The Wykehamist
breakfast the Italians all seem to enjoy, we dispersed for lunch. Lunch, especially mine, was delicious. In a small group of three, we visited a schiacciata place that served huge sandwiches in focaccia-like bread, bringing together the most Italian ingredients into one wonderful experience. Not everyone was prompt in arriving at the meeting point, a shame given what EACR was to offer us next. In a fancy café called Pedrocchi there was forecast to be the most delicious tiramisu. Imagine a school tiramisu. Now forget that, and imagine the most delicious, creamy goodness in a baroque-style Italian café. That was the experience: a taste of a life that is meant to be enjoyed slowly, thought given to every bite. REJF rushed us along. This was more than justified though, as any longer in Café Pedrocchi and we would have missed our one chance to look at the Cappella degli Scrovegni. This chapel, built in a former Roman arena, contains a some of Giotto’ s best work. The cycles, showing the life of Christ and the life of the Virgin are the most important frescoes that marked the beginning of a revolution in mural painting and influenced fresco technique, style, and content for a whole century. Due to their popularity and the strict conditions they were kept in, visitors had to be acclimatised for 15 minutes and only about 30 people could enter at a time. Our group was split over two sessions, with each getting 15 minutes to spend with the works( notably a sixth of the time we spent in the glass museum). Unfortunately for my half, we were in with a loud Spanish tour that did not hesitate in instructing us to move for their viewing pleasure. Despite this, the impression from the nearly seven hundred year old murals was one of awe. Not content with one set of astonishing, ground-breaking frescoes, we moved on to the Padua Baptistry. In a similar way to the chapel we had been in just before, we were shown a video presentation of what we could come to expect in the adjacent room. This time, however, the images were projected on various panels to create a collage of the highlights, running through the history of the space. The explanation was aided by running commentary through some quite uncomfortable headphones, which we wore even as we entered the main room, giving us an idea of what we should use our short time to view. What struck you on entering, even without it having to be explained, was the amount of gold all around. Rather than in the San Marco, it was intertwined with the frescoes, creating a harmony that the artist, Giusto de’ Menabuoi, carries out so well. The Christ Pantocrator in the cupola with the most important saints of the day surrounding, draws the eye upwards to the depiction of Paradise, with the Mother of God at the centre, next to Jesus. Unfortunately we did not have quite all the time that we expected and so were unable to see the botanical garden as our train would depart from the Padua station soon after the end of our visit to the rather meagre gift shop of the baptistry. Another short train journey, and we were back on the island, more than ready for a short rest in our rooms for some well earnt vegging. Left to our own devices for supper( and given the threat of having to discuss the art of Menabuoi upon returning to the hostel to prove our sobriety to REJF), we factionalised into groups and sought the restaurant which offered the best bank for our buck – a real challenge in one giant tourist trap of a city. So out into the bustling lamplit streets we went, some of us choosing to return to the location of the dinner on the first day, ready to have a repeat of the magic we had tasted then.
Jad Darkazally: It is only when I read the trip’ s itinerary now that I realise just how much we actually did. Thursday alone brought four more churches, two Scuole( distinctly Venetian confraternities not dissimilar from Florentine guilds) and a gallery. After a long and early walk to the other side of Venice we reached the Accademia, which was absolutely worth the trek. While it would be impossible to comment on the entire collection in one article, highlights included a number of displaced Bellini altarpieces –
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