October 17, 2009

  • Cremona

    Today I had another lovely day out in Lombardy, this time in Cremona. This was very much a spur of the moment decision, as I had been intending to go to Lago d'Iseo today to meet up with Elisa, another British Council assistant, but due to transport problems we are postponing til next week or sometime, so I decided to go elsewhere today, and Cremona was on my list.

    I've been so lucky with the weather, the sky was azzurrissimo again - my favourite: bright blue sky. Well, in the afternoon it actually got really grey and dull, but it was clear, sunny and gorgeous for all the important bits. I love how in Italy even when there is a biting cold (and today it really was cold), it can still be so bright and beautiful.



    When I got to the main square I was wondering whether I was actually going to get to see anything because of course Saturday is market day, and in Cremona the market was right in the Piazza del Duomo (or whatever it is called there...) and I thought it might interfere with seeing stuff. It didn't too much though, and also it was gone in the afternoon, although the sky had darkened by then as mentioned. Anyway, my first stop, as usual, was the tourist office. Armed with map and guide to Cremona I set off. My trusty, if a few years out of date, Rough Guide had also informed me of the possibility of ascending the tower in the main square. Now the Rough Guide author had simply said "if you have the energy you can...". Now, I love a good tower. I love a good view over an Italian town. In Turin we went up the Mole Antonelliana (only possible by lift). In Bergamo I went up the tower there (took the lift out of choice). No lift in Cremona. No, this was the real thing. The tower is 111m high, built in the 13th century. It claims to be Italy's highest medieval tower. The sign read "502 steps, ascent only possible on foot". Well, that certainly put the height of my palazzo into perspective... I only have to do 92 steps on a usual day! Anyway, I decided to go for it - like I said, I love a good tower!

    I got to a point at which I was convinced I must nearly be there. Surely... surely... please... Erm, no. It was only then that I realised that at the top of each staircase there was a number engraved on the wall - the number of steps you had already climbed. It read 127. Hah. Kept going, not entirely convinced this had been such a good idea! After a little while the square staircases became a round spiralling one (still stone steps), which to me signalled the nearing of the end. It did indeed come out onto a platform, the first bit from which you could see out. It was pretty high. Not high enough, however, there was more! Now it became a wooden staircase; one of the type I hate (steps with gaps between). Up I went...up and up and up. Got to the top, only to discover that there was yet more to do...this time a wooden spiralling staircase.  Finally, I arrived in cima, right on the very top :) Oh and how worth it it was! Such a clear, beautiful day for it as well. The view was stunning! It wasn't half an effort to get to though!! The first staircase to go back down (the wooden spiralling one) was pretty unnerving. My legs were so wobbly and shaky I thought I was going to fall off... and after I got back down the 502 steps and onto the flat of the piazza again, it was quite a struggle to get my legs to keep walking!!


    However, walk they did...! After a quick visit to the Baptistery, I stopped in a bakery to pick up some lunch, and then set off on a trek round the town. I was particularly going in search of a church which is said to be the 2nd most important after the Duomo, on the outskirts of the town. I walked and walked, and got to the point which I thought was it, and found a church (shut, of course, it was lunchtime). It turned out it wasn't the right church though, and in the end I gave up trying to find the other one (turns out it was another 15 minute walk away but the roads weren't on my map and I didn't really want to get lost), so that was slightly disappointing as in the end it was an hour's round trip on foot (on tired feet!). I'll have to go back to Cremona again and find it.  Anyway, then it was back to the town.

    Now by this time it was almost 2.30pm, and I knew the Baptistery reopened at 2.30pm, so I assumed the Duomo etc did too. No. 3.30pm. It's really quite frustrating on days out to have a whole chunk of the day (3 hours from 12.30-3.30pm) taken out because everything is shut. It's not like I had anywhere to go for a siesta or anything, and I had to get the train back at some point too so couldn't stay there all evening. So I just had to sit until 3.30pm, waiting to go inside the Duomo. Having done so, I then took a scenic walking route back to the station, via all the other sights marked out on my tourist map (some 10 churches or so, various palazzi etc). All very pretty. All in all, thoroughly enjoyed the day. My feet are definitely looking forward to me going to bed though!!

    Photos of Cremona: - Numbers 43-90 of album here