Posts under Geography

Acqua Alta a Venezia

Posted by Serena
Dec
2
2008

On Monday this week acqua alta (high water) reached 156 cm above its normal level in Venezia, creating a lot of damage and discomfort to the city and its population. The whole of the lagoon was flooded and the passerelle (gangways), which are normally set up to allow people to walk on in the event of a flood, were floating. Shops and ground floor businesses were invaded by the murky water, and rubbish and other objects were washed away, while gondole and vaporetti (ferries) could not travel. There are some photos of the flood on this page of the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

This is not a very romantic image of Venezia, but it is reality, a reality that its citizens have to live with due to the unique nature of Venezia, which is built on a series of islands just above sea level. Because of its shape the Adriatic Sea, on the coast of which the city is located, is subject to greater sea tides than the rest of the Mediterranean. If we add to this the heavy rains of the past few days and the strong winds that drive the seawater inside the lagoon and prevent it from returning to the sea again, we get a very dramatic situation. There are also other factors, both natural and man-made, that contribute to the problem of the acqua alta, such as the fact that since 1897 (the year of the first official measurement) Venezia has sunk by 23 cm, and that the industrial area of Porto Marghera was built by reclaiming land from the sea. Originally Marghera was an area of very low islands, which allowed the water to flood over them, working like an expansion tank for the lagoon.

Theoretically these floods could be prevented by a pneumatic barrier system called MOSE (Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico), designed to isolate the lagoon from the sea in the event of a combination of an exceptionally high tide and extreme weather. However the works, which were begun in 2003 with a planned completion date of 2012, have been criticized by environmentalists because of the ecological impact that they are having on the wildlife of the lagoon. For more information about this project see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOSE_Project

 
Posted under Geography, Travel
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La Cascata delle Marmore

Posted by Serena
Oct
28
2008

Hidden away in Umbria, the green heart of Italy, a wonderful discovery awaits you: La Cascata delle Marmore (The Marmore Falls).

 

The Legend of the falls

Once, a beautiful nymph called Nera fell in love with Velino, a handsome shepherd. But the goddess Juno, wife of Jupiter, was jealous of the lovers and transformed Nera into a river.

Poor Velino the shepherd, in order not to loose his love, threw himself from the towering cliffs of Marmore into the Fiume Nera (River Nera).

Velino’s leap from the cliffs was destined to repeat itself for eternity in the form of the waterfall, which can still be seen to this day.

 

The true Story

In fact the true origin of the waterfall is far more prosaic.

Over two thousand years ago the river Velino formed a vast area of stagnant marshland around the city of Rieti. This area of wetland was a breeding ground for diseases, including malaria.

In 271 B.C. the Roman consul Curius Dentatus ordered that a canal be built that would divert the stagnant waters towards the cliffs at Marmore, thereby creating the world’s highest man made waterfall.

Over the centuries, lack of maintenance to the original Roman Canal meant that further work had to be done in order to prevent the palude malsana (unhealthy marshland) from reforming.

Nowadays the water in the canals is diverted to power a hydroelectric generator, and the waterfall has become a part-time tourist attraction.

 

An entrance fee is charged to the area around the falls so that you can watch The Cascata delle Marmore, or Velino the shepherd if you prefer, leaping down the cliffs, and I can assure you that it is worth every cent! It is a truly magical experience, especially on a baking hot day in August when the cloud of water vapor in the valley refreshes and revitalizes you before you trek up the steep sentiero (footpath) that takes you the 165m (yes that’s 541 feet!) to the top of the falls.

If you decide to visit the Cascata delle Marmore try and get there just before the canal is opened. An alarm is sounded and the gentle trickle of water is transformed within a few minutes into a thundering torrent.

 

For more info. on how to get there, opening times, and admission charges follow this link to the official site.

http://www.marmorefalls.it/

 
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A trip to Le Cinque Terre

Posted by Serena
Oct
11
2008

Last summer I had the fortune to stay for a few days in Vernazza, one of the five small former fishing villages that form Le Cinque Terre (lit.: The Five Lands) in the Ligurian Riviera di Levante. We stayed in a small apartment on the first floor of an old building located in the harbor piazza just a few steps away from the clear blue sea. Yes, I’m spoiled! My uncle’s family is originally from the village and he still owns the family apartment. It was great to sit on the minuscule balcony in the evening watching the passeggio going on below, or seeing the sun lighting up the colorful buildings early in the morning.

Towering buildings and narrow alleyways (carrugi) scrambling up the steep escarpment are characteristic features of Vernazza. The four other villages that together with Vernazza make up the Cinque Terre are Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia and Monterosso. These, together with an extensive area of sea have now been designated as a National Park and UNESCO world heritage site (see: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/826).

