On our last day in Italy we unexpectedly found ourselves in the middle of a huge event called “Par Tot” (meaning “For All”). I had a great vantage point standing on the edge of the Neptune fountain, joined by our friend Patrick from MN. It was a city wide event of costumes, music, dancing, floats, jugglers, stilt walkers, and… you name it!
They began forming up in Piazza Marjorie mid-afternoon and started down the street for a mile long parade a few hours later, ending up in a park for after dark activities.
What a fantastic way to end our stay in Italy, and it would be worth a return trip just for this event!
What’s left to do? Ah, the Museum of Medieval History. Most museums we are accustomed to feature collections gathered from around the world, typical of an era or a people. But in Bologna, the collections are of local history. Bologna is unique in that, while other cities exalt rich men with massive tombs, the Bolognese exalt the scholar. We saw many tombs of many dead scholars. Another sweltering day, so Liz’s little handheld fan came in very handy. However, the Bolognese museum guards tail-gated much more closely after hearing its hum and seeing something in Liz’s hand. In the afternoon, Charlie and Jane arrived after a long drive. We took them on a high-speed tour of the archeology museum and the anatomical theater (Liz and Mike’s Greatest Hits Tour), and then for cocktails at Rosa Rose. Dinner at Ciro’s Pizzeria, followed by a moonlit stroll in the Piazza Maggiore.
That’s all for now – more in a few days when we get home. Including some great video of street performances in the the plazza!
Awoke late today. Despite the best efforts of our most hard-working maid, our room is starting to smell funny. Heat. Bananas. Cheese. Bad combo. But it’s raining, which is lovely. A cool drizzle. The Italians are freezing. We are loving it. After breakfast, we spent hours and hours at the Archeological Museum, an amazing collectionof antiquities dating back to the Etruscan era. (Who imagined the Estruscans were so tall?) Giovanni, an extremely helpful museum guard, translated many exhibits for us. (He was the child the teacher used to call on all the time. “What’s the capital of Illinois?” He knew the answer, and now look what he does for a living!) An amazing collection of Etruscan artifacts (until the Gauls came and had to wreck it for everybody), as well as Roman, Greek, and Egyptian treasure. Lunch at McDonald’s (why not?), a bit of window shopping, and then a tour of Bascilica di San Petronio, the massive church that anchors one end of Piazza Maggiore. Construction began in 1390 and ended in the 17th century, yet it was never completed. It contains the largest interior sundial on earth, constructed by the astronomer Cassini. A short stop at the Neputune Fountain so Mike could take a million pictures. Then, a tour of the library, which contains underground Roman ruins visible through glass and cool Italian chairs.
Got an early start today, and discovered a whole area of town not seen before, just outside our hotel. Toy shop, meat shop, restaurant, bunch of cops standing around waiting for trouble that never happens. First stop — The Basilica of San Francesco, built in 1237. Outside are the Tombs of the Glossarists — airborne catacombs for teachers of Roman law. Then on to the flower mart, and the Trambus Open. One all-day pass buys you “hop on, hop off” privileges, and a Bologna-wide tour. We opted to “hop off” in the middle of nowhere, but got a great panoramic view of the city skyline in the bargain, followed by a long slog in the heat. Back to the room for exhausted napping. It it so very, very hot. Molto caldo. But the Italians don’t seem to sweat. The men wear long-sleeved shirts with ties and jackets. Evening was devoted to shopping. Found a small wind-up surfer for Conner, an Opinel for Mike (nifty folding knife) and a purse-size fan for Liz, who has taken to pointing it at sweating waiters and waitresses, who seem grateful, or at least not too annoyed. Dinner at Cafe du Midi Restaurant and Pizzeria at Via Porto Novo. Home for a shower and a long, drained sleep.
An earlier start today, as we have learned that everything closes at 1, and that by 1 we will be exhausted and sweaty and will need to go back to the hotel to dry out. A creepy mime greets us in the Piazza, a small part of the endless activity there. We see a Ferrari parked in a no-parking zone (even the manniquins stare), then schlep across town to the Museum of Anatomical History for a look at the way medicine used to be taught (apparently if you were a good student, you could get your name and family crest on a plaque that would still be there hundreds of years later. Take note, Kelly). Outside the Museum is a statue of Galvani, the fellow who figured out that if you shocked frog legs with electricity, you could make them jump. We’re guessing he also figured out how to galvanize stuff, since his name is the same. Mike was pretty thrilled by this.
Further schelpping takes us to the Botanical Gardens at the University of Bologna — oldest University in the world. The gardens seem hot and depressed. Liz thought hers was the Garden of Tough Love (“if you can survive in my garden, you can stay”) but clearly, Bologna is the real Garden of Tough Love.
On the walk home, we see a burned-up car and 5 incinerated motorcycles, to add to our collection of Unexplained But Interesting.
