Saturday 10th Oct
In the morning we visited a friend of Frank's who used to live in Adelaide. Silvano and his wife returned to Italy in the 70's after living in Australia for 14 years. His claim to fame was that he was Don Dunstan's tailor... I got Frank to ask him if he made the pink shorts for Don.... they sure had that Italian feel - short and tight! He couldn't remember if he had because he had made a lot of things for him and he is an older gentleman now.
Later we drove into Vicenza to visit Basilica of St Maria of Monte Berico. The story goes that in the 1400s the Virgin Mary appeared to a local peasant and told him that she would rid the Veneto of the plague being experienced if a sanctuary was built at the top of Monte Berico. A few famous builder/architects have had a bash at redecoration over the years, including of course our favourite Palladio. In the 1700s also a 700 metre arched walkway, grouped in 10s to represent the rosary, was built to connect the sanctury on the hill with the town, quite a sight to behold.... as is the interior of the baroque church... nothing succeeds like excess. This year's Giro Italia ended at the top of the walkway.
 |
| Still lots of the 3 wheelers Vespas, often driven by huge men who fill up the cabin, funny to see 2 men inside |
 |
| Walkway up to Monte Berico |
 |
| Baroque interior - very fancy |
 |
| Very cute holy water fonts |
 |
View to Vicenza from the Piazzale in front of the Basilica
|
 |
| The walkway turns a corner, very impressive |
 |
| Basilica on Monte Berico |
No comments:
Post a Comment