Hello Readers!
I am writing now from Venice in the last days of my trip to northern Italy.
Italy is so different from Germany. It is an interesting place, and yet another corner of the world that I’ve fallen in love with. This country has not ceased to astonish me, nor have its citizens. It is a place that in many ways has remained untouched for centuries (unlike many of its European counterparts), making it an interesting fusion of old-world tradition and modern influence. Italy is full of out-of-this-world sights, sounds, smells, and tastes to take in, and I set out with a plan to do so with as many as possible.
I began my journey in Trento. Li You (a Chinese friend of mine) and I arrived in this medium-sized city, after twelve long hours of travel by both plane and train. With all this traveling, you may be wondering, “Why Trento?” The answer is that this picturesque spot nestled between the mountains was not just an ordinary tourist attraction for me, as it may be for others. It happens to be the temporary home and study city of one of my best friends from high school, Raffaello (“Raffa” for short). After five long years I was finally getting the chance to reunite with him, and meet some of his friends, too.
I can’t properly put into words how it feels to reconnect with someone who has filled such an important role in your life, but it was amazing. Initially I was excited, but cautious. So much has changed in five years. We both have started college, made new friends, kept some old, and lost others. We have both been through major ups and downs, and we have definitely experienced a lot more since our year together at Keystone Oaks High School. My dad, whose wisdom I have already pointed out in a previous post, once said that your best friends are the ones that you can meet up with years down the line, and with which you can pick up as if you parted only yesterday. All I can really say is that for one of the very few times in my life, this occurred, and it really amazed me.
Once Li You and I were settled in, we began to get to know Raffa’s flat mates, Fabio and Carloalberto (or “Ca”). These were the first of many new friends to be made in Trento, the list of which I will not make, as there are too many, and I’m sure to forget at least one. These days in Trento were really amazing. I ate my first real Italian pizza, drank my first real Italian Spritz (a delicious mix of Prosecco, Aperol, sometimes Mineral Water, and an orange or lemon slice), and rode my first cable car. Trento was a true feast for the senses, and below is just one example of the many gorgeous sights in there, a view of one of the mountains peeking through a street from the Piazza Duomo.
After several days of living with Raffa, Fabio, and Ca, I was not so thrilled to leave. We had spent many hours getting to know each other, trading tongue twisters in various languages, and talking about whatever else came up. I felt very at home, and wasn’t sure that the rest of the trip would really hold up to what I had experienced at the start of it. Granted, I was headed off to Verona and Venice (two cities with great reputations and lots to see), but Trento and the people there had made such a lasting impression, that I wasn’t sure.
After the goodbyes, we lugged our stuff onto the train, found seats, and two hours later, Li You and I had arrived in Verona, the home of Shakespeare’s famous “Romeo & Juliet”. A friend we made in Osnabrück, Rudi, met us at the train station. He was kind enough to allow us to stay at his place, and guide us to some of the more famous landmarks in this city, much more chaotic than Trento.
In our short time there, we visited Juliet’s balcony, the Castello Vecchio (the most castle-y looking castle I’ve seen since arriving in Europe), and the old Roman Ampitheater (pictured below), which is used for operas in the summer. Though we fit a lot into our time there, it was a very relaxing three days, which provided much needed rest for our four plus days to follow in Venice.
What I concluded from my little bit of time there is that Verona is a beautiful city, which has many qualities people associate with Italy; sun-lit Piazzas, narrow streets with crazy drivers, high fashion, and tons of food laden with cheese, fresh vegetables, and cured meats. That being said, it isn’t as stereotypical as it may seem. It definitely has its own personality, a vibrant one, which I enjoyed thoroughly during my stay.
Once our time in Verona was finished, we moved on to Venice. Venice is a city of surprises. The whole place is like a maze. By the grace of God, we found our hotel, after a few wrong turns, and some helpful directions from several locals.
We spent our first day visiting Venice’s three most famous islands, Murano, Burano, and Torcello. These three islands are all very well known for different reasons. Each one is known for a particular trade or quality. Murano is the home to the famous Venetian glass-blowing tradition. Burano is the city’s famous lace-production center, and Torcello is known for its 7th century church (a tribute to the city’s early Byzantine Catholic influence).
