Etruscan Places

Travel Baggage allowance Passports We advise you to check the baggage allowances Please ensure your 10 year British Passport is not carefully as you are likely to be charged the excess out of date and is valid for a full three months if you exceed the weight limit. Maximum weights beyond the duration of your visit. EU, Andorra, for single bags apply. Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino or Switzerland valid national identification cards are also With British Airways your ticket includes one hold acceptable for travel to . bag of up to 23kg plus one cabin bag no bigger than 56 x 45x 25cm including handles, pockets and Visas wheels, and a personal bag (handbag or computer British and EU passport holders are not required to case) no bigger than 45 x 36 x 20cm including have a visa. handles, pockets and wheels.

For all other passport holders please check the visa For more information please visit requirements with the appropriate embassy. www.britishairways.com

Italian Consulate-General: “Harp House”, 83/86 Farringdon Street, London EC4A 4BL. Labels Tel: (0)20 7936 5900. Fax: (0)20 7583 9425. Please use the luggage labels provided. It is useful Email: [email protected] Website: to have your home address located inside your http://www.conslondra.esteri.it/Consolato_Londra suitcase should the label go astray. Open Mon-Fri 0900-1200 Transfers On arrival in Rome, transfer by coach to Frascati (approx. one hour) to Hotel Colonna. Tickets Included with your detailed itinerary is a flight e- ticket, which shows your flight reference number. Departure Tax You will need to quote/show this reference number The departure tax is included in the price of your at the check-in desk and you will be issued with flight tickets. your boarding pass. Online check-in is not available. Special Requests Your Group Scheduled or Club Class ticket is non- If you haven’t already, please notify Travel Editions transferable and non-refundable. No refund can be of any special requests as soon as possible to allow given for non-used portions. sufficient time to make the necessary arrangements. Please note that some airlines may charge for use of wheelchairs.

Accommodation

Hotel Royal, canolli (tube-shaped pastry filled with ricotta), Small and elegant four-star hotel located on the sweet ravioli with ricotta, and the Italian classic shores of Lake Bolsena. Typically Italian, it offers a Tiramisù. bar and lounge, outdoor swimming pool surrounded by a beautiful lawn and hydrangeas, Strong Italian espresso coffee is served after the furnished with loungers and parasols and well- meal and will be black, in small cups, unless a appointed, comfortable bedrooms. Room facilities cappuccino or caffe latte is requested. include private bathroom with bath or shower, TV, telephone, air-conditioning and wi-fi. Table service is common in most restaurants and bars. Usually, a discretionary service charge is For more information please visit the hotel’s website: added to your bill in restaurants and bars, and no http://www.hotelroyalbolsena.it/?lang=en further tipping is required.

Food Drink Italian food rivals French in the hearts and taste The world’s largest wine producer, Italy is home to buds of many gastronomes and the regional cuisine, some of the oldest viticulture regions. The wines of which the locals are very proud, wonderfully are named according to their grape variety or after reflects the climate and local produce. Delicious their village or area of origin. Excellent wines are pizza, pasta and risotto dishes are present produced throughout Italy and Sicily, with local everywhere throughout Italy with provincial wines offering great value and quality. specialities and sauces. The wine region is known for being a centre of Notwithstanding its imperial heritage, Roman white wine, the most famous being Frascati, Castelli cuisine is one of the people. Using seasonal Romani and Est! Est! Est!. Mainly using Malvasia ingredients, prepared in a simple way, Roman and Trebbiano grape varieties, the region’s wines cuisine is based on locally grown vegetables (peas, are generally meant to be consumed young. artichokes, courgettes, and fava beans), meat Lazio also produces some excellent sweet wines, (mainly goat and lamb), cod, cheese (Pecorino such as Aleatico di and a modern version of Romano and ricotta), and flavoured with olive oil the Ancient Roman Falernum. and aromatic herbs. Bruschetta (bread rubbed with olive oil, topped In elegant restaurants the wine list will be separate with tomatoes and garlic), is a popular appetiser from the main menu, but in less opulent (antipasto) and the preferred pasta form in Rome is establishments will be printed on the back or along spaghetti, accompanied with a delicious sauce, such the side of the carte. The waiter will usually be glad as amatriciana, carbonara (pancetta, cheese and to advise an appropriate choice. If in doubt, try the egg), Alfredo (with butter and parmesan cheese) or house wine; this will usually be less expensive and cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper). will always be the owner’s pride. Other local specialities include Suppli (fried rice croquette, filled with beef and mozarella), Apéritifs such as Campari and Punt e Mes are Saltimbocca alla Romana (veal with ham and sage), excellent appetisers, while Italian liqueurs include trippa (tripe with tomato sauce and pecorino Grappa, Stregga, Galliano, Amaretto, Sambuca and cheese), Abbacchio alla cacciatora (lamb chops), Limoncello. Fiori di Zucca (deep fried courgette flowers filled with mozzarella cheese), and Coda alla vaccinara Meals included in the price of your holiday are: (oxtail tomato and chocolate stew). Traditional desserts include Crostata di ricotta Breakfast – daily at the hotel (ricotta cheesecake, flavoured with lemons and 2 Dinners - at hotel Marsala wine), Maritozzi (cream filled pastry),

