October 11, 2022

October 11, 2022

We rose very early this morning, checked out of the hotel, and took a taxi to the Bologna airport. This airfield is named after Marconi, inventor of radio. This is one more reminder that during the Renaissance, the city-states of northern Italy were the hotbed of science, architecture, industry and the arts. It all started because a group of Venetians experimented with democracy and capitalism. Not wanting to be left behind their neighbors began innovating too. The wealth generated offered almost unlimited opportunities to artists and architects. Nowhere else is there such a concentration of high art. No wonder all seven cities we visited were World Heritage Sites.

Our first flight to London takes us over Modena, the Balsamic Vinegar capital of Italy, then Lake Como and the Alps. We have clear skies over London. Since we just missed Queen Elizabeth's funeral on the flight over, it is only appropriate that our return flight path goes right over the funeral site of Westminster Abbey, and her home of Buckingham Palace.

In London, we board our next flight to Chicago. Our flight was full of dejected Green Bay Packer fans who had flown to London only to see their team defeated by the New York Giants. Our last flight to Tucson seemed the longest. We have been awake too long. We are happy to be home. We are tired of pay toilets and my feet need a break from pounding the pavement.

October 10, 2022

October 10, 2022

We took a day trip from Bologna, Italy to the town of Ravenna, near the Adriatic coast. From the train station, we walked to the far edge of the historic center. The large street signs are all decorated with mosaic patterns because Ravenna is known as the ‘City of Mosaics’. After the fall of Rome, Ravenna became a capital of the Roman Empire because of its protective swamps and location near the Adriatic Naval Port. Ravenna has the largest collections of structures from this Byzantine period outside of Istanbul.

We bought an entry pass that covers all the major sites. Since Covid, timed entry is now required for two of them. Our first stop was nearby at the Mausoleum of Gallia Placidia. Despite being early, we were waved in. This small tomb built around 430 AD has an intact ceiling that is completely covered in glass mosaic tiles about the size of a fingernail. It is in astounding shape because mosaics last far longer than paintings. It seems to be highly decorated for a tomb.

Within the same complex is the much larger Basilica di San Vitale. This is the crown jewel of Ravenna. This early Christian church has an octagonal core surrounded by naves. Only one is decorated, but it is glorious. It was completed in 547 AD. It is the same age as the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul and is probably a better example of what it originally looked like. The decorations are complex with lots of figures and symbolism. Interestingly the figure of Jesus is clean-shaven which was typical for early depictions. One panel has an image of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian. The floor is also decorated in beautiful mosaic designs.

Walking south we popped in the relatively new uninteresting Duomo. Next door is the Neonian Baptistery. This octagonal structure has a large baptismal font in the center. Built around 400 AD, it is the oldest religious structure in Ravenna. Not surprisingly the central element of the mosaic decoration of the ceiling is St John baptizing Jesus. The walls have some bas-relief sculptures.

Also next door is the small Archiepiscopal Museum. It has a bunch of tombstones in Latin which all start with ‘Here lies in Peace’. There is also a Byzantine ivory bishop’s throne and a large silver cross. There are also some fragments of glass mosaic that allows a close-up examination of their construction.

The jewel of the museum though is the bishop's private chapel of St Andrew. It is small but has a nicely decorated glass mosaic ceiling from around 500 AD.

Working our way back to the train station our next stop is at the Basilica of San Francesco. This early Christian church has little of its original decoration. The only item of interest is the crypt that is usually flooded. For a One Euro coin, we can turn on a light that illuminates the remnants of its original mosaic floor and the goldfish swimming in it.

Dante died in Ravenna during his exile from Florence. His funeral was in this church and he is buried on the grounds in an elaborate tomb. He is considered Italy’s greatest poet.

For lunch we stopped and had ravioli stuffed with cheese and spinach. Since our Italy days are numbered we had a medley of small desserts.

We tried to visit the Arian Baptistery but we discovered it is closed on Mondays. Our last stop is the Basilica Sant’Apollinare Nuovo. This old church is in the Roman Basilica shape, similar to a rectangular Roman temple. Christians would adopt the name for their churches and later add a transept to make the cross-shaped floor plan. The only surviving Byzantine decoration is on the upper panels of the side walls; like all the other mosaics they are beautiful. They mostly consist of a procession of figures with unique scenes on both ends.

