Anyway, what can be said about Italy that hasn't already. I keep finding myself drawn back to it's sheer beauty, this is my third visit in four years. This time through Frida, whom I haven't seen for six years. She was to be my tour guide for the next two weeks and she didn't disappoint...
The best tour guide Norther Italy has to offer
After a quite late arrival to Padova on Sunday, Frida and I had some food and some drink then I forced her to take a taxi back to hers. She spent the entire journey with her head below the window, in case one of her fellow students saw her. Taxis are not the done thing in Padova... The following day was a tour around Frida's university city. It was graduation day and the Padovan streets were awash with students being ritually humiliated by their friends and family.
That'll teach you to be clever...
Whilst in Padova we went on a tour of the oldest university in the world, where we saw Galileo's pulpit from which he used to teach. I kept trying to get Frida to touch it, but she was too frightened of the dour looking security guard behind us. Also on the tourist trail list was the famous Scrovegni chapel painted by Giotto. After a short wait in a decompression chamber we were allowed into the chapel. Frida and I made straight for the back wall and the depiction of Hell like the blaspheming bastards we are.
Why serve in Heaven when you can rule in Hell?
The chapel was absolutely beautiful, Giotto's depictions of various biblical stories were amazing in detail and technical aspects. I normally don't like churches as I am against what they stand for, but I can see the beauty in such art as this. The problem with this chapel is, it is said if you visit it before you graduate from Padova University, you will never get a degree. That's Frida screwed then.
We met Frida's friend Lucy for coffee and then visited the botanical gardens, which Frida found out was free for her as a student. She's been in Padova for four years and had never realised it. Students. Pah.
A flower at the botanical gardens, sorry Craig, it's not backlit
Venice was next on list, a beautiful city, but so incredibly crowded with tourists. Obviously we went into the San Marco Basilica and Doge's Palace, the two biggest tourist draws in the city. Within the Palace they had the original of Bosch's Hell, an unbelievably staggering piece of work from a genius. In an attempt to get away from the maddening crowds, Frida and I found ourselves a nice quiet spot by the Arsenal and talked shit for an hour or so. Well, it was very hot and we had been walking around the Palace for what seemed like forty hours...
Even gondoliers need their rest in this heat...Continuing the speed tourism theme, Frida took me to Verona, with it's wealth of Roman archaeology. First stop was the amphitheatre, all decked out ready for Aida that evening. I had fun pretending I was in the People's Front of Judea, by hating the Romans already.
'Are you the Judean People's Front?'
'fuck off!'
'fuck off!'
Juliet's window was next on the itinery, but we declined the prospect of having our photos taken in what is possibly the most famous balcony in the world. After being dragged into more churches than I would ever wish for in a lifetime, we called in on the Roman Theatre, on the edge of the old city over the Roman Bridge Ponte Pietra. It was a beautiful building still being used for performances, most recently the Merchant of Venice. The museum above the theatre was packed with more Roman Archaeology than you could shake a stick at.
'I can see my house from here!' Frida busied herself with translating every inscription in the place, whilst I feigned interest.
'It says "Alex is a cunt"' So as punishment I made her pose for some photos:
The castle was closed and despite Frida swearing at the security guard in language that would make a sailor blush, we didn't get in. Again the evening was ended by lying next to the river soaking our weary feet and talking rubbish.
Starting off pretty late the next morning we took the train out to Bologna, this was Frida's favourite place of the week (mine was Verona, but that doesn't count, apparently...). I thought it too noisy as they allow vehicles into the centre of the city, which is something not done in the other places we visited.
Scooters, Coffee and Towers. Italy in three words... After gazing at the fountains and buildings in the centre we set off up the Asinelli tower. Bologna was famed for it's towers in the Medieval period, everyone and their dog had one. A house wasn't a house without a tower. Nowadays only a few remain, but the Asinelli is one of the largest in Italy at nearly 100m tall. Not something for vertigo sufferers to ascend. After climbing the, what seemed like, 1,000,000 stairs to get to the top we were rewarded with a beautiful view of Bologna. Stretching out before me, it made me think of what a Roman city would have looked like, what with the red tile roofs and enclosed courtyards. Mind you, there would have been less buses in the Roman period...
An USAAF Bomber's view of Bologna, but with less Flak...
The Medieval Museum made a welcome relief from the 39 degree heat, as did the Resistance Museum, which was all in Italian. The pictures were good though.
The train went through Ferrara on the way back to Padova so we stopped for Pizza and a look at the beautiful Medieval town centre. One of the highlights was this massive cannon:
'Take what you want, just don't shoot the face!'We missed our train home by seconds, so I convinced Frida to break the law by getting on another train which we didn't have a ticket for. Frida told me if the conductor came around I had to talk to him. If it looked like I was an idiot tourist we'd get away with it. She spent the entire journey home with her eyes closed feigning sleep in absolute fear of being caught. In the event the tickets weren't even checked and Frida took a step into a wider world of criminality...
Friday was so hot that Frida decided to ignore her pressing student work and we took off for the beach at Jesolo. After doing our good deed for the day by helping an American couple find the beach ('I think it's near that big blue wobbly thing' I told them, helpfully) Frida settled down for a couple of hours of hardcore sunbathing whilst I floated in the Adriatic. And thus ends part one of the Italian Blog, there is more to come, mountains, World War One, babies, food and prehistoric houses. I bet you can't wait...
More photos from Italy can be found Here and Here and finally Here
