Montagnana (31/03/2015)

I had come back to Italy for the easter break so I decided to do a little sightseeing back home. I left Vicenza, my hometown, with my brother at around 9:30 to see the walled town of Montagnana in the Province of Padova. Once we reached the destination, we parked the car just outside the northern entrance of the town, the Porta Nuova or Porta Vicenza, signalling the direction towards Vicenza. We entered the town through there and started walking toward the main square: Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II. Right in the middle of the square is located the Duomo, built in the 15th century, in a late Gothic style, with several interesting chapel and paintings such as the Transfiguration by Paolo Veronese. round and facing the square are also the Palazzo Valeri and the Monte di Pietá, a sort of pawn shop of the medieval era. We then headed east, walking along the northern wall until we reached the castle of San Zeno, built in the 13th century, which guards the eastern entrance and the road towards Padova. Right outside lies the Villa Pisani, a Unesco site because built by Palladio; it is unfortunately pivate so not accessible. We headed back into town and passed by a few palaces such as the Magnavin-Foratti Palace and the Town Hall, built by famous architect Sanmichieli in the 16th century. We then went back out of the town through a small opening in the southern walls; we reached the Sant Antonio Abate church which was closed, and then went back inside through the same opening, after having seen a beautiful view of the long southern perimeter wall. We walked further on and stopped in front of San Francesco church, which was unfortunately closed too, we eventually reached the western part of town. We passed by the XX September gate, and the western entrance to the city, the Rocca degli Alberi built in the 14th century guarding the way to Verona. After walking some more around town, we decided it was time to head back home to have lunch, so we went back towards the parking lot. On the way back we made a brief stop to see the splendid Villa Barbarigo in the town of Noventa Vicentina, built in the 16th century it is now the town hall. We then eventually got back home around 2:30 in time for lunch.

The Northern walls

The Duomo

Inside of the Duomo

One of the Chapels

The main square

A street along the walls

The Castle of S Zeno

The Western walls

The Southern walls

Guarda (07/03/2015)

I decided to take the earliest train which left Coimbra at 10:15, and arrived in Guarda at 12:59; I had bought the tickets a week earlier at 8€ instead of 12€ both ways. Once I reached Guarda however, I found out how far the train station was from the city center. The city stands on top of a hill, so I had to walk about 40 minutes to get to the top. Going uphill I briefly stopped to take a look at the Capela do Mileu, right outside town, and then continued on. Once I reached the city center, first thing I did was head to the tourist office which is located in the main square Praça Luis de Camões. There I got the map of the city, with the main monuments and also all the mystic and magical symbols etched on several buildings around town. I then entered the Cathedral, very nice and quite large; its construction took a few centuries from the 14th to the 16th century, in a Gothic and then Manueline style. I then headed further uphill to reach the highest point at 1056m where the castle once stood, now only the Torre de Menagem remains. I decided to have lunch up there sitting on a bench with a few sandwiches; the sun was shining so even though the city is known for being one of the coldest in Portugal, it was quite hot for March. I then climbed the tower and from up there had  a beautiful view over the town right under and the beautiful landscape all around. After that I went back down into town and entered the Judiaria or Jewish Quarter which was full of mystic symbols etched on buildings and houses. I passed by the Igreja de São Vicente which unfortunately was closed so I walked on. I passed under the Torre dos Ferreiros, one of the towers guarding the entrance to the city, and went in the Baroque church, Igreja da Misericordia. Not far away is a small museum that has objects from the roman times and all through the modern era, regarding the city of Guarda and its surroundings. Finally before heading back to the castle to enjoy some more sun I tasted the local sweet. Eventually at 18;02 I took the train, after walking another 30 minutes down to the train station, and reached Coimbra at 20:40.

