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Portoferraio, 2000 Feb 12
| After sailing more than two thousand miles around Italy both down and up, we return with 7 Roses to the emerald waters that lap the shores of my marvelous island. Very gentle wind, force 4-5, a practically smooth sea and an almost clear sky made our trip from Anzio to Elba the best 140 miles of sailing since the beginning of our trip. An even greater gift was to taste, moment by moment, the pleasure of nearing "home". In this adventure of the year 2000, for 7 Roses - as for the Venetian Galley en route to Camargue - the Elban waters represent the last stretch of Italian sea. It seems indeed that even the ships of 'la Serenissima' used the passage between the continent and the island before heading up to the coast of France. It might seem strange that the Venetians would come so near to areas dominated by the Pisans and the feared Genoese, but as with politics throughout time, even during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries a former enemy could end up a helpful collaborator in another place and time a |
In the complex and tormented theater of medieval history Elba, because
of its important geographic position, its richness of minerals and its
sheltered bays, saw many ships near its numerous beaches, including
perhaps a few
Templar craft? A reminder of this question can be seen in
the simple stone rosette with a Templar cross found on the entry of a
seaside villa in the area of Schiopparello. Certainly the villa, while
obviously quite old, is not medieval, but the rosette and the symbol
could date back that far. Where was it found? When? The geographic
position and proximity to the sea make it an ideal spot for loading
materials and crew but a mere symbol is only fodder for hypotheses and
questions; it is not sufficient however, for historical
interpretation. We don't have any particular churches or buildings on
the island that link us to the presence of the
Knights Templar
but we know there are traces of them on the Tuscan coast, in Corsica
(especially around Bonifacio), and also on the island of Piano
7 Roses calls me away from historical hypotheses and the distant past of Nicol and Antonio Zeno to the present reality. We are the guests of the ESAOM shipyard of Portoferraio who have offered their practical and welcome support to Project Zeno by going over the hull, careening and repainting it while we are in charge of the deck and all the infinite little details to be put in order. Therefore I must exchange my pen and theories for paintbrushes and sandpaper. |
Last changed: 00/06/10 07:50:10
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