The Voyager goes to the front line and meets the TV journalist Mimosa Martini

These are bleak days for the Italian media. On the 8^th of October, a mother of a missing schoolgirl was told on live TV,

Mimosa Martini is the reporter of the TG5, one of the main Italian TV news.

 in front of 3.5 million viewers, that her 15 years old daughter had been murdered and her brother-in-law had been charged with the girl’s murder.

“This is the last frontier of a culture that has long given the media the right and the duty to probe everything, to enter everywhere and monitor our existence until the moment we expire” said Il Giornale daily newspaper in an editorial.

Italy has been debating the role of media, its lack of ethics and broadcasting sensibilities since this last episode of the Italian trashy TV saga went on air. But on the other side, every day there are reporters from the frontline who risk their lives because they are committed to tell us the story and to report it accurately.

In May this year, I was lucky enough to meet Mimosa Martini, one of the most famous Italian journalists, at a ceremony where she was given an award for her professionalism and commitment.

She is one of these brave reporters, which almost every evening enter our houses through the small screen. She started her career in the late 70s and since then she travelled around the world to cover the stories for the people who can’t tell these stories for themselves, i.e. in Haiti, Afghanistan, Kuwait and Iraq.

I was fascinated by her stories and asked her to answer few questions to share with us her travel experiences. If you also wonder how travelling changed her as a person, what has been her most inspirational travel experience and much more, then read on.

1. Who exactly is Mimosa Martini? A journalist? An adventurer? Or?

No, I am definitely not an adventurer, I am a journalist, hence I am curious and I want to be an eyewitness to what happens. If this means ‘venturing’, I am happy to do it. I definitely do not lack a sense of adventure, and never did. It is also true that often, when I am on holiday, I go and visit places that intrigue me and I still haven’t see for my work. For this reason I visited, for example, the North Pole, I travelled all over Mongolia, Japan and Central America.

2. How did you first start to travel?

The journalist started her career in the radio.

I started travelling with my parents when I was very young. We always went to beach resorts because this was their passion. Then, as a teenager, I started travelling with friends, rucksack, sleeping bag and very little money. Those were days when you could hitchhike and sleeping on the beach was common – you would have met young people travelling from all around the world, it was very enjoyable, although very uncomfortable. For this reason I can still do this when I have to for work. I mean, sleeping in the open air, on the floor, without a bed, a ceiling, a toilette, and sometimes not even heating, as it happened in Kabul in winter (in that case it was very difficult!)

3. How did your trips and work change you as a person?

Every travel is an experience which brings small or big news. It is an intimate and personal experience but it also forces you to project yourself on the outside because anything surrounding you is new and different: the objects, the buildings, the streets, the people and the food. Inducing to look outside, this makes you a more flexible person. Ironically, I can say that my many traveling experiences have made me flexible but they also made me stricter with some fundamental and universal values such as the respect for others, their culture and their freedom.

4. Where have you been recently and what is your next destination?

I recently (in June 2010) came back from Israel and the Palestinian territories. I will go back to Haiti soon – I was there for the earthquake which devastated the country in January and February this year. 

5. What’s been your most inspirational travel experience?

This is not an easy answer: every travel is different. My staying in Afghanistan and Iraq have been really peculiars, since during many months I crossed and lived in many countries and saw many crucial events. I also encountered with many dangers which I overcame.  Haiti was also a hard experience, as well as Nepal, when I toured it all about 30 years ago – it was very different from the one we know now.

6. What was your worst travel experience?

It depends what you mean with bad experience. Probably in Iraq, when they shot at me whilst I was driving, the

Mimosa Martini also wrote Kashmir Palace, a romance about war correspondents.

 vehicle tires exploded. After several minutes of spin and gymkhana, eventually I managed to control the car. I knew I still had two tanks of fuel on the roof of the car ready to explode and that if I stopped they could have kept shooting us. Luckily it did not happen.

7. What is the hardest thing for you when arrive to your destination? And the hardest when you come back home?

I find very difficult the waiting, whether at home or away. The worse is if I have to wait for long and I can’t even sleep!