We make a half-hearted attempt to see another ancient mosaic site north of the train station. We are blocked by the old Ravenna Fortress. It is a long walk around so we punt and mid-afternoon we take the train back to Bologna. After a brief stop in our hotel room, we walk back to the city center. There is a fraction of the crowds this afternoon.

We stopped at the Biblioteca Communale dell’Archiginnasio. This was the main building of the University of Bologna, the oldest in Europe, founded in 1088. Our self-guided tour takes us inside a neoclassical building with a courtyard just like University of Padua. Similarly they have hundreds of coats of arms of former students on display. We also visited another Teatro Anatomico, dissection parlor. This time we get the student eye version. It has some kind of morbid Frankenstein appeal to us, During WWII it was bombed and nearly destroyed.

Yesterday we ran into a Chicago woman on vacation here who told us Eric Clapton is in town for two nights giving a concert. We passed a fancy hotel with lots of people hanging around with Clapton t-shirts, waiting for him to make an appearance.

We spent the next hour shoe shopping. Aimee found a local store that carries some Turkish shoes that she couldn't pass up. Unfortunately they are out of the hummingbird design she had her heart set on. I also tried unsuccessfully to get a winter version of some German Birkenstock shoes I like for around the house.

On the walk home, Aimee suggested pizza and that struck a chord with me. A few blocks north we ran into a tiny pizzeria. It was great. The pizza reminded me of Uno’s, my favorite from Chicago.

October 9, 2022

October 9, 2022

We checked out of our hotel in Padova, Italy and took the train from the Veneto region to the Emilia-Romagna region south of the Po River. The Veneto was the lands controlled by the Venetian Republic. It is a very foggy ride to Bologna, capital and largest city of Emila-Romagna.

We get lucky and our hotel lets us check in early. After dropping our bags, we set out to explore the city. Rain is forecast so we bring along raincoats. We need not have bothered. Bologna is a World Heritage City due to its extensive porticoes or covered walkways. We could pretty much cross the city without getting wet.

On our way to the Centro Historico, we peek inside the churches we pass. Santa Maria Maggiore has some nice, frescoed ceilings from the 17th century. The Cathedral of St. Peter is massive but looks slightly unfinished. Since it is Sunday, all are having service, so we have to tiptoe around.

We eventually reach Piazza Nettuno with a nice Renaissance trident-holding Neptune Fountain. Water is squirting out the body parts of the female sea nymphs. Aimee immediately notices a Muslim wedding party on the square.

Around the corner is Piazza Maggiore. It is crowded with sports festivities of all kinds. This main square of the city has several huge imposing brick Renaissance government buildings around it. One side has the equally enormous Basilica of San Petronio. Oddly it is half finished and has been since medieval times. The brick understructure is only clad in decorative white marble on the lower half of the front facade. Apparently it was intended to be the largest church in the world, but the pope convinced them not to finish it.

At first blush Bologna seems the ‘city of huge’. Almost everything seems oversize. Bologna’s most famous symbol is two towers. The taller of the two, Torre Asinelli, is 319 feet tall with almost 500 stairs to reach the top. Both lean slightly and were built around 1100 AD.

Around the corner is Galvani square. Luigi was a local Bolognese scientist who made important discoveries about electricity. Many physics terms are named after him. Another Italian, Alessandro Volta took his discoveries and developed the Galvanic Pile, the first battery. It was an immediate hit.

Bologna is the home of the 'Boloney' sausage I ate as a child. It's also the Culinary Capital of Italy, so we found a nice private table in a secluded cafe and had a delicious lunch of the local specialty, Tagliatelle con Ragu alla Bolognese. By the time we finished every table in the restaurant was full.

Bologna is a hive of activity today. Beside the sports events in the main square, a combination craft fair and flea market extends around the historic center. Aimee and I have fun exploring. I like the interesting old structures that seem to pop up around every corner. That includes some of the original medieval wooden porticoes. Aimee likes checking out the stalls. I have to agree some of the items are very unique. I see one West African selling what looks like smuggled Benin bronzes. Other items remind me of stuff we might have bought on vacation and afterwards scratched our head with ‘what were we thinking?’

