An exotic seaside getaway in north-western Italy known for its sprawling beaches, million dollar yachts, famous jazz cafes and piano bars, super luxury five stars and fine dining, Viareggio offers a whale of a time. The strutting of high heels along the endless promenades, luxury yachts anchoring in the marina, the woody flavour of the world-renowned Chianti wine and the fragrance of sturdy cigari make Viareggio the playground of Italy’s crème de la crème!
Know for its world-famous carnival, Viareggio attracts tourists from all over the globe. The highlight of the carnival are its lifelike floats depicting various political figures, local celebrities and other hilarious, often satirical, representations. Since way back in 1873, the Viareggio Carnival has been Italy’s most favoured form of self-expression after wining and dining.
A tour of Viareggio’s carnival museum is more than just a rib-tickling treat. The life-size papier mache floats convey a deep and profound message layered with raw Italian humour and childlike innocence. Right from a monstrous old judge with a huge hammer depicting the USA (a dig at its foreign policies), a whacky Barack Obama float to some favourite local Italian celebrities, the mischief is contagious!
Viareggio is every musician’s dream come alive. The city is known for being the home of none other than the towering legend Giacomo Puccini, one of the world’s greatest composers with evergreen operas like Turandot, La Boheme, Madama Butterfly and Tosca to his credit. Built on the serene Lake Puccini which is said to have provided the genius with boundless inspiration, the avant-garde Puccini Theatre at Torre del Lago (Viareggio) offers an eclectic musical treat for connoisseurs and musicians alike.
Driving along the scenic Italian motorways, listening to singing superstar Tiziano Ferro’s Sara Belissimo on a local radio station and chatting in hardy Italian brings me to the quaint little town of Cortona as I settle in a wayside trattoria for some authentic cuisine off mama’s oven, amicable folk and fine wines. Cut off from the rest of Europe and the world, Cortona is a paradise of its own, with winding cobbled pathways, old creamish-yellow homes with young lovers exchanging sweet nothings across traditional-style verandas, An occasional lingerie store with blow-ups of sizzling signorinas modeling for popular brands are a pleasantly startling contrast to Cortona’s old-world quaintness.
A flea market at Cortona offers the weirdest antiques right from bent and blunted swords, sailors cutlasses and ornate crockery to out of tune guitars. A North African street musician with Arabo-Andalusian numbers on his old accordion added to the intrigue. “Excuse me mister, please give me money,” he asserted with a smile on noticing my video camera staring at his bright-red instrument.
The highlight of my sojourn was Cortona’s Eremo Le Celle Franciscan Monastery. High up on a rocky hillock, the sound of flowing water lulls you instantly into a meditative trance as you stop at a sign that bears the profound words of one of Christianity’s greatest saints, St. Francis of Assisi “Fermati. Del silenzio davanti a dio, riscopri chi sei” (Stop! Through silence before God, rediscover who you are).
At the monastery one can often spot bearded friars greeting devotees with a gentle smile, many even fluent in English. The word ‘cappuccino’ is derived from light-brown colour of the robes these ‘Capuchin Friars’ wore. The words ‘Pace e Bene’ (peace and well being/goodness) welcome you to the tiny church where a simple service is held in Italian. One can spot the extremely devout tearfully keeling in prayers, the tranquility and simplicity of the monastery reminiscent of St. Francis’s purity and devotion he shared while in Cortona.
The writer is a travel enthusiast
Source: The Asian Age
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