Medieval Italy during a thousand years (305-1313)

As my ever attentive and intelligent readers will know, from time to time I draw attention to books of Tuscan interest that seem to me to be unjustly neglected. I have just read and will soon reread H.B. Cotterill's "Medieval Italy".

Cotterill was born into a talented family at Blakeney, Norfolk, but spent most of his early life in Grahamstown, South Africa, where his father was Bishop. He took his degree in Classics in 1869 at St John's, University of Cambridge, where he developed an intense interest in art. He served for a time on the staff at both Harrow and Haileybury, before travelling to East Africa, inspired by Livingstone's "Last Journals" to contribute to the disruption of the slave trade there. This included transporting a steel launch in sections from the coast to the Zambesi where he explored the nothern shores of Lake Nyasa accompanied by, among others, a brother of Cecil Rhodes. After a 400 miles trek through unexplored country, he arrived safely in Zanzibar.

Soon after this he returned to England and married. He spent the rest of his life in Germany, Italy and Switzerland where he produced a number of books including a History of Greece, a History of Art, and two books on Italy, "Italy from Dante to Tasso" and the volume I'm looking at now, "Medieval Italy during a thousand years (305-1313)", published in 1915. His modest personality and residence abroad meant that he received much less attention in England than might have been expected in a man of his ability and distinction. Indeed, he does not rate an entry in Wikipedia.

This book received a rather negative though not unjustified contemporary review from Norman Parker of the University of Chicago (The School Review, Vol. 24, No. 4 (Apr., 1916), pp. 323-324) who complained that though there are facts in abundance, the flow of Italian history during the period covered was very difficult to discern, and that the rise of the Italian cities was hardly covered at all. However, I have a very clear idea of the flow of Italian history - what I wanted were the details, especially with regard to the Barbarian invasions following the fall of the Roman Empire - Cotterill supplies these in excellently organised abundance. No other book that I've read on the period provides more information on the origins, alliances and activities of the Barbarian tribes as they swept through Italy during the Dark Age, nor on the coeval succession of mostly appalling Popes (and not always succession - there were overlaps of up to four Popes at the same time).

If you're interested in the history of Italy during the Dark Age or Mediaeval times in general, seek out this book. It's a goldmine of recondite information written in a lucid and enthralling style.

P.S. I'm pleased to say that I've just acquired a copy of Catterill's "Italy from Dante to Tasso (1300-1600)" which answers in part the reviewer's caveat by describing the political history of Italy during the period of the expansion of the city states "as viewed from the standpoints of the chief cities".

More about Tuscany during the early Middle Ages.

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Author: Anna Maria Baldini

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The Crystal Museum in Colle di Val d'Elsa reopens 2024

Colle di Val d'Elsa is a town of 20,000 people located above the valley of the river Elsa on the route of the ancient Via Francigena, the mediaeval highway frequented by pilgrims and merchants travelling to Rome from Canterbury and elsewhere in northern Europe.

The main gate of Colle di Val d'Elsa

The Crystal Museum in Colle di Val d'Elsa opened in 2001 and is the only one of its kind in Italy. After being closed for some time, the Crystal Museum has recently re-opened.

The museum is located underground in the space once occupied by one of the furnaces of the 19 C Cristallerie e Vetrerie Schmidt and former the Boschi glass factory, a driving force of the economy of Colle di Valle d'Elsa from the 1920s and the early 1950s.

Crystal glass museum of Colle di Val d'Elsa

The exhibition starts with the display of some finds from the Middle Ages that can be attributed to the production of the 'gambassini', glassworks present in Colle di Val d'Elsa since at least 1331.

The different sections of the museum reconstruct the path taken by the local glass industry since 1820, the year the first furnace was installed. In that year the glassmaker Francesco Mathis opened a 'crystal' factory in Piano, near the church of Sant'Agostino. The business changed hands and Giovan Battista Schmidt took over production. The latter became known in Italy for the high quality and purity of the white glass and the attention paid to finishing the articles through grinding and carving techniques.

