April 2-3, 2023 – Bologna & Ravenna, Italy

The sea is calm and the sunrise golden at 7 am.  I stepped out on the balcony for some pictures.  We have a tour this morning to Bologna.  By 8:15 am, we were on our way.  We took a bus from the port, through Ravenna and across the countryside to Bologna.  We noticed at the port and along the way, padellone’s.  We had to look it up because we were not sure what they were.  Little fishing huts with balanced nets that fishermen lower during low tide.  We couldn’t believe how many of these huts we saw.  We were told these are popular gathering places for families and friends.  Interesting.

As we left the small town of Ravenna, we traveled a road with some of the best agriculture I’ve seen on this trip.  Fields of thick grasslands and crops, vineyards, acres of flowering trees.  We were told that many were pear trees and others were nuts.  Field after field you could see crops and some containing ancient buildings.  I just loved the farmland we were seeing but soon it changed to industrial areas.  Off to the south, the landscape was mountainous, where San Marino is located.  We soon arrived in Bologna, only a 1 hour drive away.  

Bologna is the capital city of the Emilia-Romagna region and has an illustrious past dating to the 4th century BC.  It boasts the world’s oldest university (founded in 1088) and as our guide walked us through the city, she showed us some interesting architectural details related to university students.  The city was very populated so they figured out a way to house more students by using their portico’s.  As you walk the covered sidewalks through the city, you notice all these little porches that extend out over the sidewalks.  Extra rooms to house all the additional people.  The portico’s of Bologna are protected as an UNESCO World Heritage Site.  There are 666 arches in this city and Portico di San Luca is the longest in the world.

Bologna has a reputation as Italy’s culinary capital.  Lending it’s name to the decadent tomato-red Bolognese sauce, the region is said to be the origins of such Italian staples as lasagna, tortellini and the cured meat, bologna.  Restaurants are proud to have menu’s that rely on locally produced meats and cheeses and chefs favor lots of butter, cream and local wines which gives each dish a rich flavor.  For over 2,000 years, the pigs of Po Valley have been used for Parma ham (prosciutto di Parma).  A cross between an English and Danish breed, they are fattened on chestnuts and the milk used to make Parmesan cheese.  

The sky is cloudy today and a bit chilly but we’re looking forward to our tour of the city.  We exited the bus and walked along the ancient wall of the city.  As we walked, we could see the arches everywhere.  We were told, if it rains, you are in the right city, almost all sidewalks are covered portico’s.  We continued to walk through ancient streets and suddenly an opening to this magnificent piazza.  So much to take in.  Clock towers, churches, bell towers, fountains.  The fountain of Neptune was beautiful.  Restored in recent years, it was flawless.  Built between 1564 and 1566, when Pope Pius IV decided to give the people a public fountain. A gesture of goodwill?  Not really.  Just like today, a political statement.  Just as Neptune rules the seas, the Pope ruled the world.  Despite being commissioned by the church, the statue is all but religious.  It represents a pagan god, Neptune (holding his trident).  Neptune is very muscular and manly and was considered too sexy.  And, how about those 4 sea nymphs squeezing water out of their breasts. BTW, the trident logo of Maserati, the luxury sports car, founded in Bologna in 1914, is based on the trident of Neptune.

We continued our walking tour of the city going into the basilica off Piazza Maggiore (Basilica di San Petronio).  The outside looked unfinished.  Yes, because it is.  Apparently, the dream was to make this the biggest church in the world but with limited space, it was unfulfilled and the facade was unfinished because they couldn’t agree on how to finish it several hundred years ago.  Unlike Ravenna, the inside of this basilica was not filled with mosaics.  Grand cathedral ceilings, ornate alter and side alters and the biggest sun dial in the world.  As you look at the ceiling, there is a small hole allowing sunlight in and has crossed the church floor since 1657 (measures 220 feet long). Lots of history over the years involving professors of mathematics and astrology.  The path of the sundial has a brass line surrounded by marble. The stained glass windows were colorful and stunning and stood out against the muted color of the interior.

As we walked outside onto a low platform, we were shown a place that a tank broke part of the steps off during the liberation of their city (WWII).  I noticed a big wall in the piazza with pictures of soldiers killed during WWII (Italy started off as an Axis power in 1940 and later in war (1943) aligned with Allies, thankfully).  Come to find out, these people were people hanged or shot against this wall for being part of the resistance (against Nazi’s).  

