C:/user/bea/journeys/roma01.doc May 24, 2001

TRIP REPORT: Rome and Alghero, Sardinia, May 1-8, 2001By Bea Kovacsovics, assisted by Torbjorn Ledin

Dear Friends,

Together with the spring the congress season starts and we were on our way again. This time the goal was theNeurootological and Equilibriometric Society (NES) 28th balance congress in Alghero, on the NW coast ofSardinia, May 4-6, 2001.

You know that all roads lead to Rome. A cheap way to get to Alghero was to take the ferry between Civitavecchia- a small town 80 km north of Rome, and Olbia, NE of Sardinia. To get to Civitavecchia one should pass Rome.That gave us 2½ days for sightseeing in the former capital of Western Hungary. Does it sound strange? Oh, no,Transdanubia - as Western Hungary is called - was a part of the Roman Empire, under the name of Pannonia, 2000years ago.

Rome (Italy), capital city of Italy and of Latium Region and Rome Province, on the Tiber River, in the central partof the country near the Tyrrhenian Sea. Vatican City, most of which is located in an enclave within Rome, is theseat of the papacy of the Roman Catholic church and has been recognised as an independent state by the Italiangovernment since 1929. The majestic dome of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City dominates the Roman skyline.

For centuries, Rome has been called the Eternal City, a title earned through its importance as one of the greatcities of Western civilisation, as the capital of the Roman Empire, and as the world centre of the Roman Catholicchurch. Since 1871 it has been the capital of united Italy.1

According to tradition, Rome was founded in 753 BC on one of the Seven Hills—a term used for centuries todescribe the Capitoline, Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Caelian, Aventine, and Palatine hills surrounding the oldcommunity. Archaeological evidence indicates, however, that human settlement here dates from at least 1000 BC.

1"Rome (Italy)," Microsoft® Encarta® 98 Encyclopedia. © 1993-1997 Microsoft Corporation. Allrights reserved.

The Capitoline Hill was long the seat of Rome’s government, and the Palatine Hill was the site of such greatstructures as the Palace of the Flavians, built by the Roman emperor Domitian. As a result of construction throughthe centuries, most of the Seven Hills are now hardly distinguishable from the adjacent plain. Other hills of Romeinclude the Pincian (Pincio) and the Janiculum.

Rome today is easily divided into two regions: the inner city, within the Aurelian Wall, built in the late 3rd centuryAD to enclose the area around the Seven Hills; and the sprawling outer city, with its suburbs. The historical centreis a small area, located almost entirely on the eastern (left) bank of the Tiber. The monuments of Rome’s pastgreatness are, for the most part, within the historical centre, in stark contrast to the modern districts. The streetpattern of the city reflects its long and complex history. The Via del Corso traverses most of the historic centrefrom the Piazza Venezia, the geographic centre of Rome, to the Piazza del Popolo, at the foot of Pincio Hill. Itsuse dates from the Middle Ages, when it was a horseracing course. The monument to Victor Emmanuel II, the firstking of united Italy, built between 1895 and 1911, forms part of the Piazza Venezia. Other thoroughfares, such asthe Via Vittorio Veneto, which commemorates Italy’s final victory in World War I (1914-1918) and is at the 2heart of the tourist area, were designed and built since the late 19th century. One of the largest public parks inRome, the Pincio Gardens, lies on Pincio Hill, north of the historic centre.3

I have been in Rome before - a long time ago, at the age of 16 - and as it is me who reads the guidebooks beforethe journeys I became a Cicerone and showed the sights to Torbjorn. He likes to see the modern life of a city andhates the dead signs of old as well as new cultures. Try to get him into a museum… He'll rather ride the subwayfor hours and pretends to be interested in the logistics of transportation, but I wonder if he does not pay most of hisattention to the mobile elements in the system, or rather approximately half of them.

We left summer warm Sweden on the morning of May 1st and arrived in Rome in the afternoon. Our "hotel"proved to be a family flat in the simplest style we have ever lived. There were two narrow beds, one small table, achair and a shower cabin in the approximately 12-sqm big room with stone floor. There was no television, norother conveniences.

But the hotel was really in the very city centre, only 20 minutes walk from the highlights of ancient and modernRome. During the 20 minutes walk we passed Porta Pia (supposingly Michelangelo participated in designing ofthe gate), a church by Borromini, another by Bernini and a third by Maderna. In the last one can one find Bernini'sfamous statue: The Ecstasy of St. Teresa. Finally we ended up at the Quirinale Palace (the home of the Italianpresident) which was designed by all of the above mentioned artists. From the palace you can see the wonderfulview of St Peters Church. Good luck Torbjorn with watching the modern life and city!

