The Joys of an Extended Visit.

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My wife, Barbara, and I have enjoyed plein air painting in Italy since 1994, leading our Arts Sojourn groups since 1999. When we’re not traveling with our Sojourners we always find a little time to explore on our own.
Even when we only get to spend a few days in one location we usually try and get some painting done. We enjoy working in a new location as much as we enjoy sampling the culture and cuisine.
Prior to meeting our 2019 Sojourners in Venice we spent four days in Bassano del Grappa in the northern Veneto. We loved this lively town on the Brenta River and hope to return. Although it was a quick visit we found a nice quiet spot within the grounds of an old fortress not far from our hotel.

Il Castello – Bassano del Grappa, 10AM 24Maggio
(watercolor)


Barb did this sweet little drawing in sanguine conte crayon.


Il Castello – Bassano del Grappa, 3PM 25 Maggio
(watercolor)

On occasion we’ve been fortunate enough to extend our visits – the longest being two months. Many years ago we rented a comfortable little villetta in the lovely Umbrian hilltown of Spello. We lived there for the month of October, becoming regulars at our favorite restaurants, meat markets, pasta, bread, and vegetable shops. We were also able to return to our favorite painting sites again and again; each day providing a new opportunity. The Aquedotto Comunale, at the highest point in town, is Spello’s water supply. The stone fountain runs constantly.





For us, returning to the same spot never gets tiresome, either as painters or slow travelers. Something fresh is revealed with each visit. The same subject can be experienced in new ways. This is why we seldom stay in one location for less than a week on one of our Sojourns. We want our painters and fellow slow travelers to linger and come away with experiences that bouncing from one location to the next simply can’t provide.

Matthew and Barbara DaubMatthew Daub is a professional artist and university professor with works in major public and private collections throughout the United States and Europe. He has been leading plein air painting workshops in Italy since 1994.

In 1999, Matthew and his wife Barbara formed Arts Sojourn as “a vacation for artists and their friends.” The program is designed to appeal to artists of all levels as well as non-artists who enjoy the company of creative people in a slow travel format.

Slow Travel Tours is an affiliation of small-group tour operators who offer personalized trips in Italy, France and other European countries.

Au Revoir from Steve & Judie

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After 15 years, we’ve decided it’s time for a change – for lots of reasons, one of which and perhaps most importantly are changes happening in and around the area, not all of which benefit our Tours. Then there are issues like being taxed both in France and England! Ouch!

We know our visitors take away happy memories of our Tours – because they tell us, for example “thanks for a memorable trip…..” and “thank you for a wonderful experience” – and we have happy memories of many of them too. We have met some amazing people over the years and it’s lovely to keep contact with many of them. We will miss that aspect of things very much indeed.

We have also been humbled and appreciative of the generous attitude of the native guides who have always been so welcoming and indeed, Steve is often asked to take the English section of a group around and the site’s guide concentrates on giving the French commentary. A win-win situation for all concerned.

Also local traders, such as Olivier & Nathalie of Picoli in St Leon – they always welcome and have time for our guests when Steve takes then there to marvel at Olivier’s craftsmanship. They produce a range of products majoring on mammoth ivory (all legitimately sourced) and their showroom is a delight and full of treasures.

It’s time for us to do some exploring of our own – perhaps we’ll look up some of friends from our Caves & Castles Tours!

We wish our colleagues at Slow Travel Tours continued success – perhaps we’ll also join you on one of your Tours.

Au revoir…

Caves and Castles:

Steve and Judie Burman live in the beautiful Vezere Valley in the Dordogne region of South-West France. Together they run Caves and Castles, specialising in prehistoric Cave Art and medieval Castles Tours. You can join a small group (up to 6) 4 night/5 day Tour based 2 nights each in the medieval towns of Sarlat and Montignac-sur-Vezere or book a custom Tour for a day or more.

Professional archaeologist, Steve loves to share his passion for the ‘Cradle of Humanity.’ World famous sites such as Lascaux, the ‘Sistine Chapel of Prehistory’ and Font de Gaume are close by. Coupled with gastronomic meals and superb wines, your Caves & Castles Tour is really special.

Slow Travel Tours is an affiliation of small-group tour operators who offer personalized trips in Italy, France and other European countries.

