The charm of Italy. The charm of northern Italy
Italy is a country, after visiting which a strange imprint remains in the heart. She doesn't let herself be forgotten. She's a mystery. She is a charming woman. And Auguste de Noiret was right when he compared her to a skilled mistress who, saying goodbye to a man, leaves her mark. And years later he returns to her again. It’s like invisible threads connect them.
Italy is impossible to recognize, understand, accept... it seems to be divided into hundreds, thousands of pieces and they are all so different. Italy is amazing. During the week I felt delight, joy and disappointment. She either attracts or repels. She makes you think about her for hours, look at her, but not understand. It seems to me that even after traveling a dozen times she will not reveal the secret and will not lie down in front of you like a warm, gentle sea lay at her feet....
Again the road, again new cities and sunny Italy will soon open its arms before us. We drive through the Alps, through numerous tunnels. A bridge over a cliff connecting two mountains. And here he is. A sign with the inscription ITALIA surrounded by stars.
VERONA- the city of love and marble sidewalks. Such beautiful and delightful air floats around. It’s as if everything about him is saturated with romance.
PISA- Somehow you already get used to Italy and don’t pay attention to many things. Tower. So what? Slightly tilted. Well, yes. After taking a couple of photos, we ran through the city streets to see what was there behind the Square of Miracles?
FLORENCE- a city that I didn’t love, a city that upon arrival I never fell in love with. It is very different, but nothing became attractive, but on the contrary, I wanted to leave it quickly.
ROME- meeting with the beautiful. I have seen photographs so many times and here I am on the streets of the eternal city. City of history and city of secrets. Great people worked here, and centuries later you touch their walls, walk up the stairs, throw a coin into the fountain. We have seen a lot, but there is still more left. Rome is not a city for two days. There is no way around it during this time. And if anyone can, they will miss what we did. We didn't feel it. Constantly running after the guide, time, photos, you are afraid of being late, not being able to do something... you click everything on the camera... but then at home you look at dead pictures and realize that it has passed you by. No feelings, no sensations. ...You just need to live in it, breathe its air and enjoy, enjoy....and then you will have a desire to come back again and again.
NAPLES is a strange, dirty, dangerous city that captivates you so easily. I want to leave him as quickly as possible, but something is holding him back and won’t let him go. The bay, the dark blue sea and large ships, architecture and hanging laundry, shabby houses and windows decorated with flowers. Cars, streets, motorcycles...
CAPRI- a beautiful rocky island. I don’t want to listen to anything anymore, I just walk and walk, being distracted by photos from time to time. Conveying feelings, thoughts, emotions is difficult. The most amazing thing remains in the heart.
Half the way has been completed, we are returning to the north and Italy is changing faces again. And again she is different.
ASSISI- a city on the slope of a mountain. And in an instant you are transported to the Middle Ages. The streets are quiet, gray, deserted.
VENICE- damp air and endless expanses of the Adriatic Sea. Streets connected by bridges. An endless network of channels. How many times have I been to these places and this is reality. It is impossible to hide emotions in this city. This is a city with which nothing can compare.
During the time I fell in love with Italy, I looked through thousands of photographs, leafed through a hundred books, watched dozens of films, and now I’m here. I thought about my condition during long journeys. I couldn't understand what was happening. Why do I look indifferently at the expanses of the Italian province flashing outside the window? I look at the high alps with a cold gaze. Maybe there was too much Italy during this time? But at the same time, you feel relaxed and peaceful, you eat, looking at the expanses of the Padan plain and feel bliss that spreads throughout your body with amazing warmth. You feel... at home.
Bus tour. July 2010
Quality tour at the lowest prices
Let yourself be seduced by the unique charm of Italy and treat yourself unforgettable experience from traveling around this amazing country, choosing your own places to visit! This economical tour with accommodation in only one city will allow you to see a variety of “pearls” of Italy: Rome, Venice, Milan, Florence, Bologna, Ravenna, Gradara and Mondaino, as well as the oldest republic in the world - San Marino. The program is planned in two versions: the light tour includes only one excursion - to Rome, and the cost of the standard tour, in addition to exploring Rome, also includes trips to Venice, Florence, and San Marino. You can visit other cities with additional excursions, including joining ready-made groups.
