More on Italy

1) Here are email addresses for the hotels and B&Bs we used in Italy. I recommend them all for really friendly service and connecting with the locals.  While providing comfortable rooms and modern facilities, they are very far from the Sheraton/Holiday mold.

	City/Town	Hotel		Email
	Rome	Armonia Opera (B&B)		info@armoniaopera-bb.it
	Bellagio	Hotel  Florence		info@hotelflorencebellagio.it
	Riomaggiore (Cinque Terra)	Casa Lorenzo		info@casalorenza.it
	Siena	Palazzo di Valli		informazioni@palazzodivalli.it
	Spoleto	Palazzo Dragoni		info@palazzodragoni.it

2) Some general reflections.

The number, quality, and extent of  works of art and architecture still existing in Italy is absolutely astounding. It is an enormous tribute to the skill, talent, and industriousness of the inhabitants of that country. Most of the modern construction is of the drab, utilitarian, and characterless nature that characterizes our own era. They still build Ferraris, so there is some hope.

Invasive species are a problem in Italy. Small and large areas overrun by bamboo are present in many of the place we went. It displaces virtually all the native plants once it gets going.

The amount of rural, even semi-wild, land in Italy is very impressive. Less than 15 minutes from central Rome by train, we were in farm land. Some of the forests outside of Spoleto still provide habitat for wolves. Most of Italy is still green, open country. It is hilly and mountainous land and most of it is at least pretty and much is beautiful.

The italians still seem to know  better than most of how to live. However, the big city inhabitants seem to experience the same malaise affecting most city dwellers, although to a lesser extent. I suppose the economic difficulties have cut somewhat into the joi de vivre ( I don't know how to say that in Italian) I have come to expect of Italians.