Northern Italy Trip

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Ferrara, Day 1
The bus ride took about 5 hrs, and when we finally got here, we went straight to touring. This lasted until around 4pm, so we wre all crabby and tired since we didn't get lunch. In Ferrara, we visited the city walls, which were necessary for protection in the middle ages since Ferrara is located in a flat, lowland area much like nothern Indiana; the Palazzo Schifanoia, the d'Este playhouse; the Cimitero Israelitico, or Jewish Cemetery, where Gorgio Bassani's tomb is located; and briefly visited the d'Este Castle and Duomo in the city's historical center. Ferrara is a much smaller city than Rome or Firenze, and this difference is very noticeable in all aspects of city life. For example, during the day the city seems like a ghost town, probably because everyone is at work. All the shops close at 7:30pm, which is much different than in Rome. Also, there are bikes everywhere in Ferrara! Cars and motorini are rare when compared with Rome. We are staying at the Hotel Ripagrande on Via Ripagrande in Ferrara all week, and we will ride the bus to a different city each day. The hotel is very nice. The five of us are staying in a suite style room that is 3 floors high. We're really excited about it because we have a fridge and a TV! We've been watching a lot of CNN and BBC--the only 2 English channels we get. For dinner the first night, we went to a random restaurant and ordered gniocchi alla zuccca (pumpkin); this is a specialty of cities in Emilia-Romagna. It was absolutely fantastic, more of a desert than a main meal though, so I would recommend getting a small portion. It is very rich and sweet, and after a while can become overwhelming.

Mantua, Day 2
The fog was horrible this morning, and the weather did not get any better as the day went on--cloudy, gloomy, gross. It took us over 2 hrs to get to Mantova, a drive that should have taken about 1 and 1/2 hrs. We drove straight to the Palazzo Te on the outskirts of town. Once again, it was as if we'd entered a ghost town. We walked through an empty carnival to get from the parking lot to the Palazzo; it sort of felt like an old horror movie. Anyways, the Palazzo te was where Federico Gonzaga II met his mistress Isabela for there rendezvous or whatever you want to call it. The architect, Giorgio Romano, came from Rome to build the Palazzo in the 1500s, and so the Palazzo was built in the typical classical Roman style which always called for an atrium in the middle of the building. Personally, I love the idea of an atrium. It gives the building a lot of character and a very homy feeling. I want one in my house, lol. The two main rooms that we visited were the Sala di Psiche and the Sala dei Giganti, both painted by Giorgio Romano. The rooms were done in the new mannerism style that was emerging in the mid 1500s after the deaths of Raphael and Michelangelo. The Sala dei Giganti is particularly striking; it depicts the fall of the giants at the hands of the Olympian gods. The room is very colorful and dramatic due to the torment depicted on the giants' faces and bodies. My favorite, however, was the Sala di Psiche which depicts incident from the mythological tale of Cupid and Psyche. Each scene is represented in its own niche, and the story is told very well through the artwork. After the Palazzo Te, we visited the Palazzo Ducale in the cente rof town. The Palazzo Ducale was the main residence of the Gonzaga family from where the government was conducted. It's huge with over 450 rooms and its own church. None of it struck me as particularly interesting, but the rooms were very beautifully decorated. After we left the Palazzo Ducale, we were free to wander the town. It was after 2:00, so everything was closed, but we did look inside the Duomo of Mantova which was very beautiful of course. What I found to be particularly interesting about this Duomo were the Stations of the Cross. They were made out of some kind of plaster, I think, that can be described as bark of a tree trunk. It was really cool how they were put together to create a scene--you'll know what I mean when you see the pictures. Back on the bus and off to the Hotel. Cheeseburger Happy Meal for dinner at McDonalds and all is good for the night. Ravenna tomorrow...


Ravenna, Day 3
Long day. We had a lot to see today in Ravenna, one of the former capitals of the Western Roman Empire. Our first stop was at St. Apollinare in Classe. Classe is on the outskirts of Ravenna. It is a major port city of Italy which held an important significance back in the time of the Roman Empire because it connected the empire with other powers. St. Apollinare in Classe is famous for its beautiful apse mosaic depicting the difficult subject of the Transfiguration of Christ. It really is even more magnificent when you see it in person. Next, we visited St. Apollinare Nuovo located downtown. St. Apollinare Nuovo is so named because the relics of St. Apollinare were moved from Classe into the "new" church. St. Apollinare, a Ravenna native, brought Christianity to Ravenna and was the first Christian martyr. The central nave in St. Apollinare Nuovo is decorated completely in mosaics depicting the miracles and Passion of Christ on the upper level, the Prophets and Saints on the second level, and the Procession of Saints and Virgins on the lower level. These mosaics give the church a glow that adds to its very "Holy" feel. They really are beautiful. Next, we stopped at the tomb of Dante, the famous Italian poet who wrote "The Divine Comedy." An interesting face about Dante's tomb: Dante was originally from Florence, but moved to Ravenna where he died. Florence was granted permission by the Pope to retrieve his remains, but in order to avoid giving Dante's body up, Ravenna hid his remains beneath the floor of the curch for centuries. It wasn't until the mid-1800s when his body was finally rediscovered and buried in the Mausoleum in Ravenna. Mocing on, we visited the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia which is famous for its mosiacs, esp. that of "Christ as the Good Shepgher" and the two doves in the birdbath. It is interesting to note that Galla Placidia is not buried in the mausoleum, but is actually buried in Rome where she died. Finally, we entered San Vitale, my favorite place in Ravenna. San Vitale is an octagonal church with wonderful mosaics depicting scenes from the Old and New Testament with "Christ the Redeemer" in the center of the apse. The entire inside of the church glows from the gold of these mosaics as well as the frescoes in the rest of the churc. It's awesome. For lunch, we went to a restaurant called "La Piadina del Melarancio" in town. This restaurant sold one of Ravenna's specialties called piadine, which basically are sandwiches ona pita type bread. I had una piadina con potate e zucca which is a piadina with potatoes and pumpkin. It was amazing! If I were an entrepreneur, I would open a restaurant back in the US and sell all the specialities of Italy, yum! Early day tomorrow...