Route: Rimini – San Marino – Venice – (Milan) – (Florence) – (Gradara/Mondaino) – (Rome) – (Vatican) – (Bologna/Ravenna) – Rimini
Day 1
Flight to Italy.
Upon arrival, meet your escort in the arrivals hall under the PAC GROUP sign.
Group gathering, boarding the bus.
Departure to the state of San Marino**.
Free time for a walk through the historical part of San Marino**.
Transfer and hotel accommodation.
Day: 2
Breakfast in the hotel.
Departure for Venice.
Next, take a boat along the Giudecca Canal or Laguna to St. Mark's Square (the boat ride is paid additionally - 25 € per person).
Overview hiking with a guide in Venice.
Optional excursion to the Doge's Palace (15€ per person, entrance ticket is not included in the price, paid additionally - 20€ per person).
Additionally, gondola rides are offered (20€ per person).
Return to the pier along the Giudecca or Laguna Canal and board the bus.
Additional return by Grand Canal for a surcharge (35€ per person).
Return to the hotel.
Dinner (for those who ordered and paid half board).
Day: 3
Breakfast in the hotel.
Optional excursion to Milan, including a visit to the Fidenza Village outlet (70€ per person).
Dinner (for those who ordered and paid half board).
Day: 4
Breakfast in the hotel.
Optional trip and sightseeing walking tour of the historical part of Florence (100€ per person / included in the price for the 3*STANDARD tour option).
Optional excursion to the Uffizi Gallery or Pitti Palace (50€ per person, entrance fee included in the price).
Return to the hotel. Along the way, you can stop at the Mc Artur Glen Barberino outlet.
Dinner (for those who ordered and paid half board).
Italy is not only Rome, Venice, Florence and Naples. These are many towns that carefully preserve the history and culture of this amazing country. Like beads, they are strung on a thread of time, revealing to us palace secrets, marriage secrets, intrigues, reflected in beautiful monuments of architecture and painting. I invite you to get acquainted with the history of Italy through the prism of its small northern cities. Local wines will accompany the trip - we will get acquainted with the wine areas of Valpolicella and Soave, see how legendary drinks are made from dried Amarone and Receto grapes, try young and aged grappa, visit family wineries visited by Queen Elizabeth and, of course, taste local cuisine in authentic trattorias and restaurants.
26.04.16 — flight Ekaterinburg — Milan with a transfer in Moscow (ShRM, 2.50 hours). 05:50 – 11.10
On the way from Milan - lunch in Ardo (Franciacorta)
First winery DOCG Franciacorta - . Legendary sparkling wines made using the traditional champagne method.
Check-in to Villa Residenza Borgo 27 in the Valpolicella region.
In the afternoon we will have Verona, which began as an ancient Roman city with the third largest amphitheater in Italy.
The medieval aroma is preserved by the streets and squares of Del Erbe and Señoria. Let's wander through the nooks and crannies of history and feel like participants in medieval processions from the time of the Scaliger rulers. And of course, we won’t ignore Juliet’s courtyard.
Dinner. Return to the villa.
27.04.16
– Breakfast at the villa. 
Winery in the Soave region: the Garganega variety reigns here, from which all styles of white wine are made - dry, sparkling and sweet from dried grapes. The Soave fortress, built by the Scaligers to protect their eastern borders, will accompany our tasting.
Dinner in a restaurant.
We're coming to I'm falling. We check into a 4 star hotel.
Independent acquaintance with the city which was nicknamed “The City of Three “Without”...
Dinner is on your own.
30.04.16 – Breakfast at the hotel.
Visit to a winery Conte Emo Capodilista. 
Red and white wines are produced here from local and international grape varieties.
Dinner V local restaurant La Montecchia, which has a Michelin star
Ahead - Ferrara, a city whose rulers in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance were the d'Este family. The historical part is under UNESCO protection, as it is the only castle complex surrounded by a moat that has been preserved in its original condition. We will see the openwork cathedral, the oldest beer shop from 1435, above which Copernicus lived, and many other interesting monuments.
Dinner is on your own. Return to Padua to the hotel.
01.05.2016 – Breakfast at the hotel.