The main square

The Cathedral

The inside of the Cathedral

View from the hilltop

The Jewish Quarter

Street in the Jewish Quarter

Another part of the Jewish Quarter

Mystic symbols

Santarem (28/02/2015)

I took the train from Coimbra at 8:54 and got there around 10:45; once I descended the train at Santarem's train station I had to walk for a while, since the station itself is on the river edge and quite far from the city center. I first checked a church that was in the village of Santa Iria da Ribeira but it was closed and quite ruined. So I started walking up towards the town center; it took me nearly 30 minutes but in the meantime I stopped halfway to check out the Igreja Santa Cruz, a fine gothic example, and even though it looked restored it was closed. A little further up I also took a small path leading through the forest that took me to a beautiful gothic fountain called the Fonte das Figueiras which looked more like a defenisve wall than a fountain. After reaching the top of the hill, the first thing I met was the Convento de Santa Clara which was still under restorations so closed too. The monastery built in the 13th century, is probably the largest church in Santarem and a perfectly kept, despite the destruction of its cloisters and dependencies, example of Gothic architecture with a side entrance rather than a main front one. I then moved on and stopped at the Convento de São Francisco, another great example of Gothic architecture, built around the same time as the previous one in the 13th century. Luckily this one was open and after paying the student's entrance fee 2€, I started visiting the monastery. The entrance began through the cloister, and then inside the church; most of the church's inside and chapels were empty due to many years of abandonment, however most of it is still under restoration and will probably look much better in the future. Once out of the church, I headed into the city center; I first stopped at a small but nice chapel. the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Piedade, and then further on I found the cathedral to be already closed for lunch. I thus decided to head to the nearest Pingo Doce supermarket, and passing through the old town's streets I eventually reached the southern end of town and bought two sandwiches and some fruit. It had been cloudy until now but the sun had started to come out so I decided to eat my lunch in the Portas do Sol park, which is the main city park. The view from there was amazing, with the Tejo river flowing right nder and a beautiful landscape all around. After lunch, coming back into the city center, I stopped by the Igreja de São João de Alporão, another Gothic church, though unfortunately closed too. So I headed on and reached the Igreja da Graça, built later in the 14th century it is one of the most beautiful Gothic churches in the country; yet another Gothic church definitely confirmed how Santarem is considered to be the Gothic capital of Portugal. The inside was very nice, and interesting to see was the tomb of Pedro Alvares Cabral the discoverer of Brazil; there was also a statue of him right outside the church. I then asked the lady inside the church if the Torre das Cabaças was open and she answered it was and brought me to it, opening the door and briefly explaining its history first as a defensive tower, then as the town's clock tower and eventually as we see it now, a small museum After thanking the lady I move on and reached the Igreja de Santa Maria de Marvila, which particularly surprised me since from the outside it didn't look like much, but once inside I marveled at the colored and diverse azulejos covering the whole walls. Not far I also visited the Igreja da Misericordia which had a really nice baroque interior. Before heading back to the train station, I went to see the Cathedral, which housed a really nice Diocesan museum; the ticket price also included the visit to the Cathedral itself, built in the 17th century and richly decorated, it used to be in fact a Jesuit church. It was then time to go, and on the way back I tried the local sweet and then caught the 16:12 train eventually reaching Coimbra at 17:44.

The Santa Clara monastery

Church of Sao Francisco

The Fonte das Figueiras

The Cathedral

View of the Tejo from the Portas do Sol park

The Torre das Cabaças

The Church of Sao Joao de Alporao

One of the streets in Santarem

The Graça church

Tomb of Cabral

One of the azulejos inside the Marvila church

Another street in Santarem

Leiria (06/02/15)

I took a blablacar with a cool guy called Eduardo at 7:20 and reached Leiria 1 hour later after talking a lot about travels around Portugal and him telling me about his time in Marocco. He then dropped me in the city center and went to work, Since it was still quite early and the tourist office was still closed I decided to head to the Cathedral fist. The weather was good and clear, but it was much colder than Coimbra,with only 2 degrees. The Cathedral, built in the Mannerist style in the 16th century, is very big and nice white an empty but imposing interior, sitting right below the castle's hill. It is probably the only cathedral in Portugal with a detached bell tower, that is 200 meters uphill. After that, I started walking towards the other side of town, while the sun had started to shine, to see the Santuario Nossa Senhora da Encarnação that sits on a high hill on the southern side of town. After passing by the Igreja de Santo Agostinho with a strangely blue colored cloister, I climbed up the monumental stairs leading to the sanctuary along what seemed a small via crucis or stations of the cross, and reached the top. After a nice view of the town of Leiria from the top of the hill, I headed back down and went inside another church which was open, before heading to the tourist office. There I got a map and finally headed uphill towards the castle; bu first I did a detour to see the Igreja de São Francisco though it was unfortunately closed. Once I reached the top of the hill, I passed by the interesting but small church of São Pedro, and then headed for the castle entrance. I bought the ticket and started walking around; passing through a small gate I reached a ruined church with no roof and interesting Manueline features. Then I reached the part where the inhabited Palace stood, with a beautiful windowed terrace looking over the old town. Below the ground floor stood a small museum with archaeological findings of the region and some photos of the castle before and after the restoration it underwent. It then started to rain so I ran out and into the castle's keep, located on the highest point of the hill, I climbed the stairs to the top and slowly the sun started to shine again. From up there the view was great, both over the old town on one side, and the football stadium on the other. After visiting the castle, I headed back down into town and walked through the streets for a while, as I usually do I decided to try the local sweet; however I was not able to find one and found only a kiosk that sold the Madeira sweet which was very good. It was 2pm and I had pretty much seen all the town so I decided to get the first bus and head back home in Coimbra.

