Cremona (03/02/2016)

On this day I decided to travel with my aunt who usually works out of town and travels a lot so I decided to get a lift to the city of Cremona. After being dropped off in the city center I immediately headed towards the main square. The bell tower, the second highest in Italy, was immediately visible from the highway so I just had to look up to figure out the way. Once I reached the impressive Piazza del Comune, I was awed by the beauty of the Cathedral and the bell tower right next to it. The Duomo, built in the Romanesque style, had several later additions in the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque style. The facade built in the 13th century is an absolute masterpiece and surely one of the best looking in Italy. I then went inside, and marveled at the Baroque decorations which covered most of the interior yet did not seem out of tone with the older structure of the building. There were still several medieval decorations such as a few frescoes and tombs. The main painting of the church hangs on the counter facade and is the Crucifixion by Pordenone. I then decided to head out to visit the rest of the square. Right in front of the Cathedral are two medieval buildings, the Palazzo del Comune, or City Hall, and the Loggia dei Militi, or Soldier's Loggia which served as another government building. From there I turned right and bought the combined ticket for the bell tower and the Baptistery, and headed up the tower first. The so called Torrazzo, is the third tallest brick tower in the world, and the oldest among those 3 towers. Completed in 1309 its height reached 112m and after having walked up more than 500 steps I reached the top where I had a wonderful view over the town below and the surrounding countryside and the Po river towards the south. It was also really nice that I was the only tourist and visitor up there enjoying the views. I then descended the stairs and went in the Baptistery. A friendly old man at the ticket booth asked me where I was from and started talking about the building's history and of the city too. Built around the time of the Cathedral it's another wonderful example of Romanesque architecture, and as most other Baptisteries it was built in an octagonal plan. The interior though not frescoed as other Baptisteries, still had a nice look to it. It was time for lunch so I asked for some suggestions at the tourist info point and went with the nearby Ristorante Centrale. Though a bit old looking on the inside (like an 80s decor) I had a really good typical Cremonese dish: tortellini in broth.  After lunch I headed north and after walking a few block I reached the city's main museum; The Ala Ponzone Museum. Inside were several 16th and 17th century paintings such as a beautiful and strange painting called the Ortolano by Arcimboldo, a famous 16th century painter known for representing people with fruit and vegetables. There were also some rooms with 18th and 19th century pantings, a part with asian porcelains and an archaeological section with greek and roman objects, and finally a last room with the famous violins of which Cremona is known worldwide. After exiting the museum I walked along a few streets passing by some really nice palaces, such as Palazzo Fodri and the Palazzo Stanga Trecco with a really nice courtyard with a renaissance loggia. I then walked on and reached Via Garibaldi, where the house of famous luthier Stradivari stands. Not far up the street is another medieval building very similar to the city hall called Palazzo Cittanova, and right in front the Church of St Agatha rebuilt in a Baroque and Neoclassical style with a famous painting by Boccaccio Boccaccino. Close by was another splendid palace, and probably the best looking in the whole city; the Palazzo Trecchi. First built in the 15th century it was then refurbished and modified in the 19th century and had some beautiful red columns and loggias all around the courtyard. There was even a small plaque showing the place where Garibaldi had a picture taken of him on horseback. On the same street not far, I visited the small yet very nice church of Santa Rita, with some great renaissance paintings and colorful marbles. Walking on I then entered the Baroque church of Sant'Ilario and passing by the beautiful Renaissance Palazzo Raimondi, which seemed it would fit much better in Ferrara than a city of Lombardy, and reached the church of San Luca, which still had some medieval traces remaining particularly the facade, and some of the columns inside, one of which had a strange jewish incrisption. From there I headed back in towards the city center and stopped at the church of Sant Egidio e Omobono, which looked closed and under restoration but the guardian, seeing me peek inside, asked me if I wanted to enter and I responded affirmatively. He then asked me where I was from and happily remarked he had visited Vicenza in the past and had really liked it. After my visit he then suggested I go visit the church of Sant Agostino which had a famous painting by Perugino. In fact not far ahead I reached said church, which had a beautiful interior with a mix of Renaissance and Baroque decorations, particularly rare and interesting were the statues decorating the central nave. I then admired a beautiful marble chapel and right next to it the Cavalcabó Chapel with interesting frescoes and finally the magnificent painting by Perugino. It was then time to head back home, and while waiting for my aunt to come pick me up I decided to give one last look at the main square with the magnificent Cathedral.

