Category Archives: Lakes

The Path not taken – the Photograph never Taken

Posted on by
2

When did I first discover Italy? The question is a bit like ‘who first discovered America’ for Italy was always there for me. There were family members who lived there; my mother was born in Milan of Italian parents and I must have first visited the ‘bel paese’ when I was barely one. The train journey from that once shuttered-off platform for the continent at Victoria station, the steamer across the English channel (or ‘la manica – the sleeve – as that treacherous stretch of sea is called in Italian) the rails’ click-clack through the eerily deserted north French countryside, the entrance into Switzerland at Basle’s international marshalling yards and the last expectant stretch through the interminably long Simplon tunnel to enter the broad flatlands of Lombardy and the journey’s terminus at the grand Milan Central station flanked by its stone Pegasus horses is one, alas, never to be repeated in its continuity. For this was truly the end of our travel across post-war Europe: my grandparents’ flat was in the same expansive square as that which accommodated the station.

But when did Italy become not just a place for family visits but a land of scenic travels and cultural explorations? I was aware of fabulous things in Italy. My father had entered Venice towards the end of his war service and showed me his collection of postcards describing the city built on water. I was eager to float on a gondola or feed the pigeons in Saint Mark’s square. However, most of the time spent during our family visits was, unsurprisingly, spent with the family. It was only in 1957 that I saw the lagoons of ‘la Serenissima’, the Christians’ death trap of the Colosseum and the ancient Roman streets of Pompeii for the first time. I did later suggest to my grandparents’ who organized these trips that I might have been too young (at age eight) to fully appreciate these visits to Italy’s supreme icons. My grandparents told me otherwise: I had thoroughly enjoyed every moment; I do indeed retain scraps of vivid memories.

Regrettably I have no snapshots of these journeys. Carrying a camera about with oneself was still not essential in those pre-digital days. What would I give to hold a handful of pictures from those times!

Some family events, of course, have been immortalised on celluloid but photographs of sights I saw in Italy don’t appear until my visit to Lake Garda in 1961. By this time I’d been given a Bencini Comet II as a present and managed to take these shots of Catullus’ villa at Sirmione by the shores of Lake Garda, the Italian lake that comes closest to resembling an inland sea.

Sorting through the somewhat primitive originals, I’ve scanned and enhanced them using a variety of apps. I’m not too sure, however, whether the originals have a je ne sais quoi lost in the enhancements: I’ve put some of the before-and-after for one to compare.

 

 

I’ve been back to Catullus’ Villa (which, of course, was not Catullus’ – he could never have afforded something so grand) at least twice since those pioneering photographs. You can read about these subsequent forays in my posts at:

Italy’s Largest (and most Beautiful) Lake

The path not taken….The photographs not taken? Not quite….

Ponte a Cappiano’s Canal

Posted on by
1

If we motor to Florence from our house in the Lucchesia the one thing we always do is to avoid the Firenze-Mare autostrada both because one has to pay a toll on it and because frankly, it doesn’t enable us to discover new sights easily.

Our favourite route is to head towards Empoli and then take the FI-PI-LI superstrada linking Florence with Pisa and Livorno. The first section takes one through the Cerbaie which are quite similar to the heathlands of the North Downs near Guildford in the UK. In fact, both are geologically of the same structure. Le Cerbaie is, however, the morainic uplands deposited at the end of the ice-age glaciers which once covered Tuscany and formed the Arno valley. You’ll know when you enter the Cerbaie since beautiful woodland spreads along much of it. Here is the protected natural area of Montefalcone which rises west of the Fucecchio Lake (great for bird-watching) and reaches a height of 500 feet.

At around half of our journey time we like to stop at a sweet little location called Ponte a Cappiano.

Ponte a Cappiano is located near the exit channel of the Fucecchio Marshes, by the slopes of the Cerbaie and takes its name from the Medici Bridge of the same name and from the Cappiano hill, which overlooks the bridge.

The existence of this bridge is documented from the early middle Ages: it was managed by the Altopascio Hospitallers and the ancient Via Francigena passed over it.

In particular, in the itinerary of Sigeric, Archbishop of Canterbury, it represented the journey’s twenty fourth stage; the locality was then called Aqua Nigra, most likely because of the dark water of the Usciana canal, an outlet of the Fucecchio Marsh.

In 1325 the bridge was destroyed during the conflict between Florence and Lucca. It was later rebuilt and fortified with a tower and defended with drawbridges. The structure was equipped with a lock to regulate the flow of water but also favoured the fishing of eels, a mill and a water saw for cutting wood.

The Cappiano Bridge was even drawn by Leonardo da Vinci!

The current bridge was built in the first half of the sixteenth century by Cosimo I de ‘Medici when both the open bridge and the covered bridge were constructed. Further buildings were added; these included the tavern, the ironworks and the house of the bridge administrator.

As the plaque on the bridge states:

Cosimo Medici Duca Di Fiorenza
Ha Rifatto Questo Loco Da’ Fondamenti
Per Benefizio Pubblico,
Et Non Sia Chi Lo Disfaccia Più
Con Isperanza D’acquistarne Commodo Al Paese
Sappiendo Ogni Volta Che S’è Disfatto
Essersi Perduto
Di Sotto L’uso Della Terra
Et Di Sopra Della Pescagione
Senza Acquisto Alcuno

Which translates as:

Duke Cosimo Medici of Florence 

Rebuilt this bridge from its foundations

For the benefit of the public,

And let no-one destroy it again

With the hope that it will bring comfort to the land

Knowing that every time it has been destroyed

We have lost

The use of the Earth underneath us

And above us the fisheries

Without any gain.

