30th Sept 2015
Verona brightens
up an otherwise boring drive
The target today
was Modena, but we planned to stop in Verona on the way because it is said to
be almost as beautiful as Rome and was so important in the days of the Roman
Empire (thus its name piccolo Roma – Little Rome) – And it has the “Juliet
balcony”, as in “Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou ?”. It was cool this morning – Not quite the
clear sunshiny day we were expecting from the forecast, but then it wasn’t raining
! So after packing up, doing some last minute banking on the internet, and
filling up our water tank, we set of down the narrow road along the edge of
Lago di Garda.
It was quite a
pleasant and scenic drive, but one can only imagine what it must be like in
July or August when all the apartments, hotels, and camp sites are full. Right now, most of them are closed for the
winter and the wooden or metal shutters closed against the winter winds off the
lake. So we were a little surprised when
we arrived in a little town called Lazise and found it absolutely jam packed
with cars parked everywhere, and obvious tourists wandering around. Then we saw walls of an old city, and an old
square with a market in full swing (on a Wednesday), and then we saw a supermarket
and pulled in to do a shop as we were very low on supplies. While parking we chatted to a German couple
who came over to ask about our trip, and found out that there is in fact a big
wine festival here for the next several days – This explaining the crowds. So we did a shop and moved on – We wanted to
get to Verona.
Down at the
southern end, the lake widens to a good 20 kms or more across, and looks more
like the ocean as you drive along beside it.
We turned eastwards soon after Lazise,
Once parked and
back on the surface, we were just a 2 minute walk from the main square – The
Piazza Bra, where the Arena is located. This is a pink marble Roman
Amphitheatre that was built in the 1st Century AD, and now serves as
Verona’s Opera House. The 3rd
largest Roman Amphitheatre in existence, it once seated 20,000 people, and is
well preserved except that an earthquake in the 12th Century
destroyed much of the outer walls.
Something was obviously planned there next weekend because big trucks
were everywhere setting up seating etc.
After wandering
around the outside of the Arena, we set off down the Via Anfiteatro for about 4
blocks until we came to the Via Cappello where we turned left, and at No 23 is
Casa di Giulietta (Juliet’s House). The story
may be fictional, but the balcony is there, and also a bronze statue of Juliet
who left breast you are supposed to rub for good luck (?!). After looking at
all the love graffiti in the archway, we moved on to the Piazza delle Elbe
which was originally the site of a Roman Forum, and is till a lively centre of
the city today, although the somewhat tacky tourist stalls in the middle
detract somewhat from its beauty. But
there are some magnificent buildings around the square, not least the Palazzo
Maffei, and the frescoed Casa Mazzanti – A former residence of the della Scala
family.
Passing through
the Arco della Costa one passes under a whale rib bone which, legend says, will
fall on the first “just” person who passes underneath it – Several Popes have
passed under it and none have had the whale bone fall on them ! Past the arch one finds the Piazza dei
Signorini with a state of Dante, and to the side the distinctive 12th
Century Torre dei Lamberti. Also in the square is the Loggia del Consiglio, the
former city council building, and regarded as Verona’s finest Renaissance
structure. It is attached to the Palazzo degli Scaligeri, once the main
residence of the della Scala family.
Then through the ivy covered archway are the elaborate tombs of the
della Scala family .
There is quite a
lot to see in Verona, and we could easily spend the whole day here, wandering
around, stopping for a coffee, and just enjoying a beautiful old city. But we are off to Modena and then Rome, so
the rest of Verona will have to wait till next time – We have seen what we came
to see. On the way back to the Arena,
we passed an amazing Gelataria which Janet decided was just what she needed
since we had not yet had lunch and it was past 2 pm – and it turned out the
owner was from Argentina / Patagonia !
Since I had my Argentine T shirt on today, we had a good laugh about
that and then sauntered off down the street enjoying an excellent ice cream –
Yes, I enjoyed some too !!
Back to the car
park, squeeze out of the car park without hitting the roof, and head out of
Verona – Once again, a very easy city to get in and out of. Before long we were
on our way down the B road to Modena – And it was the most BORING and
industrial region we have passed through in a long time. Suffice it to say I did not even bother to
pick up my camera until the sign for Modena came up ! By this time it was past 5 pm, and I was
pooped from driving on such a mindless road.
We found the first campsite we could and parked, right on the outskirts
of Modena, ready to explore in the morning.
I have to say
this – Italians are different. They have
had civilization since forever, with Etruscans building cities BC, and then the
Romans coming along with Roman Baths and heating and all the other civilized
things they did. Then there was the
Renaissance in the 14th and 15th centuries. But for some reason, it has all fallen apart
in the 20th and 21st centuries. There is graffiti every
where, and a lot of very visible rubbish everywhere – tyres and big bags of
rubbish just dumped in laybys. Then we
get to the beautiful camp site at Lago di Garda, with beautiful views and
amenities – Except they don’t put seats on the toilet bowls or loo paper in
there. And tonight, in Modena, where
Pavarotti hails from, and Ferrari, Maserati, Bugatti, Lamborghini and De Tomaso
all help to make this one of the most affluent cities in the country, what do
we find for toilets ? Squat pots
!!! Not a toilet in sight, let alone a
toilet seat. Really, in some regards, I
think this place is going backwards !!
However, I should admit that on this occasion there is PLENTY of paper
in the loos – Just no where to sit !!
I wonder what we
will find (or maybe not find) in the next camp site !!
Isn’t life fun ?
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