Walk-excursion around Padua - the most free-thinking medieval city Northern Italy: we will visit Palazzo Ragione, Prato della Valle, the Scrovegni Chapel, painted by Giotto, the Basilica of St. Anthony and the Gattamelata monument, the Coffee House “without doors” of Pedrocchi, the famous University of Padua, where Galileo Galilei, Torquato Tasso, Nicola of Cusa and Petrarch taught.
1 day. Early departure from Minsk. Crossing Belarusian - Polish border. Transit through the territory of Poland and the Czech Republic (950 km). Arrival for the night at a hotel in the Czech Republic.
Day 2. Breakfast. Departure to MUNICH- the capital of Bavaria (~ 250 km). Upon arrival - a sightseeing tour of Munich: Marienplatz - the heart and soul of the city, St. Peter's Church - the oldest parish church in Munich (11th century), Food market. From the height of the Frauenkirche tower you will see the entire city, which will open before you in full view. Free time. Moving to Italy. Overnight in a transit hotel in Italy.
Day 3 Breakfast. Departure to FLORENCE- the capital of the Tuscany region and the capital of world culture and art. Overview tour of Florence* will start with Cathedral Square, where you will see the magnificent Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore, Giotto's Bell Tower and Baptistery. Next, we will walk through the medieval streets of the city and make a stop at the house where the great Italian poet Dante Alighieri lived. Let's visit the oldest and famous bridge cities - Ponte Vecchio
and let's go to the center political life Florentine Republic - Piazza della Signoria with the majestic Palazzo Vecchio, Loggia Lanzi, statue of David and the Fountain of Neptune. At the end of the excursion we will make a wish cherished wish at the bronze statue of a wild boar.
Free time. It is possible to organize a visit to an art gallery Uffizi* or Palazzo Pitti*.Uffizi Gallery is one of the most famous museums in the world. This is a treasure trove containing incredible rich collection masterpieces. The collection includes Roman and Greek sculptures, miniatures, paintings by Flemish, Spanish and Italian painters of different periods. The most important part of the collection is the works of Renaissance geniuses Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, Raphael, Titian. These names make the hearts of art lovers tremble. Palazzo Pitti- one of the largest museum complexes Florence: Palatine Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art, Silver Museum, Porcelain Museum, Carriage Museum and Costume Gallery (Italy's largest collection dedicated to the history of fashion). The Palatine Gallery contains 11 canvases by Raphael (including “Woman in a Veil” and “Madonna in an Armchair”), 13 paintings by Titian (“Mary Magdalene”), works by Van Dyck, Rubens, Murillo, Botticelli. Also: Italian art from the late 18th century to the First World War. The Uffizi Gallery and Palazzo Pitti are closed on Monday. Transfer to a hotel for a transit overnight stay.
Day 4 Breakfast. Departure for ROME. Arrival at Rome- one of the oldest cities in the world, known as " The eternal City"where all roads lead." Sightseeing walking tour of ROME. We begin the tour at the Flavian Amphitheater, better known as the Colosseum. We will see the destroyed temples and squares of the Roman Forum, the center of all political and social life of the city during the Roman Empire. Let's go to Venice Square, where the architectural complex Altar of the Fatherland and monument to Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of a united Italy. On Piazza Navona we will see the fountains of the genius Bernini and the Egyptian obelisk. Let's go to the majestic Pantheon, a temple dedicated to all the gods Ancient Rome, which has preserved its original appearance through millennia. Let's try Italian ice cream in a cafe next to the Trevi Fountain and make your most cherished wish, which will definitely come true. We will walk along Coronari Street, famous for its antique shops, which will lead us to the Castel Sant'Angelo on the banks of the Tiber River, and along Conciliazione Street we will get to Vatican on St. Peter's Square, which impresses with its size. While in the square, it seems as if the Vatican itself is hugging you with a warm embrace. We will see the balcony from where the Pope addresses the believers. Tour of the Vatican with a visit to St. Peter's Cathedral*. Free time. For those who wish, excursion Ancient Rome*. The entire history of Rome will pass before you - from the ancient huts on the Palatine Hill, preserved from the 8th century BC, to the colossal amphitheater from the heyday of the Roman Empire. Transfer to a hotel for a transit overnight stay.