Destination This fascinating tour in the company of ancient may explain the abundance of luxury goods found historian Jeremy Paterson, follows in the footsteps in these tombs, such as tableware made of precious of D.H. Lawrence, whose book, ‘Etruscan Places’ is metal, goldsmith’s work, illustrated vases, bronzes an evocative account of some of the sites we visit and pieces imported from Greece and the Near on this trip. It tells the story of the ancient East, as well as weapons, belts, razors, buckles and civilisation that preceded the Romans, whose legacy jewellery. The interiors are eerily evocative, is visible in the area north-west of Rome around our imitating the houses where their occupants spent base for this tour, the lovely lakeside town of their lives, with several rooms, shaped doors and Bolsena. Join Jeremy to bring this ancient story to windows, columns and pillars, beamed and coffered life with wit and enthusiasm. ceilings, furnishings, funerary beds and sometimes grave goods. It is also interesting to visit the tombs Places of interest included in the tour: known locally as a dado(like dice), which describes how they line the streets of the necropolis in Bolsena regular patterns, looking uncannily like a modern housing estate. Bolsena is a charming little town that overlooks the eastern shores of the lake of the same name. A corner of Italy rich in history and traditions, San Giovenale immersed in the luxuriant and still unspoiled nature San Giovenale is the modern name of the location of the Volsini mountains. The origins of the village of an ancient Etruscan settlement close to the date back to the third century B.C., founded by the modern village of Blera, Italy. It was excavated by inhabitants who fled from Vèlsena (present day the Swedish Institute at Rome in the 1950s and ), which was conquered and destroyed by 1960s with King Gustaf VI Adolf as one of the the Romans in 265 B.C. The new city, called participating archaeologists. The excavations at San in Latin, prospered for several centuries, until the Giovenale have been, together with the excavations first Gothic invasions (410), when the Volsiniese of Acquarossa, the main source of information community withdrew to the cliff that is site of the about how small and medium-size Etruscan medieval quarter of the Castle, dominated by the settlements were organized. fortress of the Monaldeschi della Cervara, today the seat of the Territorial Museum of Bolsena Lake. The Necropolis Etruscan-Roman town of Volsinii conserves the long Declared to a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004, city wall, the zone of the forum, bounded by a vast it hosts an exceptional monumental cycle of painted basilica, several patrician houses decorated with tombs described as “the first chapter in the history beautiful frescoes and mosaics, the amphitheatre of great Italian painting” and comprises more than and two thermal installations. But the monument 6,000 underground Etruscan tombs that completely for which Bolsena is known throughout the world is cover the extensive hill of Monterozzi. Adorned the Collegiate of Santa Cristina where, in with scenes of human life that include huntsmen, 1263, the famous Eucharistic miracle took place fishermen, musicians, dancers, jugglers and that is said to have given rise to the festivity of athletes, the painted tombs illustrate the wealth Corpus Domini. and power of the occupants for whom they were built: they are a fitting symbol of their high social Cerveteri Necropolis status. Etruscan painting is all the more important because we have lost all trace of Greek painting: we A major centre of Etruscan civilisation that was can only imagine how it may have looked by declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004, the studying the decorations in some of the exceptional Necropolis stretches for more than two kilometres. tombs in Tarquinia, where experts have theorised These monumental tombs are located inside tumuli, that they see the hand of Greek artists who were partly cut into the tufa rock and partly built over it. attracted to Italy to decorate the last resting places The purpose of these edifices was to illustrate the of wealthy Etruscans. desire of a handful of aristocratic families to make a statement about their wealth and to perpetuate a lifestyle of the highest quality also after death.This

