Italian Side: Alps. Gran San Bernardo Pass. Great Saint Bernard Pass.

 The Great Saint Bernard

The Gran San Bernardo
Italian Side, Alps

Continue to Swiss Side at Switzerland Road Ways, San Bernardo Pass

The Gran San Bernardo is an ancient and treacherous pass through the Alps: Switzerland on one side, Italy on the other. Conquerors, emissaries, migrations, tourists - all have climbed or ridden very carefully, and some with great suffering, through and over and even under it. There is now an alternative for modern rush days - take the tunnel, if you must. Don't. Don't do it. Go once over the real thing. Motorcycles do, in swooping lines around blind turns; why not you.

Grand San Bernardo Pass, the approach, Italian Alps


Cliffs and hairpin turns, called switchbacks, repeat, up and up, around, then sudden street lamps mark the summit, a modern alert to vehicles that summit congestion is coming.  For foot travelers, climbers, or those on horseback or donkey, the way to the summit is marked by pyramid piles of rock called cairns. See more panoramic views of the way up at ://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/155249/pointe-valletta.html/

Summit street lamps, San Bernardo di Mentone, Great Saint Bernard Pass, Italian,Alps.

At the summit, Italian side, find Saint Bernard himself, San Bernardo di Mentone, sometimes called San Bernardo di Aosta because he was born near Aosta, Italy, at Mentone, in 1023 or so.  See this translation of his life at ://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/33350/.  Do a search for that, and hit the translation button.

The Saint.  He lived in these mountains for years, for most of each year, set up this comprehensive shelter hostel, equipped to serve travelers for longer periods as needed. Horses, cargo, all accommodated. However, it is disputed whether he did all that or not - see ://www.vtliving.com/saintbernards/index.shtml/; the dates do not gibe for the founding and when he died, and the naming came centuries later.  History is never clear, and beliefs and tradition count for more than later facts, is that so? Sure.

Saint Bernard, Statue, Gran San Bernardo Pass, Italy to Switzerland, Alps

There are a number of buildings at the summit: for coffee, for rescue equipment, bad weather lay-overs, a good stretch.   Before starting up the Pass, put your fleece or sweaters at the top of your stuff for an easy put-on at the top.

Great Saint Bernard Pass, Alps, rest, rescue and hostel

 Weather changes fast.  Here is the alpine lake at the summit, looking back at the Italian side with its hostel, the statue of Saint Bernard, and rest stop.  Sun breaking through, but that did not last.
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Resthouse (not main monastery), Italian side, Gran San Bernardo Pass, Alps, Italy

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Looking at the lake, there is a cross out there. Does it mark an event, or serve as a symbol for the monastery's activities. It does not stand out, but is there.
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Alpine lake and small cross, summit, Gran San Bernardo Pass, Alps, Italy

Fast weather changes. Still above freezing, but cold, windy.
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Storm coming, San Bernardo Pass, Alps

We had periodic rain and hail on the way up, not serious, then back to sun part-time. See an overview of history and weather and famous people passing this way at ://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_St_Bernard_Pass/ 

Just around the lake is the passport checkpoint for Switzerland.  The border is not open because Switzerland is not part of the European Union.

San Bernardo Monastery view, seen from Italian side, Great Saint Bernard Pass, Alps.

This Pass is part of the ancient Via Francigena way of the pilgrims, coming from as far away as Canterbury, England, and other parts of Northern Europe, all the way to the Vatican. In the 900's, towns along the way were sizable.  See ://www.marka.it/rep_Skeda.php?lang=ENG&categoria=Travel&reportage=La%20via%20Francigena&nome=Paolo%20Siccardi&reptitoloENG=The%20via%20Francigena&replista=no/  You can walk it by yourself.  See http://www.pilgrimroutes.com/italy.aspx/.

Now:  see the second half of the travel over the Gran San Bernardo, the Swiss side, at Switzerland Road Ways, Gran San Bernardo Pass.

Lucca - Volto Santo, Holy Face, Black Christ; Duomo di San Martino

 Exploring Charlemagne Era Connections - Austria and Italy

Duomo di San Martino, or Cathedral of St. Martin:

Lucca, Italy.

Follow-up to Austria Road Ways, Linz, St. Martin's Church, Martinskirche;

and Austria Road Ways, Kremsmunster Abbey,.

We are looking at roots of the old wooden sculpture of the Black Christ in the Cathedral of St. Martin at Lucca, Italy.   The Volto Santo.  This figure appears on the net in two forms we have found, so far:  a plain and a fancy.

1.1  The Plain Volto Santo.

People's photos conflict: here is one, in a plain white robe with border, see ://www.travelpod.com/travel-photo/jasonandsarah/1/1208995260/looking-through-the-decorative-iron-to-jesus.jpg/tpod.html/.  Here is a fair use thumbnail.

2.  The fancy Volto Santo.

Then there is the "Volto Santo" or "Holy Face", the photograph of a different figure, or is it the same but clothed differently, as is customary in many places, as liturgical seasons change.



Both are black, see http://www.stgemma.com/gallery/eng_volto_sancto.html/  Here is a fair use of the Volto Santo from that site, do an images search for volto santo lucca to find it.
Lucca, Italy, is inland and northeast from Pisa, not far from the coast, in Tuscany. Florence is to the northeast.

Lucca was off our path for visiting this time, but old Lucca, in its Charlemagne era prominence (700s?), appeared by chance in two of our Austrian stops during our most recent trip. What is the history of the Lombards, of Lombardy.  How did Charlemagne, from Aachen, Germany (no boundaries in those days) figure so prominently.  His is a fascinating biography - see ://www.chronique.com/Library/MedHistory/charlemagne.htm/ For more of Charlemagne, curl up with something like ://www.cambridge.org/uk/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521716451&ss=ind/

We first found Lucca mentioned during a road trip to Austria:  at Austria Road Ways, Kremsmunster Abbey. Its founding dates from Charlemagne's time, and there is a Chalice from that period, with connections to the Queen of Lucca; who turns out to be one wise, gracious, pious and effective Queen Theodolinda of the Lombards, see ://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,872284,00.html; a/k/a Theodelinda, see ://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/590589/Theodelinda.  Sixth Century.

