Date: September 23, 2015
「Google Timelineによる軌跡」
Moving in the rain
It was raining from the morning on this day as the weather forecast in advance. It was a good decision to move up the Dolomites sightseeing one day. We chose the plan to walk slowly in the city on this day. Umbrella is necessary in the city, but it is enough to go into a building or a shop, so you can do sightseeing in the rain. Also, rainy day photos are very tasty.
First of all, we will go to Villa Palladio in the suburb of Vicenza. After checking out of the hotel in Belluno, we returned to the car which was parked on the road. From Belluno, where we are now, we drive south on the highway toward Venezia. After that, I turn to the west and go toward Padua. On the other side, the east side of Venice is swollen, while there are thick clouds in the direction of Padua…. Are you OK?
Typical Palladio’s Villa « La Rotonda ».
この日最初に向かったのは、ヴィツェンツァという街の郊外にあるヴィッラ「ラ・ロトンダ」。このヴィッラとこの後行く予定のヴィツェンツァを語る上で重要な人物は「アンドレーア・パッラーディオ（Andrea Palladio)」。16世紀、ルネサンス期に活躍したパドヴァ生まれの建築家。後世の建築にも影響を及ぼしたという偉大な人物だそうです。
This plate photo was taken at the Teatro Olimpico, which will be introduced later.
A number of his buildings remain, mainly in Vicenza, which are now part of the World Cultural Heritage List.
Villa « La Rotonda » is one of the most representative of its Palladian architecture.
The villas he built are scattered throughout the Veneto, but many of them are privately owned or have many restrictions, such as limited days of the week when they can be visited, or need to be booked in advance. They are usually toured from Vicenza or Padua. However, since you will be visiting several villas, it will take all day.
You can see the inside of this La Rotonda only on Wednesdays and Saturdays, but it happened to be a Wednesday, so we could see the inside. However, photography is not allowed inside. This was a pity, but we could enjoy the beautiful interior. However, it was OK to take photos of the garden and the exterior of the building. The entrance fee is 10 euros.
In addition, there was no parking lot here. The situation is also very severe street parking. But fortunately, the parking lot of a nearby cafe is solid, I was able to park there. Still, the world of parallel parking after all.
It seemed to be free, but we felt bad about that, so we got a solid cup of coffee on the way home. It was delicious.
To the city of Vicenza
Then we went to Vicenza. This is another town with a lot of Palladian architecture. It takes about 10 minutes by car from Villa « La Rotonda » to the center of the city. We found a nice public parking lot at the entrance of the old town, on the side of the Olimpico Theatre. We parked there and went to the central square of the city.
First of all, we went to the central square to see the Basilica Palladiana. I wanted to go to the Basilica Palladiana, but I was told that I couldn’t see the inside because of the Chinese contemporary art exhibition, so I couldn’t do much sightseeing in the center of the city except walking around. Too bad.
Therefore, we could only stroll around the square.
Furthermore, the time zone is bad, and also there seems to be a custom of the siesta here, and the church etc. seem to be closed until after 4 p.m.
However, only the Teatro Olimpico allowed us to go inside. This place was so beautiful!
First, a look at the entrance area.
Then we bought our tickets at the entrance and went inside. The inside of that theater was small but full of beauty of tradition and artistry.
By the way, this was also designed by Palladio and built in the late 16th century. And even now, an opera from around 1600 is shown here. The design is said to be modeled after the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes. The stage is located in the center of the stage and in the back area on both sides of the stage, a structure that visually emphasizes perspective and makes the stage appear larger and deeper.
The auditorium has a capacity of about 150 people. Since it is an opera house, there is an orchestra pit between the stage and the audience.
In the end, I could only see the Olimpico Theatre slowly. I would like to visit this city again as well as Mantova. In addition, there are still more Villas in Palladio, so I want to plan with that. And also the nearby Padua. Italy is still very big and there are many places to see.
Longing to go to Verona
After a short visit to Vicenza, we went to Verona. It is located about one hour west from Vicenza. Actually, I was planning to visit there when I went to Italy in 2008, but it rained so hard that I had to give up sightseeing and go somewhere else. This time, however, it was not sunny, but cloudy, with occasional sprinkles of rain, but not a torrential downpour, so we were able to do some sightseeing.
I think it took about 15 to 20 minutes from the nearest highway exit to the city due to traffic. It is far there. Because it’s a big city. Verona is the biggest city in this area. There are several large public parking lots near the Arena in the center of the city, so we didn’t have any trouble parking at all. The parking lots seem to be expensive though (laughs).
