Red umbrellas

A few tourists on a rainy day. The weather has got slightly better today, still grey, though. This is Piazza del Mercato Vecchio (Old Market Square). To the left, behind the staircase of which you can see a little corner, there is the entrance to the elevator that brings you to the top of Torre de' Lamberti (well, almost: the last bit is on your legs!).

An interesting corner!

This photo sums up a few important details about Verona:

1. Valerio Catullo, was born in Verona - about I a.C., famous poet of his time, 

    he was probably the first veronese to become famous. Our airport is named 

    after him. 

2. The beautiful marble ornament (a Siren) is one of the many roman

    stones scattered in town.

3. Fashion, not a detail here in Verona but a big business. Lots of famous

    designers opened their flag shops in the three top shopping streets (this one is     Corso Portoni Borsari and the famous designer is Etro). 

4. It's raining again!

Weekly closing day

I took this photo some time ago but on an equally rainy day (actually today it began with snow which later turned into a continuous, sad, rain).

These are the outside tables of the Pizzeria we often go to. It was closing day but chairs and tables remain outside. A guy took advantage of the opportunity to sit undisturbed and read his newspaper under the umbrellas.

Passage

This is a tiny passage that connects Piazza Erbe and Piazza dei Signori. I love it because when you come out of it, on the other side, you can really see how old this spot is, despite the modern-ish look of the passage.

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Bollito e pearà

A few days ago we had lunch in a small trattoria, a few steps away from Piazza Erbe. We went there especially to eat their fantastic bollito and pearà (boiled meat and breadcrumbs sauce). This is the king of veronese typical cuisine. It's warming and very homey, every mom (me included) cooks it for the family!

At the restaurant they normally come to the table with a big tray on wheels where the different types of meat are neatly displayed for you to choose. The waiter cuts the meat there and there and serves it along with pearà, a typical sauce made with breadcrumbs, stock, marrow and pepper, that you can see here in the glass bowl. 

I like to eat the meat with the pearà but I also like it with a little sprinkle of salt and olive oil (the meat is cooked purposedly with very little salt). My choice was: beef, chicken, veal, cotechino and tongue!

Love debris

I seem to have opened up a discussion about graffitis. Although in my post yesterday I didn't condemn the graffitis, I want to point out that I truly hate to see horrible spray writings on buildings or anywhere, it is indeed such a lack of respect and here in town I see so many... sometimes I shiver, like when I approached the Arco dei Gavi, a huge roman white marble arch (like a smaller Arc de Triomphe in Paris) with graffiti on it...

But this is this is quite a peculiar phenomenon, grown on very unique basis and I think the municipality of Verona should do something more. People come from everywhere to see Juliet and sign their names. There is an organization that receives thousands of letters (like a love agony column...)and each one receives a reply, whatever the language. Certainly the town owes a big slice of the tourist income to Shakespeare, so, I think they don't want to be strict on the graffiti issue in this very place.

Although, I think they should handle it in a different way and I have my own idea. I would install removable panels and let the people write on them and eventually make a permanent exhibition in different indoors town sites, or sell them...a graffiti made by lovers from all over the world...

If you have other ideas, please let me know, I might present them to the Mair!

Erased love

Yesterday, as I was walking along Via Cappello when I saw a "different scene" inside the hallway that leads to the little courtyard of Juliet's house. Not the usual groups of people taking pictures marvelling at the sight of the famous balcony,  but this little scaffolding and two guys working on the hallway right wall.

They were scrubbing the graffiti after having removed a thick layer of tiny paper notes attached to the wall with a chewing-gum... (some people are civil enough to use tape or a post-it).

The hallway is so thick with lovers names and hearts that it oozes with love... 

Within a few days of work the walls will be cleaned and painted but they will remain immaculate only for a few hours and the graffiti process will start all over again.