Interior of the Cathedral

View of the Cathedral and the bell tower, Torrazzo

View of the main square with the Palazzo del Comune, Loggia dei Militi and Baptistery

View from the top of the Torrazzo

View of the city from the Torrazzo

Another view from the top

View of the Cathedral and Baptistery

The Ortolano by Arcimboldo, if turned upside down it looks like the portrait of a man

Painting of Cremona

Palazzo Trecchi

The painting by Perugino

Modern and old architecture

Netherlands (22-24/01/2016)

For my brother's birthday I decided to visit him in the Netherlands since he was staying in Rotterdam for a while. I left early on the 22nd from Venice airport and on the flight towards Amsterdam I met my high school friend Renato. We talked for a while at the airport about the past and the present after saying goodbye I took a bus and with 5€ headed for the city center. I stopped right in front of the Museumsplein as I still had to visit the Rijskmuseum from the last time I had visited Amsterdam. After paying a quite hefty price, 17,50€, I started the visit of this huge museum. As I had planned, it took me several hours to see all the objects and paintings showed throughout the 3 floors. I started with the early middle ages, notably Flemish and Italian paintings, then on to the Asian collection which was different and very interesting, then up to the Dutch Golden age with famous painters such as Rembrant, Vermeer etc. with masterpieces such as The Milkmaid and The Night's Watch, and then finishing with the Rococo and Napoleonic period. After the visit it was time to head to Rotterdam so before catching the train I decided to walk across the city center and enjoy the sights once more before leaving. I crossed the many canals and streets dotting the city, passing through the main square, the Dam, and then red light district with its old architecture, notably the Old Kerk, and eventually reaching the station where I took the next Intercity headed for Rotterdam. After buying groceries at the supermarket we had a quick dinner and then went to bed quite early ready to leave for Maastricht on the next day. So after waking up quite early we took the train and after 2 hours reached the city of Maastricht. We decided to spend the night there so we booked the Bastion Hotel on the northern part of town. Exiting the train station we headed for the city center and crossing the medieval Sint Servaasbrug bridge we had a great view of the city. After walking along the pretty streets we reached one of the main squares, the Vrijthof, where the Basilica of Saint Servatius and the Sint Janskerk stand imposing with the facades facing the opposite way. We decided to visit the Basilica, a beautiful example of Romanesque architecture with an imposing Westwork, or fortified towers (typical of this area). Ticket was only 2€ and hosted and really nice Treasury with some amazing golden relics. Though modified, the interior still keeps some medieval traces such as tombs and frescoes here and there, particularly nice was the chapel with a mosaic depicting Jerusalem at its center and a nice painted Renaissance portal. It was then time to eat so we looked up a good place to have lunch. We walked a little on and reached a small café/bakery called Bisschopsmolen, so called because it used to be a watermill. I had a really good sandwich made with local Limburg ham and drank the local apple juice! The juice was so good we decided to buy it there 2 times in the 2 days we were staying in the city, From there we went on to visit the imposing Basilica of Our Lady, also Romanesque styled and with a really nice fortified westwork. Though badly lit, the inside was still quite nice, particularly the devotional 15th century statue of Mary, here called Star of the Sea, however the treasury was unfortunately closed during our whole stay so we weren't able to see it. After exiting we walked sothwards and reached the remains of the medieval wall and the Helpoort, or Hell's Gate. From there we walked along the ramparts and after crossing the city center again we reached the other main square, the Markt or market square, with the town hall at its center. We then headed for our hotel where we checked in and left our bags before heading out again. We then entered a deconsacrated church, the Dominicanenkerk, which had been beautifully transformed into a bookstore. My brother's Belgian friend, Maxime, who lived right across the border had asked us if we wanted to have dinner at his house, so after postiviely answering he then came to pick us up and bring us to his house in nearby, yet French-speaking Bassenge. We had bought a really good apple and berries pie at Bisschopsmolen to give as gift, and after a nice dinner with pasta and ragu and some good belgian beers and a friendly company we met Maxime's parents who were staying in their boat and we then said goodbye to Maxime in Vise where we took a train back to Maastricht. The next day we didn't wake up too early, and after checking out but still leaving our bags at the hotel, we decided to have brunch at the Café de la Bourse with a good limburgish ham and eggs, we headed for the Bonnefanten museum located on the other side of the Maas river. Designed by italian architect Aldo Rossi, it resembled a distillery from the outside, and the inside hold a really great art collection. There were many 14th and 15th century italian paintings as well as 15th century German ones and 14th to 17th century Flemish ones. I really enjoyed this part, which occupied most of the museum, while I wasn't particularly interested in the part with modern art. After the museum we still had some time to walk around the city center for a while, buying 3 other apple juice bottles, some fries on the go and getting our bags back. We then headed towards the train station and back to Rotterdam, really happy for spending such a lovely weekend together with my brother, especially for his birthday. After a dinner out we then went to bed quite early since the next day I then took an early train to Amsterdam where I got my flight back to Italy.

