Verona: the ancient city

As promised, this post adds a bit more detail to our gallivanting excursion to Verona and Soave yesterday.

With Dennis in charge of the transportation we arrived in Verona in about an hour's time from Cittadella. Just as we were neared the Old Town we were made painfully aware of the rows and rows of tour buses parked near the entrance.

Verona is obviously a favorite attraction.

And, it really isn't all that surprising since it is deep rooted in history and has an abundance of preserved buildings and streets to walk along.

 Or should I say push and shove along?

We began near the Roman Arena which actually dates from the 1st century.

Believe it or not, most of the stones are original.

Nearby, a golden plate on the sidewalk shows the Roman city plan.

The center of the grid represents Piazza Erbe which was our next destination.

People have gathered in this Piazza since the Roman times, and today was no different, for sure. 

Despite rubbing elbows with way too many tourists, Marty managed to get a photo of us in the Piazza.

A statue of St. Zeno, the patron of Verona stands in Piazza Erbe.

He faces the "House of Juliet".  This seemed to be a real draw to many people.

Somehow I managed to capture a photo without someone peering over the edge. 

Believe me.....it wasn't easy. Every time I would focus the camera, a different head would pop out.

This attraction is rather amusing as far as I'm concerned. Verona was only the setting for the play Romeo & Juliet.   Shakespeare was never in the city.  I realize this is fun, but I can't help but wonder how many people go home and think they've actually seen the terrace where a person named Juliet stood and cried out for her Romeo?

We escaped the piazza just in time.  We had spotted the woman with the flag and her minions following behind her.  

Whew!

Our next destination was the Piazza del Signori

 Of course, we couldn't pass on this photograph with Dante.

The Piazza is beautiful, with each of the palaces representing an entirely different type of facade.

Around the corner is the Scaligeri family cemetery.

These are 14th century Gothic tombs that are contained in a private burial plot near the Piazza Signori.

Walking along, we headed  towards St. Anastasia Church.  It  was built in the 13th thru 15th centuries.

The church is an excellent example of Italian Gothic architecture and it was designed by two Dominican Friars.  

This church originally begun in 1290, is the largest church in Verona. 

I was amazed to see that I was walking on the original floor. 

And the interior is just breathtaking!

The Crucifix Chapel is the most ancient part of the Basilica as it is built on the site of the earlier smaller church dedicated to St. Anastasia.  The wooden cross dates from the mid 15th century.

There were over a dozen ornamental altars on either side of the church, each with their own particular devotion.  Here are just a few examples:

These paintings  were dedicated to the Dominican Saints

and this one to St. Martin.

Here you see the Descent of the Holy Spirit

There was an elegant gold gilded organ

 

marble statues

And amazing frescoes on nearly every wall.

The only thing missing was any type of icon recognizing the patroness of this beautiful church, St. Anastasia herself!

Exiting the church, we then walked to the riverfront area where we could see the Ponte Pietra

Isn't that an awesome view?

After a quick walk past the Duomo

                                         

we had completed most of the tour of Verona.  We stopped for a delightful lunch out on the cafe terrace.

and then it was time to head to our next destination.....

Soave

This place was awesome.  

No tourists!  

Wait......aren't we tourists?  No....we're travelers.

Loved the grapes hanging from the interior arch as we walked into the walled city.

And I soon learned from Morena that Soave is where they make Bolla Wine.  Which explains the wine-making theme.  Here Marty stands next to a grape press.

Dennis & Morena suggested that Marty and I walk around the town while they relaxed with a gelato, so we took advantage of the offer and climbed to the top where the upper castle stands.

There were some lovely views from that vantage point.

And......lots and lots of......

Grapes!

Awesome!

You just don't see that everyday, do you?

Nor this either.

We headed back to Cittadella where we enjoyed a fantastic dinner at a nearby restaurant, celebrating Morena's birthday.

Marty and I had a blast....eating food.....drinking wine.....watching the Italians talk and laugh and REALLY enjoy themselves.