Then we found a correspondence by name and image of Christ, between little old St. Martin's Church from Charlemagne's time in Linz, Austria, at Austria Road Ways, Linz, St. Martin's Church, Martinskirche.  And the Cathedral of St. Martin in Lucca. 

This Linz Martinskirche has a faded fresco inside that seems to resemble the Black Christ from that period, or earlier; that is kept at St. Martin's Cathedral in Lucca, the Duomo di San Martino. Better photo needed of the Linz fresco.

• So, we look at the figure of a Black Christ, knowing that there are many Black Madonnas, but this is our first exposure to an early Christian Black Christ.

Why is the history of this figure not better known; it has a long history, even if conflicting. People go there and never even look it up, see ://jimcarlucci.com/lucca_&_pisa.htm/ Guide books do not even translate it.  See://goitaly.about.com/od/lucca/tp/lucca-attractions.htm/

Here is a start.  Note that this is history-based, not faith-based. We leave what people believe about something  to them. We are looking for factual context, origins, place in the middle ages and earlier, and after, and any legends or stories about it. Others can derive significance or not.

• Why are there two figures: one plain, one fancy, at the Duomo di San Martino, Lucca

Dressing the figure looks like the answer - as occurs at other shrines as different festivals and seasons turn.  Here is the plain Volto Santo again, from another site. See ://images.google.com/images?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hl=en&source=hp&q=volto+santo+lucca&gbv=2&aq=f&oq=&aqi=/  This one is plain.

• What is the history of The Duomo di San Martino 

 This, as seen now, was built in the 12th-13th Centuries, see ://goitaly.about.com/od/lucca/tp/lucca-attractions.htm/.  See also ://www.italyguides.it/us/italy/tuscany/lucca/duomo-of-san-martino/cathedral-of-st-martin.htm/ 

There was already a church in the town in the 6th Century, a time of San Frediano (an Irish bishop), a Roman basilica style. 

Earlier, there was a more "primitive" church of San Reparata, a 4th Century girl saint, perhaps 11, persecuted, survived first attempt to kill her in fires, survived, then was indeed killed (beheaded) but suddenly a dove appeared and flew up to heaven.  These are wonderful stories, adding to - not detracting from - a fact-based look.  Perhaps with all this detail you will not forget Reparata, as was part of the probable teaching purpose in embellishing and making these stories memorable.

Saint Reparata figures prominently in other areas of belief and politics at the time, see ://en.allexperts.com/e/s/sa/santa_reparata_%28florence%29.htm/.  Do a find for Lucca there, to see the regional view. Lombards, politics, all.

• Some guidebooks are useless in some areas.  Frommer's, for example,  thinks it is stylish to make fun of old things, that it thinks only strange people would believe in, and passes the Volto Santo by, almost entirely, except to be derisive. 

 Finally, there it is. Scroll down here and find its condescending reference, fair use quote:

"This thick-featured, bug-eyed, time-blackened wooden statue of Jesus crucified was rumored to have been started by Nicodemus -- who would've known what he was carving since he was the one who actually took Jesus off the Cross -- but was miraculously completed. Hidden during the persecutions and eventually stuck on a tiny boat by itself and set adrift, it found its way to the Italian port of Luni in 782, where the local bishop was told in a dream to place it in a cart drawn by two wild oxen, and wherever they went, there the Holy Image would stay. The ornery beasts, miraculously submitting meekly to the yoke, wandered over to Lucca and hit the brakes, and the miraculous image has been planted here ever since."

See //www.frommers.com/destinations/lucca/A30489.html

Perhaps it is a "fraud" in that it is not the original.

Frommer's suggests it was carved in the 13th Century.  But, if it also was made at that time to replace an 11th Century rendition "that may have been copied from a Syrian statue from the 700's", then its history is consistent with preserving what to the people there is an important relic. This is apparently the only representation of the face made by someone, or derived from a representation by someone, who was there. That is an interesting point. What if he were dark skinned? What would white-faces around the world do.

Maybe he was bug-eyed.

At least this next site notes significance: that this is the only early figure we have that shows dark skin color on Christ; and it has the wits to make this comment: as probably he was. See ://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Lucca-149133/Things_To_Do-Lucca-Duomo_di_San_Martino-BR-1.html/. And trace the origin to the sculptor, Nicodemus himself, say the legends. He took Christ down from the cross, so he would know. Is that so?  Can myth coexist with science. Here we go.

CRITIQUE AND A POSITIVE NEXT STEP: 

Frommer, with all your profits, why not finance a carbon dating and historical research review of the Holy Visage statue here, and wipe the smirk off.  Proposed:  Facts, and respect, courtesy in opinion, but not condescension in guide books.  

A confirming Frommer fact:  The figure indeed is dressed for festival procession on September 13 and 14, and May 3, of each year.  But get the tone again:  "The Luccans dress their Christ up ...."  Luccans used in this way and in this context sounds like Skywalkerans?

Ugly americans at Frommer these days? Tour guide opinions and points and side stories can indeed be made to enhance a tour experience, add to the fact-base or legend surrounding a figure, but the tone matters.

Aosta - To the Alps. Romans and Castles. Aosta Valley.

Romans captured Aosta from the Gauls in about 25 BCE, and made Aosta into a legion post on the way to the Italian side of the Alps. There is a great deal of gray stone, streets in grids.

Signs are terrible. Aosta is a place on the way elsewhere, to the San Bernardino Pass, and yet try to find the ruins easily, with some idea of how much farther to go. We stop at towns like Aosta mainly for a gas-up and snack, and take a quick look around, but if sights are not well marked, take what we get and move on. The weather is looming and time passing,  and the signs, again, are awful. Aosta tourism, you are losing business.
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Aosta, Italy. Roman wall, ruin.

Aosta, Italy. The Wolf, of Romulus and Remus fame.

Then, Charlemagne (fast forward) passed through on the route Pilgrims used from more northern Europe to the Vatican. Read this fine description at ://www.initaly.com/regions/valdsta/aosta.htm/. Peasants, crusaders, royalty, all funneling through.

Aosta, on the way to the Grand San Bernardino Pass. FN 1

First, see the castles and vineyards, and terraced other things growing, on the way to Aosta and out the other side.

