Bolzano

The next morning, we made it a point to get up early enough to be in line right breakfast was served.  Weather reports warned that rain would start later in the day, and if at all possible we wanted to avoid it.  Breakfast was, as always, a delight with fresh bread, meat, and yogurt; and we were headed down within almost a half hour of waking up.

Fog was very prominent all the way down; which cut what I'm sure were some incredible views, but it still had a wondrous effect, with the fog moving in and out of the mountain crags and the profound silence of it all.  We took the main road down rather than the trail to save time, and barring one extreme moment of uncertainty, we had no trouble following the signs down.  Being along a vehicle road, we saw more farmsteads and buildings, and it wasn't long before cowbells let us know that we were nearing pastureland.

We had this wonderland all to ourselves for perhaps two hours before we saw another living soul, and we loved every moment.  Soon, we had to watch out for vehicles and tractors along the little road; visibility was such we didn't trust that we'd be seen outside of a few yards.  We arrived in Compatsch in good time and were able to quickly get on a chairlift back down the mountain, which we had all to ourselves, and the bus back to Castlerotto was just ready to take off when we got back down. 

After picking up our bags back at the hotel room, we had got back on the bus and headed to Bolzano.  The way back was perhaps the most uncomfortable part of the trip, as this particular bus quickly filled to standing room.  We were very happy to get off and have some space to ourselves in our first fairly significant European city.

We hadn't originally planned to do much in Bolzano, but because we had hoofed it down the mountain, we found ourselves with about 3 hours free before the train was set to got to Florence, so we got to explore.

First we stopped by the ancient cathedral, begun in the 12th century and more or less finished with its prominent steeple in the 16th century.  Bolzano was heavily bombed during WWII and the cathedral, situated closely to the militarily significant train station, was heavily damaged.  Though the restoration effort has left the city looking remarkably healed, some of the frescoes inside the cathedral still show the effects of that terrible period.

This church was our first exposure to medieval art in situ, that is, in the space or setting they were intended for.  Seeing an altarpiece in a museum is a far different effect than seeing it inside the cathedral that the altarpiece was originally intended for, and here we saw eight hundred year old frescoes admonishing the faithful to reflect upon Christ's sacrifice, just like they had for eight hundred years before, instead of lining a museum as a historical artifact displaying the medieval Austrian style.  The effect and power of that experience is hard to describe, but it would drive Arthur to as many churches throughout the trip as Alex would put up with.

One other piece of note: the Bolzano Pieta.  We first saw a photo of this statue in a presentation by Rick Steves about European art as an example of pre-Renaissance sculpture.  We did not know that we would see it in this cathedral, and suddenly finding oneself face to face with a work of art covered in a lecture series was another thrill.

A pieta is any work of art portraying Mary's meditation over Christ's body.  This particular pieta is usually contrasted with Michelangelo's, whose marble figures are almost alive, in contrast to the rigid figures shown here, but that doesn't do this earlier work justice.  We'd see a few of these in Italy, and each are moving.  In a human since, it is a mother weeping over her fallen son; but it is also a fallen sinner recognizing that the reconciliation with herself and God is finished through history's greatest act of love.  Looking at the face of Mary and thinking about where the artist chooses to portray her countenance in light of that truth is deeply moving.

Anyway, enough of the church.  After wandering through the square we found ourselves on a street with buildings from the 1200s.  These buildings that were once small shops with barns at street level 8 centuries ago are now stylish boutiques.  While later on in our trip we would become more accustom to being in places that were even older, this was our first brush with how in Europe the buildings stay the same through the years but have different uses.  At this point we did get rained on but were able to duck inside to get some groceries (the cashier was not happy about breaking my 50 euro bill for 7 euros of groceries), and got our trip's first gelato, or Italian ice cream.  Gelato has less air and typically more flavoring, making it richer than other ice creams.  It is truly delicious, and we really enjoyed trying out new flavors on our trip.  This time, just to establish a baseline, we kept it simple with simply two chocolates.

I started this post with every intention of getting to Florence, but it's pretty obvious now that it's going to have to wait until next time.  On the train though we enjoyed looking at the Italian country side slide by while listening to podcasts about what we were about to see in Florence.  For now, dear reader, I'll leave you with us at the train station waiting to see the birthplace of the Renaissance.  Omnia Vincit Amor.