Castlevecchio, City of Verona

We made an hour's stopover at Castlevecchio, which was the home of Verona's ruling Scaligeri family during the 14th century. The city of Verona flourished during this Scaligeri family's rule. During World War II bombings, this castle was severely damaged. It was repaired and restored in 1960s and walking through the castle doors gave a feeling of walking through mystery, mood, love and history.

The interior of the Castle

Between the castle walls

The 'M' shaped merlons running along the castle gave a magical fairytale look to the Castlevecchio. The rooms of the castles are now used to display an amazing collection of art and antiquities. Peeping out of the windows we saw the Adige river flowing by a silent witness to all that has happened for centuries.

Quiet flows the River Adige

Passage on Castle top.

The description page for insight into the history of this beautiful castle is here.

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Seagulls in Rome

Seagulls are known to nest in sides of cliff near beaches. So we were surprised to see them on roof tops of museums in Rome. One was sitting in its nest giving fierce looks to all those who dared to come close. My zoom lens 55-250mm, came to my rescue. Maintaining a safe distance from this young and beautiful mother-to-be bird, I took many captures.



I guess this is what happens when you have replaced the cliffs with high rise buildings? Assess a city from a aerial vantage point... how would you find the dark gray rise and fall of concrete, the serpentine roads, bypasses and what about those tall chimneys? The seagulls must be finding them to be steep cliffs and islands.

And once these seagulls get a taste of city life they rarely return to the wild and then you have a permanent neighbor for the next twenty to twenty five years, their entire life span. Do click to enlarge and see the beautiful eye as if done up with a bright red eyeliner.

Verona Arena

I expected the arena at Verona to be in ruins. Imagine something belonging to first century AD... I had pictured it to be something like crumbling walls, broken arches, the seats in shambles... but NO. Not this arena. It is an 'intact piece'. There were no major marbled decorations or carvings, nevertheless the structure seemed complete.



We were there on a Sunday evening, after driving down from Venice, we checked into a hotel and then rushed to see the must see places around. I was worried if the visiting hours would be over, since the plan was to leave for Lucerne the next morning we had very little time in hand. When we reached the arena, we found the performers were winding up just after a performance. Oh! What a miss!



Romans had built this arena for gladiator fights, tournaments, races and markets. It was damaged in 1117 due to an earthquake. It is smaller today than what it used to be in 1st AD, the restoration and maintenance works in it has preserved this in a wonderful usable condition. The tickets for those red seats are the most expensive but given a chance i would prefer to sit on those grey seats and watch a performance. The interiors were equally impressive, tunnels all along, steps leading to the seating arrangement. A special entrance for the performers, the arena has featured many of world's most notable opera singers.


This is definitely the best monument to see in Verona.

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Venetian Masks

I was looking at centuries old traditional piece of art, piece of Venice. So many of them all in rich colors, designs and forms. I was dazzled, completely in awe handling them, trying to look through them. I am referring to the Venetian masks. Most of them were paper mache ones, very light to hold, some slightly heavier, some with long colorful feathers, there seemed to be no end to the creativity in these pieces, no repetition in looks.


The history of these Venetian masks is equally colorful. The earliest recorded use of these masks was in 1268 during the annual celebrations of victory of the rulers then. But soon these masks were donned by prominent social figures and peasants to disguise themselves to perform unscrupulous acts, gambling. One document even describes the the practice of masked men throwing scented eggs at ladies and its prohibition by the council (Venetian Laws, 1268 May).



This art slipped into a brief oblivion from 1797 when Venice became a part of Austria. And thanks to the entrepreneurship in some undergraduate art students in 1979, the tradition was revived. Venice always was a popular tourist destination, and these masks are sought after souvenirs by most tourists. The forgotten art flourished once again.

The friendly salesman with his rough knowledge of English showed me the various types of these masks and that was a surprise for me.
- The one that covers the whole face, with a stubborn chin line, no mouth, and lots of gilding was Bauta.
- The half mask highly decorated with gold, silver, crystals and feathers, held up to the face by a baton or tied with ribbon as with most other Venetian masks was Columbine.
- The Medico Della Peste with its long beak is one of the most bizarre and recognizable of the Venetian masks.
- Moretta, popular in Venice with feminine features such as the female head. The mask is held in place by the wearer biting on a button or bit and was finished off with a veil.
- The white mask is the Larva, also called the Volto mask.

Whew! And I thought they were all the same!


Have fun clicking, enlarging the shots and identifying the various types of Venetian Masks.

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View from Bridge of Sighs, Venice

Bridge of Sighs - strange name isn't it?

It got its name from the sighs of the prisoners who would cross the bridge and experience their last view of the outside world. This bridge connects the interrogation room of Doge's palace to the prisons. After the prisoners were sentenced to imprisonment, the prisoners were led to their cells through this bridge.



We too crossed the bridge and when we glanced from the windows we realized what that sight from there meant to the prisoners. Freedom, just across the window, the pleasant sight of the canal, gondolas ferrying by and people moving across the next bridge so freely. Anybody would let out a long sigh.




The doors of the prison cells wore a ghostly look. Inside the cells we found walls covered by graffiti of the prisoners. Today photographers voraciously take pictures both from within the bridge and from outside. There is no way one can miss it!

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Ponte dei Scalzi, Venice

Venice is composed of 118 islands of the Venetian Lagoon is criss-crossed by more than 400 bridges.These bridges called as 'Ponte' connect you from street to street. We spent three days in this city which is an UNESCO World Heritage site. We had FUN getting lost in the streets of this city, then struggling with maps, finding alternate routes and finally deciding to chuck away the maps and let the signs fixed on the old buildings and street ends guide us.


The first Ponte(bridge) over the Grand Canal of Venice we set our foot on was the Ponte dei Scalzi. A little bridge; just like the first experience of anything leaves an impression in our minds, this bridge too created ripples of feelings in our minds and a lasting impression. We stood there mesmerized by the view over the Grand Canal, the churches and buildings on either side, took several shots.


View of the church Santa Maria di Nazareth, now known as Scalzi. Scalzis were the barefooted Carmelite friars who arrived in Venice in 1670s commissioned this church. The Ponte dei Scalzi, literally means the "bridge of the barefoot".


This fifth century city, wonder how many times it must have got a new look, which turned old soon only to get another new look. We crossed it many times later, sometimes in a hurry to catch the train at the Santa Lucia railway station which is just across the bridge, sometimes at a slow pace and each time we happened to discover a new mood or a new sight.


An interesting thing I observed there was, a number locks hanging in the hand rails of the bridge. There were so many of them. Each of them locked with no sign of keys anywhere nearby. What could it mean? Do young lovers lock their relationship here on this bridge and throw the key in the canal? Just a guess... what do you think?

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