Leaving the hotel, I was happy to discover that we were close to the Church of Saint Euphemia which meant we were close to the mosaics of Via D’Azeglio or the Carpets of Stone. The Carpets of Stone are a recent discovery and I had read about them in a Fodors Forum. The carpets are from a small palace and consist of fourteen rooms and three courtyards. Basically you go into the basement of this church and you walk around on raised platforms and look down upon Ancient Roman linoleum. The preservation was amazing and it was interesting to see these “everyday” mosaics in comparison to the more reverent we were seeing everywhere else.

We were pretty hungry after the Carpets and headed toward the restaurant that our lovely innkeeper had recommended. Unfortunately, many businesses are closed on Thursdays in Ravenna. We quickly found another place and Eric ordered the cappelletti with ragu and I the gnocchi with gorgonzola and walnuts. Eric’s was the best pasta I’ve ever had and he graciously let me steal often from his plate.

After lunch we walked back toward the train station and to the Basilica S. Apollaire Nuovo. The mosaics here, while plentiful and vivid, not quite as affecting as those we had just seen. They line the nave of the church, on one side everyone is lined up to crown Jesus, on the other Mary. I particularly enjoyed sitting in the quiet courtyard waiting for Eric to use the bathroom. The light in Ravenna was palpable and seemed to leap over the walls like a child hiding from his brother. Also, there were many interesting plants I’ve never seen, I’d love to go back in the summer and see everything green.

The best way to view the pictures (in my opinion) is to click on the first one which opens a larger view, then click Next in that new window. This way you can also read the captions.

By the time we reached Galla Placidia, we had seen many depictions of the blue sky with golden stars. The motif is all over the place in Padova: the Scrovegni Chapel, the Piano Nobile of the Caffe Pedrocchi, even the upholstery of the seats on the city’s trams. I can’t help but think they were all ripping off Galla Placidia, the tomb built by Galla herself between 425-450 AD. Galla was the sister of the Emperor Honorius who moved the capital of the Western Roman Empire to Ravenna.

The mosaics of Galla Placidia are blue and red with the most inky blues saved for the dome, done in midnight with gold stars and a cross shimmering through. I couldn’t help but think about the preoccupation with the starry sky I had seen so often in these 2 days and inevitably I thought of O Holy Night. It’s a quiet thought that seems to pervade best in the intimate spaces of the dim tomb where you feel almost that it is night and you are under the stars and by some miracle you see the cross in the dark above you. It’s so close you think you can touch it, but you can’t. You feel it though, the smallness and the reference of the idea of the sanctity of night. Galla Placidia is truly a special place.

Here are Eric’s thoughts at the time:

There aren’t really words that can describe the mosaics at Ravenna. The colors, detail, vibrancy and immediacy after 1500 are simply astounding. Galla Placidia was the most remarkable. A small mausoleum covered in mosaics representing different saints, prophets and early Christian themes, it has, on its roof a mosaic of blue sky with shimmering gold stars and gold cross at the center with the animals symbolising the four evangelists at the corners. For reasons I can’t really explain, it was enormously affecting, almost bringing me to tears. One of the most incredible things I have ever seen.

After leaving Galla Placidia, we went back to our bed & breakfast of the same name to officially check in. We were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the room but didn’t stay long. There were more mosaics out there and at this point we were on a mission.

The best way to view the pictures (in my opinion) is to click on the first one which opens a larger view, then click Next in that new window. This way you can also read the captions.

We arrived in Ravenna after our longest train trip. The train from Padova to Ferrara was packed, as it was continuing on to Roma. We changed at Ferrara for an almost entirely empty train whose sole purpose seemed only to connect the cities of Ferrara and Ravenna. After arriving, we dragged our bags across the difficult cobblestones to our bed and breakfast. Ravenna was the biggest test of our Samonsite rolling luggage, it was tough, but those little wheels survived what felt like dragging them over the Dolomites.

The Basilica of San Vitale was one block from our Bed & Breakfast. We dropped our bags off and walked over. The Basilica was consecrated in 548 AD and is laid out in an octagonal style reminiscent of the East. There are two different styles at play that you notice when you walk in to San Vitale. The dome ceiling and the niches are painted in frescoes from 1780. Then you step in a little further, and see the apse decorated in the 1,500 year old mosaics. It is an interesting dichotomy.

