I have really enjoyed learning about European history on this trip. I don’t think I got much of that in school, and if I had, I probably wouldn’t have been interested. Learning from books in a classroom can be challenging. However, being in the place where something actually happened, and seeing the building and relics from the time period help to make it more interesting and memorable. Traveling through Italy, the concept of “city states” really sinks in. Relative to its long history, Italy as a unified political state is fairly recent. Of course, during the Roman heyday, it was under Rome’s control (as was most of Europe), but after the fall of the Roman empire, each city was independent (well more or less, as some had alliances with other cities, and some aligned with the Pope or the Holy Roman Emperor).
Each town was built in a strategic location which makes it easy to defend. This is either on the top of a hill, or in the bend of a river, and often with a wall all the way around it. Many of the walls have since been taken down to accommodate roads and expansion. But even in these towns it is evident where the walls once were because the arched entrances to the city remain, and often major roads encircle the city where the wall had once been.
Enjoying the beautiful landscape of Tuscany, the hilltop towns stand out with their earthen colored buildings and towers. Visiting these towns is like stepping back in time, with many of the medieval structures still standing. What is amazing is how many of these towns there are. We have been to Florence, Siena, San Gimignano, Montepulciano, Montalcino, Lucca, and Verona. Within a short drive from where we stayed in the Tuscan countryside, there are even more just minutes away that we just don’t have the time to see such as Monteriggioni, Cortona, and Volterra.
Looking down at San Gimignano from one of its many towers.
One of the more impressive walls was in Lucca. The city is still completely surrounded by a wall. It is the 3rd wall to be built around it. The first was built by the Romans, the second was built to accommodate a much larger city, then finally, the last (and still standing) wall was built to be able to withstand an attack with cannons. The Luccans realized that the traditional stone walls were easily destroyed by cannons, so they built a new one that is stone and brick on the exterior, but is actually a 20ish foot wide berm of earth. On top is a road for pedestrians and bicycles, with public parks on the bastions. The whole thing is still surrounded by open space (so your attackers don’t have any protective cover) and a moat. The wall was so formidable that no one tried to attack the city after it was built. It did save the city once by protecting it from a massive flood.
These cities have a fascinating history, and that history has also made its way into modern culture. Just like in the states, there are bitter sports rivalries between cities. However, the cheers and taunts from spectators are much much deeper seeded than “Yankees suck”. Instead, when Florence and Siena play each other, banners made by the Sienese fans make reference to the battle of Montaperti in 1260 when underdog Siena beat the Florentine army. There is another reference still made to that battle. The nearby and smaller town of Montalcino was forced to choose sides in the conflict, but they didn’t really want to. So, what did they do? The soldiers from Montalcino took their time marching to the battle. When they arrived, it was just about over and it was clear that Siena would be the victor. This made it easy to choose sides, but the Sienese were not too happy about the tardiness. So, they made the soldiers from Montalcino dig the graves for the tens of thousands of dead soldiers. So, to this day, the people from Montalcino are known derogatively as “becca morti” or “grave diggers”.
Ciao for now. Stay tuned updates from Venice and Croatia.
Jake