TravelswithCharie

Basilica of St. Anthony Prayer to St. Anthony of Padua Blessed be God in His angels and in His saints. O Holy St. Anthony, gentlest of Saints, your love for God and charity for His creatures made you worthy, when on earth, to possess miraculous powers. Miracles waited on your word, which you were ever ready to speak for those in trouble or anxiety. Encouraged by this thought, I implore you to obtain for me (your request). The answer to my prayer may require a miracle. Even so, you are the saint of miracles. Amen. My purpose in visiting Padua was to pray at the tomb of St. Anthony in the Basilica dell'Santo, which fortunately was across the street from our hotel. I've been planning to make this pilgrimage for a long time and while I've visited neighboring Venice a few times, I never did make it to Padua until recently. We attended mass at the Basilica on the day we arrived along with pilgrims from Rovigo, Italy who were that day's sponsor of the Eucharis

One too many gondolas on a narrow canal spells traffic. This is the scene during the busy summer months. Trying to find a quiet corner can be challenging.  "But come back in November or December, February or March, when the fog, la nebbia, settles upon the city like a marvelous monster, and you will have little trouble believing that things can appear and disappear in this labyrinthine city, or that time here could easily slip in its sprockets and take you, willingly or unwillingly, back."  Erica Jong, A City of Love and Death: Venice Love is in the air. We congratulated the bride and groom of this wedding party whom we saw cruising the Venetian canals. On our way to Dorsoduro, we discovered these love locks on the Ponte dell'Accademia. Yes, love may be eternal but the lock is only good till it rusts. Good luck with that! Speaking of love, every year during the Festa della Sensa (Feast of the Ascension), Venice renews its wedding vows with the sea. These are the w

The town of Como is not just the gateway to the villages along Lake Como, it is a destination in itself. Surrounded by mountains and fronting the shores of Lake Como, it has a lot to offer its visitors. How about starting with a nice, cool prosecco at the Piazza Duomo as you watch the play of light against the walls of the Cathedral?                          The construction of the Cattedrale de Santa Maria Assunta or the Duomo di Como was began in 1396 and it was completed in 1770, nearly 4 centuries later. The front façade features a rose window flanked by statues of the illustrious Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger, both natives of Como. As I was walking around town, I was struck by this architectural overhang, typical of medieval houses. Surprises abound in Como. Another gem from the 12th century is this tower, Porta Torre, one of three remaining towers which once formed part of a wall that surrounded Como. Notice the four rows of arched windows

Villa Melzi was the residence of Francesco Melzi d'Eril who was the Duke of Lodi and Vice President of the Italian Republic under Napoleon. This simple and elegant neoclassical villa was designed and decorated for the most part by Giacondo Albertolli. The villa's English garden stretches along the shores of Lake Como from the Bellagio entrance to the Loppia neighborhood on the south end. Plane trees lead to the villa and across the path, rhododendrons and azaleas dot the hillside. The garden was designed by Luigi Canonica and together with the botanist, Luigi Villoresi, they created a garden of aesthetic proportion, with the lake as its natural boundary.  Plane trees and a well manicured lawn lead to the villa from the Bellagio entrance.  This Moorish style temple holds the busts of the Austrian Emperor, Ferdinand I and Marianne of Savoia and the Duke Lodovico Melzi and his consort, Josephine Melzi. The Duke and Josephine were the last of the Melzis to own the

"I ask myself Is this a dream? Will it vanish into thin air? Is there a land of such supreme  And perfect beauty anywhere?" H. W. Longfellow A short train ride from Milan's Cadorna Train Station to Como Borghi and you're in a totally different world. The temperature is cooler, the streets are quieter, pastel hued houses spill down the hillside to the water's edge and Lake Como is as refreshing to the eye as always. I hopped on a ferry to Bellagio which is 45 minutes away. The fare each way is 14.75 euros as of this writing. There were only two lakeside stops along the way and my head turned from side to side as we passed villages, one in which George Clooney lives. As we cruised farther into the lake which is 30 miles long, I held my breath when I saw the snow capped Alps in the distance.     Bellagio is a disappointingly commercial lakeside village. The stepped streets are filled with shops and restaurants. The result of its popu

The Duomo of Milan boasts over 2000 statues of saints and one of Napoleon, ( I read this in my Eyewitness Top 10 Italian Lakes guide book) adorning its façade as well as innumerable reliefs. In a rush to enter the church, I had not spent any time until recently to discover the beautiful carvings and the stories they tell. Sunday at the Piazza del Duomo is always a good day to see the children feed and chase the pigeons. On this particularly warm day, the crowd was out in full force and trying to get a gelato meant waiting in a very long line. I took shelter in the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele II where I found a flash mob dancing to the tune, YMCA, by the Village People. It was fun to watch them try to go through the trademark motions of the famous group of the 70s. It made me smile. The iconic glass dome of the Galleria is quite famous as are the tony shops like Vuitton and Prada that rent space here. But there are other interesting things to check out

The Duomo, Milan In the next few weeks I'll be writing in detail about my trip to Italy this June. For the moment, I'd like to share some highlights of our visit to this country that calls you, like a siren, to come back for more. It took more than four centuries to complete the construction of Milan's Duomo. Napoleon Bonaparte demanded it be ready for his coronation as King of Italy. This photo was taken on a Sunday, sunny day and family day. A short train ride from Milan to Lake Como and a total change of pace. Far from the madding crowd, Lake Como is naturally beautiful and peaceful in late spring. It might be quite a different scene in summer.  Bellagio, Lake Como We made a pilgrimage to Padua in the Veneto region to pray at the tomb of St. Anthony. The feast of St. Anthony is on June 13 and we we were lucky to have participated in one of the masses during the 13-day long festivities. Basilica del Santo, Padua Venice is such a fragile p