Visiting the Veneto: The Real Italy - Padova, Treviso and Vicenza
While tourists flock to Venice because of its uniqueness, unfortunately, the locals have been headed out of the city for years, mostly to the town of Mestre, on terra firma on the other side of the bridge.
Indeed, even though Venice maintains its place as the administrative capital of the Veneto, the real business of the Veneto takes place elsewhere. Three cities come to mind as centers of industry and business: Padova, Treviso and Vicenza. They are fairly large towns, each with a province to its name, and Padova and Treviso were relatively important city states before falling under the domain of the Venetian Republic, in 1405 and 1339, respectively.
It should be noted that Verona is also a fairly important center of business, manufacturing, and education, but it's also a very popular tourist destination, for good reason. The three cities this article covers lean in the other direction: they are also visited by tourists, but are more important for their importance in modern-day, everyday Italy. So, while there are things to do and see, and plenty of history and beautiful sites (like everywhere in Italy), these aren't the most beautiful towns in Italy, especially in the suburbs where more modern developments have gone in.
Padova
Being my "home away from home" in Italy, Padova is the Italian city I know best. What to see there? The main tourist attraction is the Basilica di Sant'Antonio - Saint Anthony's cathedral, known in Padova simply as "il Santo". It is visited by thousands of tourists a year, especially the faithful who come to ask favors of the holy dead guy. The "cured" often send in various things to commemorate the saint's role in their healing. Looking at things from a more scientific point of view, it's hard to statistically examine how effective the healing powers are, as there is not a representative sample of letters or much of anything from those who weren't healed... "thanks for nothing, you bag of bones!". In reality, rather than a bag of bones, the saint is most famously represented by his preserved tongue, vocal cords and other bits and pieces of his face that are on display in the church. Kind of gruesome, but worth a look. Despite being the biggest church in Padova, il Santo is not the duomo, or cathedral, of Padova, which lies in another portion of town. The duomo is worth a look too, especially the baptistry, where my wife and I were married, as it has some nice frescos on the walls, although I didn't really notice them during the wedding. I was too nervous and concentrated on the goings on.
Near il Santo lies the "Prato della Valle", a large expanse of grass surrounded by a canal in the middle of an even larger piazza; supposedly one of the largest in Europe. It's a nice place to go and relax with an ice cream on a sunny day, or a sandwich if you don't feel like sitting down to lunch at a restaurant.
My favorite touristy attractions in Padova are the main university building, "Il Bo`", and the Palazzo della Ragione (literally, "the palace of reason"). The University is one of the oldest in the world, having been founded by students and teachers who left the University of Bologna, reputedly the world's oldest, because of their dissatisfaction with the Vatican's control over Bologna and thus the University. Under the Republic of Venice, the university in Padova was granted a great deal of freedom, and in that time period, was one of the most prestigious universities of the world. It is claimed that Galileo Galilei spent some of the happiest years of his life there, because of the freedom he had to pursue his studies. If you take the tour of the university, one of the things they show you is a lectern made by Galileo's students for his use. After touring Italy, one expects to see beautifully handcrafted woodwork, dutifully preserved. However, the lectern is actually constructed in a very ramshackle, amateur way, and while his students may have been enthusiastic, the were clearly incompetent woodworkers. Naturally: they were the sons of noblemen who were not expected to work with their hands; their insistence on personally constructing the piece of work, rather than paying for it on commission is a touching demonstration of their loyalty to their teacher, and a reminder that not everything in that day and age was "beautifully handcrafted".
The "palace of reason" was the seat of government in Padova in the middle ages, and for the time, was an impressively large open space dedicated to something other than religious matters. It has a number of frescoes in the interior, and a wooden horse statue attributed to Donatello.
The civic museum of Padova is also worth a visit: it contains bits and pieces of Padova's history dating back some 3000+ years, including a number of pieces from Roman "Patavium", the city's name in that era.
A trip to the Cappella degli Scrovegni is also on the 'recommended' list. It's beautiful, and impressive, but sort of a pain in the neck, as you have to make reservations, and you get herded through the thing fairly quickly.
