Tom`s travels: Carpi (29/09/2019)

On a Sunday afternoon, my parents and I decided to head south from Vicenza and visit the town of Carpi, located in the Emilia Romagna region, not far from Modena. In about one and a half hour's drive, we reached the city center where we parked the car. Our tour of the city started through the impressive Piazza dei Marti, one of the largest in Italy. All around it are the city's main monuments, and its western side is characterized by a long porticoed building typical of this region. As we passed by the main theatre and reached the center of the square we encountered some kind of science fair was set up. To the right, the grandiose structure of the Castello dei Pio, once the residence of the Pio family which ruled over the city. We decided to move further and visit the castle later and reached the northern end of the square where the Basilica Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta is set. This large baroque church was built in over two hundred years, as construction started around 1515 and ended with its consecration at the end of the 18th century. The beautiful symmetrical facade dates to the middle of the 17th century with a nice sharp orange/white contrast and was just recently refurbished after the 2012 earthquake, which had hit the surrounding region, had partially damaged it. The interior presented typical baroque features such as painted vaults and pompous altars and ended with the large cupola built in 1768, towards the end of the church's construction. Once outside the church, we then decided to get ice cream from a nearby gelateria called Emilia Cremeria. It tasted really good and was a nice refresher for the heat of that day, in fact, despite being the end of September it still felt like a summer day with the temperatures being over 30 C. After ice cream we then continued our walk and reached the church of Santa Maria in Castello located behind the castle. The most ancient in the city, itwas founded during the 8th century and suffered later restorations, particularly during the 12th century when it tooks most of its current form. Next to it stands the beautiful romanesque bell tower towering at 49.5m. The church was shortened during the 16th century and a new Renaissance facade was added, what we see today is then just the apse of a once much larger church. The interior features a cycle of romanesque frescoes detailing episodes from the life of Christ and a nice marble sarcophagus from 1351 holding the remains of Manfredo I Pio, lord of Carpi. After the visit to the church, it was then time to head and see the castle. Due to its size, it is composed of several structures, dating from different periods ranging from the 11th to the 17th century and it was once surrounded by a defensive moat. Now, most of its apperance is from the period when Alberto III Pio decided to transform it into a Renaissance residence. Once inside we walked through the main courtyard where more activities from the science fair were taking place. We then went up the main staircase and reached the ticket office. After paying the ticket we accessed the main structure where some ehibitions detailing the history of the city were set up. We accessed the monumental rooms first, once serving as living quarters of the lords of the city. We started out with the large Salone dei Mori decorated with frescoes detailing perspectives, statues, and allegories. Next to it we then accessed the chapel with a beautiful interior consisting of a maiolica tiled floor and 16th-century renaissance frescoes. Then followed several rooms with antique furnishings and paintings from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. After that, we then headed up to the top floor where the exhibition detailing the history of Carpi was set up in a nice manner including the arts and crafts which had characterized its history, specifically that of the straw hats during the 18th and 19th centuries. After the tour of the castle, we headed out and explored the rest of the city. We passed through its well-planned center with grid streets typical of the region which are a legacy of the ancient Roman past of the area. We then passed in front of the large church of San Niccolò but found out it was unfortunately closed, still under refurbishment from the 2012 earthquake. From there we continued onwards and reached the southern end of town where the lively Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi was set and most of the inhabitants were there starting their aperitivo. Looking at all the drinks and food being brought to the tables made us realize it was time to have dinner as we were getting quite hungry. We headed back to the car and decided to stop at a restaurant on the way home. We drove past what was once the Fossoli Camp, an internment and concentration camp established during World War II, and a little later reached a place called Osteria La Cascina where we had dinner. We ordered tigelle, a typical soft bread, with cold cuts and fried gnocchi with different fillings. Everything was very tasty and the staff really friendly, we certainly would recommend it to others. After dinner, it was then time to head back home to Vicenza.