Our last adventure is taking a toy tourist train from the main square to a point high above and south of Bologna, the Sanctuary of Madonna di San Luca. But we are not here for the pilgrimage or the view. Instead we chuck our return ticket, and we walk down the longest covered walkway in the world.

This 2.5-mile portico connects the Sanctuary with Bologna. We think we are doing good walking down it, but we pass tons of people climbing the pathway. It ends at one of the many gates in the wall that once encircled medieval Bologna. My feet are sore and we are still far from our accommodations.

Finally back in the main square, we have to sit and rest. I have a nice cold beer at an outdoor cafe facing the unfinished church. Most every restaurant charges a cover charge. This nominally is to pay for the table service and oftentimes, bread or a few snacks. Salty potato chips is exactly what we needed.

On Sunday, the main drag of Independence Street is shut to traffic and becomes a long pedestrian zone. It is packed. I think every Bolognan must be out strolling the wide avenue.

We end at the Fountain of the Nymph with its monumental staircase. Across the street are the ruins of the Papal Palace. Bologna became part of the Papal States apparently to the displeasure of the locals. They regularly rioted and destroyed this palace, only for the soldier Popes to rebuild it every time. It stood next to the northern wall of the city. We followed the ruined wall back to our hotel. Humorously it stops right at the hotel. Our room sits directly atop where the old wall stood.

October 8, 2022

October 8, 2022

We had planned to take a day trip from Padova, Italy to nearby Vicenza yesterday, but we had seen a notice that rail workers had a short strike planned. I think every time I have come to Italy I have had to work my schedule around these frequent strikes. The only saving grace is that the strikes are all scheduled ahead of time to reduce chaos. Italy has enough chaos without any additions.

It is only sixteen minutes to Vicenza. From the station we walked east past a marble victory arch and then south into the countryside. The scenery is hilly and scenic; villa country. When the extreme profits of the Silk Road trade faded with the opening of alternate sea routes to the Orient, the rich Venetians invested their money in land. Vicenza was one of their favored locations. From this arose, a visionary 16th century architect named Andrea Palladio. He would go on to inspire architects for generations in Europe and the United States.

We soon reach Palladio's most famous design, Villa Capra, commonly referred to as La Rotonda, but we are a little too early. We stroll the neighborhood noticing lots of dog warning signs. Violent crime in Italy is fairly low, but theft must be common.

At 10am, the gate opens and we can begin our tour. This square sided building has Neoclassical Greek Temple-style facades on each face. When we enter the home we are greeted with a lavishly decorated circular lobby with a massive dome. There are a series of rooms that encircle the center space. We then walk around the exterior but are disappointed to find the sun side in scaffolding. Italy seems to have construction going on everywhere. Looking at the facade, it is easy to recognize Palladio’s style copied in almost every government building in the US. This villa was also a direct inspiration for Thomas Jefferson and his Monticello home.

On the walk back we detoured uphill to Villa Valmarana ai Nani, another Palladio villa. The unique feature of this home is the many dwarf statues adorning the perimeter fence. Legend says the owner added this element because his daughter also suffered from this affliction.

We continued north reaching the Historic Center of Vicenza. This area and the villas are a World Heritage Site. We bought the Vicenza pass that gets us in several attractions. We start at the Palladio designed Teatro Olympico, completed in 1585. This is the oldest surviving Renaissance Theater, and it is a beauty. The backdrop is all Neoclassical Roman. There are three openings revealing streets and buildings that give a 3-D effect of a background city. We get lucky and a light show begins almost as soon as we arrive.

Just up the street, Aimee and I stopped at an outdoor cafe for drinks and a light lunch with lots of people watching. The snacks, sandwich and Tiramisu were delicious.

Re-energized Aimee strolled the market shops in Piazza dei Signori, while I photographed the surrounding buildings. Palladio designed many buildings here before hitting the big time in Venice. His most unique, Basilica Palladiana, lines almost the whole south side of the piazza. He rebuilt and added a new classical loggia facade in 1550 to this Gothic market hall. We climbed to the second floor to see the massive interior and to also get nice views of the vicinity.

Down the street is Santa Corona Church. It has two famous paintings in side-altars but I find another one decorated with dozens of paintings to be more interesting.