Once you've spent a busy day running around seeing the sites though, it's time for my favorite thing in Padova: a spritz in the piazza, which merits its own article. One of the nice things is that in the piazza, you're partaking of something traditional, amidst a crowd of mostly locals, something that's quite difficult in a city like Florence, which sometimes feels like it has more foreigners than locals.
Unfortunately, I can't really recommend a restaurant in Padova, we never really found a 'favorite place' that we could unconditionally send people to, although the Pizzeria Savonarola (in Via Savonarola) is pretty good, if a bit crowded.
Treviso & Vicenza
Treviso and Vicenza are similar to Padova: they are wealthy, industrious cities that aren't quite so high up on the very long list of things to do in Italy, what with Venice, Verona, and so much else nearby. To be honest, I don't know either one nearly as well as I do Padova, but they both have enough attractions to make a day spent there pleasant.
Vicenza has a lot of nice hills nearby, the Colli Berici to the south, and others to the north, which are all full of restaurants and places to go walking. I've always preferred the Colli Berici to the Colli Euganei near Padova, as they are slightly larger in area, and have a "wilder" feel to them in places (although of course, being in Italy, you're never far from a house or small village). Vicenza is well known for being the home of numerous works of the architect Palladio (who was, however, born in Padova!), although you can find them scattered all over the Veneto. An interesting detail about Vicenza's history is related to Casa Pigafetta, which is where Antonio Pigafetta was born, one of only 18 of Magellan's original crew to actually complete the circumnavigation of the world and one of two to write down his experiences. Magellan himself died en route after a battle with natives. If you've been in Italy a while and really crave some american food, Vicenza is a good bet: with the US Army base there, there are some restaurants nearby that cater to that crowd, including a few decent Mexican ones (quite rare for Italy).. Also, on the 4th of July, the base opens up and they throw a big party with grilled burgers and hot dogs, which is fun, although it's a bit of a culture shock to go from "life in Italy" to "US Army" so abruptly.
Treviso is close to Venice, and like Padova, a good place to sleep in a cheaper hotel than is available in Venice, and visit Venice during the day. In my opinion, like Vicenza, Treviso suffers a bit from the lack of a university, something that really sets Padova a part from the other two in terms of giving it a more open, international character. Treviso is economically important: a great deal of businesses call it home, including the world famous Benetton group, and if you're a cycling fan like me, Pinarello. If you're in Treviso near the end of October and like wine, the "Ombralonga" is reputedly quite fun, although I've never been. The name means "long shadow", and refers to a glass of red wine, called an "ombra" in the Veneto. An entry fee gets you a wine glass hung around your neck, that you can take to various stands and get wine.
Alitalia/union talks at an impasse, beginning of the end of operations
As of Monday the 15th, it looks as if Alitalia might begin to cease operations. Talks between the unions and the "new Alitalia" have not been going anywhere, and the airline simply does not have the cash to go on. The differences between what the unions want and what the new Alitalia is willing to offer were apparently so great that the unions are willing to "pull the trigger".
Berlusconi has, of course, declared that the stalled negotiations are "politically motivated", although after the mess he made of the Air France/Alitalia negotiations, one couldn't be blamed for thinking "live by the sword, die by the sword". Of course the unions aren't blameless either, and one wonders what sort of future employment many of the workers think they're going to get, sans Alitalia, and if it's in any way comparable to what they have now. Perhaps the "new Alitalia" would even be better off hiring up people individually rather than as a union, en masse. Truth be told, that sort of outcome would have been better years ago: Alitalia goes bankrupt, and other companies rush in to fill the void, hiring up the workers at market rates.
The upshot of all this is that next week, Alitalia will start running out of money for fuel and other operational necessities, and it's probably impossible even for Berlusconi and company to shovel more government funds into the company without finally falling afoul of the heretofore relatively toothless European Commission. Already, the situation is rapidly precipitating, with protests at various airports and canceled flights.
