Past Lives and Pasta

Faced with yet more rain, I thought the highly-rated archaeology museum would be a good idea. After a damp walk we discovered that the museum is only open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. How frustratingly Italian! 

Onwards we trudged. The Adige was high and flowing very fast. We crossed it on the Roman Bridge which stood from 100 BC to 1945, when the Germans blew it up. The Italians rebuilt it on the original foundations with the original material. 

Across the river was the Duomo. It turned out not to be opening till 11.00 so we had a cappuccino. It proved worth the wait. It is a basilica, built upon an older basilica, built on a basilica built by St Zeno in the 4th Century. Bits of the first church are still under the floor.

There were various medieval wonders too, like frescoes and a giant baptismal font carved out of a single block of marble. 

The cathedral proper boasted numerous chapels and Lyn lit numerous candles. While Lyn was paying her fiery devotions I studied the frescoes on the apse. The 12 apostles seemed rather startled that Mary was ascending to heaven on a cloud. You'd think, given their experiences up until that point, that nothing much would surprise them.

After the traditional afternoon nap we went to a pasta-making class. It was a multinational gathering: a young English woman, an Israeli couple, a German couple, and American couple and our Italian hosts. We made tagliatelle and ravioli, drank wine, ate our creations and generally had a great time. Our fingers are crossed for the young Israelis.