Walking into San Vitale was one of those eerie monument moments. I’ve had a few of them in my life: the first time I walked into Notre Dame in Paris, listening to vespers at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. It was morning and we were virtually alone, the sun shone through the windows in solid blocks of yellow illumination. Someone was up above practicing on the organ. In those moments I always feel like I’m alone, like I’m experiencing something close to what these buildings were designed for. It’s hard to explain, my skin starts to get goose-pimply.

Anyway, San Vitale was one of those moments. I can’t describe, and neither does my camera lens do justice to, the colors in these mosaics. The bright green, gold, reds and blues. The details were so abundant that my neck still hurts from trying to catalog them all. There is the beardless Christ sitting on a big blue ball (yoga, maybe?). There is the bright green garden at his feet with the animals and the birds. There are peacocks, lambs, flowers everywhere. I tried to slow down. I tried to remember to stop looking through my camera lens and look through my eyes. I tried to pretend that I could sketch and tried to think about what I would draw if I could, make my eyes follow the lines and take in every detail. It was a moment that I needed to be present in because I knew that memory or my jpeg files would never truly represent the impact. Even trying to describe it all now seems futile.

Color is emotional for most people, but I’ve always been particularly moved by colors. I am drawn to mosaics for exactly that reason, the pure vibrancy of color. It was hard not to stand in the apse of San Vitale with my head craned and not tear up. All the green, it’s as if it shot through my eyeballs and tickled my brain. That’s the best I can do to describe it, if you want more, go there yourself! (No really, go there.)

Here’s more.

The best way to view the pictures (in my opinion) is to click on the first one which opens a larger view, then click Next in that new window. This way you can also read the captions.

Verona lays itself out along the Adige River quite nicely. The bridges that take you across give you romantic views in every direction. After the Roman Theatre, we made our way across the river on foot this time, back to the main Piazzas and our hotel. Along the way we stopped at Sant’ Anastasia mostly to see the Gobbi- little goblin carvings that hold up the holy-water fonts. Unfortunately the inside of Anastasia was under heavy renovation scaffolding, and were only able to see one of the Gobbi.

Next it was back to the hotel for some serious foot soaking. After that and a shoe switch, it was back to the marble sidewalks and on to Ristorante Greppia. Here is my post about dinner, which I’ll also quote below:

OK, so may of you seemed concerned about the horse. I too was worried. The restaurant we went to that night in Verona only had cavallo on the Italian language menu, it was missing from the English version. But, what they did have which was almost as bad was a rolling cart of boiling meat. Thank God they didn’t roll that sucker out until after I had eaten. Eric narrated for me, as the cart was behind me but apparently they pulled a tongue out and sliced it for the table. The smell alone was enough to finish me off.

Fortunately, prior to the rolling cart of smelly simmering manzo, I enjoyed very much my tortellini in broth and my ravioli. Eric got the gnocchi (which was the bast gnocchi I ever tasted, they served it in mascarpone cheese on radicchio). For  his secondi, he got fish mush on polenta (which is also a kind of mush)…

After dinner we strolled around Verona under the full moon. It’s difficult to find a bad side of Verona, sure the bus system is confusing and the marble sidewalks maim the high-arched among us, but day or night, up-close or far away this is one city that deserves to be called romantic. And not because of Romeo and Juliet- I would argue that’s a play more about hormones than love- but because of the quiet squares, the balconies, the faded paintings on all the buildings. I’m not exactly sure why, but it stimulates that part of your brain that wants to reach out for your partner’s hand, slow down a little, and sigh.

The best way to view the pictures (in my opinion) is to click on the first one which opens a larger view, then click Next in that new window. This way you can also read the captions.

If, for some reason, I haven’t convinced you that the details of Verona aren’t stunning, let me try some more. Maybe warm colors, romantic frescoes and lonely balconies don’t really do it for you. Maybe San Zeno Maggiore in all it’s big Italian church glory left your brain a little muddled. All those frescoes, all that sculpture can start to numb you a bit.

Let me make one last push though, come with me on a confusing bus ride across the river. Unfortunately we’ll go past our stop, but we get off in time to walk back, not too far to the Roman Theatre. But that’s not even it, yes what amazing preservation, look at the stage area, imagine the Furies streaking across the stage. Now, let’s climb the steep steps to the top of the theatre, into the old monastery and then into a small elevator to take us even higher up the hill.

