Francesco's Mediterranean Voyage: A cultural Journey through the Mediterranean from Venice to Istanbul [Hardcover]

 

 

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The book's characteristics are the elegant, rich in historical and cultural content, insightful but witty and light in touch text and the beautiful photographs of landscape, seascape, buildings, monuments, ruins and works of art which are inextricably interwoven and mutually reinforcing;the impact on the reader is not merely additive but truly synergistic.

We travel with the author from the city of his birth, Venice aboard the Black Swan, a renovated 1899 yawl along trading routes of the Venetian Empire visiting the coastline and islands of the Adriatic, Ionian and Aegean seas with Istanbul (formerly Constantinople)the final destination. Some of these lands were former colonies of 'La Serenissima' and we witness its legacy in the form of medieval fortifications and buildings, the umbiquitous symbol of her strength, the winged lion, and her influences on art, architecture and culture. But the main focus is on the lands of indigenous people and their culture, history, art, buildings and monuments and contribution to the Mediterranean and world civilization.

We visit in succession Istria and Dalmatia and its fortified city port of Dubrovnic, its high walls and bastions commanding the blue sea before moving on to Montenegro and Albania. Then ensues an extensive tour of the island and mainland Greece comprising half of the chapters and size of the book. In the Ionian, we visit Corfu and the Ionian islands to which the Meteora in the mainland are added and offered an awe inspiring view of these precipitous rocks with monasteries perched on their top. The preceding chapter is introduced with possibly the most fascinating photograph in the book featuring the islet of Pontikonissi off Corfu surrounded by the sea with distant mountain ranges presenting Mediterranean at its beautiful best. The chapter on Dephi and Athens is aptly introduced as the cradle of civilization. Athens in particular had not simply a Mediterranean but a truly global impact. In a brief period during the second half of the 5th century BC in an era known as Pericles' golden age a true miracle took place. The Parthenon was built on the Acropolis exemplifying the ideal of classical beauty as an expression of measure and harmony, a similar gratifying evolution took place in the visual arts with the human body captured in movement and acquiring plasticity while this period witnessed also the birth of democracy, philosophy and theatre as an allegory of the human condition and social life. In Peloponnese we visit the theatre of Epidaurus with its impressive acoustics. And then follow visits in the Aegean of the Cyclades, Dodecanese and Crete where the dazzling Minoan civilization evolved in 2000 BC. The voyage ends in Istanbul with a magnificent photograph of the blue mosque and parts of the Topkapi and Dolmabache palaces. An omission in my judgment is the church of Hagia Sophia of which we are presented with only a fine mosaic of the Virgin and Child in the interior of the church.

The book is visually attractive, intellectually stimulating and captures the essence of the Mediterranean.

Whilst the book was beautifully presented with stunning photographs and information on the history of the places he visited, as has been stated before, there were other places I felt would have been of interest.

It would also been more interested if there was more about his life on board the boat between stop overs in the various places. The interplay between himself and the crew and what was entailed in sailing such vessels in the Med with the complex weather changes etc.

It is such a shame that there were no photographs of these times on board. Perhaps he can publish his log of the voyage for more enlightenment on what it was like to stay on such a boat.

This is a review of the original hardback edition. It consists of an introduction and twelve chapters. The endpapers consist of beautiful reproductions of the wallmaps from the Sala della Scudo in the Doge's Palace. The stunning photographs - many of them, full-page - are by John Parker; many are worthy of five stars. (I have friends who watched the TV series, not for the Francesco, nor for the sights of the eastern Mediterranean, but only to catch glimpses of the Black Swan's Captain Giulio: alas, fans will be disappointed by this book, for he appears only twice.)

His journey takes him from the Giudecca Canal of his home port, down the Adriatic, through the Corinth Canal, around the Aegean as far as south as Crete, and through the Dardanelles to Istanbul. In any discussion of Venice and its Mediterranean empire, the obvious omission from this book (and the TV series) is Cyprus. But it is clear from Francesco's writing that in the lands that Venice influenced or occupied, there have been down the centuries other players too, even as far back as prehistory. To his credit, Francesco gives plenty of time and space to these other tribes, nations, and races who have crisscrossed this crossroads of time and space.