Terraced vineyards, Aosta Valley, Italy

Fenis Castle, Aosta Valley, Italy

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Some castles along the way are identifiable by their silhouettes.  This one, Fenis, like Verres, were feudal military outposts, but also offered luxury to the higher-ups.

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 The Bard Castle, Aosta Valley, Italy

The Bard Castle as a site dates from the 11th Century, perhaps parts earlier.  The Savoys occupied it in the 13th Century, and its site has housed a fortress since the first century - Romans set up there. See ://www.regione.vda.it/turismo/cultura/castelli/forte_di_bard_e.asp/  Austrians also holed up there until Napoleon broke through its defenses, and then the entire castle was dismantled.  What we see now is a reproduction from the 19th Century, the castle then was decommissioned, and is now a museum complex.

D'Ael Bridge (segment), and mountaintop Montmayer castle, Aosta Valley, Italy

Above the D'Ael Bridge is a small tower castle, the Montmayer, by the Valgrisenche valley. Think broody. This could be Ussel's Castle - both lone towers, but the Ussel is a rectangle, and I do not recall seeing a rectangle.

Verres Castle, Aosta Valley, Northern Italy

The castle at Verres is 14th Century, and was not only defensive. It also offered the good life - opulence, a palace atmosphere.

Then start the climb and the switchbacks up.  You can choose the tunnel, but then you see a tunnel. There are tunnels now that whisk the motorcars as an alternative under and through, rather than switchback, peril and up and down. We avoided the long tunnels. Short ones are unavoidable - some being just a few thousand feet to a few miles, or mere roofing buttressed up, with open sides.
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FN 1  Passes.

There are two particular historic passes over the Alps, among many, with names that have become household:

1) The Grand San Bernardino Pass, here, from Aosta to Martigny, Switzerland; and
2) Hannibal's route. More lateral, from France.

The Grand San Bernardo Pass is a more north-south, from Switzerland into Italy or the other way, of course, with the monks at a hostel at the top, and the St. Bernard dogs to rescue the frozen, broken, traveler in the old days. Napoleon went this way.

The Grand San Bernardino is usually routed as from Aosta, and the Aosta Valley, as the gateway, over the  to the Swiss town of Martigny.

2) Hannibal's route; a lateral way from the French side of the Alps into Italy.

We tried to do this. But just try to get to the town of Susa from Turin on a Sunday, and soon quit. Traffic impossible, no easy through route to find. We don't often give up, but did here. Next trip, start from France. There is a dispute as to which route he did take with his elephants, some say not on current roads at all, and vast archeological treasures are to be found in the ravines elsewhere. We quit and aimed back to Aosta.and

Turin. Shroud, Duomo, Piazza. Romans. Best City by Foot. Follow Along as the Sun Goes Down

Walk Along As the Day Ends

Impression of Turin:  Should be high on anyone's list. Contrasts in people, architecture, a balance of finance (the industrial north of Italy is money-minded, we sense) and culture. The entire way in by our odd route, to the Old Town section, took us through large international sections: markets, Asian, Middle Eastern, African. Follow tracks of any sort, and you get to the center. The main attraction remains the Duomo, with the Shroud, but we want to see more of the other sections next time.

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Read about the scope of Turin, Fiat and all,  at ://www.adapk.com/making-cities-out-of-industries/. Scroll down to Turin.


1.  Architecture.  

The Cathedral Bell Tower or Campanile in Turin is Romanesque in style, 1470.  But this site says later - in 1723. See ://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/liguria-piedmont-and-valle-daosta/turin/sights/424659/
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Duomo Belltower, Turin, Italy. Cathedral.

2.  Theological matters.  Chapel of the Holy Shroud.

The Shroud of Turin, Chapel of the Holy Shroud at Cathedral, Duomo di Torin, Turin Italy (replicated, original in vault)

Historical proofs. Some sites avoid the issue of results of the carbon-dating, simply saying that the controversy rages. See ://www.shroud.com/  Others find flaws in it. See also ://www.shroudstory.com/. The study itself, however, offers its conclusions leaving 5% uncertainty (reasonable), so anybody can choose to live in that 5%.

Vet it all. Here is the radiocarbon dating report, at Radiocarbon Dating of the Shroud of Turin at ://www.shroud.com/nature.htm/.  Their conclusion with 95 percent certainty, is that it dates within this range: 1260-1390, give or take 10.

Processes of faith and actions of institutions in fostering what they want to foster in dogma: different issues from historical proofs. People will choose what they need.

Chapel of the Holy Shroud, Duomo, Turin, Italy (Cathedral)



2.  The World Intrudes Itself, into Secular and Religious Discussions

Macho fountain square-off, Turin, Italy.
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Smack down approaching. Attitude counts. Issue here: the gustatory superiority of Piazza Castello, Turin, Italy (Castle Square)

Families out for an evening.  Bikes, and, on the sidelines at the cafes, the watching dater hopefuls.

Turin, Castle Square, Italy, mime

Castle Square, Turin, Italy (Piazza Castello)

See this piazza in panorama at ://www.ultimateitaly.com/piazzas-italy/piazza-castello.html/.

4.  The Stroll.  Have a bite of doner kebab to hold you until the 10PM dinner.

Doner kebab, on the way, Turin, Italy

5.  Reconnoiter at the Hotel - prepare for the 10PM dinner forage.
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Evening Cathedral view, Turin, Italy, from hotel


Night stroll, cafe for dinner, Turin, Italy
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Where next?
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6.  A yen to redo the office.

Window display, office interior, Turin, Italy


Lady with waif's rose, from table next, Turin, Italy

Children, some dark and raggy, others light and raggy, often sell single roses table to table.

Buy one, have the little vendor take it to the next table where four ladies, between, say 70-90, are carousing - bottles, big portions, lots of fun, waves, a great way for seniors to enjoy life.  A Turin friend says many elders live on their own, walk all around, largely because the extended family system still works.  Family stops by, keeps an eye, live nearby.  However they do it, these folks were enjoying a good time. And all the walking - we know that's good.

She waited for us to finish, then came up with another thank-you.

7.  And the Romans.

An archeological-dig park, also a dog park - let them run, all fenced in. See statues, ruins, just outside the Hotel.

