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Published: June 14th 2017
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Geo: 45.6947, 9.66871
We didn't get up very early, and wandered down to breakfast then out to the nearby town of Bergamo. It is a lovely hill top town – it was very wealthy during the medieval times, as it was ruled by Venice (despite being so close to Milan and the Lombardian dukes). We drove up through the walls of the city, feeling extremely lucky when we got a park just metres from the historic centre of town. We were lucky the whole day – we immediately stumbled on the tourist office, established that there was plenty to see but nothing that we had to push ourselves to do in one day, then just wandered. The little streets were gorgeous, and the town certainly feels like a real place – not just for tourists. It's also got a large university community, and that always makes a town feel real –there is nothing pretentious about uni students!
The Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica was one of the most sumptuous churches I have been in – the kids were flabbergasted, and loved the red marble lions at the door. At one stage, we joined a group of school kids preparing for First Reconciliation – they
were studying a confessional from hundreds of years ago – quite different from sacramental preparation in Toowong! And, in a move that defines arrogance, a political leader (other books described him as a mercenary!) called Colleoni demolished one corner of the Basilica and commissioned his own tomb to be built! He didn't even try to fit in with the architecture of the basilica – and yet, it looks amazing as well as overdone!
I have to say – in every church we visit, Matthew begs to light a candle. I loved some of the signs in Parisian churches, explaining that the lighting of a candle is a prayer, and I've given up making the recommended donation for the candle in each church – visiting 2 or 3 churches in a day, with three kids, it adds up! Matthew is learning to bless himself, and has to do this and say the Hail Mary each time he lights a candle – I hope God wants the prayers of the little boy more than the euros! Matthew looks so angelic with each candle he lights – but I'm not certain it is piety rather than pyromania!
Outside the Basilica is the Baptistery (which
you can't enter) and the Duomo (which we returned to, when it reopened after lunch). We had lunch in the fantastic square Piazza Vecchia, with its 12th century bell tower that still tolls 100 times at 10pm to reflect the medieval curfew. We went up the belltower after lunch, for a fantastic view, then wandered the streets – we saw an interesting museum where the kids had done a cardboard 3D representation of their town, and where there were great frescoes on the loggia, and also another museum about the unification of Italy under Garibaldi. But I think that the highlight for the kids (especially the boys) was that, outside the Rocca (tower), an old Italian tank from World War Two was parked, and they could climb all over it!
By the way, Arlecchino is the Venetian character of Harlequin, a buffoon or fool from Bergamo, who heads to Venice to do well. He is generally portrayed as dumb, and often involved in plots against his master, or trying to impress a girl! There were pictures of him everywhere in Bergamo!
By late afternoon, we were all exhausted – the sudden change in temperature has really taken it out of us, so
we headed back to Casa Clelia at Sotto Il Monte Giovanni 23rd. The kids played happily in the little playground, whilst Steven and I relaxed under the wisteria vines, with a cold drink and a couple of magazines (in Italian – but the pictures are pretty). Then, we decided we were all too lazy and comfortable to drive anywhere for dinner, so asked our hosts for a plate of pasta for dinner – another lovely meal (the kids will now eat anything – if I served pasta with grilled veges at home, they never would have eaten it, and Tom even liked my risotto gorgonzola!) and then off to bed!
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I am really missing you. But good to see you are having fun.