Tuscania overall design is attributed to Vignola. It uses the was an Etruscan town of some importance Palladian circle and square. Every aspect of the and many tombs have been found in its environs. garden is perfectly proportioned and richly detailed: The rich were buried in sarcophagi covered by a a square terrace subdivided into smaller squares, a statue where the dead were portrayed as if they water parterre, a wonderful fountain in a central were attending a banquet. The Roman conquest of position. Tuscania in ca 285 BC did not cause a decline of the town; recently discovered tombs of two Etruscan families housed many sarcophagi of the period The centre of the Etruscan civilisation, Viterbo’s following the Roman conquest; they show the dead beautiful historic centre has been well preserved in the traditional Etruscan posture, but are and comprises the old urban core enclosed by the decorated with scenes which show the influence of town wall, while the modern, commercial and Hellenistic patterns. The very large number of industrial part is nearer to the defensive walls. In similar sarcophagi found near Tuscania has led the central Piazza San Lorenzo stand the Cathedral, archaeologists to believe that making sarcophagi built in the 12th Century, and the Palazzo dei was an element of the local economy. While most Papi (Papal Palace), residence for the popes since buildings date from after the 1495 sack of the town, 1255, and remembered as the site where the Tuscania retains many medieval corners similar to longest and most disputed conclave in history took those of Viterbo, including the presence of profferli, place. Not far away is Piazza del Plebiscito, fronted decorated external staircases. by Palazzo dei Priori, considered the historical, social and institutional hub of the city, and Parco dei Monstri connected by the Pinacoteca (Art Gallery) to the Commissioned in 1552 by Prince Pier Francesco Medieval Palazzo del Podestà. Orsini, the Parco dei Monstri it was an expression of grief designed to shock. The Prince, also known as Vicino, had just been through a brutal war, had his Montefiascone is situated 15 km from Viterbo, friend killed, been held for ransom for years, and along the Via Cassia leading from Rome to Siena, come home only to have his beloved wife die. and then to the north of Italy and the rest of Europe Racked with grief, the Prince wanted to create a - an itinerary known as the Francigena route shocking “Villa of Wonders” and hired architect From its position on a high hill along the border of a Pirro Ligorio to help him do so. Ligorio was a widely volcanic basin that formed Lake Bolsena, the town respected architect and artist and had previously offers a breathless view from the to completed the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Rome the Cimini mountains, the town is surrounded by after the death of Michelangelo, as well as the Villa vineyards. d’Este in Tivoli. This was to be an unusual, but interesting job for him. The park is filed with bizarre and fascinating sculptures for which only the Orvieto accompanying inscriptions provide any explanation. Orvieto’s situation is marvellous, perched high Among the pieces are a war elephant, a monstrous above tufa cliffs, showing traces of every phase of fish-head, a giant tearing another giant in half, and history for the past three thousand years, a house built on a tilt to disorient the viewer. culminating in its magnificent cathedral. The tufa Perhaps the most frightening piece in the garden is butte on which the town is located is itself riddled an enormous head, mouth opened wide in a with tunnels and wells dating from Etruscan times scream. The accompanying inscription reads “all to only a couple of hundred years ago. reason departs.” The cathedral is one of the most beautiful churches in Umbria, indeed in all of Italy. It was begun in 1285 and is Gothic in style, with three naves. Its Villa Lante tripartite façade was conceived by Lorenzo Maitani In the eyes of many, this is the consummate and is decorated in its lower portion with scenes example of the best period in the history of garden from the Old and New Testaments, and with design: the Mannerist phase of the Italian mosaics and statues of the Blessed Virgin, the renaissance. It was designed for Cardinal Gambara, Prophets and the Apostles in its upper part. who had a modern taste for outdoor living and Orvieto was for long in papal territory. Pope eating al . The buildings are treated as garden Boniface VIII was from Orvieto and donated statues ornaments, illustrating a good principle, and the of himself for the main city gates, earning him some Reading Suggestions criticism from his many enemies. During the sack of Rome in 1527 by the Holy Roman DH Lawrence, Etruscan Places. Emperor Charles V, Pope Clement VII took refuge at Orvieto. Fearing that in the event of siege by Graeme Barker and Tom Rasmussen, The Etruscans Charles' troops the city's water might prove (The Peoples of Europe). insufficient, he had the spectacular Pozzo di San Patrizio built, a deep well with a double spiral stair Charles River Editors, The Etruscans, The History leading to the water source at its base. It dates from and Culture of the Ancient Italian Civilization that 1537 and is 62 m deep. Preceded the Romans. Orvieto is also home to Etruscan ruins and the remnants of a wall that enclosed the city more than Henry James, Italian Hours, 1909. 2000 years ago. At the foot of the butte, Published at the end of his life, Henry James surrounded by peach and apple trees and a portrays his love of Italy through this series of vineyard, the Etruscan necropolis of Crocefisso di essays, written over nearly four decades. Tufo counts a hundred or so chamber tombs laid along a rectangular street grid. Your lecturer / Guide

