Italy
Overview
To kickstart our belated honeymoon, Siobhan and I met up with our close friends, Nadia and Daryl, to explore the northern part of Italy. We were here during the week of 07/25/2019 - 07/31/2019. During this trip we explored ancient ruins and castles, hiked to mountain lakes, and ate some authentic Italian pizza and gelato!
Common Phrases
“Ciao” - Hello, Bye, “Si” - Yes, “No” - No, “Grazie” - Thank You, “Per Favore” - Please, “Prego” - You’re Welcome, “Buongiorno” - Good Morning, “Buonasera” – Good evening
Takeaways
The areas we visited were communal and laid back.
The vibe in the piazzas was something special.
They eat dinner and stay up much later than in the U.S. too!
Rural areas lack good cell service and there’s a good chance you won’t find people who speak English so have a translator app ready if you need it.
History, ancient and modern, was important and relevant to the people we associated with.
Hidden Gems
Brixia Roman archeological area, Beseno Castle, Lago di Anterselva
Journal
Day 1:
Our trip began with a pitstop in Boston for our layover. We met with our parents to tour the city and have lunch together before boarding our next flight to Madrid, Spain. We didn't have much of a layover here so we checked out the airport and hung around until we boarded our last flight to Brescia Airport where we finally embraced our long-time friends. We had our first Italian pastry and epresso then headed over to our lodging for the night in Brescia. We were centrally located in the city allowing us to check out the city by foot.
Next stop was Brescia Castle which was another short walk away. Unfortunately, the museum was closed so we were limited to touring the grounds, ramparts, and garden area. The summit where the castle stands is called Cidneo hill and excavations from it date back to the Iron Age! During Roman times temples stood here for worship. The Mastio, which is the fortified area we see today, was likely built between 1100-1300. It was used as a military prison in the nineteenth century as part of the new Kingdom of Italy. For more on it's rich history check out this site. https://www.bresciamusei.com/en/museums-and-venues/the-castle/. We swung by a local church which was small but beautiful with old paintings and a rich green grounds.
After getting our historical fix we grabbed some dinner nearby then took a stroll through the city center and piazza (public square). It gets lively at night in Italian towns. Restaurants are open and people are out wandering and socializing. This was Siobhan and my first time at a piazza and we enjoyed the vibe of the community coming together. Historical buildings were lit up and they looked beautiful at night. We picked up some gelato from a busy shop and enjoyed the local dessert before heading back for the night.
On our first and only full day in Brescica we took a short walk over to a Brixia Roman Archeological Area where the ancient city of Brixia once stood.The prominent Capitollum's tall pillars symbolically display the historic Roman architecture. The museum includes artifacts, a theater, a sanctuary, and many other structures that are thousands of years old. For more about the history behind one of Italy's best preserved Roman areas check out their website here. https://www.bresciamusei.com/musei-e-luoghi/parco-archeologico/.
Day 2:
We left Brescia and drove over to Scaligero Castle which is on a peninsula surrounded by the exquisitely teal Lake Garda in the town of Sirmione. The castle grounds were quite busy and the inside is smaller than it appears. The view looking out towards the submerged section and further lake and mountains made you wonder how it felt being on watch in the middle ages. Other lookout points provide nice views of town on the headland. This castle was built in the late 1300's by the Scaligeri's of Verona. It was used defensively for Scaligeri and Veneetian ships. It was restored into a museum after World War I. For more on it's history and museum information click here.
Just outside the castle is a small bustling town with shops and restaurants filling up the Piazza Castello. We ordered lunch at the Bounty Bar Restaurante Pizzeria and dined outside watching the streets become more and more crowded. After lunch we stopped in a few shops along the way to the Roman remains of Sirmione called the Grottoes of Cattulus. They are the largest villa remains in northern Italy and are roughly 2,000 years old. It is said that this was the residence of a Roman poet named Cattulus giving it it's name. Although run down now, one can imagine just how beautiful it looked when it was built along with the priceless views looking out at the lake and mountains beyond.
We continued our day driving along the lake towards our next AirBnB stopping at Malcesine Monte Baldo https://funiviedelbaldo.it/it/ for a cable ride up a mountain. It was rainy and cloudy when we got there limiting our views at the top and around the lake. This would be a great spot to go on a nice day and with more time for exploring the top.