Julius Caesar, archeological dig park, Verona, Italy

Turin Doner Kebab - The Global Fast-Food Feast

Doner kebab. A global viral spiral delight.

Kebap sometimes.

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From a distance: the doner kebab.  Smell it yet?

Doner kebab, fast food, side street, Torino, Italy (Turin)


The new world's fast food - doner kebab. Kebabs can be meat bites threaded on little wooden sticks as we think of shish, kebab, or metal sticks; or this - a vertically roasted, rotating mutton-derived and pressed wonder, which is shaved before your very eyes, and served with a white feta sauce, tomato, lettuce, pita, add the fries, see  www://dir.blogflux.com/topic/d%C3%B6ner+kebab.html

Up closer. The doner kebap.  Quick. In.

Doner kebap, sidewalk ad board, Turin (Torino), Italy

Doner kebab has even reached the eyes and ears and, yea, even the wagging tongues, of the New York Times - here an article on the doner kebab invasion of Milan.  See In Italy, Sign of Defiance in a Kebab and a Coke, by Elizabetta Povoledo at ://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/world/europe/24kebab.html/   Does size matter?  Where is the biggest one.  See ://www.rhinocarhire.com/Car-Hire-Blog/December-2008/Giant-Doner-Kebab-Paphos.aspx/

Common sense:  Food safety, storage, shipping, shelflife, street food conditions, manufacture of pressurepushedmanymincedmuttonedmysterymeatsmolded, same problems as anywhere. See ://islamineurope.blogspot.com/2008/05/berlin-dner-king-to-pay-40k-in-rotten.html /.  Still, delicious, except for the Doner King's variety.

It's the mesmerizing movement that gets you. Around and around and up and down.

So make your own:  

Recipe for the shaped minced mutton kebab, in little meatball form on the little sticks, not the rotating Humungous Wonder.  Go to Mutton Kebab Cuisine, ://hubpages.com/hub/Mutton-Kebab-Cuisine/.  This second recipe: combines pounded and marinated lamb slices with ground lamb, and uses a "doner kebab broiler" or rotisserie, see http://www.netcooks.com/recipes/Sandwiches/Doner.Kebab.html/

Compare #1 to a Western meatball?  Both use seasonings, but the kebab is minced, not ground in #1; and it takes a lot of flour in the mix; and then the shaped muttonballs are fried, then skewered.  If your pot is big enough, perhaps you could skewer then fry.  Or do a quick broil after frying and then skewering so the stick gets charred a little. Mutton, the grown sheep, has a stronger flavor than lamb, and is tougher. The marinade in #2 would be important as a tenderizer if mutton is used..

Also enjoyed in Switzerland, see Switzerland Road Ways, Fribourg, Doner Kebabs; and in Slovenia, Croatia, Canada, etc. In Croatia, the process for cevapcici looks similar. Is it?

Milan - The Ouija Board System of Navigation. Duomo and Risotto Milanese

 Milan.

First, find your way in.

Second, enjoy the rewards:

Architecture, history, risotto, and a great Piazza

The first is not as easy as it sounds.

1.  Maneuvering. The Ouija Board System of Navigation.

There is no way in to Milan. There is no way out of Milan.  Remember that, Grasshopper, and you will be wise.  "The urban layout of Milan is curious." That from ://www.initalytoday.com/lombardy/milan/index.htm

The rings of autostrasse routes end without a clear through-way to the old town center. They show on a map, but, once there, look like any other street. Look out the window and see nothing but squares and roads hubbing off, all ending in other squares, or circles.

Solutions when maps fail:   

• The Ouija board.  Lay lay fingers gently on the steering wheel, tap this pedal or that, scan horizons, and go. Eventually, you will see something that makes sense. 
• The Steeple chase.  Look for steeples. Look for the sun. Go in those directions - basics of north, south, east, west, aim for the belltowers.

When you are there, remember this is a huge financial hub. Money before tourists. Few low-budget hotels in the center. Just take the big hotel, let them cope with the car (guidebooks warn of break-ins and theft consistently) and belt-tighten elsewhere.

Exit strategy.  When you leave, ask for a Driving Directions internet printout. You will get at least a dozen directions, all useless because they direct you to .2 to this square, then take the third right at rotary and go .3 to that square, etc. Use the Ouija board and follow the sun. Find any big steeple and aim for it, on the theory that it may lead you to a better life. Finally there will be a ring. Rings upon rings with transverse connectors, so you are not out of trouble yet. Signs are for immediate towns, not ultimate big ones, so learn the route first, then get on one.

2.  The Sights

Milan Cathedral, a Rayonnant style of architecture - more French than Italian, highly decorated, see ://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/492572/Rayonnant-style - is overwhelming. Where to begin to look.
Expect disbelief, that this arises from a gritty city so suddenly.

Milan Cathedral, facade, Italy

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Then see detail, those individual features on the figures, the pinnacles and flying buttresses, over and over, and still each of the figures unique in expression, clothing, attitude.


Side view, figures, Duomo, Cathedral, Milan, Italy

Figures everywhere.



Milan Cathedral, figure detail
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The Milan Cathedral, the Duomo, was begun in 1380 and is white marble over a core of brick. The color changes with the time of day, and quality of light. Parts were not completed until the 19th Century. See ://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/milancath/duomo.html/

The Cathedral and Risotto Milanese: Pass the saffron-laced Italian rice, that slow-simmered absorbing stock, warmly coaxed vegetables - a soffrito - ladle by ladle, gentle stir but don't startle it. Inhale.Tender but separate. A little like porridge-making, but rescued in time. Italian rices: arborio, vialone, carnaroli.  Large grains, lots of starch. Add butter and parmesan. A tiny bit pasty. Perfecto.

Rice arrived probably in the 15th Century, and from Spain, see Risotto History at ://www.annamariavolpi.com/page52.html/.  Arabs would have brought it to Sicily, and to Spain earlier. The Arabs may have grabbed it in India before that.

Meet Valerius, an apprentice working on the Cathedral in 1574, says the tale, teased for using a shortcut and using saffron to up the ante on color for the stained glass. So he got back at his teasers and added saffron to the rice at his Master's wedding - and delicious it was. Saga of the rice. See the Anna Maria Volpi site; and meet the mondine - young girls and women who came from home in the villages and from distant towns to clean and pick the rice, until about the 1960's, for the 40-day season, knee-deep in the water, bent over, hot sun. And they sang. See ://www.vercellink.com/riso/mondine.php/.  Search for mondine and find that site, and click on translate. Youtube has the songs. Economy dependent on women. What were they paid?


