Bergamo: surprising stopover

I figured that our Italian touristing and sight-seeing was over when we left Florence.

We had to get up to Bergamo in order to catch our flight the next morning for Nürnberg, where we'd meet our Viking cruise. That journey was accomplished via a nice, fast train—with a train-change stop in Milan's central station that I'd fretted a bit over (because that's what I do) but which turned out to be easy-peasy.

But I didn't expect Bergamo to be more than just a convenient stopover point, near to Milan's Oria al Serio airport. I mean, after all, it wasn't even mentioned in our Rick Steves books!

As often happens in one's travels, though, pleasant surprises await when we least expect them. Our brief stay in Bergamo was very enjoyable, and we found that, in addition to some quite worthwhile tourist sights, it has an interesting history (which is connected to the dogdish pictured above...I'll explain later!) And several conveniently-located gelaterias!

On top of that, the hotel we somewhat randomly chose since it wasn't far from the airport, turned out to be a particularly nice place, with a good free breakfast and staff that were quite helpful in arranging transportation.

They called a cab for us to climb the very steep slope to the old city, where we thought we'd look around and find dinner. Although rush hour traffic delayed the cab's arrival longer than we would have liked, it eventually arrived and there was still enough daylight to snap a few pictures. Like the one of the handsome tower above on the right, and the neat old buildings below:

Since we didn't have a guidebook, we're not sure what the buildings are; they might be part of the town's cathedral complex, as the structures in this group might also be, which were snapped later in the evening...

But of course there were multiple old churches up on the hill, and though we didn't reliably find the cathedral, we got to visit inside a charming smaller edifice. The Chiesa di San Pancrazio was right on the path of our random walk. As often happens, it wasn't much to look at from the outside, but fortunately it was open...

There were even some of the lovely stone balusters that I'd admired in several other Italian churches. And some pretty floor tiles!

On the old city's main square...

...we found our dinner at the reasonably-priced and friendly Bar Flora. They served possibly the best lasagna I've ever tasted! 

After a quick gelato dessert at a nearby gelateria, we found the funicular station for a "fun" ride back down into modern Bergamo. Unfortunately neither of us was able to get a good picture of this cheap, delightful transportation device.

The evening was pleasantly cool, and our estimates of distance on the map provided by the hotel made a walk back there seem doable, so that's what we did. There were plenty of calories to walk off anyway, and we added some more on the way home. It was our first two-gelato evening! Only fitting since it was our last day in Italy.

But what about that historical aspect that was another unexpected treat in Bergamo? And what's up with the labelled dogdish?

When I made the hotel reservation, I thought the name of the place was a little odd: Hotel Citta dei Mille. I know enough Italian to be able to tranlate: "City of the Thousand." A thousand what? I briefly wondered.

Well, as it turns out, Bergamo is extremely proud of being the city which supplied Garibaldi with the most volunteers in his struggles to unify Italy and make it independent. The hotel has a display case (shown on the left) with all kinds of historically relevant Garibaldi-related books and knick-knacks to illustrate this connection. (The Wikipedia link above doesn't mention Bergamo, but it will give you an overview of the history associated with dei Mille.)

At any rate the civic pride extends to a handy dish for canine visitors!

We thoroughly enjoyed our one night in Bergamo, but were equally excited to embark upon the next chapter in our European super-trip, when we awoke to beautiful weather for our flight to Nürnberg.

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Although I'm very keen to start telling you about our amazingly wonderful Danube cruise, I'm going to take another short break next time and fill you in on some holiday touristing nearer to home.

Firenze/Florence: big daddy Duomo

The Duomo in Siena was fabulous, and, when all is said and done, it's probably the best church (out of thousands) we visited in Europe.

But there's no doubt that when you say "Duomo" to most people, it's Florence's that they picture. The Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, to be precise.

It is really crowded...

...and a chunk of its marvelous bulk was encased in scaffolding for refurbishment works...

...but it's still breathtakingly beautiful. From that amazing dome, a triumph of Renaissance design...

....to its spectacular Campanile tower (which we climbed in 1996!)...

If you follow the 1996 link above, you can see what the dome looks like from the top of the tower...even more spectacular than from the ground. The pictures from this trip include other great views from our climb as well.

We opted, on this trip, to forego climbing the tower. And, indeed we decided to avoid all the Duomo's paid attractions (like the Baptistery and the museum).

Yes, the Duomo interior itself is free! A nice compensation for having to spend lots of euros on many of Florence's other prime attractions.

The interior here offers some wonderful sights, such as its handsome nave:

Although, again, I found Siena's interior more impressive. Maybe I just go in for gaudy in my church decor?

But there's plenty to admire in Florence's Duomo interior...

Henry's low-light-magic camera took this

attractive candle tree

Henry took this great shot of the wall where the main doors are located. What I really liked about his composition was the...wait for it...FLOOR TILE ART! Yes! There's lots of it here (although, not as much or as impressive as that in Siena).

Most of the tile art was abstract, rather than narrative...

I was intrigued by this acronym (which we'd seen in Siena, and in other churches). Rick Steves' Duomo self-guided tour didn't elucidate, but the internet came to the rescue...

Ora Pro Animas

Although, as often happens, there's a competing definition, specific to Florence's Cathedral. I'm partial to the Latin explanation, myself.

