A day best forgotten

Bertoldi

Sadly my final morning in Lavarone and I allowed myself time to walk to Monte Cimone. Leaving before dawn I parked the car at the small town of Bertoldi and headed off in darkness with my torch to guide the way so I needed to be extra vigilant not to miss trail markers. Luckily I remained “on task” and magically dawn revealed another clear and crisp mountain morning.

 

sunrise through the mist

At the top

Just as the sun rose I reached the summit and settled down to watch it touch the surrounding peaks. I congratulated myself on finding the way without error- a first, and then began the descent discovering along the way the remnants of an ancient stone house, and closer to Bertoldi, a wooden sculpture of the animals of the forest, including wolves, deer and eagles. Almost back in the town I discovered a couple of very old fountains; one exclusively for drinking and another with two basins for the communal washing of clothes.  The interesting feature of the latter  is its spout- a man’s head and mouth!

 

Remains of a house in the forest

Strange spout

Animals of the forest

I returned in time for a last delicious breakfast and to pay a very modest 245-euro for four nights, including breakfast and dinner. In country regions of Italy it is quite usual for guests to book for either half or full board, an excellent option where there are few choices for dining out.

 

 View of a castle on the way to Verona

After Dolly and I made our farewells, I set off for the beautiful city of Verona but had I known what the rest of the day would bring I would have remained in Lavarone! All went well with the drive until I reached the historical centre to discover that tom tom did not cope with road works, and that I must find my way through the labyrinthine streets on my own. I entered a narrow street and accidentally hit a parked scooter, which then fell over with a bang.  I got out of the car, which now blocked the street behind it as a crowd gathered to gawk and advise. 

A young man, the apparent owner was summoned from a nearby restaurant and we exchanged telephone numbers etc. He did not seem unduly upset and promised to ring me at four pm to sort things out. Very stressed now, I still had to find the hotel which entailed driving a short distance in the no car zone of Piazza Erbe. 

 After explaining the situation the very kind concierge Elena thought it would best if the young man came to the hotel where we could sort out the mess and fortunately he agreed. I now had little time for any meaningful sightseeing so walked a short distance to the beautiful 13C San Anastasia, a lovely gothic cathedral both inside and out. Apart from the magnificence of the inlaid marble floors and red marble columns, the exquisite frescos from Renaissance and pre renaissance artists, of particular interest are two sculpted marble figures supporting twin stoups who are just so comic- whatever the intention of the artist!

inlaid marble floor

Interior San Anastasia

Hunchback sculptures

Back to the hotel by four and at last the young man arrived. The paperwork to be completed was absolutely horrendous and Hertz had yet to respond, so we agreed that a payment of 200 euro to repair the scooter was reasonable and I shot off to an ATM to conclude the matter. He was happy and relieved I set off for the Art museum Castel Vecchio and the lovely Romanesque church of San Zeno, but was almost immediately approached by a well dressed man who asked if I had change for a parking machine. He was quite agitated and when I opened my wallet peered into it and began to extract coins. I was not particularly alarmed but was distracted by his behaviour. With change in hand he disappeared with fulsome thank yous and it was only when I arrived at the museum and attempted to buy a ticket that I realized that he had actually stolen 300 euro!

What a day! I understood that not only had I been conned, but on a more fundamental level I had been conned because I had profiled the thief as a middle class person like me, much better dressed in fact, and thus who should therefore be trusted! I felt ashamed.

I didn’t stay at the museum but instead went on to lovely San Zeno and somehow went through the motions of appreciating.

Dinner at a local pizza restaurant lifted my mood as food tends to do, but also because this is a place where the Veronese eat- not flash or pretentious but with excellent food, wine and service. I had one of the best pizzas ever with artichokes, olives tomatoes and cheese, with also a half bottle of excellent red from the region. 

Cloister San Zeno

Walking home through glorious Piazza Erbe I drew a line under the day- tomorrow had lots of possibilities and plans!