Day 5. Breakfast. Arrival at VENICE. Venice- the most romantic city in Italy, the birthplace of Murano glass, carnival, Casanova, the city of palaces and bridges... Transfer to the central part of the city by boat. Tour of Venice: St. Mark's Square, Rialto Bridge, Bridge of Sighs, St. Mark's Cathedral, Doge's Palace. Free time to buy souvenirs, carnival masks, Venetian glass products. For those interested - gondola rides*. Overnight at a transit hotel.
Day 6 Breakfast. Sightseeing walking tour of BRNO*- the capital of South Moravia. We will visit the most interesting places: Moravian Square, the Church and St. Jacob's Square, we'll walk around main square city - Freedom Square. Then we will look into the Old Town Hall, go to the Cabbage Market with its Parnassus Fountain and the Dietrichstein Palace. Let's go up to the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul (if you wish, we'll go up to observation tower to view the entire city from above), we will go through Šilingra Square and Dominican Square to the New Town Hall. We will tell you about each of these points its history and the legends associated with it. Departure to Minsk. Arrival in Minsk late in the evening or the next morning.
During our trip we managed to visit Venice and Verona. I will not describe here the sights of these glorious cities. So much has already been written and rewritten about them that I don’t even know what else can be said. I’ll just tell you about our walks through these cities and about the most vivid impressions from them, albeit not always the most pleasant.
Venice is the most elegant living room in Europe (Napoleon).
In my opinion, there is not a person in the world who, when mentioning the name of this city, would not draw its appearance in his imagination, as well as a dozen more “Venices” in different countries which he managed to visit. The picture and stereotypes are so imprinted in our minds that reality often disappoints. So my attitude towards Venice is not clear-cut. Romantic city? - Undoubtedly!
Beautiful? - Yes!
But, as my husband said, you have to love this city very much to live here.
We were unlucky with the weather in Venice. No, of course, I wasn’t expecting the obligatory sunny and cloudless paradise, but the weather was simply disgusting - bitterly cold and finely speckled rain, and the city seemed gray and dull. And I, of course, once again stepped on the same “rake” - I forgot my windbreakers. I probably already have bumps all over my forehead. This worsened the mood even more. But, as the wise proverb says: “Every cloud has a silver lining.” My husband solved the problem simply and quickly - he went to the nearest peddler with clothes and bought us a jacket each.
But we were lucky with the number of tourists - there were not so many of them. But I already learned about this from my friend - when she looked at the photographs and said: “Oh! what a score! there are not many people." Before this phrase of hers, I thought that it was too crowded. But, as time has shown, my Tanya was right. I became convinced of this a little later, in Verona.
Huge queue at Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace). After standing for about 10 minutes, we realized that we could get stuck here for a long, long time, but with us, excuse me, “tsigel-tsigel, ay-lu-lyu,” i.e. time is running out.
The fact is that when getting ready for Venice, my husband mentioned that, supposedly, the power was maritime and there simply must be a museum connected with the fleet. I also became interested, and I found this museum! The Museo Storico Navale is located next to the Arsenale and is open until 13.30. That's why we were in a hurry. Having left our queue at the ticket office of the Doge's Palace to the mercy of fate, we went to get acquainted with the history of the Venetian fleet.
The museum is considered one of the best of its kind. It was founded in 1815. The museum houses a magnificent exhibition of objects and artifacts relating to the history of the Venetian navy. Here are presented ship guns from different periods. An interesting artifact from World War II is a large, low-speed torpedo that was manually controlled by a diver who jumped off before impact.
One of the most fascinating is the unique collection of models of ancient ships - military and merchant. In one of the halls of the museum there is a model of the Bucintoro (1728) - a floating palace for the ceremonial “trips” of the Doges of Venice. Every year, on Ascension Day, from this ship the Doges performed a ceremony of betrothal to the sea, throwing a ring into the water.
An interesting element of the exhibition: in the last room, thousands of identical sea shells are displayed in wooden cabinets - a gift from a collector. And this is only a small part of what can be seen here. For just 1.55 euros per person we had a blast!
Having decided that we were no longer in a hurry, we went for a walk around the city. We sat in a cafe with a cup of coffee and walked along the streets. Some streets are so narrow that two people can hardly pass each other. There are clothes hung out to dry in the windows and it’s so cute. And if at first Venice somewhat disappointed me, then here I began to “thaw” and gradually fall in love with it. And when I took a photo on the embankment with the entertaining characters in masks, I was completely amused. By the way, our compatriots work part-time.