We rapidly run through the next-door Archeology Museum, because the lack of English signs makes it difficult to appreciate. The only thing I liked was the monumental sandal-ed foot relic from some Roman emperor or general.

Our next stop was the Palladio Museum to learn more about his life and career. This museum mostly has large models of his building designs inside the rooms of a nice palace. A little bit of a two-fer. Aimee and I were a little too impatient to listen to much of the dozen holographic lectures. Vicenza was the home of rich silk merchants that provided the funds for Palladio to develop his new architectural style.

On the way back to the train station we stopped in the uninteresting Vicenza Cathedral.

We came back to Padua a little early because of a reservation we made a month ago. We have tickets to tour the World Heritage Scrovegni Chapel. This jewel of Padua can only be visited for fifteen minutes on a timed ticket.

When we arrive we pass some old walls that continue around in a circle. I soon realize this is what is left of the old Roman arena of Padua. We have an hour so we spend time walking through the attached Pinacoteca Art Museum. It is massive filled with medieval and early Renaissance art. The most famous piece is the painted cross that once hung in the Scrovegni Chapel. We also breeze through the vast archeological site. Again there is no English.

The 6:15 PM group has a few openings, so the guard waves us in early. We first sit and a watch a short video giving us the historical background. This chapel was painted by Giotto in 1305. Giotto is considered the innovative painter who led the transition in art from the Medieval to the Renaissance. Medieval painting was flat, two-dimensional, and mostly expressionless. In Scrovegni, we can see the first paintings that use perspective to present a three-dimensional scene with background and foreground. This is 200 years ahead of Michelangelo and his Sistine Ceiling.

After the video we are ushered into the small rectangular chapel. It is brightly painted on every surface. There are dozens of panels that relate the complete story of Jesus, from Mary’s birth to the Crucifixion. The end panel is a large Last Judgement, famously with a vivid punishment of the damned.

Just outside Scrovegni, we had a Gnocchi pasta dumpling dinner washed down with Chianti. We had a nice day today. Vicenza turned out to be one of our favorite cities of Italy.

October 7, 2022

October 7, 2022

We set out to explore Padua, Italy today. The tram line runs right past our hotel down the center of the historic center, so we bought a day tram pass. We took it to the southern end to first visit the Basilica di Sant’Antonio. This pilgrimage church contains the tomb of St Anthony of Padua, who died in 1231 and was quickly canonized. The tomb is elaborate and surrounded by a number of extraordinary marble sculptures detailing the miracles he performed during his life. He is the patron saint of lost things.

We next visited the Relic Chapel that contains a large variety of silver urns that each contain some part of the body of St Anthony. The most precious is supposed to be his tongue. Aimee, who missed her calling as a doctor, had the most fascination with this room.

The Basilica complex is very large with several adjoining cloisters. One has an uninteresting museum. We also visited the Scuola del Santo, a nicely decorated fraternity society building. More interesting was the next-door Oratory of St George. This small prayer hall is completely covered on the interior with brightly painted 14th century frescoes on the life of several saints including St George, the dragon-slayer.

We took the tram north a few stops to the historic building of the University of Padua. This is the 800th anniversary of its founding in 1222. We bought tickets for the English tour. It starts in the courtyard of the neoclassical Palazzo Bo. Bo is short for Bovis, named after the butcher shop that was nearby.

The university uniquely was set up to be independent and run by the students who paid the salary of the teachers. The most striking feature of this building is the huge number of heraldic ‘coat of arms’ that cover most every surface. Each one represents the noble pedigree of a student.

Our next stop is the Great Hall where lectures were given. Galileo was the most distinguished teacher. His long tenure at the university often awards Padua the birthplace of the scientific method. We visited another two smaller halls used for medical and legal lectures. All these rooms are still in use. They look very regal for student classrooms.

We also visited the oldest anatomical theater still in existence. This wooden structure was used by students to watch medical dissections. It was the room I was most interested in. Unfortunately, we saw it from the viewpoint of the cadaver looking up, instead of down from the eyes of the students. Padua was a leader in anatomical research, so it is not surprising that some body parts (e.g. Fallopian tubes and Eustachian tubes) are named after Italian scientists.