The Castle

The main square

Church of St Augustine

View from the sanctuary

The castle's tower and church

View from the castle's palace

One of the many narrow streets

Penela (05/02/2015)

I took an early bus to Penela, being there just a few during the day connecting Coimbra to the little town of Penela. Once I got there I started walking towards the main attraction of this small village: the castle. I walked through the village's small streets going uphill and stopped at the main church, quite small and empty but nice from the outside. I then headed for the tourist office which was located right before the castle; I got a map and then headed for the castle's entrance. There are two entrances to the castle, either trough the western gate which used to be the only one, or through the southern breach created later. The castle was built during the time of the Reconqusita and was an important one in the defensive line. I got in through the breach and directed myself towards the church sitting inside the walls, next to the keep. It was unfortunately closed and so I could only see it from the outside. I then walked up what remained of the castle's keep; from the top I could see the snow capped part of the Serra da Estrela in contrast with the green and lush forests all around. I then walked on top of the walls and along the battlement and the out trough the gate down towards the village. I walked around for a while and passed by an old ruined monastery; then since the only bus back was around 5 I went back to the castle, sat on a bench and enjoyed the sun for a couple of hours.

The castle of Penela

View of the southern end and the breach

View of the surrounding landscape

View of the village from the top of the walls

Sirmione (18/01/2015)

I left Vicenza early in the morning with my family, to head on this sunday trip to Sirmione, a beautiful town in Lombardy on the shores of Lake Garda. The town sits on a peninsula jutting out towards the middle of the lake, as it is know not only for its nice historical center but also for its thermal waters. So after having parked the car right outside town, we headed towards the city center. The first sight one sees entering the town is the beautiful medieval castle, sitting on a small island and surrounded by crystal clear waters. The castle built by the Scaligeri family, rulers of Verona, in the 13th century, is one the best preserved and prettiest in Italy; it also holds a walled dock that used to contain the war ships. After visiting the castle and the small museum inside, 2 euros reduced ticket, we got out and briefly checked out the main square right in front: Piazza Castello with a nice medieval fountain and houses all around. We then walked though the small town passing by some nice streets and got to the northernmost point of the Peninsula where the Grottoes of Catullus, an immense roman villa, the largest in Northern Italy, was excavated and attributed to Catullus the famous roman poet. As most roman sites, it is mostly in ruins and only the lower parts of the building remain, but being covered all around by olive groves and surrounded by the lake and mountains it makes an incredible site to see. After seeing the amazing villa, entrance was 3 euros reduced price, we headed back towards the town and stop at a lonely church, San Pietro in Mavino, built around the 14th century on the highest point of the peninsula it holds several interesting medieval frescoes. Once we reached the town center we were hungry so we decided to look for a restaurant. After lunch we saw the main church Santa Maria Maggiore, and took a stroll along the shore, even though the water looked so nice and inviting it was unfortunately still January so definitely not the time for a swim. Before heading back to the car we ate ice cream and stopped at the small church of Sant Anna, then reaching the car and ending the trip.

The Castle

The medieval docks of the castle

View from the top of walls

View from the top of the keep

The roman villa

Another view of the roman villa

View across the lake towards the Alps

Church of San Pietro in Maveno

Another view of the castl

Sunset