Milan, Duomo Piazza, Italy. Cathedral Square.


The Duomo Piazza is huge - the Cathedral dominates one end.



Piazza del Duomo, Milan, shopping arcade, galleria
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Piazza del Duomo (Piazza, Milan Cathedral), central statue, Victor Emanuel II (Vittorio Emanuele II) plus pigeons
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Here is Vittorio Emanuele, 1820-1878; unifier of Italy, and its first king, 1861-1878.  His statue in the center of the Piazza del Duomo in Milan is the place to meet and greet, and view all.
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Go ahead. Feed the birds.

With a hotel just a few blocks away, enjoy an evening. And a view of Old Milan from the window.
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Milan, Italy. Older buildings preserved like oases in the great economic hub.

The ouija board exit strategy took us past fine old palaces. This is symmetrical, with an identical left and right side. Camera lens too small.
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Milan, Italy. Outer rings; palaces.

Lake District: Lazise, Lake Garda; Como, Lake Como; Ispra, Lake Maggiore

1. Lake District

a. Lazise, on Lake Garda - northwest from Verona

The name means "place on the lake", see ://www.lagodigardamagazine.com/index.asp?menu=59/.

Lake Garda, at Lazise, Italy

Little stairs walk you right down into the water, at spots along the promenade. The easier to get into a boat with, my dear, Pick a step, Set a spell.

 Lasize, harbor view, Lake Garda, Italy

Lasize, and Lake Garda is close to Milan, and an easy drive from Verona. It is full of sunning people. See ://www.gardalake.it/

Lake Garda, Lazise, lakeshore Promenade. Italy

San Nicolo Church, harbor at Lazise, Lake Garda

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 Little Saint Nicholas Church is on the water, at the docks. Find boats at the clocktower.

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 12th Century Walls, Lazise, Lake Garda, Italy

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The old walls with crenellated tops for defense date from the 12th Century, but the earliest castle built on the site dates far earlier, in the 9th Century as defense against the Hungarians. The Scaligeri castle ruin, modified and expanded from the earlier structure, is there.

Saint Nicholas Church, San Nicolo, Lazise, Lake Garda, Italy

San Nicolo is patron saint of fishermen and of schools, and this church was built in the 1200's.  It evolved into secular uses, and then was reconsecrated.

Fresco, San Nicolo, Lazise, Lake Garda, Italy: Madonna nursing child

We have seen a recurrent theme in Italian early frescoes - the Madonna openly nursing the child.  Here also, the breast being extended to the child. See Saint Anastasia in Verona for another. The theology here - the dependence of the child upon the woman for survival. There were centuries of Mary central to worship, as mediator, as mother of God, often expanding on indigenous religious beliefs in a deity as female, in Europe. See discussion at Martin Luther's Stove, Vetting Roots, Centrality of Mary. Fresco Course Correction?

This church was built by a group following Origen, of The School of Alexandria, 2d and 3d Centuries we believe, in early Christianity. See ://www.lagodigardamagazine.com/index.asp?menu=59/

Research, as a start on Origenism, at Origen of Alexandria at ://www.iep.utm.edu/origen-of-alexandria/; and at ://www.copticchurch.net/topics/patrology/schoolofalex2/chapter05.html/  His ideas were later deemed to be heretic, see ://atheism.about.com/library/glossary/western/bldef_origenism.htm/  That's a little extreme. Just because one web is spun for the ease of some does not mean others cannot find sustenance outside it. And Origen precedes the web - is Pre-Web. PW in time, and closer to the Life (and farther from the politics) than the later dogma-developing ones were. Is that so? Is it time to look again at the rejected ones, seeking truths.

Harbor, Lazise, Lake Garda, Italy. Theology. Many the boats to get somewhere.

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Of particular interest to theology's political evolution: The church became more and more entrenched as masculine, is that so, and is that why this kind of depiction of Mary as necessary, on whom even the male God depended, was shunted aside?

b.  Como, Lake Como, Italy

Lake Como, Italy; tour cruise from shore

Lake Como, Italy; residence views




Lake Como from Como point, Italy

Get through the crowded town and market and go out as far as you can. The road narrows and narrows, but you will end up at a private club, venerable residences, and public access to enough to enjoy.
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c.  Lake Maggiore

Through Varese, past Lake Varese, to Ispra.

Lake Maggiore, Italy

View from lovely waterside restaurant, local, small town. Ispra. We followed a wedding party here, then the bride and groom took off in their own car, leaving the guests who had been following, in the parking lot - the guests whooped and hopped back in their cars for the chase and we enjoyed our clams and spaghetti.

On to Milan. Ready for the Autostrada. Cross country is impossible. Nearly. Stop stop stop.

Verona, Duomo, Santa Maria Matricolare. Theology in Art, Architecture

What do the stonemasons, the fresco artists, tell us about belief systems that may be different from the dogma of the time.  We find the sculptures to show a burden put on the  shoulders of the non-elite, and a central role for Mary that is later suppressed.  She appears in old fresco and other representations in this way:  that the deity depended on her for the conception, the gestation, the birth; and also that the child depended upon her for survival; and later, for support when others forsook. Is that so?

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Look at ecclesiastical architecture with a new eye:  not to reinforce what you think you know, but to hear and see other perspectives. Any visit to a European country will involve some church-hopping.  See more than the guidebook or the guide say.

1.  Duomo, Verona.

Here is the Duomo, or Cathedral Santa Maria Matricolare, in Verona.  This looks like another church there,  San Zeno Maggiore, at first glance, but San Zeno has a top triangle at the roof, then a large rose window below, then the main arch entryway.  This Duomo is architecturally more complex.  If you take notes off and on, sketch out the differences to help you identify photos later.

Duomo, Cathedral, Santa Maria Matricolare, Verona, Italy

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 Identifying the various churches is not a priority for us. We are not extensive note-takers. We enjoy the wandering. Generally, we draw the line at two churches per town.  Max.  Our best guide at home for identification is the numeral order of the pictures on the memory card. Not infallible.

