ITALY PART TWO
TO FLORENCE (Thursday-Sunday)
We’re heading to Florence and staying at an AirBnB not too far from the train station. We’ll arrive Thursday and be there through midday on Sunday. The things we want to see are the usual suspects of Florence’s art and architecture: the Uffizi Gallery, Accademia, Bargello, Duomo, Baptistery, Santa Maria Novella, Brancacci Chapel, Boboli Gardens. Bird’s eye views of the city are always a plus. We’ll likely visit Piazzale Michelangelo for photo ops! I last went to Florence right after high school, and I loved it. That was before I studied Art History and became a medievalist, so I want to soak up all that stuff!
Tuscany
For our second week, Eliza and I will go our separate ways. I’m heading to a Writers’ Retreat at a Tuscan villa about half an hour from Florence, where we’ll also have side trips to Siena and probably San Gimignano. The retreat is all week, a total splurge, and I hope it will be inspiring!
This will be home for a week!
Eliza will be going to Lucca for a couple of days, and then to Siena. Either of those is about an hour away from where I’ll be. It will be funny if we happen to be in Siena or San Gimignano on the same day. She’ll be flying home from Rome at the end of the week, as her school break is over.
Week Three: Northern Italy
So, this is where my trip gets into places I haven’t seen with specific sites I’ve been wanting to visit for years!
After the retreat, I’m heading to northern Italy and the Veneto region, where I’ll make Vicenza my home base. It’s about 2.5 hours on the train from Florence. I had an internal debate about which town to stay in, and Vicenza won, partly due to its Palladian architecture and partly because I think it will be less touristy than somewhere like Verona. This is the only time I’m doing an AirBnB that is a homestay, because I actually think it might be interesting and “local”.
So, why Vicenza? Well, it’s home to the Teatro Olimpico!
I’ve been teaching students about this theatre for years and have questions that can be answered only by visiting! It was built in the 16th century, modeled on Roman theatres. Like much in this city, it was designed by Andrea Palladio, who kind of invented the whole neo-classical look that we find all over the world. Vicenza has 23 buildings designed by Palladio, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
I’ll be staying in Vicenza for five days, and this is very much the “Renaissance Theatre History” portion of my trip. I’ll definitely do day trips to Mantua and Sabbioneta, Parma, and Padua. Verona and Ferrara are on my “maybe” list.
Mantua and Sabbioneta:
UNESCO World Heritage Sites, both are full of history and Renaissance design. They both bear the imprint of the Dukes of Gonzaga. Mantua was largely redesigned in the fifteenth century, and in the sixteenth century, Sabbioneta was planned out as an ideal Renaissance city and features the Teatro all’Antica, which I have to visit. In Mantua, I plan to mostly soak it in and wander.
Teatro all’Antica in Sabbioneta (Wikipedia images) with recreation of Scamozzi’s scenic designs.
Mantua (Photo: purpurpurpur) Loggia, Palazzo Te, Mantua (Photo: LaughTravelEat)
Parma
Another city chock-full of Medieval and Renaissance history, its home to one of the oldest Universities in the world as well as Prosciutto di Parma and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese! But I am most interested in visiting the Teatro Farnese, a seventeenth century wooden theatre with what is thought to be the first surviving PROSCENIUM ARCH. How geeky can I possibly get?
Teatro Farnese, Parma (Wikipedia) Farnese groundplan
Padua:
While I’ve gotta go for the Scrovegni (aka Arena) Chapel and Giotto’s 14th century frescoes, Padua is also home to another of the world’s oldest universities (think Galileo and Copernicus), the world’s oldest botanical garden, and Donatello’s Gattamelata statue. I have some very specific interests!
Ferrara or Verona:
These would both be “wander around” slow-travel kind of visits to soak up the architecture and vibe – no absolute musts, except Verona’s Roman Arena…maybe some art…and food…. I am NOT interested in the touristy quality of Verona. If anyone has “must sees,” let me know!