After the tour we walked through the nearby vegetable market on Piazza dell Erbe and through the meat market in Palazzo della Ragione. We need a break so we sat at an outdoor cafe and had the local beverage of choice, Spritz Aperol. It is Prosecco mixed with Aperol, some kind of bright orange bitter aperitif. We decided it must be some kind of acquired taste.

We then hopped back on the Tram taking it south to the Botanical Gardens of the University. It is a World Heritage Site because of its distinction as the world’s oldest academic botanical garden. Established in 1545, it has a unique square within a circular wall design. There are a wide variety of small plants being cultivated including cacti. My favorite was the several varieties of lily pads. It was a little boring but a nice respite from the many churches and palaces on our Italian itinerary.

We walked to the nearby square of Prato della Valle to catch the tram but got waylaid by its beauty. It is the largest piazza in Italy and has a hundred large statues lining a circular canal.

We wanted to get a late lunch or early dinner, but that is proving problematic in non-touristy Italy. Here most restaurants close around 2pm and don't open again until 7pm. We go back to the hotel, eat some snacks, and take a nap. We head back downtown to a cafe in a neoclassical loggia. We have wine and snacks waiting for the kitchen to reopen. In the interim we also order some tasty Italian bar appetizers called ‘cicchetto’. The main course we eventually order is not quite what we expected. Aimee is not happy. It didn't help we keep having communication problems. e.g. Cecilia wine is pronounced Chechilia! 

October 6, 2022

October 6, 2022

Aimee and I set out to explore the World Heritage city of Verona, Italy today. To save wear and tear on my feet, we hopped on a bus from the train station into the Centro Storico (Historic Center) getting off at Piazza Bra. The square sits just inside one of the medieval brick gates of this walled city. Our hotel sits just outside Porto Nuovo, one of the gates from a later wall from the Venetian and Austrian eras.

Also on Piazza Bra is the old Roman Arena. Like the one in Arles, France, this arena is still in use for concerts and the like. Verona was an important Roman city because it was at the junction of four Roman roads. We walked further into the old town reaching Porta Basari, a marble gate from the much earlier Roman wall. The walls kept getting moved out as the city population expanded.

Our next stop was Piazza Erbe. Hidden in a courtyard around a corner is the House of Juliet and her famous 'O Romeo Romeo, Wherefore art thou Romeo' balcony. Sadly this is all marketing hype. The owner is making a killing selling photo ops on the balcony. According to custom, I was obligated to rub the breast on the statue of Juliet for good luck.

In the Piazza dei Signori, we run into a statue of Dante. After being condemned to death by the church, he sought refuge here. He is famous for writing the long poem Divine Comedy. In a courtyard off this square we discovered a cool Renaissance stairway similar to one we saw in Croatia.

Verona was ruled for many years by the Scaligeri family. We passed their set of decorated tombs. Later the Venetians, needing a foothold on the mainland, bought the town.

Verona sits on a tight bend of the Adige River for defense. The Ponte Pietra bridge was built by the Romans, blown up by retreating Germans in WWII, and then rebuilt using the original stones fished from the river. We can see the ruins of the Roman theater on the opposite bank. We stop and watch a woman being filmed by a drone as she walked back and forth across the bridge. They are probably making a video for Tik-Tok to earn click money.

On the return trip we stopped at the Duomo (Cathedral of Santa Maria Matricolare). It was mostly a rest break. Our last stop was at Castelvecchio, the brick castle of the ruling Scaligeri family. Attached to it is a fortified bridge with nice views of the river.

Back at Piazza Bra, instead of lunch, we decided to head back to our hotel and take the train to our next destination of Padua or Padova. Despite Verona being higher on the tourist schedule, Aimee and I liked Mantua much better.

After checking into our accommodations in Padua, we walk south toward the historic center. On the way we find a nice cafe for an early dinner. We have a delicious and spicy Pasta Arrabbiata entree washed down with some local beer.

We spend the rest of the afternoon walking up and down the main drag. Padua is a university town and students and locals are everywhere. It seems to be a hopping town. Our stroll took us by the Palazzo del Capitanio. It has a beautiful clock tower on it. Seeing the statue of the Lion of St Mark, I could easily tell this was the office of the Venetian Government. As Venice expanded, they needed a land base to ensure a food supply. Next door Padua and Verona was the logical expansion zone.

We also stopped for our first Gelato in Italy. Tasty!