VERONA - SUMMER OF 2005


So we arrived in Verona after visiting Padova. This was almost the first thing we saw there. A piazza with antique buildings and a Colosseum.
Actually my sister is in this photo, but as she doesn't like appearing in my blog I'm not telling where she is! LOL


This is in one of the buildings in the piazza. It says there that this was the balcony from where Garibaldi would speak to the masses.


And here's the Colosseum in Verona! It's cool and well preserved!


This roman guy would stand there to take photos with tourists... but you'd have to pay for that... so I snapped a shot hoping for him not to find out... and so I haven't payed him! :) LOL


They use the Colosseum to perform Operas and stuff like that. At the end of the season they show off all the scenaries used!! This bulls were from Aida I guess.


And this photo I particullarly enjoy... it shows part of the Colosseum and this statue of the Virgin...


Once in Verona you must visit the Capuletto's house. Yep, Julieta's house.


This is the famous balcony that Shakespeare made known all over the world... and th statue standing on the left is Julieta. This is a postcard as it is totally impossible to snap a shot without tourists there!!


I wanted to go to the balcony so that someone could snap a picture of me there... but I had no time to wait, so I snapped a shot at the lady standing there...


But I managed to grab Julieta's boob, cause it's a good luck charm as they say... so far my luck hasn't changed... maybe I should have grabbed harder! LOL


On the Julieta's house walls people stuck love messages... And the result is this... I left a message also... but I decided, as I don't have a boyfriend and my chosen victim would never read the message, to leave a humurous message... so I left a cheesy message to James Hetfield from Metallica!! (my platonic love!) LOL


And this is the central piazza. It's a market there. And it's beautiful and warming.


This is the statue of the Holy Truth wich in italian is Verona, and so the city became known as Verona.


And this is Dante. He's a common presence everywhere in Italy!


This street here is the chic street there. It's where all the famous and damn expensive shops are at!! Pretty cool if you had the time to actually enjoy!


As you can see, even Louis Vuiton was there!


This little girl went to give the mime a coin... and th mime decided to play a bit with the girl.... it was a sweet moment!

PADOVA - SUMMER OF 2005


So this was the first thing I saw when I came in Padova. A piazza or something like that surrounded by statues. I liked it, it was peaceful and the rainny floor looked amazing... even the wet street looked cool cause it reflected the statues!


As you can see here I'm not lying when I say the street reflected the statues... well... actually in this photo you can only see the reflection of the street lamp, but I guess you can imagine the rest!


After a tiny walk heading the Basillica of St. Anthony we actually got there.
St. Anthony was born in Lisbon and died in Padova, so the two cities are really fond of the sain, and we (portuguese) always call him St. Anthony of Lisbon, and italians call him St. Anthony of Padova... I guess we want the exclusivity of the saint! LOL
The basillica's outside ain't that special. And the photo ain't that good either cause it was an analogic photo that I scanned.


This is a detail of the main entrance to the basillica.


And this one of the lateral doors. Church doors in Italy tend to be all like this, massive and very beautiful. I like it! :)


And so this is the impressive inside of the basillica. No, this photo wasn't taken by me, obviously!! But since we weren't allowed to snap photos on the inside I had to buy tons of postcards, and so this is one of the postcards I bought.


This is also a postcard. It's the St. Anthony altar. This massive black piece on the right is St. Anthony's tumb. Everyone rubbed his hand there, so I did he same... but I confess I had no ideia why I was doing that... later I found out it was meant to give me good luck to marry... but.... marry who?! I don't even have a boyfriend!! LOL
Anyway, this is the most significant place in the basillica, the atmosphere is totally different... you can almost feel the faith in the air... people actually believe that St. Anthony can make a difference in their lives and you can feel that there. I loved that.


And this is the Crucifixion by Pietro Annigoni, an italian painter. I loved this cause it's so unsual.

Oh.... since you haven't been able to see much of the basillica, as I wasn't allowed to photograph I found out the official site of the basillica, so you might be interested in taking a look at the history and art.