We’re not there yet, first let’s at least make an attempt in the Museo Archeologico: interesting sculpture, beautiful Roman mosaics, quiet courtyards with ivied porticoes, even a fresco in a chapel- fabulous. But, we’re still not there, don’t give up hope, it’s just there through the doors, when you’re almost done and you think you’re headed for the exit- there, through the trees: Verona lies before you in all it’s late afternoon glory. The spires of churches peek through the tiled roofs and you’re confident that no matter how close or how far away, Verona is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Convinced?

The best way to view the pictures (in my opinion) is to click on the first one which opens a larger view, then click Next in that new window. This way you can also read the captions.

San Fermo Maggiore is an interesting church. There is the part you see when you walk in, built in the 13th century, covered in frescoes and ornate like any good Italian church should be. Then there is the part downstairs, the quiet and cold Romanesque church built in 1095. The downstairs church is more subtle, muted colors and simple arches with flowers painted on them.

Verona was the stop on our trip that we hadn’t really planned what to see. It was like this pleasant blank spot in the middle of our trip- Verona will be relaxing, I thought to myself. We’ll see a few sights, have some good food. Don’t be lured into that Verona trap, she’s seductive, you get there and you start walking around and suddenly you’re hooked. Suddenly you’re going in to every church you pass and you’re looking at your map to find the next one. We had a list of three or four things we “would like” to see in Verona when we arrived, we ended up rushing around to ten.

San Fermo was one of those not planned but glad I saw. I learned something about myself during this trip. I love frescoes. And the more faded and half-peeling off the better. There is nothing more evocative than an old fading fresco.

Anyway, on to the Arena with a quick stop for a kebab in what must be doner kebab alley-we could have chosen from about 6 different establishments. I’ve now eaten kebab (or what we would probably call gyro) in a few different countries and this is the first one that came stuffed with french fries and mayonnaise on a hamburger bun. But it was yummy and cheap and we sat on a bench in the Piazza Bra by the fountain with the Arena before us and children chasing pigeons around it. The best 3 euro lunch I ever had. Here’s my post about Verona and the Roman artifacts that I wrote at the time.

Marble sidewalks really hurt, that’s the other thing I learned in Verona. We hoofed over to Castelvecchio- the imposing medieval castle built along the Adige river between 1355-1375. The Scaligero Bridge is recently restored after being blown up by retreating Nazis in the 40’s. They actually dredged the river for the bricks and used them to rebuild. I don’t know the official name of the architectural element that decorates most of the palaces of Verona- that open claw, fish mouth or whatever you want to call it that lines the tops of the buildings. But I like it, whatever it is. 

The best way to view the pictures (in my opinion) is to click on the first one which opens a larger view, then click Next in that new window. This way you can also read the captions.

The Piazza dei Signori was one of my favorites, despite the hordes of invading young people. The piazza must get it’s name from the statues of men everywhere, from Dante’s prime spot in the middle of the square to all the little sculptures perched on the tops of the buildings. The Loggia del Consiglio was one of the most simply elegant buildings I’ve ever seen.

As far as Juliet’s house, I refer you to Eric’s post at the time, which I’m quoting below. Despite the farce, it’s a lovely little balcony on a lovely little house.

Shakespeare wasn’t exactly known for his field research. Since he never came out this way, it’s a pretty well acknowledged fact that Verona’s popular “House of Juliet” is just a pretty little house from the 13th Century with a balcony large enough to believably play a scene from and a courtyard to sneak around and hide in. That all being said, the place has a tremendous draw- especially for lovers and giggling Chinese school girls. So- when you go, you’re not really going to see the house of Juliet, you’re going to see that place that you’ve seen on travel shows and that all those other people have gone to. It’s a great little post-modern vortex and a cool photo-op all wrapped up in one- the perfect travel moment. 

After, we went down to the Porta Leoni, one of the remaining Roman artifacts. Right next to the Porta is a section of the street that has been opened up to show the remnants of a Roman building that were discovered not long ago.

The best way to view the pictures (in my opinion) is to click on the first one which opens a larger view, then click Next in that new window. This way you can also read the captions.