Back outside, the millions of sculptural and decorative details are overwhelming when it comes to deciding what to photograph. Here's a sample...

We walked past the Duomo several times during our brief visit to Florence, going and coming from our hotel to other attractions. And it was impossible to pass it at any time and not snap a few pix. But I found that the best time of day might be early morning, after the sun has risen but before it peers over the complex...

You'd think the backlight would obscure the lovely details, but, at least on a beautiful morning like this one, I believe it enhances them...

Firenze/Florence: rock star art in a gorgeous building

The handsome courtyard you see above is where you have to wait, in several different lines, to enter the Uffizi Gallery. Although it is something of an ordeal (and pricey, too) to get into this most famous of museums, with Rick Steves' help, it's doable. And worth the hassle.

Most important of his tips is to get your tickets in advance. A corollary might be to stay at one of his recommended hotels (Il Bargellino) and mention to your helpful hostess that you want to do the Uffizi. As I related in an earlier post, she secured us a reservation that allowed us to see this spectacular place.

Then you finish off, once you've gained entry, with Rick's free audio tour. Perfetto!

One other Uffizi tip, this one courtesy of yours truly: don't just look at the paintings. Spend some time looking at the walls, floors, and ceilings. Wow! What a gorgeous building! A sample is the ceiling you can see on the left. I'll show you some more of these fabulous architectural features after we cover the main attractions.

Like this masterpiece, for example. As many times as I've seen pictures of this beautiful Botticelli, there's something special about seeing it in person.

One of the advantages over pictures in the history of art textbook is that you can get [pretty] close and notice exquisite details...

clothing details from Birth of Venus

baby and fruit detail from Madonna of the Pomegranate

Gorgeous paintings by other famous Italians are on offer, too...

Michelangelo's Doni Tondo, or Holy Family

Titian's Venus of Urbino

Leonardo's Annuciation

Caravaggio's Medusa

This pretty much covers all my favorite painters! At least the Renaissance ones. And there's lots more fabulous stuff in the Uffizi. Like sculpture, for example. Here's the amazing Laocoön; it's a copy, but still powerful.

Henry got a great closeup that really brings the agony of the scene home:

But that's enough about world-class art. What about that world-class interior decoration?

Those ceilings are really amazing. Don't forget to look up!

Even the spandrels are gorgeous...

Don't let the great sculpture in the beautifully octagonal Tribune Room...

...cause you to miss its great ceiling...

...and, yes, there's floor tile art! So look down, too.

It would probably be borderline insanity to spend €33 just to look at the Ponte Vecchio, but the windows at one end of the Uffizi's sculpture hall do give you Rick's favorite view of the bridge...

...and it's a great place to notice the Vasari Corridor (note the red line in the photo below). It was a shortcut for the Medicis to get from the Uffizi (which means "offices") home to the Pitti Palace. I mean, you wouldn't want to have to deal with the crowds of hoi-poloi on the Ponte every day, would you? The Medicis: among other things, the inventors of freeways' toll lanes.

Firenze/Florence: sculpture and more at the Bargello

Behind the handsome walls on all sides of this courtyard (the building was constructed in 1255) is another spot-on Rick Steves recommendation, the Museo Nazionale del Bargello. Some very famous sculptures are its main attractions, and where the crowds are. 

But folks who leave after seeing all the Donatellos are really missing out. I found its assortment of "minor" galleries to be fascinating and well worth the time. But first, a quick look at the main sculpture galleries.

We listened to Rick's [free] audio tour which directed us to the main attractions and provided witty and useful context to many of these pieces. 

Oceanus, by Giambologna (I assume this is Neptune?)

Micelangelo's Bacchus
(Rick says "hope he's not driving")

Donatello's St. George

There were a lot of impressive busts in the ground floor gallery. Not surprisingly, the most engaging was this one, Brutus, by Michelangelo. Doesn't he look like a real guy?

I got kind of a kick out of this one. Not mythological characters battling in some cosmic struggle, but rather mythologized figures representing Florence and Pisa. Guess who comes out on top?

I've always liked DellaRobbia medallions, and the Bargello has several, including this beauty:

Three sculptures of the same subject are the highlights of the first floor's main gallery. Two Davids by Donatello and one by Verocchio, all of which I remember from History of Art class, and all pretty gorgeous.

The early Donatello is probably my least favorite of the three...

...but I call your attention to the fabulous giant's head at David's feet. Isn't it gorgeous?!

Rick says the model for Verrochio's might have been his apprentice, a kid named Leonardo whom you may have heard of...

Donatello's second attempt is the best of the lot, though. Just stunning.

So, the highlights are pretty spectacular, but what about those other galleries that are almost empty of visitors? They shouldn't be! The truly miscellaneous nature of the objects on display, as well as their beauty and historical interest, reminded me strongly of one of my favorite London museums, the Victoria and Albert. 

Here's just a taste of what you can find in this mini-V&A:

exquisite gold...hinges?

gorgeous medieval triptych

backgammon, anyone?

appropriate for the tallest flower stalks

There were a lot of interesting weapons, many of which had been owned by various Medicis, so it's no wonder they were fancy and elaborate...

...but, although I'm not an expert, this multi-pistol array seems a little over the top...

The Bargello is, according to Rick Steves, "underappreciated." But the museum we toured on our last day in Florence is anything but. I'll show you some of the Uffizi treasures next time.