 Indeed, the whole of this area is a maze of waterways, rivers and canals largely set out by the Medici dynasty to drain the swamps and provide a communication system for barges.

Our pit stop at the bar in Ponte a Cappiano’s Main Square provides a welcome break on our journey and enables us to reach Florence and tackle its traffic with renewed strength!

(Incidentally ten years have passed since we first discovered this bridge and the photos date back to September 2010!)

London’s Lake District

Posted on by
1

On Midsummer’s eve I took the Metropolitan line train to Rickmansworth planning to walk to Uxbridge via the canal footpath. However, I grossly misjudged the path’s length: it can take a walking time of over eight hours. Instead, I tasted the delights of the town’s surroundings with its canals, rivers and lakes.

(Rickmansworth Metropolitan line station with its display of former times)

Rickmansworth high street still keeps something of a village atmosphere.

At one end is the town’s attractive flint-knapped parish church.

Its churchyard contains some very old ‘barrel’ tombs such as were described at the start of Dickens’s ‘Great Expectation’ when Pip meets the escaped convict in Cooling marshes.

20200620_113008

Also of interest are the very art-nouveauish sculptures on the town’s war memorial.

Rickmansworth is also encircled by much low-lying water and marshland but unlike Cooling marshes they are rather less menacing.

The town is the administrative seat of Three Rivers district council whose name pays homage to the confluence of the three rivers which meet in the borough. They are the Gade, described by me in my post at https://longoio3.com/2020/06/19/cassiobury-park/, the Chess, which flows down from Chesham and merits further exploration and the Colne whose course I followed in my walk south of the town.

The river Colne arises in Hertfordshire and flows into the Thames at Staines. It has a particularly close relationship with that pioneer work of the Industrial Revolution, the Grand Union Canal, and supplies its water. Indeed, throughout much of my walk I followed the canal to my left and the river to the right.

Much of the canal is bound by long boats which represent homes for many lucky people. The towpath side is often enhanced with colourful gardens by the long boat denizens.

Sharing the canal with them are a motley crew of water birds, in particular Canada geese, swans, coots, ducks and even a few great crested grebes. Of interest is the fact that Charlotte Potter, the brilliant young soprano singer who has enchanted Bagni di Lucca with her summer concerts in the grounds of the Villa Webb, filmed her scene in ‘Endeavour’, ITV’s hit drama on this canal. It was Charlotte’s first TV role and acting debut and she posted on my FB page a photo of where the scene was shot (Stocker lock) with the comment ‘It’s beautiful!’

What stands out in the Colne valley is the necklace of lakes, former gravel pits which have now been filled with water. The pits supplied the Great Wen with much of its building material. For instance, Wembley stadium was built with material from these pits.

I followed a path through three of these lakes and found myself in an enchanted country where water and earth shimmered together in an awe-inspiring landscape. The day was not too hot and the clouds played reflective games with this liquid territory.

20200620_125626_HDR

Although it was the week-end and urban London was only a short step away I hardly met anyone during my four-hour walk and those persons I met were invariably courteous and friendly – absolutely essential when the path is narrow and one has to remember to socially distance oneself.

There are various highlights to look out for on this walk: the magnificent weeping willows:

20200620_125534

the canal locks with a delighful lock-keeper’s cottage beside one:

the very long boardwalk, a triumph of ecological thinking over the marshiest parts of the lake shores:

the largest reed bed in the London area:

20200620_125735_HDR

and, of course the flora and fauna:

It’s incredible how a former industrial excavation area and transportation hub can now have transformed itself into one of the most delightful and extensive parklands in the western part of London. I wish the same could be said of the open-cast coal mining in the UK or the terrible destruction wrought by marble quarrying in the Apuan Alps!

A Lake and a Chapel in Winter

Posted on by
Reply

Yesterday, on a bright and mild winter’s day we explored Casoli’s hinterland. Casoli is a delightful village situated in the upper reaches of the Lima valley. True, every village in the Val di Lima has its own special characteristics and it would be quite wrong to single any one out as the prettiest in the valley. However, for me Casoli (not to be confused with the Casoli above Camaiore) has some very special features including the remains of a castle, a prehistoric observatory, stupendous views and beautiful surroundings.

Image00923

When I first arrived here Casoli, together with Lucchio and Gombereto held a medieval festa. Indeed, they cooperated in the publicity of each other’s events issuing one leaflet with all three names on it. Sadly all three of these festas are now no longer held.

The first part of our walk took us  through a magical chestnut forest bare of its leaves with ent-like trees that almost seemed to walk with us in the stillness.

The path took us to an ancient chapel with a revered fresco by an unknown artist.

 

Unfortunately, since the chapel is deconsecrated and not used for any local religious rites (formerly there used to be an annual procession to it) it now seems to be used just for storing building material and a ladder had been placed right against the fresco on my previous visit to this area. Luckily this time I was able to photograph the sweet Madonna and child  without any impediments.

Image00883 - Copy

Casoli’s lake, grandly called ‘Lago’, is really a large pond or ‘laghetto’. It fills a depression rather like a Welsh cwm and is clearly glacial in origin. It’s the only significant lake in our valley.

To see other lakes one has to go over the Apennines at Foce di Giovo where the Lago Santo is situated. Casoli Lake must surely have been much larger once. Approaching the ‘laghetto’ across the greenest of meadows one reaches an area of characteristic wetland plants. I especially like the bulrushes. At this time of year the lakelet is at its most visible as these photos taken by my wife show.

I’m glad that I’m at last able to undertake these walks after major surgery last month. The beauty of nature, even in its denuded winter state, strikes me, with even greater resonating power than before.