Via the Piazza Venezia we walked to the Trevi's Fountain and the Spanish stairs. These are sights that evenTorbjorn wanted to see. The Piazza Venezia is some kind of central point in Rome where all the great roads meet,an unavoidable square "decorated" with the monument of the first Italian king Vittorio Emmanuele. This waserected 1911 and resembles of a huge Swedish whipped cream cake. South of the Monument lies the ruins of theancient Roman Forum, north of it can be found the busy shopping street, the Corso. If you take the road to towardsthe west you end up at the Vatican. Unfortunately, it was May 1st and many other tourists and Italians wanted tosee the popular sights. Too big a crowd spoils the attractions…. From Piazza di Spagnia we walked via St MariaMaggiore Basilica to the Termini station and home.

Next day was the time to ride the tram around the city centre. Something that Torbjorn liked. Unfortunately, forhim, we had to get on the tram at the Pyramid, tomb of Caius Cestus from 12 BC, passed the Colosseum and theLateran Basilica before we got into the University and Hospital region. After passing the Villa Borghese the tramterminates near St Peter's square. Pope John Paul had audience on the square, just when we arrived.

2"Rome (Italy)," Microsoft® Encarta® 98 Encyclopedia. © 1993-1997 Microsoft Corporation. Allrights reserved.

3"Rome (Italy)," Microsoft® Encarta® 98 Encyclopedia. © 1993-1997 Microsoft Corporation. Allrights reserved.

During the rest of the day we travelled bus or subway between the famous sights, for example Castle Saint Angelo,Piazza Navona, Capitolium, St Peter's Basilica and St Giovanni in Laterano. The trip was satisfying both forTorbjorn and me! We saw many statues on our way, strangely the name of the person/saint stood not on the statue,but the name of the Pope who ordered the erection of the monument.

In the evening Torbjorn's friend and colleague Mikael Schulin arrived and we went out to eat, sorry, to drink. It isnearly impossible to find a place by its address in Rome and Mikael's hotel was not an exception. Our searchended up in the 4 star Pantheon Hotel. Who the hell pays Mikael’s trip – we wondered, as four star hotels can bepriced like 200 dollars a night in central Rome. The receptionist gave us a 4 star service, rang Mikael, who waiteddesperately for us in his “cosy” one star (at the most) pensione. First we walked to the Trevi fountain. After sevenglasses of wine Torbjorn was in a very good mood and he even diagnosed the type of wine - red.

The next morning Mats had also arrived and the sightseeing with the "beginners" - considering Rome - started. Itwas partwise repetition for us. Mikael was a bit absentminded (he had no specific comments on how he spent therest of the evening before). He appeared at our meeting point, planning enthusiastically to visit St Peter's Basilicawhile wearing shorts (decent clothes are expected in churches in Italy, as mentioned the evening before). Torbjornimmediately pointed out the possibility of discarding the visit to the St Peter's church upon this, but he wasoutvoted.

Mikael and Mats wanted to see the Colosseum first. It was very impressive from near and gave a very goodexample of the superb Roman architecture.

While Mikael changed trousers we could admire the Pantheon, another excellent Roman building. The lightshining through the opening of the cupola was very mystical. Mats would like to see the Trevi fountain. I was therefor the third time during the trip. May be it means that I will be permanently settled in Rome ????

It was interesting to see the Swedish people's reaction to the St Peter's Basilica. This huge church including thesquare in front of it has always meant a wonderful piece of art for me. The three Swedes who accompanied methought that St Peter's does not represent the humble church, the ideas that Jesus preached, but demonstrates thepower and glory of the Popes and the Catholic Church. There is something in what they say, but even they had toadmit that the "demonstration" is excellently done - considering the artistic values of the building. The St Peter'shas an unusually clear structure and simple decorations considering that it is a baroque church.

We had the opportunity to see some Catacombs as well. Those we saw were catacombs of the modern time, thecellar floor of a restaurant. You can see that not only the sightseeing but the drinking was repeated as well. In theevening, after some pizza and wine of course, we took the train to Civitavecchia. There is rule in Italy - your trainalways stands at the far end of the platform…

It is time for some words of personal reflections on Rome, its artists and its architecture. Rome is a strange town. Itis crowded with tourists, which sometimes can be disturbing, it is an expensive city and can be very hot. But by theend of your stay Rome eats itself into one's soul, you just enjoy it, feel well and know that you are in the rightplace. At least I react to Rome in such a way.