So we slowly reached the Doge's Palace. And a pleasant surprise awaited us! Oh, miracle! There are no people at the box office to buy tickets! There was no queue at all, and we calmly took our tickets. By the way, the ticket is valid not only for visiting the Doge's Palace. Its price, 16 euros, also includes a visit to the Museo Civico Correr (Museum Correr) with the Archaeological Museum and the Marciana Library hall. Naturally, we took advantage of this and visited these museums at the same time.
I liked everything about the Doge's Palace. Both from an aesthetic and historical point of view. The route around the palace is very well laid out - it allows you to see everything without getting lost. I'm still impressed.
The Correr Museum was founded by Theodor Correr, a passionate collector and connoisseur of beauty. Correr came from a family of the Venetian aristocracy. He bequeathed his extensive collection to the city, as well as funds for its maintenance and further expansion. The museum's halls display exhibits that tell the history of Venice. This is also a collection of documents telling about various aspects of Venetian life - from Everyday life to military achievements and holidays. This is also a collection of Venetian paintings from the 14th to the 16th centuries. Among the paintings there are real masterpieces. And much, much more... The museum is worth spending some time on it, preferably more.
But we were not entirely lucky with the Archaeological Museum and the Marciana Library hall. IN Archaeological Museum some filming was taking place, and part of the exhibition was not exactly closed, but not entirely accessible for inspection. The same thing happened with the Library hall.
Recently, my husband and I have developed a tradition - if there is a tower in the city and you can climb it, we will definitely do it. Venice was no exception. Probably everyone has already understood that I mean the Campanile - the bell tower in the square of the Cathedral of San Marco, from where the most beautiful views to Venice. Naturally, we couldn't pass by. It was here that I was completely captivated by Venice, admiring it from a bird's eye view.
You can't visit Venice without taking a gondola ride. Delightful, romantic trip along the city's canals. It is the canals that make Venice a unique, unique city. Smoothly floating gondolas, gondoliers talking to each other, splashes of water...
Houses, palazzos, churches, bridges, despite their some shabbyness, make an amazing impression. All this is reminiscent of the fairy tales of the Venetian Carlo Gozzi or theatrical scenery. And just like that, slowly, sailing through the canals, you realize that you still haven’t seen Venice at all.
We also fed pigeons in Piazza San Marco.
Well, how can you ignore the famous Venetian carnival masks? There are an insane amount of them here - from small toy refrigerator magnets to real ones, from Chinese plastic fakes to made in Italy, price ranges from 2-3 euros and almost indefinitely. The variety of shapes and colors dazzles your eyes.
In general, a real Venice Carnival mask is made of thin leather. You can wear it without taking it off for many hours in a row. Indeed, in the past, Venetians wore masks not only during carnival, but also on weekdays. And it all started with a prosaic, but rather creepy circumstance - during the plague, when doctors visited the sick, they wore masks with a long bird’s beak, into which they placed aromatic oils and other disinfectants.
We ended our Venetian day in a cafe, enjoying seafood risotto. By the way, regarding the high cost of food in Venice. Indeed, in tourist places the price tag in cafes and restaurants is off the charts, and you also need to take into account that a certain percentage will be charged for table setting. But if you get off hiking trail, even not far away, you can find nice cafes where the prices won’t be so crazy.
That's what we did. Each restaurant has a menu with indicated prices, and you can choose the best option for yourself. We were specifically looking for something with seafood. In one of the restaurants we saw risotto at quite reasonable price. The risotto was not only delicious, but also very beautifully presented. Shrimp, something like “mini-lobsters,” mussels and some other shellfish were placed in a picturesque disorder on the plate. Unfortunately, I didn’t pay attention to the name of the establishment.
But there were also some not entirely pleasant moments in our walk around Venice, in addition to the bad weather. By evening, certain individuals with flowers appeared on St. Mark's Square, who tried to hand these flowers to all female persons, and then demand money for them. We barely got rid of them.
We returned from Venice after midnight - tired and happy.
It is impossible to understand and feel Venice in a few hours, or even in a day. Probably, even a few days will not be enough. This is a city that needs to be explored and explored, because every house, every cathedral, every stone is worthy of attention.
