Zurers in Italy 2023

[Jim Zurer]

Tuesday June 13: Day 1 - Vercelli​

We arrive in Milan in the late morning...our plane is 2.5 hours late and the travel day has been a bit difficult. There was heavy rain on the road to Newark, our plane was delayed, the United Club was mobbed, and there was a lot of chaos at the gate. Once the flight takes off, it is uneventful...we get a little sleep and are glad to be on our way.

We are so happy to be back in Italy....the luggage arrives promptly, our leased car pickup goes smoothly, and we are on the road again. Vercelli is about an hour south of the airport and we take local roads rather than the autostrada. This part of Italy (the Po Valley) is not the most scenic area but we are content seeing the Italian road signs and the Italian towns as we drive by. This part of Italy is known for its rice and as we approach Vercelli, rice paddies filled with water and bright green shoots stretch off in all directions.

Vercelli is mid-sized city and, since the center is a traffic limited zone (ZTL), we are directed (by Waze) to circle the city and drive through some less attractive business and housing districts. We find our hotel (La Terrazza--really a big B&B), park the car, and, with some false starts, get inside. The owner, a charming young woman named Cristina, gets us settled and we are happy to have reached our destination.

We do minimal unpacking...Diana is ready for a nap and I head out for a first look at the town. The "centro storico" is quite well preserved and attractive. The main piazza--Piazza Cavour--is large and surrounded by handsome buildings and numerous restaurants and bars...it is a great place to sit and people watch.

The statue is Count Camillo Cavour, one of key figures of the Italian unification movement.

Continuing around the back streets, I find the 19th century synagogue that we will visit on Thursday.

and an intriguing store window displaying wooden models of local buildings.

I stop for my first gelato of the trip...my favorite flavors--fior di latte and stracciatella--which taste terrific.

Back in the room, the lack of sleep hits me and I take an uncharacteristic nap. Before dinner, we take a short walk together in the centro and have dinner at La Vineria, the restaurant in the same building as La Terrazza. We are the first diners at 8 pm...the waiter is charming and the food is very good. We share a plate of assorted local salume, then Diana has an excellent dish of small agnolotti with butter, sage, and lemon and I have the tagliatelle with a meat sauce. Diana's apple cake is very good as are the two glasses of Barbera di Monferrato that we enjoy. A very good first meal....

Two Americans come in while we are eating and, when they have difficulty communicating with the waiter and understanding the hand-written Italian menu, he looks at us for help in translation. The man of the couple had been born in Vercelli sixty years ago and had gone (or been sent) to America as a child. This was his first trip back and they were going to search for some family connections in town. We help them with the menu and have a nice conversation. Coincidentally, they live in Virginia and had also just arrived in Italy.

Now we are ready to go upstairs and collapse....

Jim and Diana

 

[jan]

Aaah, Vercelli.
We had a great lunch at Paulino, right on the piazza.
Enjoy your trip. I'll be looking forward to your posts here.

 

[Jim Zurer]

Wednesday June 14: Day 2 - Vercelli (part 1)​

The sun is shining and we have slept through the night...fingers crossed that we are over most jet lag symptoms. Breakfast at La Terrazza is an old-style, less extensive spread--fresh orange juice, croissants, a slice of cake with packaged bread, cookies, fresh fruit and cold cereal available. There is a pretty terrace but today it is a bit cool to eat outside.

I get the car (it is parked five minutes away in a free space near a big park) and we head for the Basilica of Sant'Andrea, originally built in the early 13th century. It is on the north side of town near the train station and our GPS directs us there, skirting the limited traffic zone so we get to see parts of town we might not ordinarily get to. Once there, we have to circle for a while to find a parking space.

The Basilica is our kind of church....a mixture of late Romanesque and early Gothic...it is spare in decoration but impressive in its simplicity despite its very large size. The "mad photographer" goes a bit crazy inside but here are a few pictures that will give you some idea about its appeal.

This model of the Basilica is a better representation of the building than my pictures of the facade.

The choir is especially impressive with its beautifully detailed intarsia seats.

Outside there is a lovely cloister and an impressive doorway.

Leaving the Basilica, we make our way over to the Cathedral...the Duomo of Vercelli. The building has been redone a number of times and it doesn't have the same appeal for us as the Basilica.