We continued our walking tour down narrow streets with many shops.  Would you believe, a Woolrich shop from Woolrich, Pennsylvania.  In the window, their well-known red and black plaid pattern.  We use to drive to that little town to shop their outlet store.  It’s Sunday so some of the larger streets are turned into pedestrian streets only.  We walked and walked enjoying every street and alley.  Our tour included lunch today in a small restaurant called Buca Manzoni.  We entered the restaurant by walking down some steep steps and into a dining room.  They were ready for our group and already had our first course and wine on the table.  Various cured meats and cheeses, honey and testaroli’s.  They passed around a brown paper sack, you reach in and pulled out a triangular, hot bread.  Hollow inside and easy to use for mini sandwiches.  Next course, lasagna bolognese and then an Italian pastry for dessert.  Deliziosa!

Today we were on tour with our friends, Bev and Mike.  We ate lunch together and then during free time, we wandered together into a small grocery store to investigate.  After a bit of free time, we traveled back to Ravenna and toured some of the same buildings Bob and I went in yesterday.  The lighting was different so we enjoyed gazing again at the mosaics.  At this point, our tour ended and we decided to stay in Ravenna and explore some more.  We walked to the Basilica of Saint Francis (dating back to mid 5th century and famous for holding funeral of Dante).  There we were able to view under the main alter an ornate room with mosaic floor, underwater (flooded area was the original church).  We walked outside to the tomb of Dante.  Dante is considered the greatest Italian poet and considered the father of the Italian language.  His tomb is tucked into a small garden behind the basilica, out of the way of tourist traffic.  It’s a small mausoleum, but very elaborate Neo-classical monument.  The people of Ravenna are very proud and respectful of this tomb.  Florence was Dante’s hometown, but he spent his last 3 years in Ravenna.  Florence has never been happy about this and had a tomb waiting for him.

The sun came out, the sky is blue and we enjoyed another glorious day in Italy.  We walked back to the shuttle bus that took us back to the port.  

We all remember the soundtrack from ‘The Sound Of Music’ (song ‘My Favorite Things’).  The song goes through my mind as we travel the Emilia-Romagna region of northeastern Italy.  A region known for parma ham (prosciutto), pasta and bolognese sauce, parmigiana reggiano cheese, the finest balsamic vinegar and fast cars….these are a few of my favorite things. I’m not a big drinker, but Italian wines are my favorite.  It’s the home of Italian sports cars.  Enzo Ferrari hails from this region as well as brands Maserati, Lamborghini and Ducati. 

When we returned to the ship, the captain came over the intercom.  His voice sounded like he was hesitating.  O no, another storm.  He was notified that the Adriatic Sea has a severe  storm warning for the next few days preventing us from traveling north.  Apparently, it’s common that this mountainous region has wind come down and sweep across the sea making it dangerous for ships to travel and dock.  The port of Koper, Slovenia and Split, Croatia are cancelled.  We were disappointed but understand safety is primary.  Slovenia is a country we have not visited.  We have visited Croatia, but not this city.  Dubrovnik, Croatia was a gorgeous, old walled city on the beautiful, blue Adriatic.  The captain said we are spending another night docked in Ravenna and would leave at noon on April 3rd.  

Monday, April 3 – it’s a beautiful, sunny morning with a blue sky.  The wind has picked up and we see wind surfers out on the beach.  Bev and I decided to get off the ship and go for a walk through the little port town and take pictures. We saw a colorfully painted boat in the yard of this little house.  We took some pictures and this older man came out to greet us.  We didn’t speak Italian and he did not speak English, but the universal language of a beautiful smile and extended hand was heart felt.  He was proud of his yard and boat and impressed that we thought so too by taking photos.  He got in his vehicle and pulled away, waving again as he left.  We walked up and down the streets and soon ran into another older gentleman.  He spoke a bit of English and wanted to know why our ship was still in port.  He said 3 nights, not 2?  I understood what he was asking and explained about a storm in Adriatic Sea.  He understood.  He was very sweet spending time to talk to us and asking where we were from.  Making new friends as we travel around the world….’these are a few of my favorite things’.

We walked back to the ship and took a picture of a field of yellow flowers and ship in background.  It was time to board the ship so we wandered back.

Ciao for now Italy.  We will see you again in a few days.

How fun is this…Ravenna is the same latitude as my hometown in upstate New York (Apalachin)!