In Verona, ancient and beautiful...
We didn't go to Verona by car, we decided to use public transport. In tourism information center They took the card for free. But, before setting off to explore the city, we decided to first get acquainted with it with the help of excursion bus cruising around the city. There are two lines - line A (red) and line B (blue). We used the second option - simply because the line B bus was already at the stop and picking up passengers. The cost of the trip is 18 euros. Headphones, the ability to choose the Russian language of the audio guide. The ticket is valid for 24 hours, i.e. you can go out, look around, come in, etc. In general, like everywhere else. But we covered the entire route from start to finish.
The starting and final bus stop is located in Piazza Bra, opposite the Arena di Verona. The arena is one of the symbols of Verona. Verona is sometimes called little Rome because of the ancient Roman amphitheater. The arena was examined from the outside. We didn’t go inside - there was a snaking line at the ticket office, but we just wanted to walk around the city and soak up its atmosphere. Yes, and I would love to go there to listen to the opera, and at the same time see the Arena from the inside. But it didn't happen.
In Verona we didn't go to any museum, we just walked around.
On the square in front of the Arena, Gladiators are walking around, waiting for those who want to be photographed with them, and artists are performing. One of them was especially amusing, in the form of a baby in a stroller. In such a funny little voice he shouted “Paparazzi!” when he saw that he was being photographed. This made those around him laugh so much that everyone began throwing change into his bucket.
“It seems to me, my illustrious sir, unless the noble love that I have for my native places deceives me, that there is hardly a city in beautiful Italy that could compete with Verona in the picturesque location, in the beauty of the river, similar to the Adige, which majestically carries its clear waters, dividing the city almost in half...” Matteo Bandello, outstanding 16th-century short story writer, Romeo and Juliet.
Yes, it was Matteo Bandello and precisely “Romeo and Juliet”... The great Shakespeare was not original and, following the statement “everything ingenious is simple,” borrowed the plot of his romantic play from the Italian writer of the 16th century Matteo Bandello. But he was not a pioneer either... In 1476, Masuccio Salernitano (Tomaso Guardati) told a similar story that took place in Siena and the characters were Mariotto and Giannozza, who dearly loved each other. If we dive even further, into the depths of centuries, we will find a painfully familiar plot in the story described by the Roman Ovid about Pyramus and Thisbe. Thus, the truth is confirmed that “everything new is well forgotten old”...
You heard correctly, we reached Juliet's house. Here I was in for a shock. To get into the courtyard of the house we had to make our way through the crowd. The impression is that I am not in Verona, but at the Vykhino metro station during rush hour. Finally, having squeezed through a mass of romantics just like us, we found ourselves in the courtyard. But here it’s still the same crowd. I wanted to take a photo of Juliet’s balcony, but in order to do this I had to catch the moment when one pair of “lovers” left the balcony, but the other had not yet left. But this is very difficult to do, since this conveyor is endless. And I didn’t even try to capture the statue of Juliet - it was useless. Tourists hung on her like bunches of grapes and groped the poor girl in every possible place. It was impossible to squeeze into the gap between them with a camera. All this made me sad. There really is no sadder story in the world...
We just went up to the terrace, stood and looked at the courtyard from above. And when they went back down, they couldn’t resist, and on the stairs, among others, they left their autograph.
I was surprised to learn that, it turns out, there is a club dedicated to Romeo and Juliet in Verona. The club has a whole staff of “Juliettes” - psychologists who respond to letters sent from all over the world, where teenagers share their experiences and love stories.
Here is a stone courtyard, and this girl
He looks at us with a bronze smile.
Teenagers write to her: “Dear Juliet!”
Century. More. For the umpteenth time.
A line on the Internet, a piece of paper from a notebook -
Cyrillic, ligature, hieroglyph, Hebrew,
In mountainous Albania, in lake Canada
The girls are crying. But he looks silently
Dumb Juliet on the eternal stones,
And her bronze gaze is meek and sweet.
Here is a stone courtyard, and the reflection of the sunset
What century?.. What date?..
Both girls write and boys write
To Verona. Juliet. Ridicule out of spite .
(Vyacheslav Kreida, excerpts from a poem published on the website “Romeo and Juliet Club”).
