ITALY, Day 5, July 12, 2011
Once again, a day on the go. On our way south of Venice to Florence, we stopped in Bologna, which is located in the province of Emilia-Romagna. Although it doesn't attract the same volume of tourists, it has glorious countryside, plenty of historic architecture, and local cuisine renowned across the rest of Italy. Emilia-Romagna's capital is Bologna, a thriving city, whose light-engineering and high tech industries have brought wealth to the city. It is known for its food--the richest in the country--as well as for its politics (left-oriented). The center of Bologna is medieval in plan and replet with red bricks, tiled roofs and balconies radiating out from the central square of Piazza Maggiore. While in the city, we had a sightseeing tour with a local guide.
At the center of Piazza del Nettuno, the Neptune Fountain, one of the most celebrated symbols of the city, was created by Giambologna in the late 16th c. We were on our way to see part of the oldest university of Europe, the University of Bologna, found in the 1200s. Our goal was the Archiginnasio,. To get there, we went into the main courtyard, covered with the coats of arms of its most famous graduates. Upstairs was the Teatro Anatomico, the original medical faculty dissection theater. There was a special window at the back that was always eyed by a medical student when dissections weere in session, and when students spied a member of the clergy, they would always signal and an animal was substituted for a human body in order for the medical faculty to be exonerated from punishment by the Church.
We had a chance to look about for about an hour before leaving for Florence. No other city besides Bologna has anything like the number of porticoes or covered walkways. In the city center, there are hardly any stretches of pavement not topped by an ornate, arched covering. They make a vivid impression, especially at night, while by day they provide a kind of "stage" for the local residents to strut their stuff, and a welcome shelter when it rains. The first porticoes were built of wood, and some 13th c. examples still exist. They proved so popular that by the 14th c. construction of stone or brick porticoes, high enough to accommodate people on horseback, had become compulsory on all new streets.
Lunch was with two fellow travelers at a sidewalk cafe, and I had lasagna, a much thinner version than the American, with less cheese, flatter noodles without crennelations, and a delicious Fanta. A little incident at the outdoor cafe. I had to go to the bathroom, which I don't usually write up, but for an amusing incident. The door pull was at the bottom of the door rather than at the usual spot, and, as I was reaching for it, I almost fell off the stairs, as the trajectory was bizarre. I guess I should have known something interesting was going on and I very nearly ended up projected out into a space adventure!
A 2 1/2 hour bus journey took us from Emilia-Romagna to hilly Tuscany and Florence. Since the early 19th c., Firenze has been celebrated as the epitome of everything that is beautiful about Italian civilization. Stendhal was in a stupor of delight when he visited; the Brownings sighed about its idyllic charms, and E. M. Forster's "Room with a View" portrayed it as the great antidote to the bloodless sterility of Anglo-Saxon life.
However, things did not prove as idyllic in our case. Rooms at our hotel, the Palazzo Ricasoli, were supposed to be air-conditioned, but were not really so, so we called down to the front desk and asked for a maintenance man to come up and repair our unit. He came by and made a feeble attempt to rectify things by turning the vents to the right--no levers--just hand-turning. Did that solve our problem? Absolutely not, as the termperature was still that of a frying pan. Additionally, neither of the hotel's two computers which looked like relics from the 80s, functioned properly, and I could not connect to the Internet.. I finally gave up and simply went to dinner with the rest of the crew. We had bowtie pasta with white cream sauce with cabbage; a type of meat stew and salad, and a very creamy pudding at the end. Following dinner, we walked to the Duomo, the Piazza de la Signoria, and Ponte Vecchio to experience each of the buildings, in turn, by the full moon which was illuminating the scene. Everywhere were street performers, buskers, etc.--and people were walking, enjoying the lovely evening. When we got back there was no air conditioning, but we both took two sedatives and drifted off to, thankfully, a good night's sleep in spite of the heat! Are you tired from this description! Finally, success in getting this all done--only a few days late!
At the center of Piazza del Nettuno, the Neptune Fountain, one of the most celebrated symbols of the city, was created by Giambologna in the late 16th c. We were on our way to see part of the oldest university of Europe, the University of Bologna, found in the 1200s. Our goal was the Archiginnasio,. To get there, we went into the main courtyard, covered with the coats of arms of its most famous graduates. Upstairs was the Teatro Anatomico, the original medical faculty dissection theater. There was a special window at the back that was always eyed by a medical student when dissections weere in session, and when students spied a member of the clergy, they would always signal and an animal was substituted for a human body in order for the medical faculty to be exonerated from punishment by the Church.
We had a chance to look about for about an hour before leaving for Florence. No other city besides Bologna has anything like the number of porticoes or covered walkways. In the city center, there are hardly any stretches of pavement not topped by an ornate, arched covering. They make a vivid impression, especially at night, while by day they provide a kind of "stage" for the local residents to strut their stuff, and a welcome shelter when it rains. The first porticoes were built of wood, and some 13th c. examples still exist. They proved so popular that by the 14th c. construction of stone or brick porticoes, high enough to accommodate people on horseback, had become compulsory on all new streets.
Lunch was with two fellow travelers at a sidewalk cafe, and I had lasagna, a much thinner version than the American, with less cheese, flatter noodles without crennelations, and a delicious Fanta. A little incident at the outdoor cafe. I had to go to the bathroom, which I don't usually write up, but for an amusing incident. The door pull was at the bottom of the door rather than at the usual spot, and, as I was reaching for it, I almost fell off the stairs, as the trajectory was bizarre. I guess I should have known something interesting was going on and I very nearly ended up projected out into a space adventure!
A 2 1/2 hour bus journey took us from Emilia-Romagna to hilly Tuscany and Florence. Since the early 19th c., Firenze has been celebrated as the epitome of everything that is beautiful about Italian civilization. Stendhal was in a stupor of delight when he visited; the Brownings sighed about its idyllic charms, and E. M. Forster's "Room with a View" portrayed it as the great antidote to the bloodless sterility of Anglo-Saxon life.
However, things did not prove as idyllic in our case. Rooms at our hotel, the Palazzo Ricasoli, were supposed to be air-conditioned, but were not really so, so we called down to the front desk and asked for a maintenance man to come up and repair our unit. He came by and made a feeble attempt to rectify things by turning the vents to the right--no levers--just hand-turning. Did that solve our problem? Absolutely not, as the termperature was still that of a frying pan. Additionally, neither of the hotel's two computers which looked like relics from the 80s, functioned properly, and I could not connect to the Internet.. I finally gave up and simply went to dinner with the rest of the crew. We had bowtie pasta with white cream sauce with cabbage; a type of meat stew and salad, and a very creamy pudding at the end. Following dinner, we walked to the Duomo, the Piazza de la Signoria, and Ponte Vecchio to experience each of the buildings, in turn, by the full moon which was illuminating the scene. Everywhere were street performers, buskers, etc.--and people were walking, enjoying the lovely evening. When we got back there was no air conditioning, but we both took two sedatives and drifted off to, thankfully, a good night's sleep in spite of the heat! Are you tired from this description! Finally, success in getting this all done--only a few days late!
Can't wait to see the pictures from this day! All those porticos in Bologna sound so breathtaking. And the full moon above Florence makes me want to board the next plane to get to you two and join in on the beautiful adventure!
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