Jeremy Paterson has taught Roman history at Villa Giulia Etruscan Museum Newcastle University for nearly forty years. He is a Villa Giulia, located in Villa Borghese area, was built social and economic historian who studied at as a country retreat for Pope Julius III, at the time it Oxford and in Rome, where he started his research hosted a collection of innumerable statues which on the ancient wine trade. He is chair of the were moved to the Vatican Museums after the Minimus Project, which aims to introduce Latin in Pope's death. Vignola, Vasari and the sculptor primary schools. He has travelled extensively Ammannati planned the gardens (Michelangelo throughout the classical world and has a particular contributed as well). fascination with, and deep knowledge of, the Since 1889 it has been the most important Etruscan archaeology and history of Italy. He is much in museum in Italy. It exhibits handicrafts originating demand as a speaker at home and around Italy, from the main excavations in Lazio and in Tuscany. where he has accompanied many groups to sites and museums.

He will deliver four lectures (approx. 1 hour each), entitled:

Tour manager Your tour manager will be on hand throughout the tour to ensure that everything operated according to plan. If you have any problems or questions please see him or her immediately – it is often possible to resolve complaints or problems very quickly on the spot, and do everything to help you enjoy your holiday.

carry a supply of cash with you at all times. Varying amounts of commission can be charged. The Basics Electricity – 220 volt, two-pin continental plug.

Climate – The weather around Rome at this time of Drinking water – Tap water is safe to drink. year is likely to be pleasant, but evenings can be (Although you’ll find a huge amount of bottled quite cool and there is the chance of the odd water for sale too) shower. Our best advice is to come prepared.

Shops & Museums – Department stores are open 0830-1930 Monday to Saturday. Most shops are closed between 1230-1530. Please note than some museums close on Mondays. Although very common in tourist towns in Italy, please note that street vendors selling all kinds of designer knockoffs are illegal and could land you with a hefty fine. Care should also be taken when buying antiques since Italy is renowned for skilled imitators. Time – GMT +2 hours (Summer time Apr-Oct); GMT

+ 1 (Standard time Nov-Mar). Clothes & Shoes –You may like to bring a warm Language – Italian sweater for cool evenings. Light rain wear for the Religion – Roman Catholic occasional storm and good flat/grip walking shoes

are recommended. National holidays – New Year’s day (01 Jan);

Epiphany (06 Jan); Easter Monday; Liberation day Camera – bring plenty of memory cards/film and (25 Apr); Labour Day (01 May); Republic day (02 any spare camera batteries as these are not always Jun); Feast of St Peter and St Paul (29 Jun); available. Please check with your guide before Assumption of Mary (15 Aug); All Saints’ Day (01 photographing people. Nov); Immaculate Conception (08 Dec); Christmas day (25 Dec); St Stephens day (26 Dec). Bath plugs – The hotel has plugs for basins, but it is

useful to carry a ‘universal’ one with you. Currency – Euro. €1 = 100 cents. Notes are in denominations of €500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5. Telephones/mobiles – You should be able to use Coins are in denominations of €2 and 1, and 50, 20, your mobile phone in France, depending on your 10, 5, 2 and 1 cents. operator and contract.

