On this morning, we were asked to pack up our belongings, leave our suitcases outside our hotel room doors, enjoy our last breakfast in the Una Cafe, and then meet outside in the courtyard to join with our waiting water-taxis. As there was a large group of us, we were divided into three different boats. Christina's family was the first to pull away from the hotel. Below are a couple of their parting shots.
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| Pulling away from the hotel. |
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| Ciao!! |
If we didn't have Ferrara and Florence to look forward to, I know we all would have been more sad to leave Venice. Venice had been charmed for us. I wouldn't have wanted to start our vacation in Italy anywhere else. Although, I must admit that I was excited to discover more of Italy!
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| Our chariot! |
I didn't know much about the city of Ferrara, other than it was a walled city in northern Italy and that my parents thought it would be interesting for us to learn some of its history. Besides the walls being the best preserved Renaissance walls in Italy, they were gorgeous. The people of Ferrara have done a magnificent job of incorporating these walls from the 15th and 16th centuries into their daily, modern lives. They have created trails for walking, running and biking on both the top of the walls and on the perimeter of the walls. On the day we visited, it was gorgeous--not a cloud in the sky and sunny. The wall trails had loads of people walking their dogs, riding their bikes and eating their lunches. It looked so inviting that I wanted to join them!
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| Ferrara's city wall--amazing! |
As our huge coach navigated the narrow streets of this old city, we were told about some of the historical sites from our local tour guide, Olivio. It was obvious listening to him talk that he really loved and admired his hometown. He had an extensive knowledge of Ferrara's past. He told us of the war with Venice which created the need for the fortification of the city, stories of the many families who ruled Ferrara, disagreements between the popes of Rome and the various overlords of Ferrara, and of the romantic scandals associated with many of the prominent families of the times.
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| Bikes are popular in Italy--especially in Ferrara! |
As soon as we neared the Castle of Estense, he had us disembark from our bus to continue our tour on foot. Walking up to the Castle of Estense makes you feel like you're walking back in time. The moat surrounding the castle is surreal. I had always read in books about castle moats, and I've seen plenty of them while watching Scooby Doo, but to see one in person and know that they actually existed in a real place during a real time was crazy!
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| The castle and its moat. |
Olivio took us over the drawbridge and into the castle. There were many architectural details built into the castle that I found very interesting. Of special interest to me was the existence of arrow loops (narrow vertical slits cut into the walls through which arrows could be fired from inside). A true testament to how times really have changed! Can you imagine having arrow loops in your current house??
Once inside the castle, we saw where the family lived, where they collected their water, where they stored their ammunition and many other castle-esque details. However, for most of the young men in our group, the true fascination was with the cannon and its cannonballs. How in the world did those soldiers get those heavy balls into the cannon? Umm, not sure!
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| On the drawbridge of Este Castle. |
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| Miles threatening to pull-up the bridge! |
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| In the courtyard located inside the castle. |
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| Taking a rest on some leftover ammunition. |
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| Figuring out how to load the cannon. |
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| As my sister says, "even Italian port-a-potties are well-designed!" |
After leaving the castle, we kept on foot and walked to Ferrara's cathedral which was just steps away. Once learning all about its history, we took off down the alley that you can see in the picture to the left of the church.
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| Ferrara's cathedral. |
As soon as we entered the alley, we spotted our first Italian bike shop. I was excited that Bill was able to check out some Italian bikes as Italy produces some of the best bicycles in the world. But, seeing nothing that he wanted to purchase, we moved on.
Next door to the bike shop was the infamous al Brindisi--the oldest winebar in Europe. Not only is it famous for being the oldest European tavern, but for also having had Copernicus live upstairs while he was a student in Ferrara. Because of Coperinus and other notorious patrons (Benvenuto Cellini, Tiziano Vecellio, Ludovico Ariosto and Torquato Tasso), Pope John Paul II decided to visit and throw back a few in 1973. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to sample the extensive stock--something for next time!
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| Sara and I outside the al Brindisi. |
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| Bill had to give Bob some assistance on the way out! |
Olivio wanted to make sure that we didn't leave Ferrara before seeing the oldest and one of the best-preserved medieval streets in Europe, the Via delle Volte. Here's a little history: the series of ancient volte (arches) along the narrow cobblestone alley once joined the merchants' houses on the south side of the street to their warehouses on the north side. The street ran parallel to the banks of the Po River, which was home to Ferrara's busy port. You probably can't tell by the picture, but one side of the street is considered the old city (11th century), while the other side of the street is considered the new city (14th century).
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Knowing that we had to be on our way, Olivio walked us up & down cobblestone streets until we reached our bus. After bidding him farewell, we all settled into the much welcomed air-conditioned, reclining seats of our coach--resting up until we reached our next destination--Florence!
TO BE CONTINUED...