Colle di Val d'Elsa crystal

Lead crystal, discovered in 1963, marked a major turning point that characterised the entire second half of the 20 C, making Colle di Val d'Elsa known throughout the world as the 'City of Crystal'. Works of high-level craftsmanship, creations by famous designers as well as simple tableware have led the Colle di Val d'Elsa to produce up to 95% of Italian crystal and 15% of world crystal. The museum's itinerary, in the new layout of 2024, places the emphasis on those who made this development possible.

More about Colle di Val d'Elsa.

Visiting Colle di Val d'Elsa.

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Author: Anna Maria Baldini

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Pieve di San Cresci

The Italian word "pieve" means "parish church" in English, and the pievi of Chianti are in many ways a similar phenomenon to the ubiquitous Norman churches of England. They were built in large numbers during the period of rapid population growth that took place in Tuscany at the end of the Dark Age (the Early Mediaeval period), from roughly the year 950 onward, and they are dotted, often in ruins, all over the region. 

Pieve di San Cresci - the parish church

Today, I want to talk about the Pieve di San Cresci which is thought to be one of the oldest pievi in Chianti. The nearby Pieve di San Pietro a Sillano might be older. The latter is mentioned in scrolls dating from the year 884 held at the nearby Abbey of Passignano. The Pieve di San Cresci is referred to in a document dated 963 which is held in the same library. A stone, carved in Longobard style, was found embedded in the wall of the nave during restoration, and this suggests that the Pieve di San Cresci was built on the site of a Longobard villa, perhaps incorporating part of the original structure.

The Pieve di San Cresci

The Pieve di San Cresci is located across the valley of the Becherale torrent from the fortified village of Montefioralle, about 2 km from Greve in Chianti, in the middle of the Chianti Classico wine zone. In fact, although Montefioralle houses the ancient church S. Stefano, rebuilt in the 17 C and 18 C, the Pieve of San Cresci is the original parish church of Montefioralle. The church is well worth a visit and can be reached easily by car or on foot from Greve along the road that passes by Villa Zano.

The interior of the church was completely rebuilt in Baroque style. However, part of the facade belongs to the original Romanesque church. The very photogenic lower part consists of two mullioned windows and is decorated with a dichromic motif in the archivolts.

 The facade of the Pieve di San Cresci

Pieve di San Cresci - the winery

It's very common in Tuscany and especially in Chianti to see secular structures built onto churches (and also onto former military structures such as watch towers). The Pieve of San Cresci is no exception. The home of the Ballini family, wine makers here for at least six generations, is built onto the Pieve di San Cresci, and their winery, formerly Podere San Cresci but now named after the church, occupies cellars that were once a part of the church.

Pieve di San Cresci wines

Listen to me, my dear intelligent and discerning readers! The red wines of Pieve di San Cresci winery are outstanding, even in a wine zone famous for its excellent wines. If you will be in the area of Greve in Chianti, I strongly recommend that you phone Pieve di San Cresci winery and make an appointment to taste their wines and maybe even pay a visit to the wine cellars. You won't regret it! They make a range of red wines,including of course Chianti Classico, Chianti Classico Riserva and Chianti Classico Gran Selezione (the new top-level denomination for Chianti wines), plus some very good Indicazione Geografica Tipica wines which have this designation because of their original grape composition, not because they are lesser wines.

Contact details and directionss for Pieve di San Cresci winery

More about Greve in Chianti.

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Author: Anna Maria Baldini

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Newly renovated Vasari Corridor opens to all in May 2024

The newly renovated Vasari Corridor will open to all in May 2024. As my always intelligent and attentive readers will know, access to the Vasari Corridor, which runs from the Palazzo Vecchio, via the Uffici Galleries and over the Ponte Vecchio, to the Pitti Palace in Florence, has always been problematic. The renovated corridor re-opens 450 years after the death of its creators: the Grand Duke Cosimo I dei Medici, who commissioned the Corridor on the occasion of the wedding of his son Francesco I and who passed away on 21 April 1574, and Giorgio Vasari, who designed and built it and who died on 27 June 1574, just two months after Cosimo I.

Entry to the renovated Vasari Corridor will be available to everyone without the previous need to reserve a place and be accompanied by a guide.