We leave the parking lot and head to the old town area. So many people, groundbreaking. I haven’t seen this many people since the airport, and come to think of it, it’s the biggest city I’ve visited on this trip.
First, we went to the nearby Arena. It’s a famous place for showing opera in summer.
The film is not being shown at the moment, but you can go inside.
I wonder what kind of people are sitting in these seats…
続いて、ヴェローナといえばあの物語です。そう「ロミオとジュリエット」。ジュリエットの家があるそうなので、そちらに向かってみます。ジュリエットの家がある付近は、「エルベ広場」、「シニョーリ広場」といったヴェローナの正に中心の場所です。
And here is the Juliette’s house. By the way, what was this story actually about? (For that matter, I don’t really understand the story itself…)
In addition, there was Romeo’s house, too, but is this it? Julietta’s house had a sign here and there, but Romeo’s house was a little lonely without it at all somehow.
続いてはエルベ広場のシンボル「ランベルティの塔」に登り、広場と街を一望してきました。エレベーターあるので楽ちんでした。高いところ万歳。
It rained on and off during our visit to Verona, but we didn’t have much trouble seeing the sights. The city after rain is also beautiful.
There are still many things to see, but we wanted to go quickly, so we went to the « St. Anastasia Church » at the end. It was quite nice. It was not a big church, but I liked the color and the design of the inside. By the way, the church is a good place to take a break. It would be better if there were toilets.
Incidentally, there was a woman practicing religious songs with pipe organ accompaniment just inside the church. She had a wonderful voice, but she often missed the notes, which was a little disappointing. The old man who was accompanying her on the organ was getting angry with her a lot. Please do your best.
Afterwards, I bought some wine at a shop facing the Place d’Elbe, which I returned to on my way home. I bought two bottles of local white wine and am looking forward to it after returning home.
This is the end of sightseeing in Verona. We visited only a limited number of sightseeing places, but we enjoyed it enough.
To today’s inn « Bergamo ».
It was 5:00 pm when we finished sightseeing in Verona. We need to go to our accommodation soon. We decided to stay in Bergamo for this day. The place is the old town. It’s a little bit too expensive to stay there for one night. It takes about an hour to get to Bergamo from Verona.
After exiting the highway, you will head up the hill to the old town of Bergamo. The new town side is at the bottom of the hill overlooking this old town. This area was quite modern and congested. After the hustle and bustle of the new town, we entered the old town surrounded by the city wall. It has become a good atmosphere at once. Now, is there really a parking lot?
Fortunately, we found a parking space less than a minute’s walk from the hotel.
At first glance, there was nothing that looked like a parking meter, but apparently there was an attendant. I declared how long I would park and paid the fee on the spot. I told him I would be there until 9am the next morning and paid 8 euros. I wonder where these people are waiting….
Now I have to find an apartment. But it’s not so easy to find an apartment. The entrance to the apartment in the old European town is indeed hard to find, and it should be in this alley on Google Maps… but I guess the address is wrong. After all, it took us 10 minutes to find it. It took us 10 minutes to find it, and we had to wander around Bergamo for 10 minutes after dusk.
Ring the buzzer at the entrance and go inside. The owner and I greet each other lightly.
I went through the check-in procedures and went to my room. Very nice room. It’s a shame that I’m alone. But I think I can sleep well in this bed.
After I put my luggage in the room, the owner gave me a lecture on how to open the lock. There are many keys in the apartment. Two of them are for the entrance door. After passing through the courtyard, there is one key to enter the building where the rooms are, and the last key is for your room. There are so many that you might make a mistake.
It was a restaurant disaster.
I asked the owner to tell me about a reputable restaurant that served local food, and we went there. I should have gone there after checking out TripAdvisor by myself.
I ordered the same appetizers as always, but they were shabbier than anything I’ve ever been served, and
And the pasta fettuccine is just okay.
しかも、メイン（セコンド）も頼む気満々だったのに聞かれもしませんでしたので、パスタまで食べてそそくさと退散しました。あーあ、もったいないことをしました。ワインも1はい飲んだだけ。なぜ人気なのか謎です。確かに人はたくさんいました。そのせいもあるのか、店員さんの対応も遅く、感じよくありませんでした。なお、海外（ヨーロッパ）だと対応遅いのが当たり前、というのは都会に限る話。田舎では店員さんの対応は普通のスピード、都会並みに遅いことはそうありません。
食事は残念でしたが、街はとてもきれい。[highlight]ベルガモ（ベルガマスク）で見る月に感激しつつ[/highlight]アパルトマンへ戻り、就寝。
明日は午前湖の街を観光、そしてコモ湖へと向かいます。旅も終盤。（続く）
