Although Mike and I visited Bolzano in 2018, I had absolutely no memory of anything except Otzi, the Iceman. And because I wasn’t traveling solo back then, I didn’t blog as often, — Mike tended to distract me —so I couldn’t even consult my “on-line” trip journal.
So, I’ll just have to wait till I get back home to see whether the photos on my computer jog my memory. Oh, a mind is a terrible thing to lose.
This time, the trip to Bolzano included a morning stop in the lovely village of Monza where the Carabinieri were having some sort of a convention.
The main attraction was supposed to be (what else?) the Monza Cathedral, which houses the iron crown that was used for Charlemagne’s coronation. The Italian policemen were an unexpected bonus.
So what makes this crown so special? Well, in 324 AD, St Helena, mother of Charlemagne, traveled to the Holy Land. The enterprising locals quickly recognized an opportunity to make a few shekels, so they told this gullible woman that they found a nail that was used to crucify Jesus (in their grandpa’s attic, no doubt). Oh, and by the way, if she wanted—and had enough money—she could also purchase a piece of the cross on which Jesus hung. (She did. It is a relic someplace else—I forget where).
The centuries old nail was melted down and made a part of the interior of the crown. No photos of the relic were allowed, but that’s okay, because the crown made it into the cathedral’s brochure.
Must have been a really big nail to circle the interior of the crown. Something tells me it will never be carbon dated.
Theolinda’s chapel was totally covered with visually impressive frescoes, but photos were only allowed to be taken at a distance, outside the chapel.
Who was Theolinda, you ask? Well the frescoes tell the story of her life. She was a Bavarian princess, who outlived her two Lombard husbands ( no small feat, back then). There is more to her story than that, but I’ve forgotten the details. Supposedly, she is buried in that chapel.
It wouldn’t be a Catholic house of worship without an image of a gruesome death, and this cathedral was no exception: John the Baptist’s severed head was prominently displayed.
We had time between our cathedral tour and lunch, to explore Monza. Here are a few of our sights.
It’s a good thing that the morning was so delightful, because we spent the remainder of the day stuck in traffic, arriving at our hotel around 9PM.
We were lucky that our bus was super comfortable, we all had our entertainment centers (otherwise known as cellphones) and all bus seats had charging ports. Plus, we pulled into a comfort station to load up on snacks when it became apparent that we needed to cancel our dinner reservation. Fortunately, everyone rolled with it, without complaining.
As usual, we started our day with a local guide who pointed out what makes Bolzano special. Our tour ended at the archaeological museum, where we could visit Otzi. Although the iceman was fascinating, Susan and I had already seen him, so we chose to roam the streets of Bolzano instead.
Though we only two nights in Bolzano, we packed a lot into our brief visit, including a hike on the Freud Promenade. To get there, we had to take a train that strongly resembled NYC mass transit during rush hour, which was definitely not a highlight. Like everything else in life, when you travel ya gotta take the good with the bad.
But the NEXT part of our journey more than made up for the crowded train ride. This fabulous gondola provided 360 degree views of the beautiful countryside.
The walk was lovely, the weather was perfect, and by the time we finished, we had worked up quite an appetite.
Once again, Luca chose a fantastic restaurant, where we were served our choice of three courses. I had delicious barbecued ribs, and ended up so full, I began to wonder whether I’m going to exceed my usual five trip pounds gain!
Our next stop will be in San Candido. I sure hope the weather report continues to be wrong, because it is predicting rain for all three days that we are there.
Destination NOW 