8. You have traveled extensively in your career thus far; do you have a favorite place?

I can’t really say which one is my favorite place; there are cities which I like, where working is more comfortable or easiest and a place where I would go to rest. At the end of the day, my favorite place is home, because it is a safe base where I can take refuge.

9. Is there still a place on earth you haven’t been that you’d still like to see?

Polynesia! And many, many other destinations. Luckily this is a big world…

10. What is the single greatest piece of advice you’d give Voyagers?

I would suggest them to always remember that when they visit a foreign country they are entering someone else’s home. Hence, they should be respectful and open to learn: you never know what but for sure you will learn something important, even if small.  

Mimosa, thank you for the availability.

Tags: Mimosa Martini

Toast to Tuscany – it is wine time!

It is autumn again. Summer is over, the temperature is cooling down and the daylight hours are getting shorter. Autumn means winter is right behind the corner bringing along gloomy days and cold weather.

In Tuscany, Autumn also means vendemmia (grape harvest), the most critical part of the wine making process. This is not just about Chianti, a wine which everyone knows, but also Montepulciano; Brunello di Montalcino, Carmignano and Morellino di Scansano, to name but a few.

With wine, as well as food, being a very important part of the

The medieval city of Siena is located about 40km South from Cinciano.

Italian lifestyle, grape harvest is also a convivial event celebrated with an endless array of festivals, feasts and local wine celebrations.

For example, this week end in Poggibonsi, nearby Siena, the traditional grape-pressing contest Il Pigio (press in Italian is pigia) was taking place, transforming grape harvesting from a hard work into a joyful event. The contest is between the seven districts of Poggibonsi that try to win the Boccione, a stripped-back, hand made demijohn painted by artists.

With the vino novello (new wine) flavour, lower prices and blue skies, October is probably the best time of the year to visit Tuscany.

The main building of Cinciano (right) covers 900 square meters.

Ten minutes drive from Poggibonsi, there is Cinciano(www.cinciano.it), a tiny hilltop village in the Chiantishire. The history of the village, with its main villa, surrounded by homes for the servants, farm laborers, stables and a frescoed chapel, can be tracked back to the 1126. Today Cinciano welcomes guests who wish to combine a cosy atmosphere with a historical and cultural ambient. The villa, which can host up to 16 people, has an industrial kitchen, a huge living room with a wood burning oven, reading, sitting and game rooms, an impressive stone stair and a billiard room. In the back of the villa there are three levels of terraces, with a fountain and a swimming pool, overlooking the surrounding hills, vineyards and San Gimignano’s towers in the distance.

We will better get use to the idea of autumn but what if we are keen to jet off, while everyone slaves in the office? Tuscany is just the answer.

Tags: Chianti, Chiantishire, Cinciano, Poggibonsi, San Gimignano, Siena, Tuscany

Discover the unspoilt Lake Iseo

 

With a surface of about 65 squared km, Lake Iseo is big enough for sailing and diving.

From Pietrasanta (my first pick for late summer escapes), driving 250 km north along the A15 motorway, you get to Lake Iseo – the fourth biggest lake in Italy, with a surface of about 65 km². Surrounded by vineyards and olive tree fields, Lake Iseo is a secret gem, little-known even among Italians, considerable less touristy and crowded than its famous brothers Lake Garda and Como. 

One of the main attractions of the lake is Monte Isola, the largest inhabited lake island in Europe. Only 3km long and 600m above sea level at its highest point, Monte Isola is a true mountain, which divides the centre of the lake into two canals. The place is car free – only the local doctor, mayor and police are allowed four wheels – and the 1,800 inhabitants circulate with scooter or Vespas. The best way to explore the island and enjoy its wonderful views is hiring a bicycle. 

Monte Isola isn’t the lake’s only island. There are two other smaller islets – San Paolo and Loreto – both privately

The Hotel Rivalago offer its guests the possibility to hire a private boats directly from the hotel

 owned with very exclusive settings. The inventors of Beretta firearms bought San Paolo in 1915 and built a Neo-Gothic villa. Loreto, which once was home to a religious order, the Poor Clares, today hosts a private villa that looks like a Gaudí-esque folly.

