Assisi, Pisa, and Genova - 2002

Random Recollections

• On the train ride from Assisi to Pisa there was a very interesting older woman who spoke not a word of English. Nevertheless, she quickly realized we were tourists. As we passed a certain hillside along the way, she gestured and became quite excited trying to explain to us the significance of what we were seeing. When it was obvious that we did not understand her, she got a paper napkin, borrowed my pen, and wrote on the napkin. I kept the napkin although it got badly smeared when it got wet later. The note read, "Masaccio Grande Pittore e Nato a San Giovanni Valdarno --- Nato = Born?" She thought the Italian word born meant born in English but wasn't sure. Later I finally learned that the note said,"The great painter Masaccio was born in San Giovanni Valdarno" (on December 21, 1401). San Giovanni Valdarno is near Florence. Masaccio was the first great painter of the Italian Renaissance, whose innovations in the use of scientific perspective inaugurated the modern era in painting. His work dramatically influenced Leonardo, Raphael, and particularly Michelangelo, and in some ways he can be considered along with the architect Brunelleschi and the sculptor Donatello the originators of the Renaissance. I now I can see why she was so proud to point out to us the town on the hillside as we passed.
• The older lady was extremely helpful and friendly to us, but later called down some young men who rankled her with their behavior. She stood up in the train, pointed her finger at them and obviously chewed them out. They had been loud and rude, but she settled them down. I got the impression that they embarrassed her in front of us and she was not going to allow that.
• After such incredible experiences, Assisi was an idyllic retreat. It was such a calm and lovely place. We had a delightful meal in the cellar below the hotel the night we arrived.
• The next day we took extended walks through olive groves over a beautiful valley.
• Pisa turned out to be everything we thought it would be and more. We arrived in the late afternoon, had a little trouble locating our hotel, but were able to see more of the city that way.
• We stayed at the Hotel Minerva in Pisa. I thought it was quite representative of old hotels in European cities. I got what I thought were nostalgic pictures of Laura looking out the window in our room.
• We ate at a pizza place called Galileo's in an alley. The food was great.
• The river Arno winds right through town and provided some interesting photo opportunities at night after we ate.
• Pisa had an old European city atmosphere. I was surprised by the amount of graffiti on the walls, especially the hammer and sickle symbols which were everywhere.
• I was not surprised by the leaning tower. I had seen money pictures of it before. I was, however, unaware of the other famous buildings and their proximity to the tower.
• A screw fell out of my eyeglasses as we left the leaning tower, and we thought we would not be able to find it, but we found it very quickly and I was quite glad that I was able to keep using my glasses.
• In Genova, Fred presented a tour de force. We learned that we were stopping for an hour or two in Genova to change trains. While on the train, we discussed how incredible our trip had been so far. As usual Fred was pointing out historical facts about our next stop. He mentioned that the great seafarers including Christopher Columbus had been based in Genova. Either Fred or I made the comment, "With the luck we have been having wouldn't it be great if there was a monument commemorating Columbus within walking distance of the train station." Neither of us thought there was the slightest chance of that being the case. When we arrived, we walked out the front gate of the train station, and to our amazement, about 50 yards from the entrance, stood a giant monument commemorating Christopher Columbus. The base of the monument consisted of four relief carvings in the stone, one on each side. I walked around and was impressed with the historic nature of the carvings. Fred asked if I would like for him to explain what I was seeing, and I, of course, replied that I certainly would. Fred explained first that Columbus was not the only individual who thought that the world was round. The people that commissioned his trip also believe that it was round, and furthermore some of them thought that the distance was closer to the actual distance that we now know it to be. Columbus, on the other hand, thought that the circumference was smaller, and only took enough provisions to reach the American continents. Luckily for him, they were there or he would have run out of food and water, and we might never have heard of him again. Then Fred explained that the Europeans narrow cities full of disease and filth. When they reached the new land, they discovered a virtual paradise populated with people who were totally uninhibited about being naked, and seemingly innocent and unspoiled in every way. The description in Genesis about at a many leading through the east gate of the garden reinforced the concept that the Garden of Eden had been rediscovered. "Observations made by Columbus on America led him to agree with statements made by certain theologians who debated the possibility of having arrived at the place described in Genesis: a place in the Oriental latitudes, where night and day were of equal length, where nature was exuberant and the people lived free from illness and sin. In one of his letters, Columbus declared with certainty that the region corresponded with the description of Paradise as described in the Bible, only a short walk away from Eden: 'I think that by crossing the equinoctial line to reach it, there is the earthly paradise', he stated." (from http://www.mre.gov.br/cdbrasil/itamaraty/web/ingles/consnac/nacglob/apresent/apresent.htm) The Aztec and Mayan cities with wide streets and beautiful pyramids compared to the squalor in Europe further reaffirmed their beliefs. Fred noted that the natives shown in the carvings resemble Europeans more than the actual peoples found in America. I don't know where I missed it in my education, but I had never thought about the discovery of Columbus from the Europeans' point of view, and I was quite taken by this new perspective.