Our Man in Rome, Sorrento, and Capri — Part 1

Steve Newman at the Fountain of Trevi in Rome

Our recent trip to Italy was both a wonderfully energising event, and superbly relaxing, which seems to me to be the very essence of the Italian character. And no where is this more apparent than in Rome, Sorrento, and Capri.

Rome has little or no resemblance to any other city I know. It has the sprawl of London, but thankfully lacks what I can only describe as that hard, almost uncaring edge London has always had, and still nurtures. Some of Rome’s more recent architecture (1870s – 1890s) resembles Paris in its stylistic grandeur, but it’s a grandeur that, unlike Paris, is more worn at the edges, and delightfully warm to the touch, whereas Paris, like London, is a much colder, harder city. Don’t get me wrong I love Paris and London, love them dearly, but in Rome you feel at home, are made to feel at home; plus you have absolutely no doubt that you are at the centre, at the very heart, of one of the most influential empires ever known to man. The past – famous and infamous — is around every corner, as are the cafes - the wonderful cafes – and the hotels.

Hilary and I stayed at the Hotel Quirinale, at the top of the Via Nazionale, just before you reach the splendid Piazza della Repubblica, which, like just about every piazza in Rome has a fountain, and not just any old fountain, but a huge fountain resplendent with rearing horses and naked men and women vomiting water. Wonderful stuff. The Hotel Quirinale opened for business in 1870, and, apart from new lifts (the original cage affair is still in use) and some more recent plumbing, I doubt if it has changed much in the last 137 years, including the service, which is of the highest quality, as are the high ceilinged bedrooms and public rooms, and a secluded inner garden which has a private entrance – via a tunnel — to the nearby Opera House, with the consequence that the hotel has been host to many famous guests from the world of music over the years, not least Giuseppe Verdi, who stayed in the room below ours, after conducting his last opera, Falstaff.

Interior of the Hotel Quirinale

It’s just a wonderful place to be, with people talking in hushed tones (I like that), and where you feel Henry James, Puccini, or Ernest Hemingway, with Scott Fitzgerald on his arm, might walk in at any moment. Oh, and the Campari Sodas served in the ‘Green Bar’ are among the best we’ve ever tasted; the best are served by Thelma at The Shakespeare Hotel here in Stratford.

Soon after arriving on the Monday, and sampling the Campari Soda, we set out to discover as much of Rome as we could in the hours before dinner. So, heading down the Via Nazionale by foot we eventually found ourselves in the Giardini del Quirinale, which has a huge statue of Emanuele II in the centre of it (or was it Emanuele I ?) sat astride a horse that is at least forty hands high, which is a pretty big horse indeed, and a very big member of the Italian Royal Family too. All very camp. We then crossed the Via del Quirinale to the Palazzo de Quirinale, a wonderful 16th century palace built by Gregory XIII as a summer residence (and from where he could keep an eye on St Peters a mile or so away across the river), which is now the Office of the President, with official cars (all with blacked-out windows) coming and going every few minutes, each one accompanied by at least four motor-cycle cops blowing whistles and gesticulating, which can be very painful. All very operatic, very noisy, and very, very Italian.

After a bit of a rest in front of the palace we headed down hill, along a couple of narrow streets, one of which was the Via San Vinzenso, to come out by the Fontana di Trevi, which was heaving with people, including the same street sellers you get everywhere these days – including Stratford — selling over-priced crap novelties. But it was good to see the famous fountain, but alas no sign of Gregory Peck or Audrey Hepburn.

Then we found a superb cafe…ah, bliss.

To Be Continued…

The renovation of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre — designed by Elisabeth Scott and completed in 1932 — has now started in earnest, with preliminary demolition work well advanced, as the photos, taken on Monday, last week show.

We arrived back from Italy earlier this week (more of that later) and found Stratford gearing-up for a new annual event: The Stratford - upon-Avon Festival of Food & Drink, which has, over the last three days, proven to be a wonderful affair, with our fridge now stuffed with all sorts of Italian, French, and English goodies.

We also came across Roger Clay, who is the Secretary of the Stratford & Warwick Waterways Trust — SWWT for short — who is a thoroughly charming man with a fight on his hands to extend (or more accurately complete) navigation on the river Avon from Stratford to a junction with the Grand Union canal near Warwick. It’s a bold scheme that has met with a great deal of opposition over the years, although things are now looking promising. I believe it should happen, and the sooner the better.

A few weeks ago Hilary and I visited Charlecote Park (famed as the place where Shakespeare is supposed to have poached deer) just outside Stratford, where, after a look inside the house — which is a superb mixture of Elizabethan and Victorian — we wandered out onto the terraced garden at the back, where the Avon curves gently down from Warwick, through lush ‘hidden’ meadowland, toward the villages of Alveston and Tiddington just a couple of miles away.

We both agreed that such beautiful countryside, and important buildings such as Charlecote House – and some other fine 17th and 18th century buildings along the way - just had to be seen by as many people as possible (these things can no longer be kept purely for the enjoyment of the landowner, determined walker, or angler) and that this last watery link between the historic towns of Stratford and Warwick has to be completed, as outlined in the SWWT’s pamphlet.

“ The navigation proposal is known as the Upper Avon Extension (UAE) and is a continuation of the re-opening of the Avon from Tewkesbury to Evesham in 1962, and from Evesham to Stratford in 1974. It would fulfil the aims of a scheme first authorised in 1635.

“ Improved access to the river banks could be achieved by extending and joining together the footpaths that already exist near the river. The ultimate aim is for a continuous riverside walk between Warwick and Stratford.

“ The Trust recognises that these significant goals can be achieved only with the goodwill and co-operation of the many organisations and individuals who have concern for the interest in the river, in particular the local authorities, the riparian [water rights] owners, the wildlife interests and the many potential users.”

In fact it would seem that many local individuals, politicians, and organisations (the regional tourist bodies for instance) are now beginning to support the scheme as they realise that a river, and the land alongside it, has to earn its keep, and that tourism, especially in this part of the world, is a vital part of the financial life blood of the area, with more and more people taking river and canal holidays. So it came as a bit of a surprise that Warwick Castle (owned and run by Madame Tussauds, who are very commercially minded) is still apparently against the idea, as is Charlecote Park, which is now run by The National Trust, although members of the Fairfax-Lucy family ( who once employed many Newmans) still live in part of the building. But surely the financial return for both of those tourist attractions could be huge (and such buildings and estates need a lot of money to keep them going) especially if landing stages were built alongside that could take tourists straight off designated river boats, which means it would also be good for local boat building and river cruising operators from both towns, as well as increase the navigational opportunities in all directions, as the SWWT pamphlet points out.

“ The benefit for navigation interests are substantial. The Upper Avon Extension would create a non-tidal broad gauge link between the Severn and the Thames and complete a major step towards joining with the broad navigation network to the north which links the Mersey, the Humber and the Wash.”

The engineering work required would also be pretty straight forward, because the…

“ …waterway already exists with over 90% being fully navigable; very little dredging would be required. Six locks would be needed alongside existing weirs. A short canal near Barford would bypass a long shallow loop of the river. The navigable river would join the Grand Union canal near Warwick by four conventional locks or a lift.”

The world renowned actor — and narrow boat owner — Timothy West CBE, is the Patron of SWWT, who, at the inaugural meeting of the Trust said…

“ We can only hope that the accelerating countrywide interest in inland waterway development, the benefits of which are being appreciated steadily by more and more people, will finally filter through to those in authority…”

Well, it would appear they are, but there are a good many people still to be convinced, so, find out more about the work of the Stratford & Warwick Waterways Trust to offer help and support.