A Day of Art

It's still cold, and it's the End of March for heaven's sake. Easter is in just a few days!
I forgot some things I saw yesterday, and as I gave myself a comparatively easy day today, I'll add those in.
I mentioned that Bologna has the oldest university in Europe, and yesterday afternoon, I wandered in to the part open to the public. There isn't much--mostly an elaborate arcaded courtyard and a fancy first floor hallway.
I was back that way today, but I had to take a fairly long detour to the train station where I had to spend a whole euro on the toilet. One thing you can say about the USA--it's the land of the free . . . Then I strolled up Via della Independenzia licking windows until I got to the Museum of Medieval Life. It has a lovely collection--but we must define the word Medieval with extreme looseness to cover everything from Late Antiquity to the Eighteenth Century. I always enjoy the intricately carved and bejeweled reliquaries and stone carvings, but the highlight for me were some gorgeous illuminated and gilded manuscripts with old musical notation. Long ago I learned to read some of it when I sang as part of an historical musical group. I didn't remember a thing in case you want to know.
I made my way to the Museum of City Art, and when the city is Bologna the artistic pickings are mighty fine. I ought also to mention that these museums are located in palazzos, so the buildings themselves are fun to prowl around. I was going for the period rooms. This particular palazzo was a favorite stop of the Popes from the Farnese Family who lived (when not in Rome) up the road in Parma. Napoleon also stopped here. The rooms all had beautifully frescoed ceilings and abundant objects d'arte, and furniture. My favorite was a smallish room frescoed to look like a bower all over vines and leafy trees. "Views" out one side showed a lake and mountains, and out the other side one saw a peaceful countryside with plowed fields.
Delightful! And a perfect place to have tea on a cold afternoon were it my place. Only one thing marred the charm--an infestation of putti! If it really were my place I'd have the exterminators in directly.
On my way home I stopped into the food market to marvel at the vegetables and various other goodies on offer. I did not buy. I did not want to lug things all the way home, and the supermarket I mentioned is pretty incredible, too. I spent a lot of time just wandering around. There are two whole aisles dedicated to pasta! Maybe not every shape every conceived, but I'd say most of them. You can get the fancy artesianal kind or the house brand. I got some local wine--a semi sweet lambrusco to go with my tortellone--that's big, fat tortellini--and I have some with ricotta and spinach.
Because of the way the kitchen is equipped--or not--pasta is going to be my dinner. Over the way in Tuscany or up in the Veneto they wouldn't go for that, but in Emilia-Romanga pasta is the deal!
ciao!