23rd June 2000 Verona
Trip Start
Apr 27, 2000
1
58
81
Trip End
Aug 09, 2000
Verona,
Italy
Thursday, June 26, 2003
Another 7.30 start. This time over the Monti Berici hills to join the Venice to Milan Autostrada at Montecchio for the short run to Verona. This was the one that had been worrying Ches the most. On several occasions she had suggested we not go. It looked too big and too difficult to get into. As it turned out, the drive over the hills was fantastic. Realy pretty countryside. We took the Verona Sud exit, followed the "Centro" signs, whch was prettywell straight ahead all the way from the autostrada. When the "P" signs began to appear, Ches checked them off against our city map, and at the last one before the city walls, turned off to the right and within a hundred metres, drove into an underground car park. L10,000 for 4 hours.
From the carpark, it was no more than a few hundred metres to the Portoni della Bra, through which we stepped straight into the Piaza Bra, and the Arena. While we arrived well before 9.00, we wasted a little time trying to find the tourist information office. The problem was that they were preparing the Arena for the summer Opera Season. The Arena is the third lagest colluseum after Rome. The major difference however, is that it is almost intact, particularly the inside. Unfortunately when two thirds of it is covered in stage and temporary seating, and workmen are swarming, cranes swinging parts of the set in, and half the exterior hidden behind piles of sets and crates etc, it isn't such a great experience. Infact, I think they have a hide to charge L6,000 to go in. At these times, the rates should be minimal. Anyway, we went in, but as I say, didn't realy have much of an experience. No atmosphere.
There were once two waring families in Verona. The provided a loose background for Shakespear. Romeo and Juliet were a figment of his imagination. Nevertheless, Verona is happy to provide tourists with a courtyard and balcony to visit as a shrine. Berated by Cheryl, and her claims that I am not romantic, we visited this shrine. From the archway leading to the courtyard, all the walls and steps are absolutely covered in lovers grafiti. Flouro pens are the in thing, and it is such a mass that the walls look like a Jackson Pollock painting.
Piazza Erbe was packed with market stalls, which made it difficult to take in the full fascades of the buildings that form it, but we could see that a number of buildings were painted with frescoes on the front walls. Over the archway that leads into Piazza dei Signori, is an extremely large whale bone hanging from a cord. It is said that it will fall on the first "just" man to pass below it. Numerous Popes have passed below over the centuries, and it is still there. A statue of Dante stands in the middle of the square, and the marvelous Loggia del Consiglio is here. It was built as the council chambers in 1493, Verona having been absorbed into the Venetian Republic in 1405. This is a wonderful building with the columned loggia, renaisance fascade and topped with statues of Roman worthies who were natives of Verona, such as Pliny the Elder and Vitruvius. The other buildings, which housed the military leaders and the law courts. The Venetian Lion is in evidence throughout Verona.
Also just through the next street, is the Romanesque church of Antica. This is just a small parish church, but it was the church of the Scaligeri family. This family seized control of Verona immediatly before the Venetians. Word has it that, for the most part they put an end to the constant feuding between family groups, and brought stability to the city for the first time in centuries, for 127 years. Even they wore out their welcome, and probably forced the other nobles to eventually unite in revolt, which lead to their other major bequest to the city, the Ponte Scaligero ( a massive stone, turreted bridge across the Adige River, which flows through the centre of Verona). It resembles a castle wall, which, since it leads into the Castelvechio, it also must have had to serve. They basicaly ended up baricading themselves in a castle, inside their own city. Their family church was used as their mausoleum. It is the most bizarre looking church, with needle point spires, equestrian statues (various family members in full armour on their horses), and tombs mouted on columns over the entrance to the church and the side courtyard, which in turn is filled with tombs.
I left Ches sitting on a bench in the shade of the trees that line the bank of the river, opposite the Roman Theatre on the other side. It was already boarded up for the coming arts season, like the Arena. I crossed the Ponti de Pietra (the only Roman bridge to survive WW2), and climbed the hill behind the Roman Theatre to the Monastery lookout. This is about the toughest climb I have made. It is steep and high. The view from the top makes it worthwhile. All of Verona is layed out below, and for the first time, I realised that the east and north is enclosed by hills, with wonderful Villas and terraced gardens; both formal and agricultural. The river is also a fairly fast running one, being just below the Alps and alongside Lake Garda. Quite spectacular looking down on the white water churning beneath the wonderful Roman bridge.
I returned back down the hill in a quarter of the time I had ascended, and retreived Ches from her shady bench. We walk across town to the next bend of the river, and followed it around to Castelvecchio and Ponte Scaligaro. Opposite the castle, a military band in wonderful period costume were milling about, but never got around to playing. Their hats were more reminiscent of Swiss or Austrian peaked hats. While waiting and hoping they would perform, we ducked into a takeaway shop, and bought Panzanetta for lunch. Neither before nor since have we seen them. Kind of like Welsh pasties; with mine a multi-grain pastry filled with proscuito and mozarella and gorgonzola cheeses, and Ches's a spinach pastry filled with spinach, mozarella and something unidentifiable. Very, very nice, and unusual.
We headed home, and after a few hours relaxing, headed south to Montagnana. Ches had fallen in love with this little walled town. We arrived around 6.00 pm, parked in the vast piazza, and just strolled the streets. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a restaurant to justify staying for dinner. We did discover one of the best Gelataria in Italy, right on the Piazza, and sat in the loggia, (with teenagers everywhere around us, just hanging out), and enjoyed the best gelato yet.
On the way home, we decided to actually drive through the middle of Noventa Vicentina, and discovered that the towns major Villa is now their townhall. We stopped for a photograph, and then on to Ponti di Barbarano, where we had ginormous pizzas at the local Trat., sitting out on the verandah and watching the traffic go by, and by and by. It is popular among the locals for the Pizza, not the ambience.
That night was pretty restless as we it was extremely hot, and an electrical storm ripped through in the middle of the night.
