Vicenza

Our time is running short on our trip. This is the city of Palladio the great architect. This is a great place. 

Below is Villa Rotonda which is like the Holy Grail of architecture. It's just outside the city. 

These are the grounds. 

His signature is those statues on the roof. 

A church nearby. 

Palladio' statue. 

Vicenza city hall. 

Beautiful city. Too much to see. 

The Teatro Olympic which he designed. The first indoor theater ever built!  Below is the most perfect example of tromp l'oeil in the stage background 

Padua/Padova

So the must see thing here is the Scrovegni Chapel with Giotto's frescoes which define the beginning of Renaissance art. For the first time, the people display emotions. Finished around   1303. 

Scrovegni's father was a moneylender and he wanted to make sure he went to Heaven. 

The panels tell the story of Christ. 

The next incredible thing to see in this city is the Palazzo Della Ragione, the city's tribunal dating from 1218.

All around this building are the markets and cafes. It's the center of the city. 

On the second floor is one huge room with this huge horse which is arguably a Donatello or a knockoff but still great. 

All decorated by Giotto's disciples. 

In another part of town is the Basilica of San Antonio. 

We ended up there Sunday during services. 

We were snapping away taking pics until we were stopped. 

This one struck me. 

After leaving the church we walked to this incredible "lawn" surrounded by statues and water features. 

It's a very large lawn. 

This restaurant, Zairo, is the perfect place to enjoy the view. There are 66,000 students at the University. This school is the second oldest only to Bologna. 

Last in the same neighborhood is the botanical garden which is the oldest in Europe (one can argue ). 

These cities that were city states until united by Garibaldi all attempted to outdo each other. Who won?

Verona

This is their river Adage. 

It flows down from the mountains above Lake Garda. 

That's me with Dante. 

This is a raised tomb of the Scaligere family They believed this way they were closer to Heaven. 

This is Juliet's balcony. It was added in the 1930s by the city for the sake of tourism but it's still a mad scene. 

There are many bridges across the river all with wonderful sculptures. 

This is a very elegant feeling city to us. 

We drove to Lake Garda on our way to Padua for lunch. What a zoo. Mad tourists everywhere. 

Ed saw this car and had to get a picture. 

This is a very striking angel outside their cathedral. 

Another striking piece. 

Udine

I  This city (pronounced like Houdini but starting with U) is the gateway to many important things. 

Their central piazza is exquisite  Napoleon was here and contributed stuff   

It has been called the most beautiful piazza. 

A cafe on the piazza. Places to go close to here are shown below. 

This is the city of Aquileia which was the second largest city in the Roman Empire. 

Here is the she wolf suckling Romulus and Remus. 

This place is great. It's been Roman and Christian. The mosaics are from 300 A.D.

This is the outside of the structure. 

Then on the same day we drove to Villa Manin where Napoleon set up a headquarters. 

This place is very impressive. 

Napoleon stayed here.