Gallivanting Geismom: On the Road to Angera

After a week of fun and adventure in Cittadella, it was time to bid fond farewell to our friends,

load up the Panda

and begin our journey to Angera, located close to the Milan Airport. I picked this location because it was near the airport, so we wouldn't have to worry about the stress of fighting traffic (or getting lost) and we could enjoy the scenic views of the Alps while staying at this quaint village on Lake Maggiore.

With map in hand I was ready for the challenge!
Or, should I say.......with maps in hand?

Ahhhh....... I failed to mention that part of the arrival story, didn't I? You may remember my mentioning that the trip from Milan to Cittadella took far longer than I had anticipated.

When we picked up the car, the rental agent handed me a photocopy of what I presume was a map (the black white copy was not clear and the mileage gage was probably 20 miles to the inch), and mentioned that we needed to just take A8 to A4 and we'd be all set.

Marty admitted later that he never heard those directions.

We had our Italy GPS loaded up on my cell phone......so we were all set....right?

Yep....we headed out onto the A8 and Lassie GPS directed us to exit at the first opportunity. I questioned this advice, but Marty put his trust in this new technology, and we found ourselves driving in a mess of traffic northwest of Milan.

We somehow managed to make our way back onto the A8 when I blew a sigh of relief, and the next thing I knew, Lassie was directing us to get back off again.

At this point, I reminded Marty what the rental agent had said, and that's when he admitted that he hadn't been listening. So, then I pulled out the directions that Morena had given me, which confirmed what we had been told.

He asked me what the map showed. Really? I was lucky if I could read "Milan" on the paper!

When it became obvious that Lassie had an issue with the Autostrada, we stopped at a rest stop and Marty purchased a 6 euro, large fold out map of Lombarda. It wouldn't get us to Cittadella, but it would certainly be helpful on the return trip (hopefully), and it finally convinced Marty that we needed to stay on the Autostrade and not listen to Lassie.

We decided that it would be helpful to find a similar map of Veneto where Cittadella is located. So, we stopped once again, and Marty came out of the station with a 21 euro Atlas.

Now, you'd think that would have done the trick, but the detail on the Atlas was not as specific as that on the map. And, Lassie GPS was directing us to exit the highway AFTER we had already passed the exit. (Not that I didn't try to persuade the driver that the turn was earlier......but somehow Lassie won out on the driving decisions.)

So, after we exited the A4 onto the A31 and found ourselves driving up and down the same highway, missing the correct ramp twice, ( once in each direction and having to pay a toll every time we exited), Marty decided that it was time to stop and pick up a detailed 6 Euro map of Veneto, and exit when I told him rather than listen to Lassie.

And that explains just why our trip took so long, and why I might have appeared just a wee bit stressed upon arrival.

But, that was old news....and lesson learned... and we were heading west....once again with Lassie directing us....but this time, I had the maps stacked up in my lap.

And it was a good thing, too, because at the first opportunity, she announced that we should take the first exit. Which we did NOT this time. And, finally, after several misguided attempts, she seemed to be happy with us staying on the Autostrada.

We stopped partly along the way at a rest stop, and Marty was able to take this photo of Soave, the walled city that we had visited earlier in the week.

This was the perfect view of the Castle on the hill with the walls stretching down either side. Pretty cool, don't you think?

Part of the driving plan was to make a stop in Bergamo, which was on the way to Angera. I had learned that there was a lower city and an older upper city, which could be reached by funicular, or by walking up the hill.

After exiting the highway, and driving through the extremely congested traffic around the bus station, we managed to find a parking garage located on a side street, so we parked and headed to the Via Pignola, which we located on Marty's phone via Google Maps.

This roadway is the oldest road in Bergamo, and I knew that it would lead us to the upper city. It was an ancient, narrow, cobblestoned road and one could easily imagine it being traveled over the centuries.

It did not take us long to walk to the top of the road where we spotted the Porta S. Agostino.

It was built in 1561 under Venetian Rule, as well as the walls surrounding the upper city.

The views were pretty spectacular from this vantage point.