Perhaps the best hope for the Alitalia deal is direct intervention from "Above". The pope, when asked to say a prayer for Alitalia prior to embarking on a flight for France, said that he'd been praying for the company for some time.
Alitalia coverage
In my first article about the Alitalia soap opera, I wrote:
In my view, Alitalia is emblematic of the rot that riddles the Italian economy.
Which is why I focus on the issue so much. It won't be the first or last time that politicians do shady deals to the detriment of the populace, in Italy or anywhere else. However, in today's Italy, this sort of thing is looked upon as normal, and it contains a little bit of all the elements that are wrecking the country:
Unions aren't really representing "the workers", but a select group of privileged workers who earn much more than market conditions would normally allow for.
The rich get richer at the expense of Italian taxpayers, rather than necessarily through the merits of their own initiatives. Some of them actually create good products, but many of them, like Berlusconi, became wealthy through a mix of politics and finding clever ways to get around laws.
Some companies/people/unions/whatever are more equal than others. Is having Alitalia vital to Italian national interests? Of course not. Italy remains a wonderful place to visit, and other airlines would be happy to fly tourists in and out of Italy. And yet it's getting very special treatment that is of course not available for Joe Schmoe who runs a struggling business.
Massive waste of public money.
A near total distrust and avoidance of free markets. Neither the left or right is content to simply liberalize the market, sell the government's interests in things, and let the market work. In something that's a "natural monopoly" like trains or electric power transmission, there are some good reasons for keeping the government involved, but airlines? No way.
All Alitalia articles:
http://padovachronicles.welton.it/articles/tag/alitalia
Alitalia - Unions Reject New Contracts
Not surprisingly, the various unions involved in the "new Alitalia" deal rejected the contract proposed by the company designated to buy up the good bits of Alitalia. These negotiations ought to be interesting, as everyone is between a rock and a hard place: no pilots, no new Alitalia. No new Alitalia... well, maybe some of the pilots will get jobs elsewhere, but probably without the cushy conditions they currently enjoy.
According to an article in the Corriere della Sera, 80 or so flight attendants organized a sit-in, and talked about some of the onerous conditions the new contract would impose. These involve things like "workers and airplanes being moved around to where they are needed, pay would be connected to hours worked, in short everything would be based on productivity". One could see how the company went bankrupt with workers fighting against such "harsh" treatment; without even taking into consideration how badly it was managed.
Update: it seems as if one of the unions, CISL (pronounced "cheesel") looks likely to sign up.
The Economist on Alitalia, and recent news
The Economist is, as could be expected, pretty harsh with the Alitalia situation:
On a wing and a taxpayer’s prayer
An aspect of the story that has continued to develop in recent days, is that the governor of the Lazio region, and now the president of the province of Milan have both expressed interest in investing some of their respective regions' money in the new airline, in order to have some control over the airline's decisions with regards to the airports in their administrative areas, Rome's Fiumicino, and Milan's Linate. This would be sort of like the governer of Georgia expressing a desire to invest his state's money in Delta, which has a large hub in Atlanta. So far, it looks like that may be a step too far for even the grubby politics in Italy, but who knows. To turn a phrase, with the Alitalia deal, the sky's the limit.
Visiting the Veneto: Venice and Verona
"Home" for me in Italy is Padova, in the Veneto region, so that area is the part of Italy I know best. Venice is of course visited by tourists from all over the world, but I think Verona is quite worthwhile too, as a place to spend several days.
Venice
Truth be told, I don't have as much to say about Venice as other places. I like it, it's beautiful, and most of all, it's worth seeing because it's unique in the world, but it's not someplace I go too often. It's often quite crowded with tourists, at any time of the year, and I'm a bit more of a "hills, mountains, nature" kind of guy.
Avoid the main routes to and from Piazza San Marco. Definitely see the square, the cathedral there, and the Doge's palace, but once you're done, get a good map, find the main thoroughfares, and go straight away from them. There are plenty of very attractive corners of Venice that aren't so overrun by tourists.