If you are after a peaceful, charming and panoramic setting, stay at Hotel Rivalago on the shore of Lake Iseo (the hotel name means ‘lake-shore’). The four-star hotel is an elegant country style villa with 32 rooms, a terrace/garden overlooking the Monte Isola as well as a swimming pool right on the edge of the lake. Located in the historic centre of Sulzano, it is just a short walk across a labyrinth of tiny alleys to the boat departure point.(http://www.rivalago.it/ENG/Home.asp)

Lake Iseo, also known as Lake Sebino, was formed by the Valcamonica Glacier.

Fishing is a popular activity among locals, as a sport as well as an economic resource – apparently n 1935, more than 300 families earned their living as fishermen. The lake is full of fish (sardines, perch, whitefish, pike, trout, tench and small salmon) which are served at restaurants all around its shores. In Marone, the restaurant ‘Alla Galleria’ located in the 15th century Villa Bagnadore offers a spectacular view from its lakeside terrace, fresh-water fish dishes and wines from the local Franciacorta vineyards.

Franciacorta is one of the most important wine-regions of North-Italy, well known by wine connaisseurs. The charming vineyards, with rustic buildings and old mansion houses, recall the feeling of Tuscany,  which is my last pick for late summer escapes. Find out more in my next post.

Tags: Franciacorta, Hotel Rivalago, Lake Iseo, Marone, Monte Isola, Sulzano

How to enjoy quieter beaches, cooler temperatures and cheaper prices

Are you booking your next holiday to beat the post vacation blues? Or do you take your break off season? Here is my pick of late summer escapes in Italy. 

By the sea – Pietrasanta 

Botero’s chubby warrior guards the entrance to Pietrasanta.

“I love living in Pietrasanta… It is a marvelous place, with no comparisons in the arts and scenic beauty…” said the Colombian painter and sculptor Fernando Botero in one of his interviews. Many artists, Botero for one, have chosen this medieval town 3km off the coast of northern Tuscany as the place where to work and live. The area has been famous for the purity and high quality of its marble  since Michelangelo began quarrying marble on the nearby Monte Altissimo in the sixteenth century. (The Marble Arch in London is made with local marble.)

 The hearth of the town is the Piazza del Duomo, from where the cobblestone streets and twisted alleyways radiate. Artists’ studios mingle with small boutiques and local restaurants among the wooden shutters and ochre washed buildings.

Next to Pietrasanta there is Marina di Pietrasanta, a seaside resort of the

The D'Annunzio suite at Palazzo Visdomini.

 Versilia Riviera with a 4km long and up to 200 mt wide beach. Going off-season, you wont find the beach covered by sun-burnt people lined up like sardines in cans.

Looking for an accommodation? Palazzo Visdomini  is an oasis of luxury with a private-home atmosphere right in the historic centre of Pietrasanta. Six luxury suites have been realized in this palace which once belonged to a noble Florentine family. The suites are all decorated with original furnishing and pieces of the 18^th century. In the ground floor there is a homely kitchen leading out to the veranda overlooking the garden with the swimming pool. (http://www.residenzapalazzovisdomini.com/)

Next time I will go from the salt to the fresh water. Follow me!

Tags: Botero, D'annunzio, Italy, London, marble, Marble Arch, Michelangelo, Palazzo Visdomini, post-vacation blues, Tuscany, Versilia

Much ado about saying ‘I do’

“For our wedding we run away from Roma and came to Bolgheri (Tuscany, Italy) to avoid all the chaos that usually this kind of events generates” said Luigi to the reporter of Il Tirreno, the local daily newspaper, who interviewed the groom just before the ceremony. “We wanted a simple wedding away from the crowds. We liked the idea of the square as the venue for the event. I am ‘calabrese’ (from the Calabria region in South Italy) and for us weddings are a folkloristic event” he continued. 

They did not consider the media sensation that their choice would have caused. For days, before and after the event, the local newspapers have covered the news of their wedding, politicians have argued that the wedding did not bring any money to the local economy and locals complained that the event blocked the entire village. 

