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The Christina House (where we stayed) was within walking distance of the entire old-town district and the train station. We decided to start off with a bus tour just to get oriented and help us decide on what we should see. We jumped off the bus on the second stop at Piazza del Duomo and ended up spending several hours there. There are just too many sites and too many cathedrals and art galleries to see them all or to write about each. We missed seeing the inside of the Duomo but you could study the outside of the building for hours and never see half the detail. We did go inside the Baptistery of St. John. Rebuilt in the 11th century this is site is where Dante was baptized. Obviously, this city is at the heart of the Renaissance... Michelangelo is everywhere, figuratively and literally... his tomb is in Santa Croce beside Galileo and Machiavelli, but the art is everywhere. We just kept kicking ourselves all day for letting the camera get away the day before. It was also too expensive to buy a replacement. We bought two ice cream cones and it cost 12 Euros (~16 bucks!) While walking around we found an internet cafe that had a wireless network so we went back to the hotel, got the laptop and uploaded what we had so far. Then we finished the bus tour and walked around some more. We were continuously surprised at how many cathedrals and museums there were around every corner. This was Sunday so some things were closed and others closed early so we missed a few things we wanted to see including the Galleria dell' Accademia where Michelangelo's David is displayed. I have to admit though, maybe I'm not the most cultured guy around cuz I got a little tired seeing all the weenies hanging around. Clothes are a good thing. We spend another night at the Christina House then headed north. We met a lady from Singapore on the train and she gave us a lot of good info on Bologna and Venezia. We told her about the $6 ice cream and she just laughed. She said her husband is Italian and told us how differently she's treated when their together than when she's on her own. She said, for example, foreigners (including her) pay full menu prices, but when she's with her husband (who's Italian), they get about 30-40% off. She said to stay away from the Restaurant and don't EVER sit at an outside restaurant in a plaza. The "sitting fee" can tipple the price of a meal. We said goodbye to our Singapore friend and got off the train in Bologna. We spent five hours wandering around the ancient city center and saw the two remaining towers (out of 200 original towers) built in the 12th century. We also visited San Petronio which was completed in 1390 and is considered one of Italy's best brick-built medieval buildings. The architecture and artwork made this church well worth the stop. Again, just walking around randomly, you can see enough to boggle the mind. Back on the train again, this time to Padova. We found a hotel right next to the train station and headed down to the Block Buster Video store that was right next door. The attendant was a young art student who was very excited to tell us all about the Cappella degli Scrovegni and said it was a must see. He described the art as pre-Michelangelo and how it was "flatter" than we would see in the later artists. He said we'd need to buy tickets a day early so we skipped the movies and headed off on foot to buy tickets. When we reached the little chapel we were surprised that we could get in right away so that's what we did. This little chapel was built in 1303 and the interior walls are covered with frescoes painted by Giotto, who is considered the "Father of Western Art". Standing in the Cappella was just the beginning of our dip into the past for the day. We continued by walking around the museum next door and that took a couple of hours by itself. What an amazing place that was. The only problem was that all the exhibits were detailed in Italian so we were only able to pick up bits and pieces of their history. Even so, the artwork was extremely impressive even for novices (or sub-novices) like us. |