However, we barely get inside when we are told that it would be closing for lunch so we will have to return later.

Now it is time to think about lunch and getting some gas. Our car is a lease, not a rental, and leasing companies don't give you a full tank. We decide to head out of town and stop for gas before lunch.

We stop at a large modern gas station which is unattended at this time. The self-service function baffles me...I thought I had mastered it after all these years but after I insert a 50 euro bill, I am unable to figure out the steps required to get the gas out of the pump. It's not like in the US where every gas pump has a dedicated credit card reader. One has to go to a central payment panel and choose which pump to use. In any case, the money is in but we don't get any gas. We leave intending to return to see about getting our money back.

We do get gas at another station with much less hassle, then double back to the original station. There is someone in the office (which is still closed) but he tells us in no uncertain terms that it is his lunch break and to come back at 3 pm.

After this, we go back to town and have a pleasant lunch in the main piazza...sitting in the sun enjoying sandwiches and watching the passing scene. While Diana is taking a nap at the b&b, I go back to the gas station where I lost the money. The attendant is outside pumping gas and I explain the problem, show him the receipt that indicates that we hadn't gotten the gas. He understands and carefully explains that I do have 50 euro credit but I can only get it by pumping gas...no cash refunds. Since the gas tank is now full, we will have to go back before we leave and fill up. (This adventure recalls our experience on one of our first trips to Italy in 1994 when I lost 20 euros at a self service pump in Pienza. I stayed away from self-service gas for years after that.)

Back in town, I go for a long walk....along the quite attractive main shopping street, then in a pleasant park set in the middle of a broad boulevard lined with benches.

Day 2 will be continued ...

 

[Jim Zurer]

We had dinner there tonight....unfortunately the risotto special didn't measure up but the rest was good and there was a jazz group playing. Very pleasant....we are really enjoying Vercelli.

Aaah, Vercelli.
We had a great lunch at Paulino, right on the piazza.
Enjoy your trip. I'll be looking forward to your posts here.

turn

 

[Ian Sutton]

It seems that every trip we have with a car in Italy, reveals a new and opaque payment system, such that I secretly get joy from paying over the odds for the little ones where an attendant puts the fuel in the car.

 

[Jim Zurer]

Wednesday June 14: Day 2 - Vercelli (part 2)​

Vercelli seems to have an endless supply of parks....I next come to the Parco Kennedy complete with a fitness trail (jogging and walking), lots of trees and benches, and even a few dinosaurs.

I do a quick inspection of the Duomo which is now open.....but it doesn't have the appeal of the Basilica for me.

Nice old campanile however....

I wend my way back to the hotel through some attractive back streets of Vercelli.

It's now time for Diana to have her first gelato of the trip. The place I went to yesterday is mobbed...people are lined up outside. But it's not too long before we are sitting in the piazza with our gelato....pistacchio and stracciatella for Diana and fragola (strawberry) and limone for me.

Before dinner, we get in the car to take a short ride into the countryside across the Sesia River...the scenery is not spectacular but we drive right out into the middle of the rice paddies to examine the crop.

We have dinner at a very attractive place off the Piazza Cavour--Ca dal Cusu. Of course, the couple we met yesterday at dinner is also eating there so we continue our conversation from the night before. The food is mixed...the carne cruda (local version of steak tartare) is outstanding but Diana's plin (local version of ravioli) and my panissa (a local version of risotto with beans and salami) were both a little bland. The wine is good and inexpensive (can you find a good glass of wine in a restaurant at home for c.$4?), the service is attentive, and a good time is had by all.

It is a short walk home through the piazza back to the hotel.

Tomorrow we have an appointment to visit the synagogue.

Jim and Diana

 

[Pauline]

What a pretty town Vercelli is! A good option for a first/last night before flying in/out of Milan.

 

[Jim Zurer]

I think it might be a bit far for a trans-Atlantic flight that leaves in the morning but for intra-European flights it will be fine. I usually recommend Sesto Calende at the bottom of Lake Maggiore for US bound travelers.