These are the moments that we hold special.  Great fellowship and fun.

And who cares if we don't speak or understand Italian? 

Highlights of the Day

We had such a wild and crazy time yesterday that I was bushed when we finally got back to the room.

So, I'm just going to give some quick highlights of the day and catch up sometime later with more details.

First of all......Happy Birthday to my dear friend, Morena!  How great to have been able to celebrate with her.

So, here's a synopsis of the day.

We:

Visited Verona where we saw the Roman Arena

The old gate to the city

Piazza Erbe

Juliet's balcony where Marty managed to capture our photo 

Can you see the crazy guy hanging out over the balcony?  He was pretending to be Romeo climbing to see his beloved Juliet. 

View over the Adige river.

Had a delightful lunch outside on the cafe terrace where we could enjoy the beautiful views

Stopped at Soave on the return trip.  This was another walled city..

Climbed to the upper castle

 Saw lots of grapes

Learned that Soave was famous for  its wine making

Returned to Cittadella

Met with Morena's cousins

Partied at the restaurant

Toasted to the birthday girl

And waddled home.

Fantastico!

Walled Cities of Veneto

Excitement!

Today was market day inside the walls of the city and the streets were filled with vendors displaying their wares.

By 8:00  am, people were busy perusing the streets, and Morena and I couldn't resist walking around a bit. I was honestly surprised to see so many items being sold that were made in Italy, because in the U.S., most of the markets like these would be selling items made in China.

Apparently this happens every Monday in Cittadella, but I found it to be less than ordinary, to be sure.  It was like bringing the mall to the streets.  Quite a phenomenon.   

After our shopping adventures, we headed out with Dennis & Marty to yet another walled city:  Bassano del Grappa.  

On the way, we stopped at the Cemetery/Crematorium where some of Morena's family is buried.

Located in the very back of the grounds is a  military cemetery.  I had spotted those all too familiar neat  rows of white crosses in the distance.  

But I was surprised to learn that these graves hold the remains of Hungarian and German soldiers who lost their lives during World War I while fighting in the vicinity of Cittadella.  The dates ranged from 24 May 1915 to 4 Nov 1916.

From May 1915 through Nov 1917, the front line of the First World War ran through the Dolomites.  Cittadella stands near the base of these mountains, so it isn't hard to understand why so many graves of enemy soldiers stand memorialized here.

Every grave holds the remains of at least four deceased soldiers, with many listing as many as eight on the headstone.

At the very end of the cemetery stands a  memorial to those men who will forever be listed as unknowns.

Although I realize that it was the Italian government who declared  war on Austria, I still found it amazing that it was Italians who made certain that their enemy received a proper burial with recognition.  Every man who was found was recognized with an inscription upon a metal plate placed in the center of the white stone grave marker.  

At the same time men were following orders to kill the enemy, a group of people were making the compassionate effort to be certain that the fallen were recognized and properly buried.  There may be more behind this story of which I am unaware, but I believe that credit is due to those people of Cittadella who made certain that strangers were properly laid to rest.

By this time we decided that we should head on to our destination of the day:  Bassano del Grappa, another walled city in the Veneto district.

Unlike Marostica and Cittadella, not all of the walls continue to be preserved.  This charming city is nestled at the foot of the Dolomites with a river running through it.  It is one of the most picturesque cities that we have visited.

Overlooking the valley stand the remnants of a castle built in 998.

Its location at the top of a hill  makes it a prime defensive stronghold.

One of the sights that we were interested in was a distillery museum located near the Alpini Bridge.

There was a LOT of Grappa on display.

And all kinds of equipment on display as the museum featured the distillation processes of Grappa over the years.

There were the "twins" which were two connected stills hermetically closed in which the material was redistilled in continuation until obtaining the "Quintessence".

Marty argued that it was an impossible system, but I assured him that it must have worked at some time,  since it was on display in the museum. 