The renovated Vasari Corridor

The ready accessibility of the corridor is very positive but I have to admit to feeling a bit sad about the relocation of the largest, oldest and most important collection of self-portraits in the world, which used to line the walls of the Corridor towards the Pitti Palace end. This collection, which was admirably displayed in the Corridor and directly linked to the creators of the Corridor, has been transferred to the Uffizi Galleries. The self-portraits have been replaced in the Corridor by a series of Roman epigraphs related to the Florence founded by Julius Caesar in 59 BC, and later becoming the capital of the VI Roman Legio that included Tuscany and Umbria. Obviously, these marble plaques are nowhere near as fragile as the paintings, so I suppose this is the price we must pay for free access to the Vasari Corridor.

 

The Vasari Corridor before renovation.

This, of course, is by no means the first time the Vasari Corridor has been renovated. Up until the late 19 C, there were artisanal workshops built into the arches supporting the Corridor between the Uffizi and the Ponte Vecchio. Those were removed during the 1880's.

View of the Vasari Corridor in the 1880's with workshops still in place.

More about the Vasari Corridor.

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Author: Anna Maria Baldini

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Visit Tuscany in winter

Winter in Tuscany - it's not always this snowy!

Now seems an appropriate moment to discuss the question of whether to visit Tuscany in winter. The final answer will be a strong 'yes', but let's look at the details. Cons first. Days are short, meaning that you're likely to set out and return from a day of sightseeing in the dark. Weather can be very cold so gloves, scarves and warm coats are necessary. Could be snowy roads at higher altitudes. The larger vacation villas will be closed because of the cost of heating them, and you will need to take care about who pays the heating costs wherever you stay. Pros. Often brilliantly clear days with magnificent views into the distance. No tourist crowds. Despite fewer offerings, accommodation will be easy to find and might have low season prices or heating included. South-facing terraces can be quite warm in the middle of a clear day - definitely warm enough to sit out and enjoy the view. The opportunity to enjoy major features of 'the real Tuscany' such as meals based around the hunting and truffle seasons, enjoying the evening at home or in a restaurant in front of a roaring fire. And of course plenty of Christmas and New Years celebrations, private and public. New Year's Eve in Florence is well worth a visit. So yes - it's well worth spending some time in Tuscany during winter.

The Duomo of Florence during winter 2013

There's plenty of winter accommodation listed on the Greve in Chianti web site. These are all owner direct offerings, so you're getting the best prices, and Greve is the centre and market town of the Chianti Classico wine zone between Florence and Sienna.

 

Abbey of Sant'Antimo near Montalcino

And this is the beautiful Abbey of Sant'Antimo during January 2021.

And there are no mosquitoes in winter!

Author: Anna Maria Baldini

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Roman bronze statues discovered at San Casciano dei Bagni in Tuscany

A few days ago in November 2022, a dramatic discovery was made at the excavations being undertaken at the Tuscan town of San Casciano dei Bagni in the province of Sienna. In fact, the largest deposit of bronze statues from the Etruscan and Roman ages ever discovered in Italy and one of the most significant in the whole of the Mediterranean has been found. At least 24 bronze statues, each roughly 1 m tall, in an excellent state of preservation and dating from the second century BC have been uncovered. The statues bear both etruscan and latin inscriptions suggesting that they were put in place over a considerable period.

 Bronze statue of an archer found at San Casciano dei Bagni

Some archaeologists are saying that the find compares in importance with the Greek bronzes found in the sea at Riace in Calabria fifty years ago. We'll have to wait for the San Casciano dei Bagni statues to be cleaned before we can know if they are comparable with the Riace warriors in artistic quality, but the statue of Hygieia, the goddess of health, with a snake coiled on her arm looks pretty good!

Bronze statue excavated at San Casciano dei Bagni

The statues were recovered from the mud accumulated in an area of thermal pools where they were deposited as votive offerings. The thermal baths where the statues were found operated from the third century BC until the fifth century AD, when public bathing was prohibited during Christian times. The sacred basin was deliberately hidden by being covered with large tiles and the columns of the sacred portico were lowered above it to seal the final closure of this place of pagan worship.

Bronze head from San Casciano dei Bagni

In addition to the statues, more than 6000 Etruscan and Roman coins have been recovered, offerings made up until the sanctuary was closed in the 5 C, along with innumerable inscriptions in both etruscan and latin.

The excavation site at San Casciano dei Bagni

More about San Casciano dei Bagni.