 

[Jim Zurer]

Thursday June 15: Day 3 - Vercelli (part 1)​

Today it is warm enough to take breakfast outside on the terrace....apparently, the place filled up last night since all the tables are occupied.

We walked over to the synagogue where we have arranged to go inside. It was built in the late 19th century when there was a flourishing Jewish community in Vercelli. In fact, the Piedmont region always had a significant Jewish population. The community became more visible after emancipation under Napoleon and with the creation of the Italian nation in the 19th century. However, since World War II, there is now only one person...a very old woman living in a nursing home. The synagogue is quite grand...though showing signs of neglect. According to the representative of the Jewish community, there are infrequent celebrations--bar mitzvahs, etc.--held here but it mostly remains locked up.

(photo courtesy of the Vercelli Jewish community)

It's really an impressive building and we try to imagine it when it was filled with Jewish men and women, praying.

On the sidewalk outside, there are three "stumbling stones" (stolpersteine in German, pietra inciampo in Italian) ...part of a European movement memorializing those murdered in the Holocaust.

We get in the car and take a ride into the countryside....we follow the itinerary laid out in a tourist brochure "Medieval Corners: Among the rice fields" which deals with "the history of Vercelli agriculture and the transformation of the territory from lowland woodland to rice-growing land (which) can be traced in a small strip of plain, between Vercelli, Crescentino and Trino, known as the Grange Triangle."

The ride takes us through miles and miles of rice paddies. You can see the Piemontese mountains in the distance.

We make stops in a number of small towns along the way and visit (see from outside) some of the impressive walled farmhouses with closed courtyards (Granges) that were integral to the development of the rice economy.

Here is a link to more information about the Grange triangle.

https://visitvalsesiavercelli.it/en/scopri/itinerari/exploring-the-grange/

While driving, I spot two large towers in the distance which look like they are connected to a nuclear power plant.

We drive closer and discover that it is in fact a decommissioned nuclear facility...and the area has been transformed into a major solar panel farm by ENEL, the Italian electric power company.

We find ourselves in Crescentino at lunch time and we decide to break a long-standing rule (often breached) not to have a big lunch with wine if we want to do more sightseeing in the afternoon. However, the restaurant that popped up from my internet search looks so appealing that we opt for breaking the rule. The restaurant--Archigusto--is in the back of a wine shop in the old (rundown) section of Crescentino. By contrast, the restaurant is refined and appealing....white tablecloths on tables set in front of shelves of wine bottles from all over Italy. To make a long story short, lunch is amazing....we split a carne cruda (delicious), Diana has a local cheese platter (Robiola) with red onion marmalade that makes her very happy and I have a very different version of the local rice dish panissa (rice, beans, and salami)...this one is baked in the oven and is terrific. We even risk a glass of wine each...surprisingly a wine from Etna in Sicily...from the producer Cavanera. (Coincidentally, I just had clients staying at the Cavanera Wine Resort a week ago.) Definitely worth breaking the rules for....

(end of part 1)

 

[Jim Zurer]

It seems that every trip we have with a car in Italy, reveals a new and opaque payment system, such that I secretly get joy from paying over the odds for the little ones where an attendant puts the fuel in the car.

I have had no problems with self-service gas recently but the last two pumps had "new, improved" interfaces. I am of the school "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

 

[Jim Zurer]

Thursday June 15: Day 3 - Vercelli (part 2)​

Back in Vercelli, Diana is ready for a nap, I do some work, and then go out for another exploratory walk around town. Here are some photos of what I saw....

A couple of contrasting courtyards shot through closed gates....

The doors of the Basilica....

And the Basilica towers rising above an arcaded palazzo....

What I didn't get a picture of is the scene at the Parco Camana at 5 pm....a big public park with playground equipment and fields...just teeming with what seemed to be every child in the city playing with soccer balls, running around, or just hanging out. I think that every kid in Vercelli must be there.

We go to dinner at da Paolino, a Slow Food recommended place on the Piazza Cavour. I have reserved a table outside under the portico where a jazz combo is playing. It's a beautiful evening,

the music is very enjoyable,

the atmosphere is lively but not overly noisy...and the food is pretty good. The special risotto with plum tomatoes and basil is disappointing but the tagliata for Diana and carne salada (carpaccio) for me are very good. We drink most of a good bottle of Barbera from Vietti as well.