After our daily nap and escape from the heat, we emerge to find food. After a lovely al fresco meal of Ravioli with Butter and Sage (ravioli con burro e salvia) and tortellini with prosciutto and cream sauce, a stop at Piazza Maggiore gives us a wireless connection. We find 3 chairs (priceless) and sit for a moment, but then are tossed out. “Chiuso!” So we sit on the warm pavement to upload photos and send email messages home. Liz is accompanied by a fellow emailer, who appears to be both a mime and a Ryan Air employee. Possible? A Mime/Pilot? Think about it, Nick….
We left Minneapolis at 3:25ish, after a slight delay due to an Indian woman’s anxiety attack. After her husband’s pleas for either a roomier seat or anxiety drugs were rubuffed, they left, and the baggage handlers had to rummage through and “deplane” their bags. Arrived Amsterdam 11 p.m. Minneapolis time/7 a.m. Amsterdam time. Arrived Bologna 11:30 a.m. We took the autobus, which would not stop to let us off at the hotel, to the train station where we promptly caught a cab to go back to Albergo Panorama. We slept for a few hours — heaven. hot. swallows whistling relentlessly outside the window. Then our first stroll through Bologna, and a stop for pizza and vino at Ciro Pizzeria. On to Piazza Maggiore for people-watching and the only breeze in the city. Everyone is out, always. Despite the heat, the women wear fashionable boots and skinny jeans.
A beautiful drive through the mountains took us to the charming arts-colony town of Spoleto. Famous for the Spoleto international arts festival, Spoleto also offered to us a hotel OUTSIDE the wall of the historic center, WITH a parking space (yay). We checked in to the Hotel Clarici, then spent two days exploring. The Museum of Costume and Textile was worth a visit, but also under construction so we couldn’t see it all. Check out the shoes from the 1700s. We toured one of many churches, and saw ancient confessionals, sacred art, and a Fra Fillipo Lippi. After a midday tour of the Rocca, the immense fort that overlooks all of Spoleto, we stopped for lunch at the hilltop bar/cafe. Mike had the panini. Liz ordered tagliere because she thought it was pasta — but no! Tagliere just means “cut up pieces,” so we split our “cut up pieces” of cheese, bruschetta, salsiccia, et al. Although we were hoping to visit the Spoleto museum, which occupies the fort, we couldn’t. It was closed. We are still unable to puzzle out the Italian system for hours of business. Are there any?
Off to L’Aquila, the capital city of Abruzzo, founded by the Hohenstaufen Emperor Frederick II if you care about these things. We arrived in time for market day, where we could choose between fruit and pajamas, vegetables and copper pots, kitchen towels and calipers, or the latest fashions from Milan (sort of). A tour of the Castello, the historic fort that guards this town, brought us to the Museo Nazionale d’Abruzzo, which holds the greatest treasures from the region, including many Etruscan pieces, coins from Etruscan, Roman and Medieval periods, sacred art, and a big ol’ mastodon-type thingie (except twice as big). Viewing the sacred art through the years was an interesting study in seeing how long it took artists to begin depicting the infant Jesus as a baby. In most early works, he appears as a miniature man. As the years wear on, he becomes more baby-like. We particularly like, however, the painting showing a dubious-looking Joseph off to the side, giving Jesus the hairy eyeball. Joseph doesn’t look too sure.
There’s much to explore in the province of Abruzzo, which isn’t a tourist mecca, but should be. We plotted a loop that would last us the day. First to Prestocostanzo, a little-visited Abruzzese hilltown. Of course, we took the requisite door pictures. Then on to Pescaseroli, with a stop at the Lago Barrea for fresh air and pictures. (The mountain switchbacks are a bit intense). A typical Italian lunch (e.g. delicious), and off to Scanno, which we’d never heard of, but occupied just the right spot on the map. The mountains are lovely and dotted with sheep. We scared up a shepherd, relaxing in his yellow slicker alongside the ditch. We’ve seen a thousand hill towns, but Scanno may be the loveliest yet — steep, steep streets, no two doors alike (many homes have a main door, and then a lower “death” door, built long ago as the designated exit for dead bodies). The Scanno streets are filled with children, playing, riding bicycles, taking a moment, just enjoying life. Check out the sixteen sacred statues, all crammed into a tiny grotto-like church and viewable through a window. On a return trip, Scanno will definitely be on the “stay-over” itinerary. But then came the road from Scanno back to Sulmona. Double eek. At the last, we caught a beekeeper tending his hives. We left after being interrupted by two gentlemen who pulled over for the ubiquitous Italian public wizz.
We love Sulmona! We returned here because of our love for it ten years ago. We found a great place to stay right in the old town at Hotel Stella and the prop. Roberto Bono used his best English to give us special attention and good advice. Our room was spotless and the coffee bar (also breakfast area) is beautiful with many local, modern art pieces hanging. Sulmona, birthplace of the poet Ovid, is famous for it’s candied almonds, which are called Confetti, and formed into intricate flowers, bouquets, grape clusters, and more. Every night, the entire town comes out to stroll, shop, argue politics, and smoke.