More about the Etruscans.

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Author: Anna Maria Baldini

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Things to see in Lucca

Last Saturday, when temperatures were down slightly, I paid a visit to Lucca, that lovely walled town in the west of Tuscany. I had forgotten just how pleasant Lucca is for a stroll - so compact, beautiful, full of things to see and virtually free of motorised vehicles within the walls.

 

Partial view of Lucca within the walls.

The main things to see in Lucca are described on the Lucca Tourist Information website. Here I want to describe some of the things that I personally enjoyed on this visit.

Map of Lucca

I arrived by train from Florence (1 hour 20 minutes) walked to the main entry portal of Lucca, Porta San Pietro, and followed my favorite route past Piazza Napoleone to Piazza San Michele to visit the church and admire there the very fine glazed, terracotta bas-relief by Luca della Robbia. 

The piazza was baking in the sun but luckily Lucca's streets are, for the most part, narrow and therefore shaded. Lucca is also noticeably well-endowed with excellent pasticcerie so that more than once I picked up a pastry to accompany very necessary cold drinks.

Pasticceria in Lucca

Lucca is also a remarkably good town for shopping, especially taking into account its small size. There are certain towns in Tuscany that attract wealthy visitors from nearby vacation areas and which therefore offer very high quality stock. Pietrasanta for example, attracts clientele from Forte dei Marmi and environs. Lucca is similar but, because of the large general tourist traffic, has in addition many moderately priced shops selling beautiful ladies' clothes, as well as a good number of leather goods and jewellery shops - the most famous of the latter is Gioielleria Carli, which has been owned by the same family since the 1600's. I found that Marchi, on via S. Lucia, had the best stock of "non-industrial" jewellery. Many of the others sell inexpensive "fashion jewellery". 

 

Gioielleria Carli, via S. Lucia, Lucca

In fact, the small size of Lucca, as for Pietrasanta, is a part of what makes the shopping good - there are a few streets packed with interesting stops all within an easy walk of one another. I leave aside the salumerie which, although attractive and full of good offerings, are not different from similar places scattered more diffusely in Florence and elsewhere. Via Fillungo is the main shopping street with many unique shops but also rather too many designer outlets selling the same old stuff. However, in the streets round about - via S. Lucia, for example - you will find many individually-owned clothes shops currently selling very nice linen outfits, among many other skirts, dresses and tops.

Next, time for lunch. Lucca is very well-provided with good quality restaurants. Prices are slightly higher than elsewhere in Tuscany but on the whole the quality of the dishes is very good. I went to my favorite - and the favorite of a great many others - Osteria Rosolo which is located in a small and quiet piazza, Corte Campana, off Via Pozzotorelli which exits the Piazza San Michele on its SW corner. As its name says, Osteria Rosolo is an osteria (a trattoria, a small eating house) and it offers more or less standard Tuscan fare (plus lamb chops). I come here for two reasons - the TASTE of the food is exceptional and the service is incredibly welcoming, informal and flexible. They have an indoor, air conditioned dining room but despite the general temperature, the tables outside were delightfully cool under the umbrellas. I was very hungry so I had linguine with vongole (both fresh and delicious) with a glass of local white wine. It was a trebbiano, a highly productive grape which usually yields a faîrly bland wine, but in this case it was excellent. Next, a fillet steak on toast with a sauce of mustard, cream and green pepper corns - fabulous, and cooked exactly to the degree I requested. With that I had a glass of cabernet sauvignon from Bolgheri - plus plenty of cold water. They willingly put my red wine in the fridge for a few minutes to cool it down a bit, an act of sacrilege forced upon me by the current heat wave.

Fillet of beef at Osteria Rosolo in Lucca

For the afternoon, I picked two sights quite unique to Lucca, the Palazzo Pfanner and the Botanical Gardens.

Palazzo Pfanner (also known as Palazzo Controni) was constructed in 1660 and is now the home of the Pfanner family. Felix Pfanner (1818-1892), a brewer from Hörbranz on the shores of Lake Constance, came to Lucca and founded a famous brewery. He eventually bought the Palazzo from the Controni family. Pietro Pfanner (1864-1935) was a surgeon, philanthropist and Mayor of Lucca from 1920-1922.

