Vado in Vincenza

 Monday 11 & Tuesday 12 May 

(Apologies for any erratic formatting on this post - it seems to be even more temperamental and uneditable than usual) 

Up bright(ish) and early to schlep heaving luggage back down the road to Centrale, where even after breakfasting I was still so ahead of time I almost boarded the wrong train for my reservation, had I not checked with the immaculately turned-out and very patient customer service lady who pointed out that my Venice-bound train, booked with an entirely different company (so do beware!), wasn't due for half an hour. 

That wait turned into 45 minutes, and after setting off there was a further delay of 40 minutes in total. The train had come all the way from Geneva so I guess I could forgive that - it was packed and hot (no apparent air con), but I did manage to find space for my luggage, which was more than could be said for my feet as I was sat opposite a rather large man who munched biscuits noisily for quite some time. (You can't help but look at people when you're sat so close up - he was the kind of hairy where his beard went down his neck and joined his chest hair...)

Anyway, eventually I reached Vicenza and got a taxi (Uber is available here but not especially cheap, and the wait was too long - spoiled again in London) as the hotel was over 20 minutes walk away and I do have a pain and martyrdom threshold. Key Hotel is a 3-star around the back of a stadium - it's not the most glamorous area, and I discovered that it was much further out of town than expected, but whilst it's a no-frills place it was clean, comfortable with kind and friendly staff and breakfast thrown in. With quirky motivational quotes on a chalkboard in the dining room, which I tried to translate as I was eating.

After settling in a bit, I set off for the old town by turning the wrong way out of the hotel, and having to check Google maps as I thought I had (actually not) left behind the map the nice man at the desk gave me, walked a circuitous and uninspiring route, getting increasingly desperate for sustenance and ending up at Caffe Olimpico which is a fairly basic eatery, though obviously very popular with locals - and it was actually more central than I realised. As I ate, the rain hammered down outside - the brolly was going to get plenty of use that day.

While eating what was billed as bruschetta but was really more like pizzetta, I noticed a poster for the Teatro Olimipco, the ancient theatre that was one of the first indoor auditoria in Europe. The students from the local conservatoire were giving a series of concerts this week, so I booked for an evening of Schubert for just 5 euros and went last night - the kids were damn good and the space is spectacular. No bar however,  so a very dry gig, and the look I got for having accidentally (really, not an act of defiance to escape a queue) used a cubicle in the gents during the interval made me go hot with embarrassment! Somewaht bizarrely, unless I read the security uniforms wrong, the ushers seemed to be accompanied by members of the fire brigade. No naked flames on stage were in evidence, not even candles....

Having eventually found my way into what obviously was the old town, I started meandering down the main street in the miserable drizzle - and being Monday, so much was closed! I popped in to a couple of shops for various supplies, and sat with an artiginale gelato while watching the rain bounce off the pavments. (Oh and btw gender-neutral loos often take on a whole new identity in these parts - and girls ain't sitting down....)

The Duomo was open, so I popped in and held my breath. Not big on religion, but this was another special one, with soaring vaulted ceilings and frescoes. Lit a candle as I always do when the opportunity arises - to say thanks to whoever for allowing me to be here as much as anything else. 

There's good shopping to be had in Vicenza - the usual suspects are there and a number of designers, but also some beautiful independent home and clothing stores. Wallet stayed firmly in bag despite serious temptation. I ate at Ceppo - an amazing deli with a bistrot attached, and selling its own wines. And I loved the fact that the flower shop, rather than locking its doors for lunch, put a floral barrier acroo to indicate it was closed. And I really, really wanted to try on some hats but I was already having a very bad hair day what with all the rain.

