Loading...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.