Palazzo Pfanner in Lucca

As my intelligent and discerning readers will recall, I am a garden nut, and you can safely believe me when I say that the small garden of Palazzo Pfanner is delightful, especially on a hot day. There I relaxed in the shade. The garden is surrounded by high shrubs and bamboo so that only the fine campanile of the Basilica di San Frediano is visible. In summer the big terracotta pots holding the lemon trees are dotted around - these are housed in the limonaia during the winter months. A short walk bordered by larger than life marble statues leads to a small pond with a simple fountain in the middle of it. The best view of this walk is from the splendid loggia of the palazzo. The apartments of the palazzo that are open to the public are of moderately interesting, and among other things display some of the surgical equipment of Pietro Pfanner. The main reason for ascending the grand staircase is the view it affords out over the garden.

My next and last visit for the day was to the Botanical Gardens in the SE corner of Lucca. They can be reached from Palazzo Pfanner via the Piazza del Amfiteatro (well worth a brief visit - some of the stonework of the Roman amphitheatre can be seen in the walls of the apartment buildings now delineating the outline of the amphitheatre) and the Torre Guinigi, the famous tower with the trees growing on top of it, and then following the Via del Fosso and its fast flowing canal.

The Botanical Gardens in Lucca - Sequoia sempervirens

For such a small town, Lucca has an excellent Botanical Garden, with specimens ranging from a giant sequoia to a good collection of insectivorous plants. They have a huge ginkgo tree, surely one of the first specimens planted in Europe. Ginkgo leaves were known from fossils dating as far back as the Permian period. The last surviving genus is native to China and was first described by Engelbert Kaempfer in 1690 based on a tree he saw in Japan. Specimens soon found there way into botanical gardens throughout the Western world. Not only the plants are interesting. While I was at the gardens, a beautiful hoopoe was busily digging up worms just a few meters away from me. I could spend hours in these gardens and will surely return to them.

I suppose being sensitised by an afternoon of plants, I couldn't help but be fascinated by the miles and miles of tree and shrub nurseries in the Arno flood plain visible from the train back to Florence. It reminded me yet again how horticulture dominates the rural economy of Tuscany.

More about Lucca: https://www.lucca.info/

Lucca on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/lucca.tuscany.italy/

Don't forget to visit my Tuscany Travel Guide! Up-to-date news on what to see and where to stay in Chianti and all of Tuscany. Tuscany Travel Guide

Author: Anna Maria Baldini

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Mercantia at Certaldo, Tuscany, one of the best street theatre festivals in Europe

Mercantia, one of the best street theatre festivals in Europe, takes place this year, 2022, from 13 to 16 July in the attractive mediaeval walled town of Certaldo, Tuscany. Certaldo consists of the ancient Certalo Alto, on its hilltop, and Certaldo Basso, the modern part of the town in the valley below. Certaldo is very likely the place where Boccaccio was born and he certainly lived there towards the end of his life and regarded it as his hometown. It's therefore appropriate that Certaldo should provide popular entertainment today in the form of Mercantia, its famous street theatre festival.

Mercantia Certaldo 202

Mercatia Certaldo 2019

Mercantia at Certaldo 2016

The festival takes place in Certaldo Alto, the ancient upper town which can be accessed easily by funicular or on foot. Within the walls, there will be dozens of performers along the few streets of the town and also inside the courtyards, where stages are set up to host clowns and comedians, contortionists and acrobats, puppeteers and ventriloquists, magicians and illusionists, fire-eaters and dancers, actors and street musicians.

Mercantia street theatre festival at Certaldo, Tuscany

Tickets cost roughly €10.00 on Wednesday and Thursday, €12.00 on Friday and Sunday, €18.00 on Saturday. If you are planning to visit Mercantia more than once, you can buy the 5-day pass for about €30.00. I haven't seen the exact 2017 prices yet.

Certaldo street theatre festival

In addition to the street theatrical performances in Certaldo Alto, Certaldo Basso is packed for the duration of the festival with street stalls selling hand-made jewellery, clothing, masks, various kinds of art, herbal remedies and beauty products, hand-crafted leatherware and shoes, and a wide range of other arts and crafts, all of varying quality and price. No ticket is required for Certaldo Basso. There are also some stalls in Certaldo Alto.

www.chianti.info

More about Certaldo.

