Tom`s travels: Trip around eastern Veneto (15/07/2015)

I left Jesolo, the beach town where I have a summer house, around 9;40 with my car and reached my first stop, the archaeological site of Altino about 20-25 minutes later. Once a flourishing and important roman city, it was sacked and destroyed by the invading barbarians and then slowly abandoned for a more safer area in the middle of the lagoon which turned into what is now Venice. So after parking the car I went to the museum's entrance but found a note saying to head on 300m where the new museum had been built. So I took some pictures of the roman tombs sitting outside in the old museum's courtyard and drove on to the new location. The new building in fact looked very new and large, once inside I asked the lady for a student discount, and she told me that since the museum was not fully complete yet the fee was 1,50€. I must say though that even if not complete yet, it is not a really nice museum, some displays were empty and the descriptions in general were a bit too long an boring. There were some nice artifacts on display but in general not so interesting. Hopefully in the near future they will finish the displays and present it in a more interesting manner so as to attract more tourists. So after the visit I got back in the car and headed for my next stop: Roncade. The main future of this little town is an impressive 15th century villa surrounded by a massive wall with towers, and behind it vineyards since it now works as a wine producing estate. Once inside I saw there was a possibility to have a tour of the place (for 10€) but I had to wait till the next one which was at 3:30pm so I decided to just see the garden and the outside by myself. After taking a few pics I was back in the car and heading for the next stop: Oderzo. This little town used to be a major roman city which once reached 50.000 inhabitants, however after the barbarian invasions it never recovered. Only during the middle ages and then under the Venetian Republic did it gain again a relative importance, though now it barely reaches 20.000 inhabitants. Once I reached the town, I parked my car right outside the city center and started walking around; unfortunately there was a market set along the streets so all the palaces were covered. I saw though that some were beginning to pack up so I decided to look for a place to eat while I waited. I found a nice restaurant just behind the Duomo, where I ate some really good strozzapreti (type of pasta) with 4 cheeses. After lunch I was happy to see the market was gone and so I was able to take some nice photos of the wonderful palaces of the old town. I then headed to the tourist office where I was given a map that detailed the many roman remains that dotted the town all over, I walked along the streets seeing mosaics, remains of villas and the remains of the roman forum. I then headed for the town's main square: Piazza Grande, with the nice romanesque-gothic Duomo, the Torresin or clock tower and several palaces. From there I walked back towards the car and stopped at the city's archaeological museum, which was quite small but had some 2 or 3 beautiful roman mosaics and some roman tombs and inscriptions. The video which showed the virtual reconstruction of the forum and a roman villa was very nicely done. Entrance fee to the museum was 3€. Heading on the next destination I decided to stop right before Portogruaro to check out the Abbey of Summaga, a nice Romanesque church built in the 13th century with frescoes of the same period detailing Mary and the Apostles. Since I was the only one there I was free to walk around without anyone bothering me. From there I got back in the car and entered the town of Portogruaro. I parked right outside the old city center and started the visit with a church right next to the parking lot, the Church of St Agnes. Then passig through the southern medieval gate I reached the old part of the town. A road heading north was lined on both sides with beautiful palaces, venetian styled and mostly gothic. I then walked on and entered the Museo Nazionale Concordiese, an archaeological museum depicting the roman findings of the nearby city of Concordia Sagittaria. It is thought to be the oldest museum in the Veneto region and one of the oldest in Italy. Ticket cost was 1,5€ with student discount. I thought the museum was quite small and a bit too full of objects, in fact most of the objects are cramped in the main room and are set up all around, like they did in older museums during the 1800s. Thus one can be distracted by all the things and cannot concentrate on one single piece at a time. Also the descriptions are a bit too small and not easy to read. Heading out of the museum I reached the tiny park located on the shore of the Lemene river, where there is a beautiful view of the back of the cathedral and a small square behind the city hall. There are also two really old watermills, perfectly preserved dating from the 12th century. I then crossed a bridge and reached the eastern part of the town, where the northern medieval gate was located. I then headed south along another road, parallel to the river like the one i previously walked on the other side, also filled with splendid palaces. I reached the Cathedral and went inside; rebuilt in the late 18th century and beginning of the 19th in a neoclassical style it doesn't feature anything important and the façade is incomplete; the bell tower is the only remaining part from the previous church. Close to the church is the city's main square: Piazza della Repubblica, with the wonderful gothic civic hall dating from the 13th century at its center. Behind it a small square overlooking the river with the old medieval fish market also in the gothic style. I then walked further on, passing through another medieval gate, and saw one last church before getting in the car: the church of St John. I reached the small town of Concordia Sagittaria, another once important roman town in the area. Once there I parked the car and entered the Cathedral, dating from the 15th century it is built over a few other Cathedrals that existed before, the most notable of which and also the first built in 350 A.D. Inside were a few remaining frescoes from the medieval times; I then headed out and entered the amazing Baptistery, built in the 11th century in a byzantine style and featuring frescoes detailing stories from the Bible and saints. It was then time to go so I got back in the car and back towards Jesolo, happy of having spent a day off from the beach.