Structural identification.  Here, stripes identify the Duomo.  Brickwork identifies St. Anastasia, see previous posts. Then we squint at arch figures. More difficult are the interior views of frescoes, paintings.

Closeup, common man at work, Facade arch detail, Santa Maria Matricolare, Duomo, Cathedral, Verona, Italy
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2.  Theology in architecture, sculpture, fresco, carving.

Common people often hold up arches. They are identified by raggy clothes, usually bent over, showing exertion.  Saints and Biblicals around arches bear no burdens, apparently.  They pronounce. Note the Biblical-type clothing. Robes.  Look for more simple folk doing the work.

Common man bearing the burden, Facade arch, San Zeno Maggiore, Verona, Italy

Renderings of Biblical stories elucidate.  See Adam run. He has no real clothing, just a diaphanous something. Was that all he got instead of the leaf? Is that why he runs. Or does he realize he never told Eve where the specific tree was that they were to avoid.  He stood by and let her reach out and touch, to see what would happen.

Adam on the Run, Fresco, Duomo, Santa Maria Matricolare, Verona, Italy (or is it St. Anastasia?)

Everywhere you look - there are ordinary people exerting themselves to hold the place up. That looks like a woman, there in the center.

Santa Maria Matricolare, Duomo, Cathedral, arch figural details, exterior, Verona, Italy

3.  The dependence upon Mary.

Theology in Fresco:  The role of woman. See Mary here, and she is the center of attention, not Jesus. It is she who supports him while he is on the Cross. She is even larger than he is.
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Mary, in old Fresco, Santa Maria Matricolare, Duomo, Cathedral, Verona, Italy. Mary appears first in the act of supporting Christ on the Cross; then as the Central figure for worshipping petitioners
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And it is Mary who is the large focal point of the main part of the fresco below, with petitioners at each side. 
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Mary, Mary.  What did they do wi' ye? A 180 degree turn has happened, putting her in the shadows? It takes close looks at the oldest painted surfaces to see.
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Instead, where she does appear, she is buried in gilt and gewgaws, crowns and jewels supporting a monarchy, as though Himself ever valued that.


Mary, Duomo, Cathedral, Verona, Italy, here removed from role as protector, and an essential to life, into a garbed and regalia-ed Queen


Mary, painting, Duomo, Cathedral, Verona, Italy. Morphed into a new message of her role. The unreachable. 

The assumption takes over? See here below, then look up and see her above.

4.  Renovations of architecture, fresco and theology.  Changes to fit the time; or faithful reconstruction of the old.

If we were of this particular faith subgroup, we would keep before us the fresco of Mary as central to the things that matter, not the dogmas. And we would note the eternal truth, that even in our religions common people bear the burdens imposed on them while the higher ups contemplate and pronounce. Is that so? Not really, some higher ups were martyred. But if that was for an authoritarian view and dogma, perhaps it should have been rethought in terms of original teaching of the Founder. is that so? Sure.

Duomo, Verona. Major renovations, much concealed still

Aim your camera around the curtain to see what is going on.  We prefer old frescoes to newer paintings, so were interested here.

Duomo, Verona. Is the serpent here in Eden shown as a female? Isn't the serpent a "he"? Text tampering?

Excavations, Duomo, Verona, Italy

Duomo, Santa Maria Matricolare, Verona, layers of earlier foundations

Mary, about to nurse? Duomo, Verona, Italy

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We have seen several old frescoes of Mary nursing in public, people watching, breast bared. Here, this old sculpture (Romanesque) looks like another, with her apparently extending it to the child. When did nursing in public become anathema? It was essential to The Survival of the founder, is that so, and is that not the message - the role of the female not only for the gestation, but also its ongoing life. Have patience with us outsiders, please, but this issue interests us. Look at the demotions after. The vengeance of the Watchers.
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Duomo, Cathedral, Santa Maria Matricolare, Verona. Whimsy in figures.

This is why we like the old reliefs, the old frescoes and sculptures; rather than the gaudy later oils and decorations. Here are some folk, just hanging out. Or are they guarding the Tree, with their sceptres, but no wings, there in the center, so Adam (that is a guy) relaxing over there, cannot get back in.  Room for interpretation in everything.

Verona, Italy. Childish Adults on Board. Marbles, Loss or Enjoyment Of

Marble. Ancient to Modern. An Exhaustible Resource.

Examine It Minutely

for a change

Even marble flooring can be tweaked for entertainment's sake.

Duomo, marble flooring detail, Verona, Italy

Roar.

Antique marble, as in Greek statues, is "unknown" for use today, and carrera marble is used instead. The oldest quarries were exhausted. Marble varies, of course, with location. Countries are known for their marble. See the varieties of marble, with white being far softer than the black. The old black marble and white marble quarries are indeed gone. When scuffing along flooring, go from black to black? This site says that alabaster and granite are also marbles, see Marble Workers' Manual at ://quarriesandbeyond.org/articles_and_books/marble_workers_manual/mwh-p1_sect2.html/

Look at the varieties and colors of modern marble at ://www.sculpt.com/catalog_98/stones/Marbles.htm/ Buy some. Find the chisel. Chiz.

Verona - Saint Anastasia and Simple Folk; The Theology of Art.

 The Theology of Art

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Here, we look at St. Anastasia, church in Verona, Italy; and what its art says about its theology.  See in the beleaguered supporters of its columns the place of the poor in Christian theology by the time of the Renaissance; and in frescoes, the persistence of the belief in Mary the Mother as essential not only to the birth of Christ, but also to his very survival: his dependence on her, as depicted in art where she nurses the baby openly, extending the breast.  That did not last.

Saint Anastasia Herself.

Which?  There were several Sant' Anastasia's in the third century -  one of Rome, one of Simium (where?) and one, known as The Patrician, see ://www.aug.edu/augusta/iconography/anastasia.html/  If this in Verona is the Roman one, as is likely given the geographic proximity, she was burned at the stake for refusing to marry. See the story, The Golden Legend, at the Iconography site.  Look it up at Medieval Sourcebook, Fordham University, at ://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/goldenlegend/. As to Simium, there is a reference in the history of the Apostles' Creed at ://www.archive.org/stream/apostlescreedexa00whee/apostlescreedexa00whee_djvu.txt/ but no map.