 

Speaking Italian

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Piazza dell’anfiteatro, Lucca — a large oval space surrounded by buildings (photo: Klaus Falbe-Hansen)

The other day in Lucca a couple of women stopped me and asked: ‘Doe-vay an-fee-tay-atro squa-ray?’ I got ‘Where is amphitheatre’, but I couldn’t figure out ‘squa-ray’. I knew they weren’t Italian, but I didn’t think they were native English speakers either, so I didn’t revert to English. I asked them in Italian to repeat their question. Exactly the same. Hmmm. Eventually it dawned on me that they thought ‘square’ was an Italian word, and having boned up on Italian pronunciation before coming on their holiday (good on them!), they were doing their best to pronounce it properly. Unfortunately, ‘square’ isn’t Italian. We say ‘piazza’ (pee-atz-a). It comes from the Latin ‘platea’ meaning wide. Treccani (widely accepted as the best Italian dictionary) defines it as:

A free area, more or less spacious, square or rectangular or circular or polygonal [ed.—they could add oval], which opens in an urban environment, often architecturally important, and sometimes beautified with a garden, monuments…

Piazza Napoleone with statue of Maria Luisa Borbone, Duchess of Lucca (photo: K Barry)

Piazza San Frediano with trees (photo: Klaus Falbe-Hansen)

Piazza della Cittadella with monument to Lucca’s famous composer Giacomo Puccini (photo: Jeff Blaine)

…fountains…

Piazza San Salvatore with fountain La Pupporona (‘big breast’ in Lucchese dialect) by Lorenzo Nottolini (usually minus the bathers who were there for a photoshoot)

…having the urban functions of facilitating movement, possibly the parking of vehicles…

Piazza Santa Maria serves as car park inside the Lucca walls (photo: Klaus Falbe-Hansen)

…giving access to public buildings, serving as a meeting place for citizens…

Piazza San Michele as meeting place during the annual Luminara on 13 September

…constituting not infrequently the centre of economic and political life of the city or town.

Piazza dell’Anfiteatro as centre of economic activity during the Festa di Santa Zita, Lucca

‘Square’ really doesn’t quite do it.

By now you may be wondering why English-language guides to Italy translate ‘piazza’ as ‘square’. Because they don’t realise that we know perfectly well what ‘piazza’ means. The same with ‘gelato’. They don’t know that there are gelaterias in London (and lots of other places). Even if you aren’t aware that gelato is a different frozen dessert from ice cream, you at least have some idea of what you’ll get at a gelateria. If you’re curious about the differences, here’s a great article: https://londonist.com/london/food/best-gelato-ice-cream-gelateria-shops-london

Pistachio & the doctor’s chocolate at Cremeria Opera, Lucca (Photo: Klaus Falbe-Hansen)

When you’re in Italy, why not take the opportunity to practise the Italian you already know? You came all this way, and since you’re a ‘slow traveller’, you want to immerse yourself in the culture. Why not listen to what the natives around you are saying? Don’t assume you won’t understand. If you know a little Spanish or French, Italian isn’t a million miles away. If you’re travelling with other English speakers, make a game of it. Always use the Italian words you already know, and try to learn one or two new ones every day.

If you’re worried about mispronouncing the words, stop fretting. Italians love it when people try to speak their language, and they’re so intuitive they’ll figure it out no matter how mangled it is. And think how good you’ll feel when they beam and give you want you asked for. By the way, don’t worry if they then babble on in Italian. They love to talk, even if the listener doesn’t understand a thing.

Paolo Magazzini, farro farmer & baker in full flow telling the story of the invention of farro beer (Photo: Alex Entzinger)

If all else fails, try hand gestures. Marco gives you a humorous introduction: https://youtu.be/_8hAOxsTpVY

Famous Roman dish spaghetti alla carbonara

If you’re not convinced, and you’re still going to say ‘square’ and ‘ice cream’, then I hope you’re going to call the dish in the photo above ‘small strings with bacon and eggs’ because ‘spago’ means ‘string’ and ‘-etti’ is a diminutive suffix.

Grazie (pronounced gratz-ee-ay) for reading!

Erica Jarman invites you on inspiring culinary tours of life behind the scenes that you won't find in any guidebook — get to know the food artisans and craftspeople of Tuscany and Sardinia. Come join me and my Italian friends and dip into a lifestyle where lunch is more important than business. Find out more at Sapori e Saperi Adventures and follow Erica’s own adventures on her blog.

Slow Travel Tours is an affiliation of small-group tour operators who offer personalized trips in Italy, France and other European countries.