Shakespeare's Verona

Many people who visit Verona want to see sites tied to Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” I, on the other hand, wanted to find the two gentlemen of Verona. (Can you blame me for opting for Italian men over star-crossed teenagers?)

References to "Romeo and Juliet" abound in Verona; this is a contemporary sculpture of the couple by Nag Arnoldi.

Even though Shakespeare set more than just one play in the pretty northern Italian city of Verona, that ill-fated couple, Romeo and Juliet, seem to get the most attention. You can visit Romeo’s house, Juliet’s house, Juliet’s (spoiler alert!) tomb, hotels named after the pair, stores named after the girl, restaurants named after the boy. You get the idea. This is a city devoted to romance (even if it is tragic romance).

When I visited the courtyard with the balcony immortalized as the place where Juliet stood while Romeo serenaded her, so many people were crowded into that tiny square that I had to wonder how many understood that Juliet was actually a fictional character.

Juliet's balcony in Verona draws crowds of tourists. Many touch the left breast of her statue in the belief that it will make them lucky in love!

The Juliet house belonged to a family with a name similar to Capulet, which was Juliet’s cognome (surname) in the play. Now the house is where throngs of tourists go to snap photos and leave love notes on the walls.

One of many notes left on the wall of Juliet's courtyard. 

There are other nods to Shakespeare in Verona. A bust of the playwright adorns a wall near Piazza Bra, along with a plaque that reads (in English and Italian): “There is no world without Verona walls, but Purgatory, torture, Hell itself. Hence banished is banish’d from the world, and world’s exile is death.” That line is from Act III, Scene III of “Romeo and Juliet.”

Shakespeare's likeness and words on a wall in Verona

As for the two gentlemen, they are harder to find. Believe me, I searched for them. I even researched the play for clues but I never found the two men. A friend of mine did stumble on one near the end of our recent visit: A hotel in the historic center is dubbed The Gentleman of Verona. It seems Shakespeare was prophetic about how his play would be remembered when he wrote in “The Two Gentlemen of Verona,” “They do not love, that do not show their love.”

Finalmente (finally), a Shakespearean reference unrelated to "Romeo and Juliet"

Nevertheless, exploring Verona with Shakespeare as the guide was a fun way to spend part of a day in a city brimming with sites to see and beauty to breathe in.

-post by JG

Autumn in Italy

It's difficult to pick a favorite season it Italy - who wouldn't enjoy a gentle rainy spring, a warm early summer, or the festive winter holiday season. But autumn - autumn is magic in Italy. So if I have to pick a favorite season, it would be autumn. 

Fall color along Le Mura (the walls) in Lucca, Italy

Colorful vines in Bellagio, Lago di Como, late September 2016.

October brings cooler temperatures, changing colors, along with the fall harvest and vendemmia (grape harvest). There are many sagras (food festivals) including sagras to celebrate castagne (chestnuts), porcini mushrooms, chocolate (is there a better place to celebrate chocolate than Perugia?) and wine. Fall is truffle season and the hill town of San Miniato, in Tuscany (along with a number of other Italian villages), hosts several weekends of truffle events. November is also the traditional month of the olive harvest and the time in which new olive oil is pressed. For foodies, fall in Italy offers a wide variety of gastronomic experiences including classes on olive oil and wine and even the opportunity for hands-on participation in the vendemmia and olive harvests.

Grape vines at Agriturismo Cretaiole, near Pienza, ready for the harvest in early October 2016.

This beautiful costume is from a photo shoot for a previous year's Lucca Comics and Games.

In addition to food celebrations there are many fall cultural events and festivals throughout Italy.

In Lucca, where I spend most of my time, the big event is Lucca Comics and Games, held each year in late October / early November (this year's dates were November 1 - 5). If you are a fan of comics or gaming, or dressing up in fantastic costumes, this is definitely the place to be in fall. Over 250,000 people attend (it's the largest comics event in Europe), most dressed in costumes to fit the year's theme.

There are other fall events as well, celebrating everything from Italian cinema to saint's days to medieval competitions. There is no shortage of things to do during an Italian autumn.

As for me, my favorite fall activity is walking along the walls in Lucca as the trees change from green to gold and red, hearing the crunch of leaves below my feet, feeling the autumn chill in the air, and just breathing it all in.                                                        post by JMB

Intimissimi on Ice

In a country where it’s hard to get ice with your drink, I recently witnessed great Italian appreciation for ice at a performance of "Intimissimi on Ice” in Verona. It was a wonderful show of ice skating, ice dancing, vocal performances and technological wizardry. But for me, there were two especially cool (pun intended, sorry) aspects to the evening: 1) it was held in the Arena di Verona and 2) the guest singer was Andrea Bocelli.

A large replica of a female's face graced one end of the arena for the ice show (seats there are empty because they are behind the stage).

The Verona arena is a Roman amphitheater built in the 1st century. It is known worldwide for the opera performances held there. And, for the past four years, it has hosted the ice show. The arena seats about 15,000 people today but is said to have held twice that many in ancient times. It was great fun to sit on the stone seats (my companions and I were in what would be called the bleacher section in the States) and think about who might have sat there nearly 2,000 years ago.

The Verona arena was built in the 1st Century. Only this wing of the outer ring (on the left) remains - the rest was destroyed in an earthquake. Most of what is visible today would have been the inner ring of the original amphitheater.

The structure is considered one of the best preserved of its kind. I could see why as we made our way into the arena, passing through massive stone arches and climbing steep, uneven stairways. As I always am when I see the Colosseum in Rome, I was awed by the arena’s architecture, design and sheer size.