We began our tour of the islands on Murano. Murano is an interesting place, overflowing with independent glass-working firms. We stopped into one that caught our interest, and were treated to a wonderful surprise. I had read online that many small glass-blowing companies will show you their production facilities if you ask. I made sure to do so, and we were granted permission to go into the back of one particular firm, and see several masters doing what they “study at least ten years to do, based on the amount of natural ability”. Below is a picture of a man working on a glass leaf for a Venetian chandelier. It was absolutely amazing to see, and we stayed for about ten minutes, just watching the three-man team do what they do best.
After Murano we took the ferry to Burano. Burano was interesting to say the least. Due to a lot of work on the island’s sidewalks, it was half-covered in wooden walkways that made it sort of hard to access. It was unfortunate, and paired with the fact that the town was pretty dead - as many people were taking middle-of-the-day breaks - it felt sort of bizarre. We did, however, enjoy the hundreds of very brightly colored houses that the island is so known for.
Once we had had our fill of Burano, we moved on to Torcello, the third island, which was my immediate favorite. This island is much less over-built. It is the home to what various sources will say is between 20 and 30,000 thousand citizens. (I tend to air on the side of the first, after seeing it, but who knows.) It is also the home to a beautiful old church complex, supposedly built up by Byzantine Catholics after they fled to this island from the encroaching forces of Attila the Hun. It’s an amazing place, fairly untouched by time. The people raise/grow their own food, and live what seem to be very simple lives. It was a very nice end to our first day in Venice, and from what we saw that day, we knew we were in for many more surprises and awe-inspiring moments.
On our second day, we decided to wander around the city. Many tourists are horrified of getting lost in this giant maze of a city. Many seasoned tourists will recommend getting lost once or twice, though, as that’s how you find many beautiful and unexpected things. Below is just one shot from our second day. Most of the streets have some sort of bridge that provides a similar view to this one, which adds to the beauty (and confusion) of the city. While lost, we stumbled on the Ponte Rialto (something that most people would say is hard to stumble upon). The most famous bridge in Venice, and one of the only four to span the Canale Grande, it is a two-part bridge with a center area full of shops on both sides, and other side that looks onto the Grand Canal in its splendor. It was absolutely amazing, and though in the end we were lost for a while, our second day of wandering made for a simple, but very fulfilling day.
The third day was reserved for everyone’s first thought of Venice, St. Mark’s Cathedral. This cathedral is absolutely the most beautiful thing I have ever laid my eyes upon. The whole ceiling, halfway down the walls even, is a mosaic with many of the saints and angels. Also impressive are the Pala d’Oro (a decorative plate of gold about 1x2 meter with the engravings of the apostles and the Virgin Mary), the church’s treasury (full of relics of various saints, old items found in the church store rooms, and other items collected for the ancient world), and the terrace (where you can get a view of St. Mark’s Square from the top of the church).
After the very impressive sights of St. Mark’s, we entered the bell tower next to it, and rode the elevator 60 meters up to see all of Venice. It was breathtaking. You really could see everything, and it was made even better with the afternoon sun shining on all of it.
Just an Aside: As I write this, it seems like I can condense all of our days into such short paragraphs. We really did a whole lot more than it seems. We wandered around, and saw a million things, and I just want to clarify that, as I feel that my short explanations are diminishing the power of all of things we saw and experienced.
The last day was by far the best. Raffa rode the train to Venice in the morning, and Li You, he and I went around the city seeing things that we had completely missed in our time prior. He showed us where we could take a fifty-cent gondola ride (one of the scariest things I’ve done in a while), a church that was cut in half in order to construct a rode for easier access to St. Mark’s Square, and the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari or “Frari”, a very impressive church that was the home to a very large monastery and all of the city records from the Republic of Venice. In addition to its other impressive contents, it is also the place where the famous artist Titian is buried.
Later that afternoon, we were joined by several of the friend that Li You and I had made in Venice. We spent the time going around, where we saw the house of Marco Polo, an old slab noting a “new” Venetian law, the place where Richard Wagner died, and many other cool little things that would have been lost to Li You and I had we not been with Italians to recognize them. It was an amazing time, and a wonderful way to end our time in Venice.
At the end of my time in Italy, I have realized that while several stereotypes are true (the over-abundance of hospitality, the wonderful food, and the accordion players scattered throughout the streets), the ones that are in fact real are incredibly positive. Italy is not just a land of designer shades and pizza. While those may be common, Italy is more a country of immense warmth and hospitality; a place where you can be meeting someone one day and be carrying on with them the next as if you’ve known them for years; a rare spot where, outside your home, you can generally kick back and soak in all the good things that life has to offer you.
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