Fidenza, Piacenza, Pavia

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

After a prolonged and ultimately successful "conversation" with the payment kiosk at a self-service gas station, we were on our way to today's first stop, Fidenza.  After a look at the duomo (whose notable facade was covered with scaffolding) and a tower that was part of the town's fortifications, we followed the flow of pedestrian and bicycle traffic down the main shopping street, which was free of cars, and a lovely stroll to the large central piazza, with its massive town hall.  This seemed very much like real-life Italy, with people going about their daily errands, pushing baby strollers, and stopping to chat with friends.

This part of Italy is very flat, which probably accounts for the great number of cyclists -- of all ages -- we saw today.  We were particularly struck by the fact that so many of the riders were middle aged or better; I'm not sure that "senior" senior citizens are much safer pedaling than they are behind the wheel, but everything seemed to be moving smoothly enough, though without benefit of helmets.

In Picenza, the duomo -- all pale pink and white -- rises over its piazza.  The interior is high, but the central nave is rather stark.  The high altar, brilliantly frescoed transcepts, and the lower church in the crypt were lovely.

From the duomo, Picenza's main pedestrianized shopping street leads to the city's central square, Piazza dei Cavalli, named for the pair of Baroque equestrian statues of members of the Farnese family that mark either end of the large plaza.  The city's main civic structure, the Palazzo de Comune, a 13th century brick palace with fishtail battlements, dominates the piazza.

Pavia is a vibrant university town, known in the Middle Ages as the "City of a Hundred Towers."  There are still a few left standing, but they're outnumbered by the narrow lanes that still weave through the centro storico.  The large Piazza della Vittoria is lined with restaurants, bars and cafes, and is dominated at one end by the medieval town hall, with the duomo looming behind that.  The duomo (closed when we were there at midday) is a massive brick structure, with evidence of many apsidal side chapels visible on its exterior sides.  The facade and dome combine to form a HUGE presence that dwarfs the piazza they front.

The towns mentioned thus far were the prelude to today's real destination, the Certosa di Pavia, a church and monastery, which we have tried to visit on two previous trips to this part of Italy.  The first time, we made the mistake of taking "Open Daily" to mean just that, and not "except for Monday", which was actually the case.  We've blocked the reason for the closure on our second visit from memory, but it was NOT a Monday!  At any rate, until we actually entered the gates of the compound, we were not counting on being able to see it this time around.

The Certosa was originally commissioned by the local powers-that-be-in-the-14th-century Visconti family as a mausoleum, and the church was designed to resemble the cathedral in Milan.  The Sforzas booted the Viscontis from power, but proceeded to finish the church with suitable over-the-top embellishments.  Truly, the facade, at the end of a long courtyard promenade, is a marvel of sculpture -- high and low reliefs, and everything in between and on either extreme -- and that's just what we could take in at ground level of a towering exterior that depicted in marble what seemed like every book of the Bible! No photos were allowed inside the church, whose high ceiling vaults glowed in deep blue, cream and gold.

The only way to move from the church to see the affiliated Carthusian monastery beyond is on a tour guided by an Italian-speaking monk.  We latched onto a group that had already begun their tour in the church, and moved with them into the small cloister, centered on a fountain and geometric garden, its columns topped by highly-decorated terracotta arches.  Above the cloister rose two more levels of arches, capped by the towers of the church. The great cloister is a tranquil green quadrangle, ringed by blooming rose bushes.  Three sides of the cloister are surrounded by the monks' quarters -- small, individual, two story structures, backed by walled gardens.  The simplicity of the monastic quarters contrasted sharply with the grandeur of the adjacent church.

So, the third time was the charm for the Certosa di Pavia, and for us, it was worth the wait.