The best way to get to the Cinque Terre is by battello (the passengers’ ferry) from the main town of La Spezia set in the Golfo dei Poeti (the Poets’ Gulf), so named because of the many famous literary figures it attracted in the 18th century, in particular the British poets Byron and Shelley.

The battello leaves from La Spezia harbor (an important naval base) and calls first at Portovenere (lit.: Venus Port!), a small picturesque village unique in Liguria in that its line of colorful case a torre (tower-like houses) hems the quay, turning the village into a fortified medieval citadel. Just off the coast are the islands of Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto, full of caves and grottoes. This area is very popular with tourists and VIPs, so look out for posh yachts: we saw the fashion designer Cavalli’s private yacht, which changes color depending on the angle you view it from, wow!.

Continuing to the West you come into the Territorio di Tramonti (lit.: territory between the mountains), where the five hamlets of the Cinque Terre are set amongst vineyards and cliffs. During the boat trip you’ll see some isolated houses built near the sea on the cliff faces. They were (and sometime still are) used during the vendemmia (the grape harvest) by the villagers who own the land. These steep cultivated terraces can only be reached by boat and the grapes too are taken away by boat. This area produces one the rarest Italian DOC wines, sciachetrà, which is made from the local sundried grapes.

The battello stops at all the villages except Corniglia which is perched inaccessibly up on the cliffs and therefore lacks a harbor. The other four villages have no proper dock, only a small gangway joins the boat to the landing place, therefore when the sea is rough the boat can’t land. In fact, before the railway line was built, these villages were completely cut off for days during bad weather. The only alternative was a narrow footpath that climbs up through the cliffs amongst vineyards, orchards and the luxuriant macchia mediterranea, the typical Mediterranean vegetation.

Riomaggiore and Manarola are linked by a beautiful path cut out of the sheer rock and romantically called Via dell’Amore. Between agaves, cactuses and pine trees you catch glimpses of the emerald green sea below you.

Buon viaggio!

 
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Venice: “magical” or “no big deal”?

Posted by Natasha_TLadmin
Aug
19
2008


Ciao tutti!

Welcome to the Italian blog! I want to warn you right away that I am not planning to be the permanent writer of this blog. However, I will write it until I find a good replacement. So, if you know a candidate who can take my place, please let me know. In the meantime, I will do my best to entertain you and maybe even teach you a thing or two :) Ready?

I have a theory about people’s attitude towards Venice. Most people, who never visited Venice, do want to see it. After they actually see it, they will fit into two categories of people. First one has people who fall in love with it, think Venice is just wonderful and magical and there is no other place like that in the world. The other category has people who think that it is really nothing special, paint is peeling everywhere, it smells and really, what is the big deal? As you probably can guess, I fit into the first category.

I really haven’t traveled that much, but I do have a couple of favorite cities and Venice, certainly, has a special place in my heart. I have been there many times, but last time was unexpectedly different. Previous visits have always been with a group, we spent a day there, at the most, did all the touristy things and had little time to explore the city by ourselves. Don’t get me wrong, I still loved it, but my last visit is the reason why I am just dying to go back (and I will, in August of 2010).

During my last visit only 3 other people came with me. We spent three and a half days in Venice. It did not feel like enough, but it also didn’t feel like it wasn’t enough. We stayed at this tiny hotel, called “Locanda Gaffaro.” It is just the cutest, little place with a great location and a wonderful owner. If you ever go to Venice, I definitely recommend it. http://www.gaffaro.com/en/index.htm It is right on the island, so you can just walk anywhere which you certainly should do. The city is really not that big, and it is impossible to get lost in it. Even if you do, you might find some charming restaurant that you would have never found otherwise.

I really don’t have enough writing talent to describe how I felt during that last visit, so let me just tell you about the highlight of the trip. It was the Gondola ride. You might think “oh, it is such a cliché”. Well, maybe so, but you really can’t say that unless you do it. And if you still think that, then you must fit into that above-mentioned second category. And then, I really wish you would stop reading my blog because I have no tolerance for people who don’t like Venice. Scherzo, of course :)

I read in some guide book that if you ride the gondola at night, it is cheaper. Hey, I am no Rockefeller, so that sounded pretty good. It also said, since there aren’t as many customers, you can just go to the place where gondolieri hang out and even enter into some price negotiations. I must say that was pretty good advice. The ride was just awesome. There were hardly any people around (during the day there are tons of people watching you from the bridges), and it was so dark and spooky, but in a good way. It felt like there was a presence, especially when we went by what was supposed to be Casanova’s house. We didn’t even talk during the ride, everybody was just taking it in. All you could hear were the occasional shouts of the gondolieri to warn each other that they were coming. It was one of the most memorable moments of my life.

 

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