For a humble amateur photographer, like me, Rome can be disappointing considering the possibilities ofphotography. The streets are narrow, the buildings are huge, the crowd disturbs, and there are only ruins on theopen palaces, for example the Roman Forum. I did not have much inspiration to take photos. Despite the

difficulties with photography my pictures taken during the trip were quite good. I suppose, that the art of the oldbuilders shine through my terrible pictures.

The centre of the Roman Empire became the centre of the Western Christian church. The town flourished duringthe 16th - 17th centuries. The Popes started huge building projects during the late renaissance period. They cashedin huge sums from the ordinary people in the form of letters of indulgence. This process lead to the reformation,followed by the contra reformation of the Catholic Church. This resulted in even greater building projects todemonstrate that the Catholic Church has the real power. As result of this Rome became a city with dominantlybaroque architecture. The Popes may have had good taste, or simply luck. There was a concentration of excellentarchitects during the baroque period in Rome like Michelangelo (last renaissance, first baroque artist), Maderna,Borromini and Bernini, who built a pleasant city.

Why do I mention those basilicas so often? Basilica, large structure in ancient Roman or early Christian times,usually built on a rectangular, as distinct from a circular or cruciform, plan. Later the term was conferred as anhonour on certain churches selected by the popes, such as Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. These became the majorchurches that had to be visited be the pilgrims in Rome. While the original St. Peter's basilica was demolished andreplaced by the present church, the most of the other 4 th century basilicas were rebuilt, several times, you an guessin baroque style - among many other. In these churches one can see a pleasant mixture of various architecturalstyles - an Eldorado for art fans.

Pagan Basilicas

Roman basilicas were used for law courts or for commerce. They consisted of a roofed hall entered from a porticoat the side or end. The hall contained a wide central aisle, or nave, separated from two side aisles by rows ofcolumns. The nave walls rose above the aisle roofs and were pierced with windows, forming a clerestory to admitlight. At the far end of the nave was usually a raised platform, or bema, on which stood an altar. Behind the bemathe hall terminated in a semicircular or polygonal area called an apse, which has seats for officials.

This basic plan had many variations. Some basilicas had a nave and four side aisles, as, for example, the basilicaof Trajan (or Ulpia, 98-112), which also had a gallery and a semicircular apse at both ends. Others had nogallery or were almost square. Most had pitched roofs with wooden rafters, but some, such as the basilica ofConstantine (or Maxentius, 310-13), were vaulted with masonry.

Christian Basilicas

In the 4th century, when Christianity acquired imperial support, churches throughout the Roman Empire, such asSanta Maria Maggiore in Rome (432), were built on the basilica plan, usually over the grave of a saint. Many ofthem, notably San Clemente (11th century on a 4th-century foundation) and Old Saint Peter's (330, destroyed inthe 16th century), both in Rome, were approached through a colonnaded atrium, or open court, like that of aRoman house. The basilica church consisted of an oblong space divided into a central nave and side aisles,sometimes with galleries. It was entered from one end through a porch, or narthex, beyond which penitents andthose not confirmed were not admitted. At the far end was the raised bema terminating in the domed apse, orsanctuary. In the centre of the sanctuary stood a canopied altar. Behind it was the bishop's chair facing thecongregation, with seats for the presbyters and deacons on either side. Usually an area for the choir, surroundedwith grillwork screens and called the chancel, lay between the nave and the bema. The larger basilicas had wings,called transepts, flanking the chancel, to accommodate additional clergy.4

4"Basilica," Microsoft® Encarta® 98 Encyclopedia. © 1993-1997 Microsoft Corporation. Allrights reserved.

Who were those artists I mentioned in the text?

Michelangelo (1475-1564), arguably one of the most inspired creators in the history of art and, with Leonardo daVinci, the most potent force in the Italian High Renaissance. As a sculptor, architect, painter, and poet, he exerteda tremendous influence on his contemporaries and on subsequent Western art in general.5 He worked on anumerous places in Rome like the St Peter's church, Sistine Chapel and rebuilding of the Capitolium.