The Night's Watch in the Rijskmuseum

View of Maastricht from Sint Servassbrug

View of the Basilica of Sint Servatius and Janskerk

The Westwork of Sint Servatius

The treasury in Sint Servatius

The interior of Sint Servatius

The imposing facade of the Basilica of Our Lady

One of the streets in Maastricht

The Dominicanenkerk now a bookstore

The Bonnefanten Museum

The Bird Trap by Pieter Brueghel the Younger

Riva del Garda (17/01/2016)

It was a really sunny weekend and despite the cold january weather, I saw that the lake was going to be quite warm (as it is always hotter than in Vicenza). We left at around 10 and after about an hour and a half reached the northern tip of Lake Garda, where the town of Riva del Garda sits. We parked the car right outside the town center and continued on foot. We headed directly to the lakeshore, where a crystal clear water reflected the beautiful surrounding mountains and cliffs and with a fantastic sunny weather. We then passed by the castle which is now the city museum that was unfortunately closed; from the we entered the actual walled town center and headed for the main church. It had just closed so we weren't able to see it, but we just enjoyed it from the outside square, Piazza Cavour, with the nice bell tower towering above one of the northern medieval gates. From there we walked along the narrow streets, passing by a church that was transformed into a city gate, and passing by yet another medieval city gate; St Mark's gate. Further on we ended up at the town's main square; Piazza 4 Novembre, with the imposing and beautiful medieval bell tower (which was also closed and would open from March the 1st) and an amazing view of the lake opening out from the square and palaces. The town was quite small yet very nice so it didn't take long to see. We still had time so we decided to have lunch at the nearby medieval village of Tenno. After a 15 minute drive we reached the small medieval village of Canale di Tenno, considere to be one of the most beautiful villages in Italy. Though tiny, it was amazing, since all the houses were built in stone, the streets were narrow, and all around were artists houses with so many things to see. After walking around a while we got back in the car and headed down towards the medieval village of Tenno. There we ate at the local restaurant called Antica Croce, with some really delicious dishes. After lunch, before heading home we explored the village with the really nice castle overlooking the ton center and an amazing view over the lake. Then right before sunset we got back in the car and headed back to Vicenza.

View over the lake

View of the lake from the town

The castle

The medieval St. Mark's gate

The main square with the medieval bell tower

View of the mountain overlooking the town

The small village of Tenno

The stone houses in Canale di Tenno

The artists decorations throughout the village

View of the village of Tenno with the castle and the lake in the background

View of the lake from Tenno

Asti (27/12/2015)

After staying for Christmas at my relative's house in Alessandria in Piedmont, we decided to visit the nearby town of Asti, since the weather looked beautiful. So we left in the morning and on the highway it only took us 20 minutes to reach it. We parked the car right outside the city center and started our visit with the Church of San Pietro in Consavia. The church complex built in the 12th century consists of a small church, a 13th century cloister and a beautiful heptagonal Baptistery. The Baptistery also called Rotunda had some beautiful Romanesque columns and a really nice baptismal font at its center. The whole complex was really nice, though we didn't manage to get to see the archaeological museum on the second floor since it was closed that day. From there we walked on towards the city center, passing by the Troyana Tower; a really nice 12-13th century tower 44m high wonderfully decorated, though also closed. We then reached the beautiful Piazza Cattedrale with the view of the side of the immense Cathedral. The church built in the Gothic style with a tall squared bell tower and the nice southern door decorated in the 15th century. The inside nicely decorated in the 17th and 18th century Baroque style had some impressive pillars and a really interesting 12th century mosaic below the main altar. We then walked on and reached the far western part of the city, where the impressive so called Red Tower, which served as one of the towers of the roman walls, now serves as the bell tower of the church of Santa Caterina. From there we turned around back towards the city center and passing by the De Regibus tower, another of the many that dotted the city of Asti, we reached the crypt of Sant'Anastasio. Now an interesting museum, which contains several artifacts dating from the roman and medieval eras found throughout the city. The crypt dating from the 11th century has some wonderfully decorated columns and sits at the exact location where it once stood, right under the church of Sant'Anastasio which was demolished in 1907. The woman that guided us throughout the small museum was really kind and informative and answered all our questions. After the visit we walked on passing yet another tower, the Comentina tower and reached the second largest and second most important church in town: the Collegiata San Secondo. Built in the 13th century in the Gothic style it had a nice interior with some medieval frescoes still remaining and a nice chapel showcasing the flags of all the participants to the Palio of Asti. It was nearly time to go, so right before leaving we had a quick yet really tasty lunch with wonderful agnolotti pasta with cheese, delicious!

The heptagonal Baptistery San Pietro in Consavia

The church of San Pietro in Consavia

The Troyana tower

The interior of the Cathedral

The side view of the Cathedral

The roman Red Tower

The crypt of Sant'Anastasio