Map of the main sights of Chianti.

Travellers Guide to Chianti.

Author: Anna Maria Baldini

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Calcio Storico Fiorentino 2022

The 2022 Calcio Storico Fiorentino, that brutal competition among four Florentine teams, begins tomorrow, Friday 10 June 2022, with the semifinals taking place on Friday 10 June and Saturday 11 June instead of on Saturday and Sunday because a national referendum takes place held on Sunday the 12 June. The final takes place as always on 24 June 2022.

I guess almost every one has heard of the Calcio Storico Fiorentino, and in fact it's worth seeing this spectacle (once). Also don't forget that before the calcio itself there will be a splendid display of Tuscany flag throwing. Another Tuscan speciality that is well worth seeing, either on this occasion or another.

Flag throwers at the Calcio Storico Fiorentino in Florence

The Calcio Storico Fiorentino originated in the 16C in Florence and is played today in historical costume. The four teams are: Santa Croce (Azzurri, or Blues), Santo Spirito (Bianchi, or Whites), Santa Maria Novella (Rossi, or Reds), and San Giovanni (Verdi, or Greens). The game was invented by rich aristocreats and took place every night between Epiphany and Lent. The rules of the Calcio Storico were first published in 1580 by Giovanni de’ Bardi. These days it's a somewhat rougher event - actually, brutal is the appropriate expression and I sometimes wonder whether there are any "rules" at all. It's even rumoured that some players are released from jail for a day to participate - I don't think that's true.

On 24 June at 4 pm, the feast day of St. John the Baptist, the patron saint of Florence, a spectacular parade in historical costume starts in Piazza Santa Maria Novella and wends its way through the centre of Florence to Piazza Santa Croce. The four contrade of Florence are represented and you’ll see the players going by as they go to play the final, even those who won’t be playing the final. The parade starts roughly around 4pm since the final should start around 5 pm.

Calcio Storico Fiorentino 2022

To watch the match in Piazza Santa Croce, you need a ticket and they don't come cheap. Tickets cost €80 for Tribuna Onore Centrale, €60 for Tribuna Onore Laterale, €40 for Tribuna C and €29 Curve colori. These need to be bought in advance at the headquarters of BoxOffice Toscana on via delle Vecchie Carceri, 1, or at Teatro Verdi.

These are the hours:

• Monday 6 June from 4 pm BoxOffice (at 9 am can pick up numbers for line) 
• Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday7, 8, 9 June 9 am - 4 pm BoxOffice
• Friday, 10 June from 12 - 7 pm only at Teatro Verdi (Via Ghibellina 99)
• Saturday 11 June at Teatro Verdi, from 12 - 6 pm.
  

You can also watch on Toscana TV, channel 18, and various streaming services.

Don't forget to visit my Tuscany Travel Guide! Up-to-date news on what to see and where to stay in Chianti and all of Tuscany. Tuscany Travel Guide

Author: Anna Maria Baldini

All content copyright © ammonet Italian Web Site Promotion 2022. All rights reserved.

Covid regulations for visitors to Italy - all restrictions lifted 1 June 2022

UPDATE 1 June 2022

"As of 1 June, 2022, a Green Pass or equivalent certificate is no longer needed to enter Italy," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation tells us, "All Covid-19 related entry restrictions have been lifted."

From June 16, 2022, it is mandatory to use FFP2 masks to access and use the following means of transport within Italy: 

• ships and ferries used for interregional transport services; 
• trains used in interregional transport, Intercity, Intercity Night and High Speed passenger rail transport services; 
• buses and coaches for transport services between more than two regions; 
• buses and coaches used for rental services with driver; 
• local or regional public transport services; 
• school transport dedicated to primary, lower and upper secondary school students.
  

Furthermore, workers at, users of and visitors to health, social-health and social-welfare facilities, including hospitality and long-term care facilities, health residences, are obliged to wear respiratory protection devices (i.e. at least surgical masks).