The Universita` di Ca` Foscari is near Campo Santa Margherita, so that area has a slightly younger and more local crowd, and feels a bit more lively and 'real'.
For a bit of fresh air, the Chiesa della Madonna della Salute is nice. It's on a slice of land that sticks out into a bit of more open water, so it often gets a nice breeze, and has great views.
If you can't spend the night in Venice, you can still stay somewhere like Padova, and take one of the late trains back, so you can eat dinner, after drinking a spritz somewhere. If you're up for it, you can also do some nice "bar crawls" (known locally as a baccarata), although of course, being in Italy, the point is not to get stinking drunk, which is likely to get you kicked out as an annoying tourist, but simply to have a nice tour of some of the places the locals go to and sample some wine, and eat a little something at each one.
Venice is pretty in the summer, with a blue sky, but pretty in a sort of "Disney" way. In some ways, it's more appealing in the winter, with fog, and a dark, thick atmosphere that adds some depth to the setting, with the boats gliding along in the cold, humid air. Also, there are fewer tourists.
Carnevale is popular with the tourists for a good reason: it's lots of fun.
I am not sure where to look up the information, but on several occasions I've been on chartered boat cruises that start south of Venice, stop in the city, then wind their way back, at night. Not so much a touristy thing, but a great way to spend an evening, and I don't think they're actually all that expensive if you go on one with a relatively full boat.
Verona
Verona is, in my opinion, one of the best tourist destinations in Italy if you don't have a lot of time. It has a little bit of everything, a mixture that ranges from Roman ruins to modern times, which is a nice contrast with Venice, which, while beautiful, tends towards only a few styles that you see repeated.
The Arena built by the Romans, it still stands tall in the center of Verona. I will always remember the first time I saw it: having grown more or less used to the older buildings that are everywhere in Italy, I was floored when I walked around a corner and saw this massive, very obviously ancient construction, built with massive chunks of marble. Even more impressive, it's still used for a summer opera series (I'll admit, at the risk of looking like a philistine, that I went once and got a bit bored after 2+ hours) after nearly two thousand years of existence.
Roman theater. I have to admit, I'm deeply impressed by Roman artifacts. Where I'm from, Eugene, is so new that there is barely anything more than 100 years old. The frat house used in Animal House is more along the lines of what Eugene has, except that it was torn down. To be looking at something constructed two thousand years ago and still standing is truly amazing.
Castelvecchio and the Ponte Scaligeri - these date back to Verona's time as an independent city state, before it fell to the Venetian Republic in 1405.
None of these attractions are "off the beaten path" kinds of things, but they're still very much worth your time.
Beyond the historic aspects, I also like Verona's natural setting, with the hills to the north, and the broad, full Adige river encompassing the oldest part of town. The area to the north is great to explore with a car, sampling some of the Valpolicella wines produced in the area, or if it's hot, going further up into the mountains. The few times I ventured into the hills, they also seemed relatively free of tourists. Watch out for the Lago di Garda though: hordes of German and Austrian tourists descend on it during the summer, hoping to take in some sun before returning to their dark, cold, rainy homes.
If you want to get a feel for what living in modern Italy, Tim Parks' books are the best I've read: Italian Neighbors and An Italian Education and are set in nearby Montecchio Maggiore.
Visiting Italy: Places to See, Things to Do
I ended up writing quite a long comment on a site I frequent about places to see in Italy, and it occurred to me that I don't often write much about that here. To tell the truth, part of the reason is that I think I could write a book about it, there's so much material, and so it's tough to pick bits and pieces, but I thought I'd jot a few suggestions down from time to time. I'll try and collect the links here.
- Visiting the Veneto: Venice and Verona
- Visitign the Veneto: The Real Italy - Padova, Treviso and Vicenza
- Visiting the Veneto: Monselice, Este and Montagnana
- Visiting the Veneto: Cittadella, Castelfranco and Bassano del Grappa
- Visiting the Veneto: The Mountains