Maderno, Carlo (1556-1629), Italian architect, whose work prefigured the baroque style of the 17th century. Inhis earliest and best design—the elegant facade of the church of Santa Susanna in Rome (1603)—he went beyondthe then current Mannerist style (see Mannerism) to create a massive, logical design that uses a system ofcarefully judged proportions to focus attention on the central portal. He also completed the unfinished facade(1614) of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. His style influenced the baroque architects Francesco Borromini andGianlorenzo Bernini.6

Bernini, Gianlorenzo , full name Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680), the single most important artistic talentof the Italian baroque. Although most significant as a sculptor, he was also highly gifted as an architect; painter;draftsman; designer of stage sets, fireworks displays, and funeral trappings; and playwright. His art is thequintessence of high baroque energy and robustness (see Baroque Art and Architecture). His ability to suggesttextures of skin or cloth as well as to capture emotion and movement in sculpture was uncanny. Bernini reformed anumber of sculptural genres, including the portrait bust, the fountain, and the tomb. His influence was widespread

5"Michelangelo," Microsoft® Encarta® 98 Encyclopedia. © 1993-1997 Microsoft Corporation.All rights reserved.

6"Maderno, Carlo," Microsoft® Encarta® 98 Encyclopedia. © 1993-1997 Microsoft Corporation.All rights reserved.

throughout the 17th and 18th centuries and was felt by such European masters as Pierre Puget, Pietro Bracci, andAndreas Schlüter.7 Bernini did not begin to design churches until he was 60 years old, but his three efforts inecclesiastical architecture are significant. His church at Castelgandolfo (1658-1661) employs a Greek cross, andhis church at Ariccia (1662-1664), a circle plan. His third church, Sant' Andrea al Quirinale (1658-1670) inRome, is his greatest. The church was constructed on an oval plan with an ovoid porch extending beyond thefacade, echoing the interior rhythms of the building. The interior, decorated with dark, multicoloured marble, hasa dramatic oval dome of white and gold. Also dating from the 1660s are the Scala Regia (Royal Staircase, 1663-1666), connecting the papal apartments in the Vatican Palace to Saint Peter's, and the magnificent Piazza SanPietro (designed 1667), framing the approach to the basilica in a dynamic ovular space formed by two vastsemicircular colonnades. Bernini's most outstanding fountain group is in the spectacular Fountain of the FourRivers (1648-1651) in the Piazza Navona in Rome.8

Borromini, Francesco (1599-1667), one of the most original and important architects in 17th-century Italy. Alongwith the works of such other master builders as Gianlorenzo Bernini and Pietro da Cortona, Borromini's primarilyecclesiastical structures virtually transformed Rome into a baroque city. Unlike Bernini and Cortona, however,Borromini devoted himself exclusively to architecture, becoming virtually obsessed with finding new andunorthodox uses of space. In his buildings, mass and void combine in a unique manifestation of the baroque loveof energetic movement, dynamism, and theatricality.

More than any other architect of his time, Borromini created a sense of visual excitement with his undulating,convex-concave walls complementing rhythmic, inventive floor plans. Borromini did not, however, reject the pastto achieve innovation, for both antique and Renaissance architecture inspired him. Michelangelo's influence wasespecially important, as Borromini himself explained in his Opus architectonicum, a treatise written in 1648.

Born September 25, 1599, in Bissone on Lake of Lugano, Borromini was originally named Francesco Castelli. Hetook his mother's last name, Borromini, when he was 28. His father was a stonemason, a craft that Borromini alsofollowed. His earliest work, after arriving in Rome about 1621, was as a stonecutter at Saint Peter's Basilica, thenbeing built under the direction of Carlo Maderno. The older architect so much admired the industrious young manthat he made him supervisor of works at both Saint Peter's and the Barberini Palace, another of Maderno'sprojects. Borromini's bitter rivalry with Bernini began in 1627, when he worked on decorative masonry forBernini's baldachin (altar canopy) in Saint Peter's.

Not until 1634 was Borromini given his first major architectural commission, the Church of San Carlo alleQuattro Fontane (1638-41; facade completed 1667). (We passed it during the 20 minutes walk). The church's planis a diamond shaped of two abutting equilateral triangles beneath an oval dome. As were all of Borromini'sprojects it was created according to strict geometrical proportions. The facade (higher than the church itself)presents an undulating flow of space and is one of baroque Rome's most characteristic monuments.