UPDATE 12 February 2022: CNN have published an accurate and comprehensive article on the current Covid regulations for visitors to Italy. In essence, visitors from most of the countries that traditionally send many tourists to Italy can enter the country. It helps a lot if you have been vaccinated, preferably including a booster but this is not absolutely essential. Unvaccinated tourists must be tested, isolate for five days and show the results of a second negative test at the end of that time. Masks are still required pretty much everywhere, including outside, and in public transport they must be FFP2 masks.

Covid regulations for visitors to Italy

UPDATE 25 October 2021: Tourists from outside Italy are free to enter and travel around the country if they are in possession of certification that they have been fully vaccinated against covid19. The same certificate will allow entry into museums and other public spaces.

UPDATE 16 May 2021: Delta Airlines COVID-tested flights between the U.S. and Italy will open to all customers effective today, May 16, following the Italian government's lifting of entry restrictions enabling American leisure travelers to visit Italy again. My recommendation is that you should be vaccinated against covid19 before coming to Italy on vacation. I would even expect that to become Italian government policy.

UPDATE 9 May 2021: The latest hint from the Prime Minister is that Italy will welcome vaccinated visitors from Europe and America starting 15 May 2021. However, let's wait for the official announcement and rules.

STOP PRESS 5 May 2021: Italy is gearing up to welcome back European travellers in the second half of June, says Italian PM Mario Draghi. “We will have to provide clear and simple rules to ensure that tourists can come to Italy safely,” the Prime Minister remarked in his closing remarks at the G20 tourism ministerial meeting held today in Rome. “The European ‘green pass’ will be ready in the second half of June. In the meantime, the Italian government has introduced a nationwide ‘green pass’, which will enter into effect in the second half of May.”

26 April 2021: American tourists who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 will be able to visit the European Union over the summer, according to the head of the EU’s executive body, more than a year after shutting down nonessential travel from most countries to limit the spread of the coronavirus. The fast pace of vaccination in the United States and advanced talks between US authorities and the European Union over how to make vaccine certificates acceptable as proof of immunity for visitors will enable the European Commission to recommend a change in policy that would see trans-Atlantic leisure travel restored by summer 2021.

I'm guessing that many of my readers are looking forward to coming to Italy again soon and are naturally pondering the question: "When will Italy be open to visitors again?" Before I give my opinion on that, let's divert ourselves with a brief look at a similar interruption that took place just as mass tourism was beginning.

In England at the beginning of the 19 C, one of the more frustrating aspects of the Napoleonic Wars (1803 - 1815) was the ban on foreign travel. The English were the continent's greatest travellers. Among the wealthy, the Grand Tour of the 18 C was still a living tradition. Both the classical curriculum at school and the training of manners at home confidently looked to the Grand Tour to complete their work, while the artist fretted to be back in the mellow light of the Campagna and the budding author to add his impressions to an already over-stocked market for Italian travel memoirs. For the ordinary tourist - the "Thomas Cook traveller" avant la lettre - the Peace of Amiens was the first chance to go abroad since the beginning of the war. When war broke out again 14 months later, most tourists on the Continent rushed for home. Only American citizens could travel freely. There was a brief sense of relief in 1814 when Napoleon was sent into exile on Elba, only to escape in February 1815 and rule France again for the 100 Days. His defeat by the British at Waterloo in June 1815 followed by exile to St Helena ended the wars definitively and the tourist trade jumped back into its full stride.

"Back into its full stride" - that's what we're all hoping for. But when? My best guess is that vaccination against the covid-19 virus will be sufficiently comprehensive in Italy and in the English-speaking countries by mid to late August this year, 2021, that travel to Italy will become possible and increase rapidly. I'm assuming, perhaps optimistically, that new virus mutants will not be resistant to current vaccines.

This might be helped by the introduction of what has been called a "covid passport" confirming that the traveller has been inoculated This kind of thing has been around since WW II in the form of a document confirming inoculation for diseases such as Yellow Fever, compulsory for the issue of a visa to travel to countries where that disease is prevalent. Visa-free travel calls for a slightly different administrative procedure, presumably involving airlines and/or immigration officers, but the principle is the same.

So that's my best guess right now. I will update that as events unfold, but my feeling is that you can book your accommodation for August onwards and flights as soon as the airlines start to offer normal schedules. As in 1815, there's huge pent up demand. I look forward to a good tourism season during the second half of 2021.

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Author: Anna Maria Baldini

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