After the disappointing cable ride we finished the drive over to our lodging for the night, . After getting settled we took a walk down to the shoreline and had dinner at Lido Paina. Although it is lakeside the nighttime view was only of lights from the town across the lake. We came back to the BnB and watched Nadia and Daryl chat with our hosts in Italian before calling it a night.
Day 3:
Our day began with a homemade breakfast with fresh fruits. Then we packed up the car and headed north towards Trento. We didn't have anything special planned for the day so did a little research on the drive and found what was one of my favorite parts of the entire trip, Beseno Castle. It is known for the Battle of Calliano on August 10th 1487 when the Tyrolean army defeated Venetian Republic troops who were trying to expand their territory north. This battle featured Tyrolean lanzichenecci, infantrymen armed with pikes and crossbows, which was a new strategy of warfare at the time when the role of knights ruled.
The walk up to the castle from the parking lot gives you a sense of what it must have been like for soldiers to make the trek up wearing heavy gear and carrying supplies. The castle grounds and structures are well maintained. There were displays of an armory, courtyard, storage rooms, etc. There were re-enactments in the courtyard. A group of men dressed in 17th century clothing, wielding spears showed us a strategy of holding the enemy back. We even were able to try on replica helmets and armor from the era! There is a museum inside with impressive displays of weapons and armor from past eras. We finished the tour on the ramparts and breathtaking views of the Adige valley below. This was a gem of find and we would have planned it in advance had we know how good it was. After being pleasantly surprised by our last stop, we headed north to catch a glimpse of the Dolomites before reaching our lodging at haus Mucher for the night.
Day 4:
The day started with a drive up to a beautiful bluish-teal lake on the border of Austria, Lago di Anterselva. On the way to the lake we passed a small farm with goats and deer feeding on the grass. We walked the loop around the lake, and although it was cloudy we managed to get some nice views of the surrounding mountains. It took about an hour to complete this trail. This was just a preview of what was to come.
Next, drove over to the town of Braies to catch a shuttle up to the most picturesque lake hike we have ever done, Lago di Braies. We parked at a lot close by and took a short shuttle ride up to the aptly names Hotel Lago Di Braies. There’s a gift shop at the hotel and food stands just across the way by the trailhead.
This trail is a full loop (just over 2 miles) of the lake with unreal viewpoints all along the way. We took our time walking, appreciating the beautiful natural wonder surrounding us. Since the area is so big there were plenty of spots for people to sit out by the water despite the high volume of hikers on the trail.
There's an old church by the water letting you know that the trail is coming to an end. After finishing the loop we took the plunge and continued our adventure by boat. With prominent views of Croda del Becco the paddle along the rich, teal water was unforgettable. This took up the rest of our day and after getting plenty of sun and tons of steps in we went back to our BnB for some much needed rest.
Day 5:
For our last full day in Italy we began by visiting a centuries old winery called Manincor https://www.manincor.com/. We all sampled the offerings and ended up purchasing a bottle to remember the trip by. The modern building housing the sampling area is next to beautiful lush green vineyard and farmland. We drove around some more after the winery and stopped for a short walk to get a view of a Castle Toblino. This fortress has been updated over the years since the site was used in ancient times to it's renaissance look it has today.
Next we checked into our last BnB outside of Trento and, after getting settled, drove over to the city's center. It started off poorly. We took a wrong street leading us to a residential area where we had to pay a guy at in a parking garage for trespassing! You would think that they would give tourists a break considering it was an accident but we had to pay the fee and move on. Not only that, the Roman museum we had wanted to visit was closed. Besides the bad start we did enjoy walking around the city and checking out the shops. We finally had our first Italian Pizza too! It was good but not as good as I was expecting. Nadia claims that the pizza down south is much better so we will have to plan a trip down there someday to see if she's right! After eating we toured around the piazzas to enjoy that vibe one last time before returning to base for the evening.
Day 6:
Time to say goodbye to our friends. Our train to Switzerland was in Milan and it was a long drive over. We had to be on the lookout for pickpockets at the station and it was chaotic all around. Having two full suitcases proved to be a struggle from getting to the station as well as getting on the train. People are in a rush and there isn't time to slow down at all! But we finally got settled on our train to continue the long travel day to Switzerland. We all had a great time exploring northern Italy together and plan to schedule another trip like this in the future!