Romeo's house, on the contrary, is not crowded. Well, in general, let's face it - there is no one.
In Piazza Erbe, the oldest in Verona, people were milling around the souvenir stalls, but didn’t see anything. The square itself is very interesting. Everywhere you look, there is a masterpiece. The Palazzo Maffei was stunning, looking like a meringue cake and decorated with carved elements and statues of Jupiter, Hercules, Minerva, Mercury and Apollo. In front of the palazzo there is a white marble column with a Venetian lion. Interestingly, if the lion is depicted with an open book, then construction was carried out in Peaceful time, a closed book indicates wartime. The Mazzanti House attracts attention, the facade of which in the 16th century was painted with frescoes with mythological scenes.
In the center of the square is the fountain of the Verona Madonna. Once upon a time, merchant deals were concluded next to it. It is noteworthy that a Roman statue dating back to 380 was used for the figure of the Virgin Mary. Most likely, in the original she bore some other name. In the hands of the Madonna is a scroll with the coat of arms of Verona.
Right there, on the square, is the 83-meter Lamberti Tower (Torre del Lamberti). It was built in 1172 by the Verona family of the same name. And... You understood correctly. We climbed this tower. It is more convenient to get to it from Piazza della Signoria ( Piazza Signori).
A small digression. An interesting detail - when passing under the arch between Piazza Erbe and Piazza della Signoria, you can find a hanging whale bone. Because of this bone, the arch received the name Arca della Costa. Entrance to the tower costs 4.5 euros. Take the elevator to the height of the first 243 steps, and then walk. First to first observation deck going up another 46 steps, from where you can enjoy magnificent views of Verona. But that is not all. You can climb another 79 steps along the spiral staircase and enjoy the views from an even greater height. The tower is also a belfry. The ancient bells of Verona - Marangona and Rengo - are kept here. The ringing of the Marangon bell indicated the beginning and end of the working day, and the time of evening prayer. Rengo's bell called residents to a town meeting.
Piazza della Signoria is also very colorful. The square is surrounded by very beautiful and interesting buildings. In the middle of the square there is a monument to Dante Alighieri, who found refuge in Verona after he was expelled from Florence. But I promised to tell you about the most vivid impressions, although I really liked the square.
You will laugh, but one of my most indelible impressions has nothing to do with architecture or a landmark. This is Pastissada de cavalo - horse casserole. We tried it at the amazing Enoteca-Osteria “Al Carro Armato” establishment. Legend has it that in the 5th century a great battle took place near Verona. After the battle, many dead horses were left on the battlefield, and so that the meat would not go to waste, a casserole was prepared. Since then it has become a specialty of Verona. We specifically looked for it on the menu in all the restaurants along our route. And they found it! It turned out to be very tasty! The restaurant is located at Vicolo Gatto, 2a. It is near the church of Santa Anastasia (chiesa di Sant "Anastasia).
When we approached the Church of Santa Anastasia, there was a planned solemn event- wedding. Guests were gathering on the square in front of the church and the groom and bridesmaids were waiting for the bride. We also decided to wait, but the bride was late, and we didn’t wait for her. Unfortunately, we didn’t get into the church either. This day, in general, was full of weddings. And at Juliet’s tomb we saw a photo session of the newlyweds, and on the Ponte Pietra bridge we noticed a wedding procession, and now, at the Church of Santa Anastasia.
By the way, entrance to all cathedrals is paid - from 5 to 8 euros. So, get ready to shell out some money if you want to see the masterpieces.
There is a lot here connected and reminiscent of this powerful family of rulers of Verona. For example, the Scaliger Arches (Arche Scaligere) are Gothic tombstones of three representatives of the famous family. Or the Scaliger Bridge (Ponte Scaligero) with its jagged “Kremlin” walls.
It's nice to wander around Verona on foot and make small discoveries. On one of the streets the gate leading to the courtyard of the house was slightly open. We quietly looked in there and saw how modern Verona residents live in an ancient house.
Verona and Venice... Venice and Verona... Two ancient cities... Both cities can be symbols of love and romance. But how different they are! Venice left behind a refined minor-key memory, while Verona, on the contrary, seemed to me an unusually cheerful and lively city. But this is my subjective opinion...
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