Padua and Vicenza, Day 4
The fog is so thick up here; I don't know hwo the bus driver can see anything. In my opinion, we were lucky we didn't fall off a cliff today. Anyways, since today was such an early morning--we left at 7am--our fist stop in Padova was to the Caffe Pedrocchi, a very nice, upscale caffe famous simply for ohow old it is, dating back to the 1800s. Then we walked to the center of town where one of Italy's biggest outdoor moarkets are located surrounding the Basilica. One one side is the Piazza dei Frutti and on the other is the Piazza delle Verdure. The whole thing is called the Mercato dell Erbe or herb market. I saw a pomegranate for the first time ever, and I bought it. We talk about pomegranates a lot in Art History class as it is presentin many pagan and Christian pieces symbolizing fertility and the mother goddess. Open-air markets, or i mercati all'aperto, are always fun because everyone is so nice and the food is cheap. Next, we visited the Scrovegni Chapel. This was interesting because we had to sit in a decontamination room for 15 mins before they allowed us to enter the chapel. This is because the climate has to be sterilized so as not to damage the frescoes. The Scrovegni Chapel is one of my favorite sites of art history. The chapel was commissioned to Giotto in 1303 by Enrico Scrovegni, a local usurer (money lender) that wanted to atone for his sins and those of his father which they collected through their work--usury at the time was considered a sin. Giotto was one of the greatest painters of his time, and the Scrovegni Chapel certainly does him justice. The frescoes in the chapel are divided into 2 sections, or tiers. The top tier depicts events in the life of Mary and her parents, Joachim and Anne. These stories are mostly taken from the Apocryphal texts which were left out of the New Testament. The second tier depicts events in the life of Jesus whe he was younger, and the third tier depicts the scenes of Christ's Passion. It really is quite a sight and very well preserved. "The Last Judgment" is frescoed on the wall above the entrance and is awe-inspiring to look at. Giotto, I've decided, is one of my favorite artists. Finally, we moved on to the main Basilica of Padua which is dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua. This basilica is gorgeous. It also houses the tomb of St. Anthony which is a very beautiful shrine. There are thank you notes and pictures posted on St. Anthony's tomb from people who have prayed to him asking to be cured or some other prayer and have been answered. It's really amazing to see howmany people have been affected by his miracles, even after his death. From Padova, we drove to Vicenza where we visited the Teatro Olimpico and teh Basilica. We had reports at each of these places, but were only in Vicenza for about 2 hrs. The Teatro Olimpico is huge. The Basilica, like in Padova, is not a Basilica as in a church, but rather it is the center of governement, like the town hall only much bigger. The facade as done by Nicola Pisano, an architect falmous for his arches which can by seen all over the United States and had a strong influence on the architecture of the White House. Back in Ferrara, I made my first purchases of the trip! Besides food that is. I bought an Italian leather purse (for only 16 euro) and a pair of sweet black and white pumas. Holler!


Bologna, Day 5
Today we visited Bologna, our last day on the trip! Wow, how time flies. Anyways, our first stop was Piazza Maggiore where the Casa di Re Enzo and the Duomo are located, along with the Foutain of Neptune. The Duomo in Bologna is absolutely huge. It is the only Cathedral in Italy that comes close to the size of St. Pater's in the Vatican. We also visited la Chiesa di San Domenico which is where St. Domenic's sarcophagus is located. The sarcophagus is gorgeous with details of events from the life of St. Domenic. It was done once again by Nicola pIsano with various statues by Michelangelo. Our last stop was at the 2 towers, remnants from the Middle Ages, and the University Quarter. Bologna is home to one of the oldest and most famous universities in the world, and most certainly in Italy--la Universita di Bologna. We started home after lunch and made it back to Rome by about 10pm, just in time to get a pizzetta and a bottle of wine from Pascucci and get read for anight out on the town. What a week! Now we have to deal with midterms in the next two weeks and then SPRING BREAK! A presto...

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