As is often the case of books based on TV series, we learn far more than the image can convey. For example, Francesco tells us the origin of the name `Levant' and how the boat on which he undertook his journey was built in Gosport. There is also a more personal feel to the journey than that expressed on film, and I do not just mean the time when he describes his own personal history and that of his family (da Mostos from history seem to appear in almost every chapter); for example, he rails against the `vacuousness' of modern Venice, especially in the opening chapter where the journey commences. But by also showing extracts from his Black Swan log, Francesco demonstrates that his home city is never far from his mind amongst the events taking place both on and off the ship.

There are also places described that I do not remember seeing on TV, such as the ancient pirates' lair of Ulcinj in Montenegro. It's not all plain sailing. Often, Francesco takes off inland in a car or a bicycle to explore the hinterland. He ends up, for example, at Mostar and also takes off into the heart of the Greek mainland. Unfortunately there are no modern maps embedded in the text. So, where Francesco tells us about his travels to Pula, Rovinj, Porec, Motovun, Vodjnan, and Beram, we have no real idea where these places can be found. A map of modern Istanbul would also have been helpful

As with his book on Venice, this volume includes separate boxes throughout the text that give further information on a variety of interesting topics, from Venetian galleys through the Athenian Acropolis and Parthenon, to whirling dervishes. Unfortunately, there is no bibliography or references, so what he says, for example about the Bronze Age amber trade of Istria, we have to take on trust.

There are some stupid errors, such as Albania being part of the Byzantine Empire in the fourth century before Christ; Mystras being east of Sparta (my atlas shows it is west); and the Gulf of Lepanto being "just off the Albanian coast". We are told that "Historic Thrace extended from Macedonia in the west to the Black Sea ... in the west", and "Bursa has some of the finest early Ottoman monuments in the Balkans": well it would do, if it was in the Balkans! The bust displayed on page 103 looks to me more like George IV than George III. And was the palace at Corfu really "the centre of British power in the Mediterranean"? What about Malta, Alexandria, Cyprus or even Gibraltar?

And there has been some poor editing: is the penultimate paragraph on page ninety about Durres or Tirana? Talk of the town of Ioannina follows on from talk of Corfu as if the town is on the island, when in fact it is twenty-five miles into the Greek interior. And one longed for photographs of the abandoned city of Mystras, for which Francesco arouses the reader's curiosity, or the eleven-metre-high Apollonas on the island of Naxos.

For sure, Francesco does not write great literature, and I am sure he would be the first to admit as much. His writing is meant to describe the sights he sees rather than the inner mind of the philosopher. Those wanting more of the latter, more of the history of the relationship of Venice with its Mediterranean empire would be better served seeking and reading Jan Morris's books. But Francesco is an engaging and interesting writer all the same. I was never bored in his company, and he has much to relate that perfectly reflects the shimmering of the sunlight on the waves of the waters. I would gladly undertake the whole journey again in his company.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A Meditteranean Dream!


I ordered this book aftyer seeing the tv programme. The photographs are superb, and the margin notes from The Black Swan's logbook are delightful. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Read allover

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
Absolutely loved this dvd series and the book is a must have if you enjoyed it too. Good way of making the series last a little bit longer and great for learning. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Hannah Netting

5.0 out of 5 stars A personal opinion
Having followed the TV series, this book is an absolute 'must' for anyone who has visited any/all of the countries mentioned in the series. Read more

Published on 31 Jan 2009 by D. Venters

5.0 out of 5 stars francescos meditweenwan voyage
This is a wonderful journey, with a man that enjoys life, it made me want to do the exact same thing as him, read, relax and travel with Frankie.

Published on 28 Aug 2008 by Geraldine Robinson

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