I went to Italy on Sat 29 August 2009 for a fortnight, mainly to do an
Italian language course at a language school in Bologna. I flew to Venice
Marco Polo airport, and stayed 1 night in Mestre (on the mainland), using Sunday
to visit Venice before travelling on to Bologna by train late Sunday afternoon.
Accommodation had been arranged through the school, and consisted of a room
in a shared flat about 15 mins' walk from the school. It was relatively
cheap (£20/night) but the flat was grubby, bare and gloomy. I only saw 3
cockroaches (killed 2 of 'em!) so I suppose I should be grateful; however, there
was a problem with noise from one of the other guys in the flat. Next time
I'll cough up for a hotel.
Classes were 09:00-12:40, Mon-Fri. In addition, there were some guided
tours and social evenings arranged. Good teaching, nice people.
Other students mostly young (and female) and from just about everywhere,
especially Japan and Poland but also Austria, Nicaragua, Germany, Korea ...
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View of the Alps at sunset. |
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Graffito |
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Seen in Mestre on day 1. |
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Canal Grande from the steps of the station, Venice. |
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The contrast when stepping from the inside of the station - same as any old, normal, bustling railway station - to this, just has to be experienced. |
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Canal Grande from Ponte Degli Scalze |
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Just in front of the station! |
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Another beautiful building |
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.. seen wandering through Venice on a very hot day.
I think that was an incorrectly used hanging participle. |
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Many of the canals are very narrow. |
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Piazza San Marco. |
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Tower fell down in about 1910. There's an amazing photo of it collapsing. This is therefore a reconstruction. |
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Bologna - scuola "Cultura Italiana" - la classe |
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Bologna - Fontana del Nettuno. |
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Neptune himself, in all his, er, glory. |
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Fontana del Nettuno again. |
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No comment. |
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Inner courtyard of the Palazzo Communale. |
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This building was started in 1287. Bologna is full of beautiful buildings of an age far greater than almost anything in England. |
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Alessandro's tour - Giovedi 20 Agosto |
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One of the tutors took us on a guided tour: "Curiosita e belleze nascoste nel centro di Bologna". |
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Alessandro's tour. |
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In the 1100s and 1200s property owners were taxed according to how much ground their buildings occupied. Consequently, they built the higher storeys outwards! |
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Alessandro's tour |
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Rich householders liked to have their family emblems carved on their houses - in this case, an elephant. |
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Alessandro's tour. |
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Underneath another ancient (1100s) portico, with two language students from Portugal. |
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Alessandro's tour |
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Even Bologna has some canals .. of which more later! |
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Alessandro's tour. |
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Some of the other students. |
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Trip to Ferrara. |
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(Half an hour by train from Bologna.) These stone lions (?) were in front of the cattedrale, built 1135-1300AD. I remember it was another scorching day. |
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Ferrara. |
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Castello Estense, a fortress begun in 1385AD and later the residence of the Este family. |
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Ferrara: the massive walls of Castello Estense. |
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In the 1400s, the Este ruler Nicolo III discovered his young wife Parisina and a son of his by another woman, Ugo, were lovers. He had them imprisoned in the Castello before they were both beheaded.
Just thought I'd share that with you. |
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Ferrara - outside the Museo del Risorgimento. |
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(This museo not in the guide book or on the pianta. In Palazzo dei Diamanti on Corso Ercole d'Este. Weapons, uniforms, documents from C19.) |
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Spedizione sotterranea |
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When I met Maria (right) and Ulrike for our guided underground boat trip in Bologna, I asked "where is it?" and they pointed to the manhole! |
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Spedizione sotterranea |
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Ulrike (right) and Maria were fellow language students. (Thanks to Ulrike for this photo.) |
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Spedizione sotterranea |
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The intrepid explorer. (Thanks to Ulrike for this photo.) |
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Spedizione sotterranea |
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Vanishing again into the darkness on Bologna's underground Canale delle Moline. |
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Spedizione sotterranea |
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The trips are run by local organisation Vitruvio (http://www.vitruvio.emr.it/) and cost 10euro. The 1st half is in inflatable boat. The tunnel roof is very low, hence the helmets. (Thanks to Ulrike for this photo too!) |
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Spedizione sotterranea |
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Sometimes the canal emerges into daylight .. |
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Spedizione sotterranea |
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The second half of the trip is on foot alongside the artificial channel provided for a stream. A guide supplies copious information in rapid Italian. I gathered that there is acqua bianca and acqua nera; to judge from the pong, some of the latter has got into the stream. |
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Bologna - Torre degli Asinelli |
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The taller of the two famous towers, built in 1119. In those days well-to-do families went in for competitive tower building. This tower's companion, Torre Garisenda, began leaning precariously and the top half was lopped off in 1360. |
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Portico to Santuario della Madonna di San Luca |
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This portico (built from 1674-1793) winds 4km up the hill to the church, SW of the city. |
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Santuario della Madonna di San Luca |
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Shame about the ugly water tower. |
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Giro in campagna |
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Nothing special to see here - just to record a half-day spent in the Apennines (Piandisetta - Grizzana Morandi, about 50mins S of Bologna by train). |
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View of Bologna from San Michele in Bosco |
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A hospital set in an old convent, S of the city. |
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San Michele in Bosco |
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Wooden carving in the church. |
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San Michele in Bosco |
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Wooden sculpture in the church. Trip was organised by the school. |
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San Michele in Bosco |
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Atrium (is that the right word?) of the old convent. Strange to walk around a hospital! Patients out of sight, though. |
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Torre degli Asinelli - view |
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Just had to climb the tower, despite the heat! 500 steps. This is a view from the top: of the Santuario della Madonna di San Luca. |
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Torre degli Asinelli - view |
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And a view down towards the Piazza Maggiore. The building with a portico is the Palazzo Communale, housing a public library (air-conditioned - nice!) and Museo Morandi (gallery holding the eponymous artist's still-life paintings - rather dry, I thought). On the left is the Basilica di San Petronio. This is reportedly very beautiful inside, but I forgot to visit it! |
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Ravenna |
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Tower of the old church of San Vitale. San Vitale is an ancient octagonal church, built 525-548AD during the twilight of the Roman empire. It holds some remarkable mosaics ... |
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Ravenna |
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I think this mosaic is the portrait of the Emperor Justinian, whom Cadogan's guide book describes as having "the air of a hung-over saxophone player, badly in need of a shave and a cup of coffee". |
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Ravenna |
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Famous mosaic of Theodora, the "dancing girl from Constantinople who used her many talents to become empress" (Cadogan again). |
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Ravenna |
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Mosaics on the celing of the church of San Vitale. |
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Ravenna |
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Shot of the interior of San Vitale. I had to process this one using PhotoEditor even more than usual - it really was gloomy inside the church. |
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Ravenna |
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This final photograph is of a mosaic pavement in the church of San Francesco (near Dante's tomb) which is now submerged under eight feet of water, in which swims a shoal of goldfish.
Fine |
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