Borromini built Sant'Ivo della Sapienza between 1642 and 1660, today the church of the University of Rome. Itssix-pointed star shape is carried up into its strikingly original hexagonal dome. Borromini's facade (1653-66) forSant'Agnese in Piazza Navona replaced an earlier design. Between 1647 and 1650 he remodelled the EarlyChristian basilica of Saint John Lateran in a baroque fashion. Borromini's last great project before his death bysuicide on Aug 2, 1667, was the design for the Collegio di Propaganda Fide (1646-67), Jesuit headquarters inRome, a huge palace that again demonstrates an overall geometric unity.9

7"Bernini, Gianlorenzo," Microsoft® Encarta® 98 Encyclopedia. © 1993-1997 MicrosoftCorporation. All rights reserved.

8"Bernini, Gianlorenzo," Microsoft® Encarta® 98 Encyclopedia. © 1993-1997 MicrosoftCorporation. All rights reserved.

9"Borromini, Francesco," Microsoft® Encarta® 98 Encyclopedia. © 1993-1997 MicrosoftCorporation. All rights reserved.

Back to our adventurous trip to Sardinia by nightferry. From Civitavecchia's railway station a bus took us to theSardinia ferry. Apart from us there were only people in simple clothes on the bus and I started to be suspicious.The ferry is the transportation method of the Sardinian farmers…. Could it be a floating maffia robbery enterpriseas well? What a special arrangement!

After carrying our bags several hundred meters from the bus to the boat and climbing the steep 10-15 m highladder we boarded the ferry for Olbia in Sardinia. The whole embarkation procedure looked like Fellini's film"And the ship sails on". I for a moment thought that we had ended up in a nostalgia boat, which imitated the"quality" of the service and the cabins of a communist ship from the 60'ies. When the engines started to roam wefelt like being on the Titanic, and desperately tried to avoid settling in our below-the-waterline cabins. However,the next morning we safely arrived in microraining Sardinia, a phenomenon that was to be repeated during ourwhole Sardinia stay.

Sardinia (Italian Sardegna), island, western Italy, in the Mediterranean Sea. Together with the surrounding smallislands, it constitutes Sardinia Region. It is located immediately south of Corsica, being separated from it by theStrait of Bonifacio. The second largest island in the Mediterranean, Sardinia is about 267 km (about 166 mi) longand about 120 km (about 75 mi) wide. The surface is generally mountainous, the highest point being 1834 m (6017ft) in the Monti del Gennargentu. The best farmland is in the Campidano, a plain in the south-western part of theisland. Livestock raising and farming are the chief occupations; grain, olives, grapes, and tobacco are grown.Other important industries on Sardinia include fishing and the mining of lead, zinc, copper, and salt. Major citiesinclude Cagliari, Nuoro, and Sassari.

The Carthaginians founded trading stations in Sardinia. Rome seized it in 238 BC. After the fall of the RomanEmpire, Sardinia was overrun by the Vandals and then passed to the Byzantines in the 6th century AD. From the8th to the 11th century the Saracens repeatedly harassed Sardinia. From the 11th to the 14th century the Pisansand Genoese fought each other for possession of the island. In the 14th century the pope, who claimed theoverlordship, gave Sardinia to the king of Argon. The Aragonese and their sovereign successors, the Spanish,ruled Sardinia until the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, which gave it to Austria. In 1720 it came under the rule of the

house of Savoy. United with Savoy, Piedmont, and Nice, Sardinia became the Kingdom of Sardinia. In 1861Sardinia became part of the kingdom of Italy. Area of region, about 24,090 sq. km (about 9300 sq. mi); population(1991) 1,645,192.10

Alghero, the Doria family found a small town on the NW coast of Sardinia from Genoa in 1102. In 1345 the townbecame Catalan, later Spanish. The Spanish ruled over Sardinia till 1718, when the island was given to house ofSavoy. Since the unification of Italy Sardinia became Italian. Alghero to this day preserves the Catalancharacteristics, which can be noted in the architecture of the churches, houses and fortifications and also in theCatalan language, still spoken in Alghero. Our hotel was called "Carlos V", you might know he was the Spanishking in whose Empire the sun never set.

Back to our trip. Heavy clouds greeted us on Sardinia at 7.00 am, after a night with bad sleep. Later, when wearrived to Alghero by the direct bus from the harbour in Olbia it was raining. We did not have much food with usand the prospects of waiting up to 40 min for the bus (the bus runs in every 40 minutes) that would take us to thehotel did not cheer our mood up either. Lucky us, the bus came within 10 minutes. The next affliction was that wecould not occupy our rooms until 12.30 p.m. There was nothing else to do, but register on the congress, listen tothe lectures and drink a lot of coffee in the pause to stay awake.

