Emilia Romagna ( Bologna, Ravenna, Rimini and San Marino )
Bologna, Ravenna, Rimini and San Marino
Perugia has a direct train (Intercity) which departs around 6.45a.m for Bologna. I was fortunate to have my Japanese and German classmates traveling with me. The three hours train ride was fast and before we realized, we have reached Bologna, capital of Emilia Romgana. There are some many some interesting places (e.g. Modena and Parma) to visit in this province but has to choose wisely as we have yet to booked our accommodation. Modena, a UNESCO city is also the birthplace of Pavarotti. What a pity to know that he has retired and was staging his farewell concert round the world. Parma is a gourmet’s delight to savour the parma ham (prosciutto crudo) and the parmeggiano cheese.
Bologna has one of the oldest universities in Europe and the whole city is so clustered. There are a few shops selling freshly made tortellini that are superb here but we had no place to cook them. The Barilla Bolognaise sauce that I always buy from the supermarket takes its name form this city. We spent the next 2 hours exploring the main piazza, Fountain of Neptune and the surrounding streets before heading to Ravenna, city of mosaics. The thought of arriving at Ravenna is really exciting as this town along the Adriatic coast had been the capital of 3 ancient dynasties like the West Roman empire, Byzantine and another kingdom. The city is another UNESCO heritage city. We bought the tourist pass which allows us to visit the 5 different attractions under the Diocesan Monumental Estates of Ravenna namely : Basilica di S, Apollina Nuovo ,Museo Arcivescovile,Battistero Neoniano,Basilica di San Vitale and Galla Placidia.
There was an unforgetable incident at Ravenna. We wanted to rent a room at as Casa del Chiaro. ( House of Clear Soul ). Together with my Japanese classmate,we were shown the bedroom after entering the tiny lift. We tried our luck to ask for a discount and said we were students of Perugia University. Upon hearing, the hostess said “I am sorry” ( Mi dispiace) . They couldn’t rent this room to unmarried couple. We saw our hope of securing the accommodation vanishing thereafter. We have learnt our lesson and will pose as a couple if we were to even look for accommodation from religious lodgings. Eventually, we tried our luck at the youth hostel ( Ostello Dante ) of Ravenna which is located 1km from the station but cheap at EUR 14 per night and we rented their bicycles to explore the city. We had a good tour round the city and also visited the 5 attractions there were highly recommended.
The next morning, we visited Dante’s tomb and the museum (Centro Dantesco) as we still have some time before catching our train to Rimini. Dante, the Florentine scholar who invented the Italian language had spent his last days here in Ravenna after his exile from Florence. One thing I have learnt in Ravenna is to look up to people. Up to 70% of my time spent at Ravenna was busy raising my head and admiring the beautiful mosaics of the high walls and ceilings. Perhaps the beggars are wise to avoid Ravenna as they can never get the attention of passers-by. From Ravenna, we headed for Rimini, the birthplace of Federico Fellini. La Dolce Vita and Amarcord are few of his famous works. This place is not mini at all and on the contrary, it is the most populated seaside town during the peak of the Italian summer. However, we didn’t have time to admire the Adriatic sea as we were headin
g for San Marino.
San Marino is a small republic with a long history and was founded in 301AD. The national name of San Marino is Most Serene Republic of San Marino (Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino) with a total land area of 61 sq km. The bus from Rimini passes by the towns like Serravalle, Faetano, Fiorentino, Borgo Maggiore, Domagnano. The 45 minutes bus ride from Rimini was scenic as we ascended San Marino which is located 750m on top of Monte Titano. From Mount Titano, one can see the coastal towns of along the Adriatic coast.
I bought a first day cover here as the stamps from San Marino are rare and highly sought after. As usual, tourists will not miss the chance to have their passports stamped with a tourist visa of San Marino at the tourist office. We did the same thing and felt elated for visiting one of the world’s smallest republic. It reminded me of the same thing that I did in Liechtenstein with my mates from Contiki tour.
We left San Marino for Rimini. However, we didn’t have time to explore Rimini as we are rushing for the train to Perugia. Along the way, we have satisfied our appetite admiring gals in bikini along the beaches as the train passed by the towns (Pésaro and Senigállia ) along the Adriatic coast. We had at least 20 minutes of admiration of the bikini clad gals. Guys, you got to be jealous of me.
