Blogs from Italy, Europe

11th February - Perugia The other day the skies were grey when I visited Perugia but today The sun was shining & the sky was blue! We were in the main square. The Cathedral of San Lorenzo was initiated in 1345 and finished in 1490 and it looks rather worn with age. The front façade is a quite plain but the left side is much more interesting. The strange pulpit protruding from the wall was where St. Bernardino da Siena preached, when he visited Perugia in 1425 and 1427. Bernadino was a traveling preacher with a weak voice and a powerful and captivating imagery. Whenever he visited an Italian town, he drew large crowds even though his sermons started at dawn and lasted 3-4 hours. He talked about moral corruption, After his death, he was rapidly ... read more

VILLETTA DI NEGRO A waterfall in a park in the centre of Genova. The park also houses the Edoardo Chiossone Oriental Art Museum in a reconstructed villa. PASSEGGIATA DI CORSO ITALIA A long promenade where people can run, walk or rollerblade on. I often cycle in the cycle lane which heads towards Bocadasse. There is also a jogging lane, which is next to the cycle lane, which is next to the road. VIEWS OF GENOVA AND PORTO ANTICO Most of Genova is on a hill. There are many staircases which lead to great views over the city itself and over Porto Antico, the old port. BOCADASSE A picturesque fishing village which I cycle to often via Corso Italia.... read more

8th February - Perugia - Italy Perugia is considered the green heart of Italy due to it’s location in the centre of the country as shown on the map that Patrizia, our guide, showed at the start of our tour overlooking the surrounding area of the city with great views. Patrizia made her way down the 700 year old steps to the Etruscan Arch, one of the 7 remaining arches that served as an entrance to the city of Perugia in ages past. Constructed in the 3rd century BC, this arch is one of the oldest pieces of architecture in the city and is considered to be the best remaining example of the cities original defences. The front façade of the arch features some of the original latin inscriptions. We continued our walk overlooking the beautiful ... read more

Salvatori and Michelangelo in Genoa. Michelangelo Buonarrotti is considered to be one of the greatest Renaissance artists. He is particularly famous for his painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling in 1508. He is also famous for sculptures of heads of the biblical hero David, of which there are many copies around Florence especially. Just inside of Palazzo Ducale, located in Piazza De Ferrari in Genoa, there is part of Andrea Salvatori's exhibition which shows the head of David. Andrea Salvatori is a modern sculptor. In 2018 during a stay in Montelupo Fiorentino, which is a town famous for ceramics and located very near to Empoli, Salvatori made a few big heads of the David by Michelangelo, out of terracotta. The head in this exhibition is one of those heads, which are turned upside down, carved inside ... read more

This morning I took the Funicolare Zecca-Righi. This is a funicular railway in Genoa connecting the Largo della Zecca, on the edge of Genoa's historic centre to several stations on the slope of the Righi hill. After reaching Righi I walked up a hill and found a Planetarium which in plain English is a theatre devoted to education and entertainment in astronomy and space science. I found some very interesting information and pictures of sightings which have taken place in the Planetarium. My favourite was one taken during the equinox. I also found some information on a board about the use of water clocks to measure time. I've always been very interested in how different civilizations have measured time. I remember back in primary school when we were doing a really interesting project on the Egyptians ... read more