgorged its full load of passengers in the huge Piazza dei Cinquecento in front of the station building and whilst we all stood about waiting to collect our bags from the luggage compartment, it was a great place to get bearings in a part of the city I'd never been to before. Immediately I was struck by the juxtaposition of ancient and modern in this amazing urban environment. Behind me the travertine modernist post war facade of one the largest railway stations in Europe and in front of me just across the road - a  significant part of the ruins of the famous ancient baths of Roman Emperor Diocletian.

Today the whole area operates as an impressive, integrated transport hub, As well as the huge station with 29 platforms and trains departing to and arriving from every Italian city and from and to international destinations as well, there is also the huge bus and coach station to the front of it. On top of that Rome's two metro lines, A & B, also cross at this point, with platforms for both lines beneath the station complex. It's an interesting and coherent solution to modern problems of the mass movement of people. In London, when the railway infrastructure developed piecemeal in the 19th century, major railway stations which still operate today, developed at various points round the core of the capital and a similar nodal system operates in Paris too. Here in Rome its one major complex serving almost all needs.

There's been a station complex here since 1863 when Pope Pius IX opened a temporary station replacing two pre-existing stations and to facilitate the opening of another line. Construction of a replacement new terminus began in 1868 during the last few years of Papal rule in Rome and it was completed in 1874 by the government of the new Italian state. A black and white photograph shows the front of the station in the late 19th century. The station was further developed in the late 1930's as part of the infrastructure development in the city for the impending 1942 World Fair (which of course never took place because of the second world war). The old station frontage was taken down, but all work stopped in 1943 when the fascist government in Italy collapsed and it would be 1947 before the project was resurrected and developed in to the form we seeing it in on the day of our arrival.

A VIEW OF ROME TERMINI STATION IN THE LATE 19TH CENTURY

Two teams of architects were selected to complete the station frontage - Calini and Montuori and Fadigati et al. In front of the plain travertine Bauhaus inspired facade of the main station structure the pedestrian concourse is roofed in by a spectacular undulating reinforced concrete and glass structure canopy which almost appears to defy gravity. Most people are totally unaware of it as human nature encourages us all to look ahead rather than upwards. The world looks a different place when one goes around looking up but you have to remember where you are going and not mind if others think you are jay walking!

PIAZZA DEI CINQUECENTO IN FRONT OF ROME TERMINI STATION

THE ELEGANT REINFORCED CONCRETE ROOF OF THE ROME TERMINI PASSENGER CONCOURSE

Outside, as the canopy projects forward from the travertine frontage and running along its edge, is a most interesting anodized aluminium sculptural bas relief of abstract form which is often overlooked. It explores the theme of the sound and speed of trains.

AMERIGO TOT'S ALUMINIUM FRIEZE FRONTING ROME TERMINI'S STATION CANOPY

It turns out it was designed and made by a Hungarian born sculptor called Amerigo Tot (1909-1984) who I had to admit I had never heard of. Tot studied in Budapest from 1926 - 1928 and later on in Germany he was tutored at one stage by famous Bauhaus professor Laszio Moholy-Nagy. After the rise of the Nazi party in the early 30's he moved to Rome and made a living sculpting memorials with the aid of a stipend from the Hungarian Academy in the city. The Termini station commission resulted from his competition entry for the station sculpture in 1949 and it was finally installed in 1953. Tot seems to have been a bit of a character in his later life by aspiring to be an actor with some degree of success. He played the part of Bassetta - Michael Corleone's bodyguard and the executioner of Johnny Ola in The Godfather II!!

PHOTOGRAPH OF HUNGARIAN BORN AMERIGO TOT ON THE SPANISH STEPS, ROME

After spending time looking at all of this intriguing modernist architecture and outdoor "art" it was time to seek our 7.12pm train to Chiusi. We collected our prepaid tickets from dispensers on the station concourse and a word of advice - if you ever buy a ticket to travel on an Italian train make sure you validate it for travel by getting it punched by one of the green wall mounted machines!! If you don't you risk a penalty fare when the conductor comes round to check travel documents. Looking up at the departures board, which I always love to do - I was taken by the fact we were due to travel on an early evening train from Rome to Vienna - though not exactly the Orient Express it impressed us nevertheless. It turned out to be a sleeper/couchette train so most of the carriages were for this purpose - only the front two being for seated passengers.

We were soon seated in a coach with what seemed to us to be old fashioned compartments - reminiscent of British rolling stock of the 1960's which I'd always rather liked. As we sat drinking our luke warm cappucinos from cardboard cups and chewed on our overpriced pastries the train pulled out of the station on time to head north. There's not a lot to say about the first part of the journey as we passed by lots of graffiti endorsed buildings and dull looking apartment blocks in the Rome suburbs. Our journey to Chiusi would take about one and half hours with only one stop - Orvieto - another place I'd never been to and only heard about through my art historical studies - its site and situation was to be another revelation.

For several years I have used an item from the cathedral in Orvieto to illustrate a point in a general lecture on the history of the decorative arts. The said object is a magnificent silver reliquary of gothic architectural form with enamelled panels illustrating scenes from the bible. (More about this in a future blog). The object was made in the medieval period and perfectly illustrates the cooperation between craftsmen skilled in different areas working together to make a work of art. Commissioned by the church elders is formed a repository for a relic relating to a saint involved in the history of the city and the cathedral. Beyond knowing that the cathedral it was housed in was one of the most magnificent in Italy I knew little more about the place.

ORVIETO STATION

About 50 minutes after leaving Rome an announcement from the guard indicated we were soon to stop in the town. I looked out of the left hand window of our compartment and couldn't believe the spectacular setting of this renowned Umbrian settlement. The old town sits on top of a spectacular steep sided  rock outcrop with a flattened top. Formed from the remains of a volcanic rock material which the Italians call tufa it must have provided early settlers with a wonderfully defensive site overlooking the nearby Chiana river valley and it is here that the ancient medieval town and magnificent cathedral was built. I was excited to see it to say the least and having recently visited the town on more than one occasion I'll be back with postings about it in the near future.

THE MEDIEVAL UMBRIAN HILL TOP TOWN OF ORVIETO

After stopping for a few minutes at the station the train moved off again and gradually picked up speed as it made its way northwards along the Chiana valley towards our destination - Chiusi. As we approached our stop I looked outside to see that dusk was beginning to fall and that strangely the valley landscape looked white as if it had been snowing. Was this possible in May I asked Jon? As we drew in to the station it became evident there had been a storm prior to our arrival and what we were seeing was the result of oversized hail - some of the stones almost the size of golf balls. What an unexpected sight! Outside the station  our taxi driver managed to communicate to us that if we'd arrived a bit earlier he wouldn't have been able to take us up the hill to Citta della Pieve 7 kilometres away. Anyway - driving along slushy roads and with the level of darkness increasing every minute, we soon arrived at the Hotel Vannucci. It was about 7.30pm and we were exhausted, but on reflection I said to Jon that I thought it had been a memorable journey. It was one which inspired us to vow to go back and visit several of the places we'd seen en route. After a supper in the hotel we settled down to chat about the completion of our property purchase the following day.