Verona Day 1

July 22, 2021

Ride back to the Mantua train station to discover that the next train to Verona will not leave for 3 hours. The google map and city mapper apps are often incorrect, we are finding. Can we idle by a wide spot in the river? No problem. We pick a shady park bench next to a dock for cruise ships, that take tourists around the lakes (or at least the Mezzo and Inferiore — the Superiore is not accessible to them). We watch as something like 80 kids of ages 8-12, plus a half-dozen harried chaperones, all troop onto the ship. Thank god we had not wanted to take the cruise in any case. One ship is called “Il Catamarano Virgilio,” named after Mantua’s favorite son, the poet of the Aeneid and Dante’s guide through the Inferno. The other ship is called “The River Queen,” probably in order to avoid paying royalties on the name “Proud Mary.”

A quick bike-ride back to the station after our idle time by the lake. Soon we are on the train to Verona. Arrival is a shock — after being in farm country for many days we are now in the thick of a busy shopping and travelers destination. For us the big attraction is the layered Roman evidence. Underneath every house and piazza is a Roman town. Some of it pops above ground occasionally.

Mantua to Verona bike car. Big steps to get on but plenty of room and AC.

Our room (not quite a hotel nor an Airbnb) at Romeo Design is a stone's throw from the Arena. This will prove to be even more entertaining than we hoped.

Time to get up to the high view point of Verona. On the way we stop and get a wedge of chick pea frittata and a focaccia with olives. Life is pretty good. The high point from which to see Verona is Castello San Pietro, across the River Adige on the Ponte Pietra. (Originally Roman, and very likely still containing many of the Roman stones. But it was destroyed by the Germans on their retreat north, and reconstructed on the Roman plan from the rubble in the river). The river is high and moving fast.

The sun is intense and Zelda splurges on a hat. Note the Cremona Steelworks shirt. Accidentally obtained in laundromat.

The Ponte Scaligero (or Castelvecchio) over the River Adige. When it was first built in 1356, the left-most span was the longest stone arch bridge span in the world. Also destroyed by the Germans on their retreat, and reconstructed. Very high water level. There is a complicated 11km tunnel that shunts water away from the river way up on Lake Garda. Built in 1959 it has been used 11 times since then. Hoping they do not have to test it now.

Above the Roman Amphitheater. Zelda and an old Roman.

There is a wall of irregular octagon stones on the backside of the viewing site. More of the Roman work and also a chance to talk about the use of the Lesbian rulers (not in modern sense at all), stone fitting, and ethical justice.

The combo of old old old and temporary new.

Heading down the hillside we descend next to the Amphitheater where popular Italian vocalist Vinicio Capossela is doing a sound check and rehearsal with his group. The sound is amplified and controlled — it couldn’t be heard above, only when we were within the hillside bowl. Enchanting but we needed to find some olives.

The rest of the evening is spent wandering around, eating salty things, going to Aldi etc. There is an opera at the Arena — a double-billing of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci — and we get seats at a nearby cafe to watch the fans line up in fancy clothes. We are fairly sure that we will hear plenty of opera from our table and yet we hear very little. The vocal warm ups and instrument tuning that could be heard on the outside of the arena ring were gone. The actual performance sound was heard only by the paying customers. Joke was on us — but we had a good show of people-watching. Then a smattering of rain started and the Arena changed again with waiters picking up tables, rolling out awnings, and sellers switching from mask sales to ponchos. We walked around the Piazza that adjoins the Arena — Piazza Bra’ — and watched lightning in the clouds. Then we strolled back to Romeo Designs Rooms and called it a night.

Around the edge of the backstage are a series of old posters from each year of performances. This is from the 1930 season.

Today's ride: 25 km (16 miles)
Total: 237 km (147 miles)

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Kathleen JonesYou got my hopes up for a second when you mentioned Lesbian rulers. One can but dream. However, I’d never heard of one, so looked it up. It’s the good old flexible ruler. Those are good to have, in all senses.
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