Johnsons Journal

Roaming in Juliet country

Jags or Minis? We prefer the more spacious interior of a modern touring coach, with a driver with less desire to slalom. Your group is likely to be more law-abiding than the Italian Job mob, so as you traverse the fabulously twisty foothill roads featured in the famous film, then, like Michael Caine’scrafty Charlie Croker, you might just have a plan. mountainous. You’ve tired of Monaco and all the millionaire excesses. Everyone back on board. Let’s head for Italy. It is, after all, just ten minutes along the road.

Friday market in Ventimiglia

Ventimiglia - a town a bit like Kirkcaldy. It’s on the coast and the population is 55000 - and that’s the bit that’s like Kirkcaldy. After that, Rinaldi’s Chip Shop is where Fife’s Genoese heritage comes to an end (tasty though) and you opt instead for a harbourside view of the actual Gulf of Genoa, instead of the actual Firth of Forth from the Esplanade.

Ventimiglia doesn’t want for fresh food options. Straight off the Friday market stalls and on to your plate. Enjoy an al fresco lunch as your survey the ochre-tiled houses and contemplate the mountains behind. Besieged by Byzantines and Goths, Romans and Ligurians, and these days by French daytrippers, there’splenty of culture and history to go with the shopping and strolling. If Ventimiglia is a little too small for its popularity, choose your time (early in the day) to enjoy this gateway to northern Italy like a local.

Move up the Roia River. Head for the bigger prizes to blag in the former principalities that make up this captivating region.

Ventimiglia - a town a bit like “ Kirkcaldy. It’s on the coast and the population is 55000 - and that’s the bit that’s like Kirkcaldy. Afterthat, Rinaldi’s Chip Shop is where Fife’s Genoese heritage comes to an end (tasty though) “

Mini adventures in Turin

Put the brakes on and make for Turin. There’s no mystery shrouding the attractions of the city.Everything from Renaissance to a revival of Art Nouveau makes Torino a popular stop. The cradle of Italian liberty has the feel of a capital, as indeed it was for several centuries. Today, this home to nearly three million Italians has a capital collection of galleries, palaces, and piazzas.Don’t mention the traffic - it’s also home to famous marques Alfa, Lancia and, of course, Fiat. That famous linen - revered as a religious relic by many, scorned as a fake in equal measure - is nonetheless on display at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in the city. There’s nothing fake about the building’ssplendour.

Heading east, check off Novara, a manageably neat little city. Its many festivals and feast days are topped by Liberation Day on 25 April. Possibly more enthusiastically celebrated here than anywhere throughout Italy, given the doggedly partisan resistance expressed by the Novaresi, who never really bought into that whole1940s Pack of Steel thing. If you can resist the placid waters of Lake Como and the speedy excitement of Monza, then the great regional rival of Milan is certainly your next destination.

Po facing Milan

What has not been said about Milano? Football, fashion and fog - or should that be smog. Yes,Italy’s style capital is also right on-trend when it comes to traffic pollution solutions. So while it’s hip, it’s also hypocrisy to encourage travel into the city - except of course in a touring coach, which gets you in with less environmental impact and takes around 20 cars off the streets.

The famous footballing rivalry of AC and Internationale probably has put Milan on the map for the twentieth century, but the modern city has audaciously embraced the twenty-first, and high-rise offices vie for status on the city skyline. Perhaps its popularity is in part due to the climate. Milan is high above sea level, so the summers are more manageable, but the sheltered Po Valley keeps the most severe of the mountain weather at bay.You’ll still need a coat in winter though, but Milan being Milan, you can pick up the very latest fashions.Wintery weather can hit - and the Milanese still remember 2001, when the trams ploughed through the snowdrifts to keep the città metropolitane working. If Italian culture is your thing (and why would you be here if it wasn’t) then the temptation is everywhere - even on the autostrada. Bresica, Garda, Piacenza, Cremona and Verona. All are within easy reach, no more than an hour or so from Milan.