“I cipressi che a Bolgheri alti e schietti

van da San Guido in duplice filar

quasi in corsa giganti giovinetti

mi balzarono incontro e mi guardar …”

(“Davanti San Guido” by Giosué carducci)

In this poem, taught in school to every Italian child, Carducci, who lived in Bolgheri between 1838 and 1848, immortalized the viale (‘Avenue’) that led to the village from the Aurelian way. The Cypress “from Bolgheri tall and pure to Saint Guido in a double row” seem to peer you for about five kilometers when driving across the gentle Tuscan landscape.

At the end of the avenue, you get to the village from a single arched door, which gives the place a medieval atmosphere. In front of it there is the castle, with its red bricks, creating a contrast of colours with the green of the olive trees and the cypresses which surround it. On the right there is the small and charming church of San Giacomo and San Cristoforo, the eldest in the area, where Luigi and Michela said ‘I do’.

After the ceremony, reception drinks were served at the Caffé della Posta opposite the church, before we moved to Largo Nonna Lucia (the little square named after Carducci’s grandma) for dinner. 200 guests seated at round tables along a corridor of seven gazebos. The menu, a mix of fish and meat, was prepared by Federico, the chef from Rome who is a friend of the groom. About 100 bottles of red wine Argentiera were consumed whilst  the folk-rock band “Giú il cappello” was playing the “tarantella”, the southern Italian couple folk dances.   

At Bolgheri town everything has kept its original aspect and you feel the sensation that time has stopped. The town has also given its name to this already very famous wine region where the world class Sassicaia wine – a blend of Cabernets – is produced. 

“We visited Bolgheri for the first time four years ago, when we came for a jazz festival”, said the groom Luigi. “We fall in love with the place and decide to say ‘Yes, I do’ here but we say ‘No’ to any event that could spoil the unique and romantic atmosphere of the place”.

Tags: Bolgheri, Carducci, Italy, Rome, Sassicaia, Tuscany

How to enjoy the Italian and Catalan flavours in just one place

The Alghero cathedral's Gothic-Catalan bell tower is 40 metres high, is formed by five hexagonal storeys and ends with a spire.

It was back in 1960s when the Aga Khan arrived in the north-eastern tip of Sardinia, Italy, and saw in it the potential for a holiday playground for the rich and famous. He set up the Emerald Coast Consortium and converted the strip of land between the Golfo di Arzachena and the Golfo Aranci into a super-stylish destination populated by crowds of ‘beautiful’ people.

But if you are looking for a short break to enjoy blue waters, untamed landscapes and mouth-watering food rather than glamorous types coming to Sardinia to pose and party, Alghero, on the North-West coast, is your destination. Alghero, which gets its name from the abundance of alghe (seaweed), is less glitzy than the busy Emerald Coast, but offers plenty of unspoilt beaches and a lively clutch of bars and restaurants.

Founded at the end of the 12th century by the Doria family of Genoa, it was a small military defense post. Due to its strategic position for sea routes to the East and the presence of large quantities of coral (red gold) it was conquered by the Catalan troops in 1355. After many centuries, Alghero (l’Alguer under Spanish rules) still preserves much of the Catalan influence. Most signs and menus are written in both Italian and Catalan, locals speak the guttural local Catalan dialect and the town’s architecture is typical Catalan.

The hearth of Alghero is the old town also called Barcelonetta (Little Barcelona), with ramparts (the walls surrounding the fort town), towers, forts and a puzzle of narrow alleyways and hidden squares. The most striking building is the Cattedrale di Santa Maria (St. Mary Cathedral), which was built in the 16th century in Catalan-Gothic style and which still holds a weekly service in Catalan, or Algherese. The interior exhibits a number of contrasting styles. The five radiating chapels of the original building still represent the gothic period, the centre is largely renaissance whilst the neoclassic facade was added in the 20th century. Here is where we were last week to celebrate our friends’ wedding – Elena from Alghero and Kiko from Barcelona.

Alghero's city walls have stared out to the sea for the last six hundred years or so.

The cathedral is surrounded by narrow cobbled streets – the perfect place to explore as well as for a retail therapy. Almost each shop is a one-off boutique where artisans sell jewelers, leather goods, wine and food, among others. Alghero itself is small enough to be walkable. Starting from the Forte de la Maddalena – the city’s most important Spanish fortification – a stroll along the town walls provides some wonderful views towards Capo Caccia, especially at the sunset. In fact, with the wall facing the sea, stunning sunsets can be enjoyed from one of the many bars or restaurants along the route.