Perugia has a direct train (Intercity) which departs around 6.45a.m for Bologna. I was fortunate to have my Japanese and German classmates traveling with me. The three hours train ride was fast and before we realized, we have reached Bologna, capital of Emilia Romgana. There are some many some interesting places (e.g. Modena and Parma) to visit in this province but has to choose wisely as we have yet to booked our accommodation. Modena, a UNESCO city is also the birthplace of Pavarotti. What a pity to know that he has retired and was staging his farewell concert round the world. Parma is a gourmet’s delight to savour the parma ham (prosciutto crudo) and the parmeggiano cheese.
Bologna has one of the oldest universities in Europe and the whole city is so clustered. There are a few shops selling freshly made tortellini that are superb here but we had no place to cook them. The Barilla Bolognaise sauce that I always buy from the supermarket takes its name form this city. We spent the next 2 hours exploring the main piazza, Fountain of Neptune and the surrounding streets before heading to Ravenna, city of mosaics. The thought of arriving at Ravenna is really exciting as this town along the Adriatic coast had been the capital of 3 ancient dynasties like the West Roman empire, Byzantine and another kingdom. The city is another UNESCO heritage city. We bought the tourist pass which allows us to visit the 5 different attractions under the Diocesan Monumental Estates of Ravenna namely : Basilica di S, Apollina Nuovo ,Museo Arcivescovile,Battistero Neoniano,Basilica di San Vitale and Galla Placidia.
There was an unforgetable incident at Ravenna. We wanted to rent a room at as Casa del Chiaro. ( House of Clear Soul ). Together with my Japanese classmate,we were shown the bedroom after entering the tiny lift. We tried our luck to ask for a discount and said we were students of Perugia University. Upon hearing, the hostess said “I am sorry” ( Mi dispiace) . They couldn’t rent this room to unmarried couple. We saw our hope of securing the accommodation vanishing thereafter. We have learnt our lesson and will pose as a couple if we were to even look for accommodation from religious lodgings. Eventually, we tried our luck at the youth hostel ( Ostello Dante ) of Ravenna which is located 1km from the station but cheap at EUR 14 per night and we rented their bicycles to explore the city. We had a good tour round the city and also visited the 5 attractions there were highly recommended.
The next morning, we visited Dante’s tomb and the museum (Centro Dantesco) as we still have some time before catching our train to Rimini. Dante, the Florentine scholar who invented the Italian language had spent his last days here in Ravenna after his exile from Florence. One thing I have learnt in Ravenna is to look up to people. Up to 70% of my time spent at Ravenna was busy raising my head and admiring the beautiful mosaics of the high walls and ceilings. Perhaps the beggars are wise to avoid Ravenna as they can never get the attention of passers-by. From Ravenna, we headed for Rimini, the birthplace of Federico Fellini. La Dolce Vita and Amarcord are few of his famous works. This place is not mini at all and on the contrary, it is the most populated seaside town during the peak of the Italian summer. However, we didn’t have time to admire the Adriatic sea as we were headin
g for San Marino.San Marino is a small republic with a long history and was founded in 301AD. The national name of San Marino is Most Serene Republic of San Marino (Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino) with a total land area of 61 sq km. The bus from Rimini passes by the towns like Serravalle, Faetano, Fiorentino, Borgo Maggiore, Domagnano. The 45 minutes bus ride from Rimini was scenic as we ascended San Marino which is located 750m on top of Monte Titano. From Mount Titano, one can see the coastal towns of along the Adriatic coast.
I bought a first day cover here as the stamps from San Marino are rare and highly sought after. As usual, tourists will not miss the chance to have their passports stamped with a tourist visa of San Marino at the tourist office. We did the same thing and felt elated for visiting one of the world’s smallest republic. It reminded me of the same thing that I did in Liechtenstein with my mates from Contiki tour.
We left San Marino for Rimini. However, we didn’t have time to explore Rimini as we are rushing for the train to Perugia. Along the way, we have satisfied our appetite admiring gals in bikini along the beaches as the train passed by the towns (Pésaro and Senigállia ) along the Adriatic coast. We had at least 20 minutes of admiration of the bikini clad gals. Guys, you got to be jealous of me.
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