To us, as outsiders, the Roman Anastasia's death apparently had nothing to do with her Christian faith, as far as we can tell. She just said no to marrying the jerk, and wanted her wealth to go to the poor, not to the fellow who wanted her hand and the rest. What other theology is expressed by her sainthood? Where does Christ say not to marry.  Religious coral. What do we say.  Look out, girls, the Romans are coming? The fork in the road.

St. Anastasia, Santa Anastasia, 1480, Verona, Italy

2.  The place of the poor in Renaissance Christian theology. Is this so?


Look closer at the theology of architecture and sculpture. Does this fellow bearing burdens really want to be here.
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Unwilling beast of burden? St. Anastasia, Verona, Italy

This is one Hunchback, attributed to Gabriele Caliari, the father of Renaissance artist, Paolo Veronese. See Veronese at ://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/veronese_paolo.html

Second Hunchback, St. Anastasia, Verona, Italy

The second Hunchback bearing burdens:  he is also at the base of a column at the entrance, looks equally put upon.

We did not notice this was a hunchback - or the other one, either.

Are they? Or is that some description that just gets passed on?  We saw only the economically deprived.  Have to go back.  To us, they looked simply as the poor. Being dumped upon, again.
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Who bears the burden of our institutions. Who profits. What message?

Here is the altar and apse areas. No hunchbacks.

Interior, altar, Sant' Anastasia, Verona, Italy

3.  The Theology of Interdependence:  Mary as Essential not only to the Birth, but to the Survival

Here is Mary, nursing the baby, openly, extending the bare breast to the child as others look on.

Fresco, Sant' Anastasia, Verona, Italy. The Theology of Public Nursing: Mary nursing openly, in front of others, necessary to survival of the child; why is that female essential in Christian religion later suppressed by male dogma? Need we ask.

How many altar paintings, whatever, show this after the Renaissance? Scarce, if any. Then, look at the expressions on the faces of the men.  Do they look jealous?  Can they tolerate the idea that the Mother has this necessary connection, in order for the child to survive. And that their theories may well be disposable, but not this relationship.See discussion in connection with anther fresco of Mary nursing, at Lazise, at Vetting Roots, Centrality of Mary. Fresco Course Correction?.

Fresco, Verona, Italy. Saint Anastasia. Discomfited clerical onlookers, as Mary openly nurses. Are they, perhaps, already conjuring contrary dogma, how males could be made central to Christianity instead; Renaissance.

This theme, of Mary openly nursing the child, also appears in the ancient church of St. Anthony at Lake Garda, Italy, post pending. Then, surprisesurprise, no more Mary openly nursing.

Theological correctness:  Nursing in public is clearly theologically correct, as well as nutritionally advised.  Lactators, carry on.  Treatment of the poor.  Making the poor bear the burdens of the rich church architecture is not theologically correct. Serve the people.  Is that so?

Verona: Dante,; Scaligeri Family, and The Dogs of Vanity

Dante in Verona:

A temporary resident of Verona; a permanent memorial. Dante Alighieri, the poet we know simply as Dante,  lived in Verona for five years, from 1312 to 1318, a supporter of the Holy Roman Emperor party, the Guelphs; against the Pope's party, the Ghibellines.

Dante Alighieri, Monument, Memorial statue, Verona, Italy. Piazza dei Signori

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The Guelphs later divided into the White Guelphs (Dante's group) and the Black Guelphs, no racial reference.  As a White Guelph, and here history is beyond me, he had to leave Florence and ended up in Verona. And elsewhere in Italy, traveling about. Writing. Falling in love. Describing hell.  Is that so? Not in that order. See ://www.online-literature.com/dante/  Verona was not unique in housing him.

In his "Purgatory", Dante refers to Montecchio's and Capelletti, and their sadness; some think the story might, just might, have taken place at that time, perhaps.  See Dante's Verona at ://www.veronissima.com/sito_inglese/html/topic_dante.html, referencing Shakespeare's later story we know as Romeo and Juliet. Montagues and Capulets.
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Tombs of the Scaligeri in Verona.

The Scaligeri family ruled Verona in the 1300's-1400's.  The name, Cangrande, for one of them, means "Big Dog" and there are several on the tomb.

Scaglieri tomb, Cangrande perhaps, Verona, Italy

One story behind the obsession with canine names in the Scaglieri family is this:  That the Polos returned from the Far East talking of the might of the Khan, and the Khan was translated into a spelling like Cane, which resembled Dog. The Scaglieris would not be outdone by some dog from the east, so the tradition of outdoing began. Was that in Rick Steves' guidebook?  Will check. The memorial to the Scalieri Family is, as any other name in another language or earlier time, spelled variously:  also spelled Della Scala, or Scaligeri.

Frommer's guide says that many others in the family took on dog names, including one called the Mastiff, see ://www.frommers.com/destinations/verona/A33548.html/.  We are looking for other accounts of the original idea, going back earlier, that the family's obsession with things dog stemmed from a misinterpretation - not "dogs" at all. The NYT does not mention it. See ://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/europe/italy/verona/33548/arche-scaligeri-scaligeri-tombstorre-dei-lamberti/attraction-detail.html/


Scaglieri Family Tomb, Cangrande, Big Dog, Verona, Italy
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See the history of the family and Verona at this google book, http://books.google.com/books?id=XixojYgnRtsC&pg=RA1-PA388&lpg=RA1-PA388&dq=canines+Verona+Italy&source=bl&ots=dqp-W_ClYr&sig=6I2SIQ5b3MdyOtP8FvaJI_a8MnU&hl=en&ei=IoTPSqinHYjllAfIuZmpCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#v=onepage&q=&f=false/.  This is from Italy, page 389.

Verona - Market, Arena, Rome Was Here. And Venice. And the Inquisition.

Verona's Old City is largely pedestrianized, but it is also a large, active community. This is not a big open-air museum, despite all the fine buildings. People live and work here.

Clocktower, street view, Old City, Verona, Italy

Market, Old Town, Verona, Italy

Verona's Arena looks like Rome's Colisseum, and was built by the Romans in the First Century. Gladiators, spectacles, all here.  See ://italy-travel.suite101.com/article.cfm/touring_roman_verona/

Roman Arena, passageway (flash adjusted), Verona, Italy

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Roman Arena, close-up, brickwork, interior vaulted arch passage, Verona, Italy

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These days, come in summer for the Opera.

