First of all, I must say something completely unrelated to Bologna or Italia... GO BRONCOS!!!! 5-0!!! And keep your fingers crossed for the Rockies! (I'm sure Niraj will have similar comments about the Bears performance next week so stay tuned...)
Ok, now on to serious business. :)
This weekend was really fantastic and provided some more sightseeing opportunities. On Saturday, Niraj and I did a walking tour of Bologna which we both really enjoyed. It was our first time starting to learn the history of this city and realizing exactly what it is we are looking at while walking down the street. One of the more interesting tidbits that I learned is that the main cathedral in Piazza Maggiore (the main square) was never finished! Rumor has it that when the city decided to build it they wanted to make it the largest cathedral, even bigger than the Vatican. Of course the Pope would not allow this, so midway through construction he decided to order the construction of palaces right next to it which would block additional growth. So, the cathedral is not finished and you can even see 1/2 windows and 1/2 arches on the sides where it was suppossed to be bigger! Take a look... the first picture is the cathedral (even the facade was never completed), the second picture you can see a 1/2 window on the right side of the church (right above the point on the tent), and the third picture you can see the start of the arch where the church was to be expanded outward. I'm excited to learn more about this city and will share more pictures as I continue exploring.
Yesterday we hopped on a train and did a day trip to Ravenna which is about 1 hour southeast of Bologna. It was a small, sleepy town that seems to still be stuck in the middle ages, and it was truly fascinating. Ravenna is known for its Mosaics which are everywhere in the city. We went into 5 or 6 different churches, and each one had floor to ceiling art that was made completely of tiny glass, colored stones. It was incredible! I've been to the Vatican and many other amazing churches completely covered in paintings, and this was equally as remarkable! The stones have been incredibly preserved considering these churches dated back to 600AD, and it is hard to grasp that the entire wall and ceiling was created by hand-placing the mosaics. I posted pictures and the link is below. Even in some of the pictures you can make out the individual stones, and just try to imagine seeing it in person!
Ravenna Pictures
Now we are into another week of classes and such. Niraj is getting more into his classes, and my Italian course starts tomorrow. Oh, and of course we are still eating well. After all, Bologna's nickname is "la grassa" or "the fat one" due to the amazing eats, haha!
Ciao!
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