 

Despite the rain, I also loved coming across so many beautiful Palladian (named after architect Palladio) and sometimes quirky buildings when I turned a corner, including old palazzos now private residences and apartimenti. As per, I snapped away at some randoms....and Vicenza has at least three cinemas that I saw. (The Odeon was showing Devil Wears Prada 2)

Finally defeated by feeling damp, I bought a sandwich and snacks to have in my room that evening - I just didn't feel up to finding a restaurant in my somewhat dishevelled state. So I started walking back via what appeared to be a slightly different route, and Googe Maps led me so astray I had to turn around and go back on myself at one point. I was almost in tears of frustration by the time I reached the hotel 22000 steps later - but thankfully another nice man on the desk was able to provide me with a glass of much-needed vino from the little bar there. (Pinot Grigio or Pinot Nero only, but it seems that no Italian wine is shite, even the cheap stuff.)  My evening was spent catching up on the blog and watching Legends on Netflix, which I've got kind of hooked on even if the script is a bit clunky at times!

After a corker of a thunderstorm the next morning, the sun came out and emboldened by the forecast, I put on a summery dress and headed out for the rest of the day as I'd booked the Schubert concert ticket. This time I turned the right way out of the hotel and found my way into the old town via a rather more picturesque route. It was a different place from yesterday, with many more people around, so I decided to continue wandering while the weather held. I had a few minutes of peaceful contemplation in the green space provided by Giardino Salvi adjacent to the castello walls - it's quite small but has a natural spring running through it and a pretty Palladian lodge. There are a few roses but it's more of a park than a garden, with a few ancient statues.

The church of San Lorenzo which I came across was worth a pause. I've liked that for most churches I can just wander in and sit for a while. I bought socks as was running out of ones I could wear with my water-resistant trainers rather more often than expected! I came across the food and clothing (read toot) markets near the Palladian Basilica. I returned there after lunch to go to the Guido Harari exhibition (excellent portraits of musicians over the last 40 years, both in action on stage and posed wherever he set up his studio - a real highlight.) I had a walk around the terrace of the building too, though sadly it seemed the rest of the building was off limits and I seem to have missed the nearby jewellery museum. 

Last stop of the day was the Palazzo Chiericati, now a UNESCO world heritage site which houses the civic art collections distributed over three sections of the building. These go from medieval times up to the early 20th century - and as I can appreciate but not especially enjoy what Kim and I call Jesus art, I dwelt longer in the later sections, with some lovely recent acquisitions of portraits and scenes of Venice. Unfortunately I took very few photos that do them any justice.

I had a really tasty tortellini and some excellent rosato vino at Ceppo, where I later realised I had completely confused my lovely server by asking for an insalate mista as a cortina rather than a contorno (a side dish, which has never been a classic boy racer car). 

After a quick macchiato which I seem to have developed a taste for, on to the Schubert concert described above. An Uber back (the buses stopped even before the concert began at 8.30pm, and having got very lost the day before thanks to Google maps, I didn't trust myself to walk) was a stiff 15 euros for a short trip with a surly driver who didn't seem to think it was an issue that his car was described as black not white on the app! The later than usual return to my hotel necessitated a flurry of packing ahead of the next journey to Verona. 

Coffee and culture

 Sunday 10 May

Up early for a miniscule and over-priced hotel breakfast, then made my way to Piazza Mercantil via the metro to meet Maria, the guide for the coffee and culture tour. We met within a colonnade overlooking the old square which was the scene of humiliation for merchants in debt back in the day. They would be stripped naked and made to break their own table to show that their career was over. Nice. No debt counselling and payment plans in those days.

Maria's a Neopolitan but moved to Milan some years back, having decided to make a career focusing on coffee expertise and turning it into a guided tour. We visited a number of highlights while learning about coffee, its origins and processes, and had coffee in three different shops. The first was unsurprising Caffe Napoli, where I enjoyed an espresso made the Neopolitan way, and paid for a second "sospiso" - a coffee made later for free for someone who's on the streets and needs it. It felt like the right thing to do.

The second place was at Lavazza, where I foolishly agreed to try something I knew I'd probably hate - basically a mocha with whipped cream which was sickly sweet. I won't be doing that again. The third coffee, at Bighletta, the home of the Moka pot, was a lovely surprise with a hint of (but not overpowered by) lemon - tiramisu, coconut and almond were also available, but I'll stick with my no-mess, no-fuss Nespresso capsules rather than having to deal with watching a pot boil.