Surrounded by water on three sides, Alghero seems to be held captive again – not by the Spanish who once dominated the city, but by the locals who want to preserve the town’s genuine and exotic character.

Tags: Aga Khan, Alghero, Barcelona, Costa Smeralda, Italy, Sardinia

Rovinj – where artists and Roman Abramovich chill out

It is Friday afternoon and I just shut down my lap-top. Another week of work has gone and I am ready for the week end.

Rovinj's picturesque harbor is surrounded by pastel colored houses.

The sat-nav says two hours to my destination and I know I will use them all to get into the right mood for sailing – have fun and be safe. 

The weather-forecasts predict rain, storms and strong winds. But the heavy weather doesn’t hold me  back. I know that what I need are just adequate dresses, preparations and precautions.

I arrive in Chioggia Sottomarina, not far from Venice, North East of Italy, at around 8pm. Sottomarina is a popular holiday resort, with more than 2km of waterfront promenade, called Lungomare Adriatico. At the very far end of the promenade, I find the harbour, where I meet the rest of the crew and the yacht boat, a Salona 40, is moored. Due to the season and the weather conditions, the beach and the streets are completely deserted apart from a couple of kids that are going to fish. 

The traditional Batanas (or wooden boats) bob happily in the harbour.

The plan is to leave before midnight. Whilst we are having a quick dinner, we check the weather forecasts and compare them from a choice of websites, which unfortunately report different predictions. The only detail that doesn’t change is the rain. We know we have to wear layered clothing, waterproof gear, gloves, warm socks and boots. After an attentive discussion, we plan our route conservatively. We are heading to Rovinj, Croatia, which is about 60 miles away from the Italian coast. 

Since the voyage will take about 12 hours sailing, we have to split it into shifts. I choose the first shift, this means I will be steering until 3.30am. The rain doesn’t give us any break and as soon as we leave the harbour it starts raining. It is hard to recognize the lights, the buoys and the fishermen boats but eventually we get into the open sea. 

The thought of sailing offshore at night always intrigued and scared me at the same time. It challenges the senses – the wind, the sound of the water rushing by, the night sky all make the senses much more aware. At the end of my shift, I finally get into my cabin. I am wet, cold and exhausted but I can’t stop thinking of what an amazing experience I am living with the rest of the crew. 

It is Saturday morning and after four hours sleep, it is my turn to go back outside. The rain hasn’t stopped and the wind

In Rovinj, there are two harbours: the northwestern open harbour and the little, secure harbour to the south.

is still strong. At the horizon we see a couple of funnel clouds. It is the first time we see them real and being offshore doesn’t make us feel any safe. But suddenly we spot a group of dolphins getting close to our boat, close enough to take them pictures, they grab our attention and we forget about the clouds. 

After 12 hours since we put to sea, at midday on Saturday, we anchor the boat at the pier in Rovinj, Croatia. The harbour is crammed with sailing and fishing boats. 

Rovinj was once a fishing town, today is a tourist resort. One of the first things that I noticed is that, although it is an extremely ‘photogenic’ town, the municipality posted signs along the pier indicating the panoramic views for the pictures. 

Mentioned for the first time in 7th century, Rovinj was part of the Venetian Empire for over 500 years. The old town is settled on a peninsula high up on a hill, crowned by the baroque church of St. Euphemia (1736), whose bell tower guided us during the last part of the journey.

The city was fortified by two rows of walls with three town gates.

Strolling in the narrow, cobbled, medieval alleys, we feel all the charm and warm atmosphere of this picturesque Mediterranean setting. We reach the top of the hill, and from the church plateau we enjoy a wonderful view of the open sea and numerous islets in the distance. 

We wander around and explore colourful galleries and shops, filled with local arts and crafts. The central square is edged with lively cafes and restaurants – perfect to watch the world go by.

With 2,400 hours of sunshine annually, Rovinj is a great place to visit all year round for artists looking for inspiration as well as for multibillionaires, as Roman Abamovich, whose mega yacht has been spotted here more than once.

Tags: Chioggia, Croatia, Italy, Roman Abramovich, Rovinj, sailing