VERONA 2017: The Roman Theater

As you may recall, we spent 11 days in Italy last year, 7 in Venice and then 4 in Verona.  Our travel agent told us 4 days would be plenty of time to see Verona, but surely by now you can see just how much there was to see.  We covered the bases but...just barely.

Our third day in Verona was packed full of 3 churches and the Roman Theater, plus a flag-throwing show on our way home.  I've already shown you the Santa Maria in Organo church here.  From there we immediately walked to the nearby Roman Theater.

See how close they are:  red dot (church) and blue dot (theater).

Actually, besides the Roman Theater, you also gain entrance to the Archaeological Museum,

both for the price of one...with the entrance right off the main street.

Once through the building to behind, you're confronted with ruins from the 1st century BC.

This is the kind of thing that blows my mind.  BC = Before Christ!

And there it is, the Roman Theater.

In the 1st century BC it would have included satirical dramas by Terence and Plautus.

[Surely I learned about them in Latin class all those eons ago?!]

Can you imagine watching Shakespearean plays there today!

Later, when we took the lift to the Archaeological Museum, we got a better overview.

See how close it sits on the Adige river...

...and how it offers views of the city every bit as captivating as any play/event.

Before taking the lift to the museum, we stopped to see the church of St. Siro and St. Libera.

It was built in the 10th century, restored in the 14th century.

As you can see, it sits at the edge of the theater steps, with the museum to the left behind/above.

To be honest, there wasn't much to see inside but it was worth the look.

You could say this was worth the climb.

After the church we took the lift to the Archaeological Museum above.

It was opened in 1924 in the former convent of Gerolamo, from the 14th century.

More Roman you cannot get!

Because it was originally a convent, there are cloisters (bottom) and a large terrace (top),
with Roman artifacts everywhere.

Again, more Roman you cannot get.

I remember having to learn the names of all the Roman columns in Latin class!

But it was the church of St. Gerolamo in the convent that most captivated me there.

It was a walk-through from the museum to the terrace, but it stopped me dead in my tracks.

See what I mean?

And this was just ONE STOP on a busy day!

Yes, there's more to come....

VERONA 2017: The Cathedral

As you may recall, after we spent a week in Venice last year, we took the train to Verona and spent 4 days there.  To be honest, even though very different from Venice, we loved it as much.

We saw so many churches in Verona, I don't even know where to start.  Actually, I did start, by showing its three fabulous basilicas last August.   But some of the other churches are worth their own posts, like the duomo, or cathedral:  Cattedrale Sante Maria Matricolare.  It's not the biggest or the best, but it is the city's main cathedral.

There it sits at the top, on the Adige River.

The west front of the cathedral shows the Sanmicheli bell tower in the background.

The cathedral was consecrated in 1187.

Outside the cathedral near the front door is this angel statue.

You can find myriad stock photos of it but I'm still searching for info on it.
[Addendum:  I found out from a Facebook friend that this is The Angel of Acceptance, 
or hospitality, by Albano Poli.]

Once inside, I always start with the nave and main chapel, with altar.

You know I always look for the organ (large and/or small) because of my musician mom.

And the chancel and pulpit....because of my preacher dad.

I suppose we were distracted by the renovation going on?

But we saw enough to be glad we had visited.

Here's a good link to much better images, especially of what we missed.

The Sanmicheli bell tower sticks out like a sore thumb, here at the Ponte Pietra bridge.

The next day we saw it from across the river while at the Roman Theater.

Like I said, it's not the best of the Verona churches we saw, but we wanted to see it.

And there will be at least one or more Verona churches to come....

VERONA 2017: The Cemetery

The big challenge after every trip like this is where to start!  Usually it makes sense to start at the beginning and walk through the trip as it happened.  But this time, in the context of Holy Week, I find it appropriate to start at the end of our Venice/Verona trip with the cemetery.  Besides, it's also fresh in my mind.

Verona is a city on the Adige river in the Veneto region of Italy.

Our B&B was just outside the walls of the inner city, with foundations going back to Roman times.

In the far-off distance we could see the alps (top-right), known as the Dolomites.

We crossed the Aleardi bridge and looked back at the Navi bridge on our way to the cemetery.

The circled spot in red is the cemetery.

At the entrance to the cemetery are two lions:  a Tear and a Smile.

So appropriate for a cemetery, we both thought.

Because the sun wasn't shining on the entrance side (middle-left and center) then,

it wasn't until we went through the colonnades that we saw the expanse of the place in sunlight.

And I mean through the colonnades!

Even there, in the broad spaces, were grave stones out on the open floor.

That's where we saw what I'm calling Family Trees.

Have you seen anything like it in a cemetery?

Look at how creative they are, up close and personal.

With 8 kids in my family of origin, I can just imagine the Hart Family Tree!

Many of the grave sites had cameo portraits displayed in one way or another.

While still inside, walking downstairs and along the corridors, we saw the wall tombs.

A nearby chapel was bright and accommodating.

Roman Catholics don't cremate their dead, so the stone plaques fronted coffins along the wall.

The boy (top-left) barely reached his 5th birthday; the girl (bottom-right) reached her 1st.

Once outside, there were plots for the nuns and the soldiers...and the children.

But it was the section of the tombs/mausoleums that took our breath away.

Who needs a family tree when you can have a house/castle, right?!

(Notice the scale with Astrid in the top-left image.)

They say you can't take it with you, but...did they get the memo?

It was like a mini-town, walking around and finding our way.

If you couldn't afford a mausoleum, maybe you could afford a large statue?

I'm sure each one has its own story.

Don't you wonder?

Those protected inside or along the colonnade were covered in years of dirt/dust.

We wondered if cleaning them was futile because of exposure to the winds of time?

So many lives.  So many stories.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

As we walked back to our B&B, we ate the "last supper" out of our Venice/Verona trip,

reminding us again of how much we learn about a people and culture by their cemeteries...

and their food!

It's a reminder, while we are alive, to EAT PRAY LOVE.