Sightseeing highlights included the exterior of the Duomo, the Palazzo Royale (started by Queen Marie Catherina, but actually completed by Napoleon in neo-Classical style, then heavily bombed during WW2 - so much of Milan was partially destroyed that way), Leonardo's statue flanked by his apprentices, and of course the heaving Vittorio Emmanuelle arcade (the template for all shopping malls that followed). Milan, Florence, Rome and Turin are all commemorated by their crests on display in the central cross of the four paths through the building representing the unification of Italy, but apparently the rivalry between Milan and Turin was so strong that Milanese women  would come and grind their heels in to the bull of Turin to show defiance and cast a spell to make them bring forth more menfolk for the glory of Milan. There were lots of young women doing it during shopping hours, most of them clearly not from Milan.

Tour over, I wandered down Via Dante, popped into Sephora (always take that opportunity) and towards the Sforza castello piazza - I'd visited it when I came in 2014, but today it was pissing down with rain, so I decided to have some lunch instead in Farinella, and very nice Cacio e Pepe it was too. 

I had a ticket to see a new exhibition of work by Anselm Kiefer, The Alchemists, featuring women throughout the ages (though not too recent)  who practised alchemy and healing - as always, incredible in terms of their scope, size and the variety of materials used to achieve 3D pictures that come towards you.

The exhibition of 35 works was held in the Sala delle Cariatidi, part of the Palazzo Royale which was heavily bombed during the war. Most of the figures around the wall are still awaiting restoration, but it's a great setting.

 Coincidentally I first came across Kiefer's work in Milan when on the advice of my Air BnB host I visited The Seven Heavenly Palaces at Pirelli Hangar Bicocca, a set of permanent  monumental installations - here's an Insta post (not mine) showing you these amazing structures: https://www.instagram.com/reels/DL7V1RboaI-/

I got to wander through some parts of the palazzo on the way out, which was worth seeing, including a very grand staircase. But it was still raining, so I decided to double up on the culture and visit the Museo Nova Cento, which features art from the beginning of the 20th century, focusing on Futurism initially but then broadening out to include Cubism and other progressive art forms. There were a few pieces by the likes of Picasso, Braque and Kandinsky, but most were Italian artists and I was particularly taken by the work of Boccioni (who died very young, and who painted the blue view of fog below) and Sironi. There was a huge range of work on display - and for 5 euros ridotto admission for being old, it's great value as there's so much to see and it's very well laid out and still in development. I enjoyed the collection of 20th century designer chairs which formed one of the final displays.
I've seen the bronze sphere with teeth by Arnaldo Pomodoro in other places, including Pesaro in Puglia and in the Vatican gardens.

I then had a ticket for the Hi-Line - a metal walkway that goes across the roof of the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuelle offering amazing views of Milan's skyline, including a final terrace at the highest point with the best possible sighting of the Duomo. (Its marble facade, by the way, will always be being cleaned as the pollution etc oxidises the beautiful streaked marble delivered all the way from the Piedmont region. I had hoped for more of a garden, like the hi-line in Paris that starts near Bastille - there are plants along the way though, and there are plenty of infographics to give you the history of the Galleria and the creation of the walkway itself, but the audio guide failed which was supposed to have given me insights as I walked along. Never mind. Very sad that the architect/builder fell to his death from scaffolding just hours before the Galleria opened...

After a search for a recommended pizza joint proved fruitless as there would have been a hour to wait til opening time (despite Google claiming that it already was busy at 5pm), my by now pretty wobbly legs settled on SignorVino near the Duomo. It's a chain, but as the name suggests they're very good at wine, so the restaurant is kind of an adjunct to its main retail business. I had a lovely pinot nero and a plate of melt in the mouth proscuitto, and a little caprese on the side. Then it was time to haul my weary arse back to the hotel for catching up on the blog from the day before (it's how I roll) and packing my bags ready for an early start to catch a train from Centrale to Vicenza next day. Just hadn't thought about the fact that Mondays are a bad day for finding Italy open....