Queen Victoria – Timeless Italy Travels

“With the Mediterranean on one side and the Alps on the other, this new cycle-pedestrian path is one of the most beautiful in Europe, the first on the Italian Sea.” Claudio Burlando, developer of Cycling Riviera

Liguria has a brand new cycling/pedestrian pathway that hugs the coastline and provides level, bump-free pedaling. Come experience the beauty of the Italian Riviera by bicycle. Cascading flowers cover old rock walls, palms sway in the cool ocean breeze that carry the citrus scent of lemon trees, and sandy beaches edge the wide expanse of the ocean. Vineyards and olive groves creep up the terraced hillsides, nourished by the warmth of sole. Sun-washed and sophisticated, the Riviera is picture-perfect.

Stretching for 74 km altogether, the Cycling Riviera pathway runs from Tuscany to the south of France. The eco-friendly cycling path is smooth and wide, with plenty of room for every speed of bicyclist. The first 24km stretch, from Ospedaletti via San Remo (think Casino) to San Lorenzo al Mare, follows an old railway line, winding though eight historic fishing villages. However, several options for shorter bicycling routes are given in the link at the bottom of this article. Some of the pathway goes through a tunnel that is well-lit and roomy.

“This is the first time in Italy we are replacing an old railroad with a cycle/pedestrian path that will create a protected natural environment, car free, and tourist friendly,” said Tullio Russo, a member of the private partnership that developed the project. The path provides access to pristine beaches and an ecological coastal sea park that protects a whale sanctuary. For those who want to ride further, the path becomes a gateway to the Milano-San Remo route. Mountain bikers can explore the nearby Maritime Alps.

Liguria is actually separated into two “Rivieras.” To the west is the Riviera di Ponente, which hosts resort towns like San Remo. The Riviera di Levante to the east, with classy Portofino and the dramatic Cinque Terre, is preferred by many writers and artists. Genoa, the Ligurian capital, separates the two of them.

During the 19th century, the Riviera was famous with European expats who outnumbered the locals. Wealthy aristocrats were attracted to the very temperate climate, amusing themselves with lavish botanical gardens. They gambled in the casino’s of San Remo, and dined in several fine art-nouveau villas.

The Villa Hanbury, also associated with Villa della Pergola, was popular with Queen Victoria and later Winston Churchill as a holiday stay. The last years of Alfred Nobel were spent here. Worthy of a peek, the villa is located in Alassio, just 20 km from San Remo and not far from the cycling path.

Of particular delight are the unique local wines and foods of Liguria. Stop along the way for a taste of the famous Taggiasche Olives, the unusual Albenga purple asparagus, or the Ligurian red prawns. The basil Pesto sauce is the culinary masterpiece of Liguria. Being on a bicycle makes so many things possible, providing the flexibility to explore as parts of the pathway wind through villages.

So much to see and do on bicycle, and so little time. Choose your itinerary and proceed with reckless abandon. A great memory is in the making.

(see link below for pathway sections, bicycle rentals and eating/drinking ideas along the way)

*Riviera Cycling Path divided into 5 routes plus where to rent, lodge, eat, and everything you need to know about cycling the Riviera

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Fly on, fly on…..strait to my own far country in the north where you will be safe from man.” Axel Munthe

They came to Capri by the thousands: wood pigeons, thrushes, turtle-doves, waders, quails, golden orioles, skylarks, nightingales, swallows and redbreasts. They came every spring to rest upon the cliffs, high up Monte Barbarossa above San Michele, as they migrated to the northern lands. Little did they know that deadly nets awaited them, spread out by the men of the island. They would be caught and sold to Parisian restaurants or blinded to be used as decoys, their singing attracting other birds to the nets. Capri appeared to them as a resting oasis but in reality became a living hell.

Born of an age-old tradition inspired by a primitive culture, one man challenged everything.

“The wild cruel beast is not behind the bars of the cage. He is in front of it.” Axel Munthe

Axel Munthe, tormented by this massive bird slaughter, appealed to the higher powers to ban this merciless act. When he was refused, he trained his dogs to bark at night. He fired a cannon. He did all within his power to end this cruelty until, years later, he bought Monte Barbarossa from the ex-butcher who for years had blinded some of the captured birds. He turned it into a bird sanctuary. Fully realizing that many of the islands poor made their living from the bird hunt, he entitled them to the sanctuary’s proceeds.

What kind of man would go to such lengths to transform a way of life? Who would risk all that he had, all that he was? A reputation he had worked hard to earn? A man who battled death relentlessly, fighting hard for the living? A soul full of love and mercy? A dreamer of light and life and beauty?

A Swedish physician, born in 1857, Axel was all of these. A humanist, writer, philanthropist, and lover of animals, he knew the depths of despair as a Red Cross relief worker in the Naples cholera epidemic of 1884. He witnessed the never-ending triumph of death. Accompanied by a donkey named Rosina and his dog Puck, he made his daily rounds through the squalor and sickness.

“No doubt help has come from every part of the country, from every part of the world, but even here, as is so often the case, it is the poor who have exercised the greatest charity, the silent self-sacrificing devotion has come from those who have next to nothing themselves.”

Undaunted, however, throughout his life he continued to travel and supply medical aid to the needy while also supporting soup kitchens, orphanages and children’s clinics. Axel truly lived his calling as a physician. And yet his spirit remained free to inspire, to create, to invite others to dare to dream.

But how was he able to provide free healthcare to the poor? What enabled him to build San Michele, to purchase Monte Barbarossa and his other properties on Capri?

He attended the rich to minister to the poor. His practice in Rome was geared toward the wealthy, the foreign dignitaries in residence, including the royal Swedish family. He soon earned the lofty entitlement as Queen Victoria’s personal physician, which he kept until her death.

Ah, the animal lover….Imagine a home with eight dogs, turtles, a mongoose, a Siamese cat, a little owl, and a monkey named Billy. These were his delight at San Michele. Billy, however, never ceased to exasperate him. A right roguish lad, he fought with the Fox Terrier, kidnapped the Siamese kitten, and ate the turtle’s eggs!

“I built it (San Michele) on my knees, like a temple to the Sun, where I would seek knowledge and light from the radiant God whom I had worshipped all my life.”

Passing through San Michele, I couldn’t help but feel inspired by the light and shades of color that so attracted Axel. He believed that the soul needed more space than the body, a longing for beauty, which he imaginatively expressed through San Michele. Light and airy, boundless and free, a brilliant refuge from the darkness, created to inspire dreams, visions, playful pretense, to create, and to heal. Yet sadly, the very thing he desired most in life became impossible to bear. His eyes were weak, and intensive sunlight on Capri became too much to tolerate. He wore dark glasses, but eventually was forced to flee to the west side of the island. There he lived in his shadier medieval fortress Torre di Materita.

Torrre di Materita — *Torre di Materita*

In the final chapter of his book, “The Story of San Michele,” published in 1929, he describes a scene where he is in heaven standing before the judgement seat. Already angry with him for his earthly conduct, he is rebuked by the Old Testament forefathers for bringing his old faithful dog, who waits for him at heaven’s door. Suddenly birds flutter around him and bring him help in the form of St. Francis of Assisi. The slight Umbrian saint, surrounded by a flock of birds and his following of beggars and outcasts, comes up beside him. His very presence calms the multitude. Axel rests his head on the frail saint’s shoulder, passing into eternity.