Banks – Cashpoints compatible with international Tipping –To keep our tours affordable, we do not banking networks are located in all towns and cities, increase the tour price by adding in tips. However, as well as airports, major train stations and other in the tourism industry, there is a certain level of spots. They usually offer an attractive exchange expectation that when receiving a good service, one rate. Those banks that still exchange foreign does award with a tip. Tour Managers, currencies into local money will always charge a Representatives, Guides and Drivers appreciate a transaction fee, so withdrawing money from an tip at the end of their involvement with the tour, ATM usually represents the most logical means of but this is entirely at your discretion. We believe in obtaining euros. allowing you to tip according to your level of

satisfaction with their services, but for your Credit cards – American Express, Diners Club, guidance about £2-3 per person per day for the tour MasterCard and Visa are widely accepted across the manager is the norm. We would like to reiterate country. If you’re eating at a restaurant, check prior that tipping is an entirely optional payment and this to the meal that your card will be an acceptable information is given purely to answer any questions form of payment. Even in cities, it’s advisable to you may have about it.

Health

Doctor/Dentist/Chemist Insurance Please talk to your tour manager if you are feeling To be covered under your Travel Insurance Policy, unwell and they will organise for you to see a if you become ill, it is essential that you contact a doctor. local doctor and also telephone the emergency Keep receipts for insurance claims. number of you insurance company. You will NOT be covered for any claim unless this procedure is carried out. Your insurance company will then decide on the best course of medical attention. Hospital Your tour manager/hotel reception will arrange hospital transport. European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) Keep receipts for insurance claims. The EHIC replaced the old E111 in 2006. Valid in all EEA countries, the card lets you get state healthcare at a reduced cost or sometimes for General Health Advice free. It will cover you for treatment that is needed We suggest you take a good supply of your own to allow you to continue your stay until your individual medicines with you and always keep planned return. It also covers the treatment of some in your hand luggage in case you get delayed pre-existing medical conditions. or your luggage goes astray. General-purpose Please note that the EHIC is not an alternative to supplies for bites, stings, or scratches, and your travel insurance. It will not cover any private usual medication for headaches, or stomach medical healthcare or costs such as being flown upsets are always recommended. Oral re- back to the UK, or lost or stolen property. hydration sachets are excellent for topping up salt Therefore, it is important to have both an EHIC and and glucose levels. a valid private travel insurance policy. It is also Visit the NHS Fit For Travel website for more important to note that each country’s healthcare generally information specific to the country you system is slightly different, so the EHIC might not are visiting – www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk cover everything that would be generally free on the NHS. We strongly recommend that you take out an Sun Protection appropriate travel insurance policy when you Always ensure you take sufficient sun protection travel abroad. and moisturiser. A sun hat and sunglasses are also advisable. For more information about the EHIC please visit: https://www.ehic.org.uk

Inoculations You should check with your own doctor and take their advice as to which inoculations are required for the country you are visiting, as only they know your medical history and recommendations are liable to change at short notice.

Emergencies Should an emergency arise, please call our offices on: 00 44 20 7251 0045 Outside office hours (Mon-Fri 0900-1700), telephone our emergency staff on: 00 44 20 7431 8201 or 00 44 7899 796542 or 00 44 7831 133079 or 00 44 1235 850720 PLEASE USE THESE NUMBERS ONLY IN THE EVENT OF A GENUINE EMERGENCY.

If you find that you are in need of consular assistance during your holiday:

British Consulate Rome Via XX Settembre 80/a 00187 Rome Italy Tel: +39 (0)6 4220 2431 Fax: +39 (0)6 4220 2334 Email: [email protected]

Open Mon-Fri 0900-1200 and 1400-1500. Phone lines open 0900-1700. Outside these hours a consular Emergency Service is in operation and can be contacted on +44 (0) 207 008 1500

Travel Editions 3 Young’s Buildings, London EC1V 9DB Tel: 020 7251 0045 Email: [email protected] www.traveleditions.co.uk

PLEASE NOTE: THIS INFORMATION IS CORRECT AT THE TIME OF PRINTING. IT IS MEANT AS A GUIDE ONLY AND WE CANNOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR ERRORS OR SUBSEQUENT CHANGES.