And it is only a short walk back to our B&B....tomorrow is our last day in Vercelli and we plan to visit a museum or two.

Jim and Diana

 

[Pauline]

I love those first two photos in this last post. Great photos - really gives us an idea of this town.

 

[Ian Sutton]

Thursday June 15: Day 3 - Vercelli (part 2)​

Back in Vercelli, Diana is ready for a nap, I do some work, and then go out for another exploratory walk around town. Here are some photos of what I saw....

A couple of contrasting courtyards shot through closed gates....

View attachment 41411
View attachment 41412

The doors of the Basilica....

View attachment 41413

And the Basilica towers rising above an arcaded palazzo....

View attachment 41414

What I didn't get a picture of is the scene at the Parco Camana at 5 pm....a big public park with playground equipment and fields...just teeming with what seemed to be every child in the city playing with soccer balls, running around, or just hanging out. I think that every kid in Vercelli must be there.

We go to dinner at da Paolino, a Slow Food recommended place on the Piazza Cavour. I have reserved a table outside under the portico where a jazz combo is playing. It's a beautiful evening,

View attachment 41415

the music is very enjoyable,

View attachment 41416


the atmosphere is lively but not overly noisy...and the food is pretty good. The special risotto with plum tomatoes and basil is disappointing but the tagliata for Diana and carne salada (carpaccio) for me are very good. We drink most of a good bottle of Barbera from Vietti as well.

And it is only a short walk back to our B&B....tomorrow is our last day in Vercelli and we plan to visit a museum or two.

Jim and Diana

So sad that the risotto was disappointing, as we've had so many great ones in the region... though I can't ever recall having a tomato risotto, which seems a weirdly weird combination.

 

[Jim Zurer]

So sad that the risotto was disappointing, as we've had so many great ones in the region... though I can't ever recall having a tomato risotto, which seems a weirdly weird combination

We had a much better risotto tonight....at a different restaurant......with guanciale and bottarga. Extremely well executed.....

 

[Ian Sutton]

What an intriguing combo!

 

[Sandrac]

What a charming city, and your photos are beautiful, Jim. Thank you for sharing!

 

[Jim Zurer]

Special Alert​

Reports will be delayed but stay tuned. Today was a travel day....we drove from Vercelli in the north to Sovana in southern Tuscany and the traffic was fierce.

We are staying at the Hotel Sovana and Resort for a whole week

https://www.sovanahotel.com/

and I will get back on track tomorrow.

Here is a preview of our time in Tuscany.

The "back" side (from the south) of Mount Amiata...we mostly have seen it from the north in the Val d'Orcia.

Poppies and olive trees...we must be back in Tuscany.

Jim and Diana

 

[Pauline]

We are staying at the Hotel Sovana and Resort for a whole week

I love southern Tuscany! On one of our early trips, in 2000, we spent two weeks in Celle Sul Rigo, a very small town. We loved the cafe and restaurant in nearby San Casciano dei Bagni. Daniela I think. There were open hot springs below that town.

And Saturnia - there was a restaurant there that I still have an ashtray from (they gave it to me). Due Cippi. We loved that restaurant the Roman arch in the town. And the hot springs too - but I think they are very popular now.

You can tell that we had an incredible two weeks there - such happy memories. I know you've been in that area before too. Looking forward to your reports!!!

 

[Kportgrl]

I think it might be a bit far for a trans-Atlantic flight that leaves in the morning but for intra-European flights it will be fine. I usually recommend Sesto Calende at the bottom of Lake Maggiore for US bound travelers.

Jim, as I recall you had a hotel in Sesto Calende you had stayed at. We are currently putting together a trip for next spring and will be flying in and out of Malpensa . Is the hotel you stayed at still operating? Would you recommend it? Thanks. Love reading your trip reports.

 

[Jim Zurer]

The hotel is called the 3Re....right on the TIcino River in the middle of town. We stayed there last year and will be there again next month. We first stayed there in 1993, the same two sisters own and operate the hotel, and it is doing very well.

Rooms – Hotel 3 Re – Albergo Ristorante

www.hotel3re.it

Glad you are enjoying my reports.