Images were projected onto the ice for each performance/song. To the right is the choir.

The show itself, “A Legend of Beauty,” featured such Olympic greats as Charlie White and Meryl Davis, the American ice dancing pair who won the gold medal in 2014, and Evengi Plushenko, the world-renown figure skater from Russia. Elaborate images were projected onto the ice during each performance while an orchestra and choir provided music. It was engaging and entertaining.

Andrea Bocelli was the special guest for the show (he can be seen at the top of the photo in the black suit).

And then there was Bocelli. He only sang four songs but he wowed the crowd and brought tears to my eyes with the power and tenor of his voice. He ended with “Nessun Dorma” while Plushenko skated. Magical, simply magical.

-post by JG

An Italian Street Market

When I think of the street markets that take place in small towns throughout Italy, I picture the colors of seasonal produce, the sounds of the vendors, the smell of pungent cheeses. 

I also picture busy shoppers, some with market baskets on their arms, others with wheeled carts for collecting purchases. Still others (mostly mammas or nonnas) push babies in strollers, stopping to browse and perhaps buy a sweet treat or toy. What fun I have strolling through these markets, whether shopping for dinner or just browsing.

In addition to food, the markets include booth after booth selling all types of necessities - clothing, pots and pans, tableware, shoes and socks, scarves, jackets, yarn.  It's a colorful array of merchandise.

Many markets take place weekly, while others are special markets associated with festivals or celebrations. One such market takes place throughout the month of September in the Borgo Giannotti neighborhood of Lucca - it's part of the month-long celebration known as the Settembre Lucchese. This late summer/early fall market is especially lively and full of seasonal specialties - garlic braids, peppers, porcini mushrooms, chestnuts.

The market is one of many things that make September an ideal time for a visit to Lucca.

All of the photos in this post come from that special market - where I had a great time wandering, taking photos, and enjoying the sights and sounds of the market.

-post by JB

And, since the Borgo Giannotti neighborhood is home to my very favorite pasticceria, Sandra L' Angolo Dolce, I stopped in for a prima colazione (breakfast) of a cappuccino and a cornetto con crema (cream filled pastry). Perfect morning! 

post by JMB

If you missed the earlier post about this amazing pasticceria here is the link: www.twopartsitaly.com/blog/2017/3/31/sandra-and-langelo-dolce

Il Giardino (The Garden)

I love gardens. Some of my strongest travel memories include gardens that evoke specific times and places. I remember vividly a small herb garden in Uzes, France, a coastal garden in Maine, the unique Japanese Garden in Portland, Oregon, and the incomparable gardens of Villa Balbianello at Lake Como in northern Italy.

Palazzo Pfanner and its garden, in summer. 

But my absolute favorite garden memories come from Lucca and the gardens of Palazzo Pfanner.

The grand staircase. 

The palazzo, which dates from the mid-1600s, has a large entry courtyard and a remarkable staircase, beyond which lie the gardens.

It amazes me to know that members of the Pfanner family, who have owned the property since the mid 1800s, still have apartments in the palazzo. Imagine living within such beauty! Imagine too that at one time (around 1900) the family ran a brewery and beer garden here.

This crumbling building, beyond an iron fence, was used as part of storage for the brewery. 

I've been fortunate to experience the garden in the three seasons it is open - spring, summer and fall (it's closed to visitors in winter). Each season has its own flavor as plants bud, bloom, set fruit, mature, and fade.

A lemon tree in late spring, Palazzo Pfanner.

In spring, the lemon trees blossom in their terracotta pots and are full of mature fruit. Irises poke up around the fountain, the giant magnolia tree blooms, and the smallest of buds appear on rows of hydrangea (called hortensia in Italian).  

Spring blooms, Palazzo Pfanner. 

In summer, roses and peonies dazzle and pots of geraniums flower. The summer hydrangeas are spectacular with huge flower heads in pinks, blues, and purples. 

Summer roses bloom in front of the limonaia. 

Hydrangeas in fall. 

In fall, the hydrangeas begin to fade but are still beautiful, even into late September/early October. The lemon trees in fall are full of small, green fruit. The vines begin to change color and there are still some roses in bloom.

Colorful fall vines

The fall weather is ideal for sitting in the garden, a perfect season for reading or daydreaming in this peaceful place.

The limonaia in fall usually stands empty, waiting for the arrival of the potted lemon trees to winter over. This fall there was an art exhibit in the limonaia, which gave me the chance to walk through the low brick and stone building with its graceful arched, green windows. 

A window into the limonaia during a recent art exhibit. 

Some things in the garden remain constant - the green of the boxwood and laurel hedges, the tall bamboo mini-forest, the vine covered walls of old brick, and the statues representing the four seasons and Olympic gods.

Statue of Spring (Primavera), garden of Palazzo Pfanner.

Most constant of all is the fountain, with its large octagonal basin, dramatic statuary, and seasonal flowers. This is the centerpiece of the garden; its sound infuses the space with a sense of calm and timelessness.

For garden lovers this is a "can't miss" experience in Lucca. The palazzo and garden can be seen from le mura (the walls) but are best experienced by entering the garden itself (tickets are 4.50 euro for the garden, 6 euro for the garden and palazzo). Quando sono nel giardino di Palazzo Pfanner, sono contenta (when I'm in the garden of Palazzo Pfanner, I'm happy).   -post by JMB

Contact info:  Palazzo Pfanner, Via degli Asili 33. Lucca, Italy.  Hours: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. April - November.