Upgrading, we came to the Double Boiler distilling apparatus

And, of course, the Pelican apparatus

Clever names, don't you think?

Marty and I thoroughly enjoyed the museum.  A distillation column to a Chem E is like gold to a jeweler!  Just look at how happy that guy is!

And that was before he was sampling the Grappa!

By the way, Grappa is known as "The water of life," the term stemming from the monastery that would have been the first to create it.

After sniffing and tasting the product, we headed down towards the Alpini Bridge

and found the picture perfect viewpoint with the old structure behind  us. (as well as a crane, as you can see by the photo.)

The view from the bridge was spectacular, as you can see.

We stopped for lunch where we were entertained by this cute little dog who felt the need to bark at every car that dared to park at the entrance to the shop.

Can you see him standing guard?

And we discovered some interesting sights in the center of the town.

An Astronomical clock constructed in 1756

which, believe it or not, still works!

A wedding cake tower that certainly made my mouth drool.   Don't you just feel like digging in for a bite?

And a fountain of which I can offer no explanation

On the way back to the car we couldn't help but notice the rows of trees resembling mushrooms along the walk.  Each tree bore a metal plate with a name and a date.  

This tree-lined street is called the Viale del Martiri and is named for the 31 partisans who were killed by the Nazis and hung from these trees during World War II.  

The trees continue to be a living memorial to those men, and although they are quite beautiful, I couldn't help but be saddened by the cruelty that their presence reflects.  This was the second time in one day where the horrors of war were all too obvious.  The first showed the burials of the enemy.  This showed the senseless deaths of Italian citizens by the enemy.  So very sad. 

We walked past the trees and down to the car where, once again, Dennis took over the driving duties.  This time we were on the road to the village of Castlefranco.  I suppose that it won't surprise you to hear that it is yet another walled city.

By this time, the sun decided to make an appearance, and we couldn't have been happier.

We stepped into the church for a few minutes, 

and admired the Municipio building across the street.

After a quick walk around the wall, we headed back to Cittadella for the evening. 

Marty and I took a quick stroll around the walls, admiring their beauty.

At 8:00, we met Dennis &  Morena, and walked outside the walls to a lovely restaurant for dinner.

Once again, the meal was fabulous!

Before I end my story for the day....I'd like to share a wee bit of humor with you, if you're up for it.

When we were in Bassano del Grappa earlier in the day, I found myself in desperate need of a bathroom. So, when we stopped for lunch, I politely asked for the "toilette" and was directed down the hall.

Upon entering the back room, I found that there was no distinguishing between men and women, so I hesitantly pushed open the door to find a large stainless steel square on the floor with a hole towards one end. 

I'll admit that this was not my preferred method, but I was desperate, so what could I do?

Let me just say, without any details, that I somehow managed to do what I needed to do without falling into the floor, ( but it was NOT easy, to say the least, and I will admit that I was glad that I decided to wear a skirt today).

I went back to the table and informed everyone that although the bathroom was not what I would consider my best choice, it was clean.

At this point, Morena decided that it was her turn to use the facilities.  She came back and mentioned  that the place had certainly upgraded the facilities since they had last been there.

Upgraded?  Here's my opinion on that:  If you're going to "upgrade", couldn't you REALLY do better than a stainless steel plate in the floor?  Just saying.

Well, tonight, after dinner, Morena and I headed together to use the facilities, not quite sure of what to expect.  She slowly opened the door, peeked inside, breathed a sigh of relief,  

and said to me, "You lucked out this time, Barbara!"

Really?  I lucked out?  I couldn't help but find that comment to be rather amusing.

I wasted no time informing my friend that this was certainly a "WIN WIN" situation for everyone......not just for me.

After all, does anyone really prefer a hole in the ground for such matters?  

You needn't answer that.

Back to my story......

Not only was dinner fabulous, our walk home offered a spectacular view of the walls at night. 

Have you ever seen something quite so awesome?