And another set of walls featured some interesting landscape techniques.

We weren't quite sure which road to take to get into the old city, so we just picked one and soon found ourselves walking through areas filled with Medieval streets and alleyways with interesting surprises around nearly every corner.

Many of the streets were named after saints. Note the face alongside the name, carefully preserved behind glass.

This church, standing nearby, featured a tall bell tower

and some interesting support columns

Little did we know that what looked like a small church from this viewpoint, was actually a wing to the Basilica.

Walking past a small parking lot, I spotted this statue in an alcove.

There were lovely frescoes painted on the buildings

and brilliant banners hanging along the main street.

Interesting goodies in the window

I had no idea that Italians made a sweet version of Polenta! Sure looks yummy, don't you think?

We soon found ourselves in the Piazza Vecchia. I offered to take a group photo of some visitors, and they returned the favor.

We are standing in front of the Fontana Contarini.

Located on one side of this Piazza is the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, whose construction was begun in 1137.

A closeup shot features Sant' Alexander on horseback with St. Barbara and St. Vincent on either side.

We were surprised to see that we could actually go inside, and that was where I spotted a banner which, when translated, announced a special festival in Bergamo through the end of October where certain churches were open to the public, for free, only during certain hours on Fridays and Sundays.

Now, I ask.......how lucky was that? We walked inside, and Marty was immediately awed at the size and the ornate beauty of the interior.

Nearly every inch of the interior was covered with some sort of brilliance.

The main altar featured a crucifix hanging from the ceiling above, and marquetry panels on either side above the choir, created between 1522 and 1565 from drawings by Lorenzo Lotto.

Standing in the corner was a preserved Baroque Confessional by Fontoni

And there were original frescoes brilliantly adorning some of the walls.

Amazing, don't you think?

Adjacent to the Basilica there stands the Bergamo Bapttistero.

Believe it or not, the baptistry originally stood inside the Basilica, erected in 1350. It was dismantled and positioned in the courtyard in 1660 when the rite of baptism was transferred to the Duomo.

The Duomo, previously dedicated to St. Vincent, but presently dedicated to Sant' Allesandro, patron saint of the city, is located in this same piazza.

From the outside, there is no indication that this building would be the Duomo. But upon entering the doors, it was obvious that we were inside a magnificent cathedral.

In the one corner of the church, there is a Chapel dedicated to St. Vincent and to Blessed Pope John XXIII, who was born in the city of Bergamo and served as Bishop there for 9 years.

There is a larger than life statue of the Pope

as well as some relics and items that he would have personally used, preserved behind glass.

Above the altar in the chapel is a painting of St. Vincent.

Before exiting the church, we spotted yet another chapel dedicated to St. Vincent.

An Angel on either side greet you as you enter.

The fresco above the altar shows the sorrowful state of removing Christ's body from the cross.

But just above, in the dome of the chapel, there is another painting featuring Christ's triumph over the cross.

Amazing, don't you think?

We headed out the door, marveling at the wonders that we had seen, and began the walk back to our car, as it was getting late and I certainly did not want to be traveling in the dark.

As we headed back down the Via Pignoli, Marty took one more shot of us with the old town walls behind us, although you really can't see much of the walls.

And when we got to the Piazzeta Spirito, I noticed that the church was open, and suggested that we just go inside for a peek.

Most of the artwork was dark, but a couple of the murals caught my eye due to their brilliance.

Little did I know that I was gazing upon the works of Lorenzo Lotto, a great Venetian Artist whose work was displayed in the Church of Santo Spirito!

Obviously, there was a whole lot more that we could have seen in Bergamo, but we needed to get on the road, so Marty paid the parking attendant, and we headed out of the garage and managed to make it back to the A4 by following signs, as Lassie GPS was of NO help!!

But I do have to give her some credit, because after Marty exited following MY directions and not her's which, once again, had us getting off of the highway AFTER the exit, Lassie did manage to help us meet our final destination: Hotel Del Tigli in Angera.

I had reserved a terrace room, which featured a view of the lake......sort of.