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After the Romans came a variety of city-state rulers and kings.  In 1184, Pope Innocent III, at a gathering called the Council of Verona, instituted the Inquisition here. See timeline at ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbo=p&tbs=tl%3A1&q=timeline+Verona&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi=/ Support the Roman Catholic interpretations of Christianity or die. The next 80 popes continued it. Churches can represent ill-gotten gains.

Then came the big one, Venice.

Lion of Venice, Piazza della Erbe, Verona, Italy

The Lion of Venice:  In the 9th Century, some dastardly folk from Venice stole the remains of St. Mark that had been entombed in Alexandria, Egypt.  The graverobbers concealed the corpse in pork to fend off the Muslims; then suspended it from the mainmast and braved a sea crossing where Saint Mark himself instructed them to strike the sails and thus saved them from hitting rocks.  Once at Venice, the remains were given to the Doge in Venice, who adopted Saint Mark as the city's patron saint.  Accordingly, St. Mark's traditional logo, a winged lion, became symbol of they city. See ://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/winged_lion_of_st_mark.htm/

Verona was conquered by the Republic of Venice in 1405. See timeline at http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbo=p&tbs=tl%3A1&q=timeline+Verona&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi=/.

Verona - Bones About It

Your young or English major children might be surprised at the contrasting tones at Juliet's supposed house:  the sometimes rowdy groping at the Juliet statue in the courtyard, and then the shift inside to find the dancing dead.
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Here is the courtyard at Juliet's concocted house, and this courtyard (after the ticket booth) ushers you into the tour through imagined rooms. We understand that this particular house has no connection to anything Shakespearean, except for its look. Fine.  It looks as we might imagine from the outside.  And there is a nice art gallery filling much of it up as you go. Enjoy. There is also an imagined Romeo house, a serenade away, that we did not enter.

Juliet's house and balcony (ersatz), Verona, Italy

 Juliet Herself, with Daniel, the restrained Admirer, Verona, Italy

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Then, inside, bones offering a stark view of a reality, the transience of joy as a general principle? Is that it? Are all the heights heightened by their loss. Do they live on because they die in full flower, as an unsustainable ideal, instead of life taking over.

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Family Tour. Too late! Verona, Italy, Romeo and Juliet, after.

 It happened in Verona, Italy.

Is that part of life?  What say. Romeo, where art thou.

Dolomites, and Cortina, Italian Alps

Dolomites, Italian Alps

During World War I, there was horrendous fighting in these Alps. From 1915 to 1917, Italians and Austrians suffered two winters, dug in, tunneling, in trenches, and with mines. There were 6400 Italians killed, 1800 Austrians, for example, at one battle alone. See Dolomites, History, at ://www.dolomiti.org/dengl/sd/index.html/. That was at Col de Lana, and col means "pass". We did not know of the tunnel tangle at Lagazuoi, the Ice City, but if we get back, that will be on the list. See it at ://www.dolomiti.org/dengl/Cortina/laga5torri/storia/fronteLaga.html

Cortina, Dolomites, Italian Alps

The town and region of Cortina is now a UNESCO World Heritage site, see http://italy-travel.suite101.com/article.cfm/italian_dolomites_alpine_driving_tour/, famous for its sports, partying and also its long strategic history, see ://www.dolomiti.org/dengl/Cortina/csto/mfbelli/index.html/ In 1956, Cortina d'Ampezzo hosted the Olympics. Read the index of topics at that site: prehistoric times, Romans, Middle Ages with the Lombards, Franks and then the Ottomans, nobles and Crusades, Venice influence, short-lived small republic (Maximilian let that go on a while), jump ahead to Fascism and World Wars, and boundary shifts.

Travel is restricted. Plan for it.

We arrived at Cortina from the north, from Lienz, Austria; then tried to get to Merano from Cortina.

Merano used to be part of Austria as Meran, and a dear friend's grandfather was from the old town. We were caught in the wrong place, wrong time. Too far to go to head back to the long valley route, and the mountain passes are impassible unless you start early in the day, plan to creep about, check the map every turn (signs are for passes and choices in passes, not the ultimate town heading for), and a full tank. Plan your time in the Dolomites so you see the topography, not just the distances. Ranges go north-south, and passes letting you go east-west are one hazardous switchback after another, on a 1 1/2 lane road, if that, with some lay-bys, otherwise you back up. So plan accordingly.

See that Italian Dolomites Alpine Driving Tour site for how to get to Cortina, and other places, from Verona.  Plan to go from the south.

As you go, watch for those WWI memorials.

Phrygian Caps, Ancient Roman Empire and Mithraism

Ancient clothing, ancient beliefs. They are with us today. Here is a fair use and rescaled portion of a mosaic in Ostia Antica, the whole can be seen at www.ostia-antica.org/regio5/9/9-1_11.

For background where this was uncovered, see our views of Ostia Antica at Italy Road Ways, Ostia Antica; and at Italy Road Ways, Ostia, Death by Silt. See the cap, the forward-pulled peak.

Our focus here is on this headwear - known by its shape as the Phrygian Cap.










Now, see this same cap shape on a slave shown on the Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome, at Italy Road Ways, Rome, Colosseum, Arch of Septimius Severus.

It also was worn by worshippers of Mithra, Mithraism as a pagan Roman religion that competed in the early times with emerging Christianity, and was the dominant religion where Paul grew up. See its influence at ://sparklemjk.com/Yule.html. See also Bogomilia, Mithraism.

This cap has significance in any era where freedom was valued, and fought for - see Joy of Equivocating, Phrygian Cap; and sites listed there.

Origins are anchors. Ties to the past that light up the present. Wear your Phrygian Cap with pride. See its current significance in modern symbolism at Joy of Equivocating, Phrygian Caps.

The United States Army sports it with pride. This is a fair use portion of the official seal. See Joy of Equivocating site for more. Then look up the American Revolution, and the French Revolution. A search for Phrygian caps there as well. And connections to Rome - see ://www.crwflags.com/FOTW/flags/xf-cap.html