We were quite lucky with our lectures. Mine and Mikael's was presented already in the first afternoon, Torbjornand Mats talked Saturday morning, so no one of had to worry about the "acting" too long. We talked on LargeVestibular Aqueduct Syndrome (Bea and Mikael) and stability parameters in whiplash subjects (Torbjorn andMats). On the whole, the meeting was a big disappointment. We had information on speeches on e.g. tinnitustreatment with Jastreboff's method, but this proved to be first six patients followed up after 3 months and inanother speech around 100 patients who were presented regarding their study entrance questionnaires but notreatment results were available. In a session we chaired together (Torbjorn's two fellow chairmen failed to show

10"Sardinia," Microsoft® Encarta® 98 Encyclopedia. © 1993-1997 Microsoft Corporation. Allrights reserved.

up) there were some studies on physiotherapy after e.g. unilateral surgical vestibular ablation for Meniere's diseaseshowing beneficial effects of tailored treatment, done in a nice way. Otherwise many of the presentations failed tohave control groups and often were open both to patient and investigator. Again, we felt fortunate to work in ahealth care system where our income does not directly depend on the number of patients' and their satisfactionwith proposed modes of treatment.

The first afternoon, after a shower and congress lunch was better. I read somewhere that the Italians are bornwaiters. They want you to feel well, will help and provide you with all, what they suppose you need, even withoutasking. The waiters in the congress hotel were such ones. When Torbjorn praised the wine at lunch the waiterbrought one other carafe of the red liquid - "just in case you want to drink more". In one coffee break wecelebrated Mikael's birthday with some cakes I bought in a confectioner's shop. The waiter immediately realisedthat we needed plates and cutlery and even made a little lecture about the specialities of the Sardinianconfectionery.

The first impression of the hotel room was an excellent, big room with balcony overlooking the pool and a hugetent. After 5.00 p.m. when they started to play loud music in the tent, which went on till 1.00 a.m. (two nights), ouropinion had changed a bit. A travelling circus that entertained the inhabitants of Alghero during the weekendhappened to put up their tent near our hotel. Never mind to have free entertainment in a Circus! I burst outlaughing when I discovered the lorries of the circus on the ferry back to Civitavecchia. I passed the circus on myway back to the hotel carrying Mikael's cakes. A dog sniffed the sweet smell and followed me as far as the CarlosV hotel.

Mikael attended the luxurious congress dinner. We others thought that we could also go to a fine restaurant with aglass facade towards the harbour and enjoy some special meal. We walked there via the famous fortifications ofAlghero - a wall along the peninsula, where Alghero is located. It was difficult to understand why the houses at thefortifications are empty or in bad condition if the fortifications themselves are so famous? After the long walk atthe deserted and windy bastions we sat down in the fine restaurant. We soon realised that the service was slow, theportions were small, and the meat was paper-thin and did not taste too well. Only I was satisfied with my spaghettiwith shellfish.

Next day we dined in a simple ordinary pizzeria with chequered table cloth (by the way, the squares were invarious shades of blue and yellow - the Swedish colours). The portions were huge, the spaghetti was stuffed withseafood of various kinds, like shellfish, crabs cockles and others, and the pizzas covered the whole plate. We got toknow, that the owner is a Canadian - Italian couple and that the restaurant had been opened only the week before.

The weather did not favour us on Sardinia. A strong wind blew, even when the sun shone, thus making ourattempts to sunbathe rather unpleasant. The temperature could not be higher than 20 Co in the middle of the day.The island greeted us with clouds and rain and said goodbye with clouds and rain. On our last day, the only onewithout congress, it was raining cats and dogs. According to the guidebook Sardinia is a dry island, and only a few100-mm rain falls per year. I am convinced that half of this rain fell during our last day. We neither visited theNeptune Caves (second hand information said they were closed but the local buses still toured the place withoutinforming of this…) nor the village of the pre-historic Nouraghe people (we turned around before we got soakingwet on the last walking part of the way). Luckily I had a good book with me.

After another night on the ferry - this time we got a more modern boat - Civitavecchia and Rome greeted us withsunshine. The cupola of St Peter's was the last thing we saw before taking the train to the airport.

The next NES meeting will take place in Bad Kissingen, Bavaria, Germany, March 14-17, 2002.

Best wishes

Bea and Torbjorn