Another stay in Italy. This time I’ve rented an apartment in Treviso for a month. Here is the view to the cupole of the Duomo from my living room window. A whole month! I am thrilled to be back. My Italian instructor Elena picked me up at the train station and brought me to the apartment in the historic center. It is raining off and on, but not enough to keep me inside all the time.
Treviso is laced with canals throughout the city, along with a wall that encircles the town. The wall is said to offer wonderful paths, but I must wait until the rain really stops to explore them.
But OMG! The clothes! I had no idea that Treviso is quite a wealthy town. The clothing stores reflect that demographic. I am blessed with many windows to oogle. Not that I would buy or wear this particular creation, but so many outfits seem to be creative on-offs. Very stimulating.
This entry way with its paintings next to my apartment house lured me inside to the shop at the far end with clothing seemingly one-of-a-kind. Such fun to explore and imagine.
Next door the artist has laid out her pieces, which are doing a fine job of withstanding the rain.
The massive Duomo with its many cupolas. Treviso was bombed by the Allies on Good Friday eighty years ago with massive damage to the cathedral and other important historic buildings in the city center.
My Italian instructor Elena has told me that after the war Treviso and its region Veneto was one of the poorest areas in Italy. However in the Italian Economic Miracle, many small family firms began to innovate, grow, and become successful. Benetton is just one of them. It sponsors a foundation that supports cultural activities in Treviso.
This building, the Palace of the Trecento, is home to the Treviso city council. It was one of the buildings bombed on Good Friday, 1944. The bombing took Treviso by surprise, killing 1200 civilians and destroying almost half the buildings in the city.
The successful reconstruction took place brick by brick. This line in the wall shows what stood after the bombing and what was reconstructed above. It is hard to imagine the pain and destruction caused by war. We have to hope that we can rid our current government of its tyrants without such upheaval.
Back to pleasantries, across from the Palazzo of the Trecento, I came across this store window, which showed, in various stages, the difference in both price and style of designer, Fielmann brand, and zero tariff frames. I thought zero tariff might have something to do with the current global mess, and it may, but it also means that the frames are free, only the lenses cost. Within the month, I will invest.
I stepped into the Duomo. Its plain interior is very likely caused by bombing in the war. I found it interesting that the cross was covered, probably due to Holy Week.
I may drop in on Sunday for mass, but it won’t be nearly as evocative as Easter in Sicily.
Not as viscerally present as in Sicily, but death is still more visible here than in the States, where we hide the obituaries in back pages of the newspapers. Here deaths are posted, and in a small city like Treviso, it is very likely that you will find someone you know.
But Easter is a time of resurrection, eggs, and, of course, chocolate candies. Whoever gets this big chocolate egg is in for a giant treat. It must be hollow, yes?
My landlord clued me into these little sandwiches called tremezzini, saying he’s had one for lunch every day for years. They are generally triangular. These I found in rolls. The white bread is a little disconcerting from Wonder Bread years, but delicious all the same.
The little piazza around the corner from my apartment is showing the aftermath of rain. I missed blossoms on the trees, but I can imagine them and look forward to upcoming sunny days.
I am doing nothing here except explore as it comes. No agenda, no itinerary – perfect since the rain would have washed it all away anyway.
Tomorrow? Who knows?