[Gregory Dowling]

Allen, Sirmione is a magical place. Some older guidebooks try to dignify the Roman remains and the museum at the end of the peninsula by calling it Catullus's villa but it was clearly the villa of someone a lot wealthier than a poet. However, the main thing is the wonderful position of the place, on this long tongue of land projecting out into the lake. If you are thinking of spending some time on the lake, apart from Sirmione most of the really interesting places are at the northern end, since the southern end is mainly flat. You might want to visit D'Annunzio's villa on the western shore; he was half-crazy and extremely antipatico but the Fascist regime rewarded him (or shut him up) by awarding him this villa in a superb position overlooking the lake; the house and grounds are well worth visiting. Salo', the heart of the puppet Fascist regime at the end of the Second World War, is in fact an attractive little town. A bus-ride (or you could hire a car, I guess) up the western side of the lake is extremely dramatic, passing through long tunnels and then emerging on high points with splendid views. Stop off at Limone, extremely picturesque and then spend a night at Riva at the top of the lake. Come down the eastern side, stopping at Malcesine (very picturesque, complete with castle) and Garda itself.

There, that's the lake sewn up. Verona: I lived in Verona before moving to Venice and I agree it with Andrew that it is one of the most beautiful towns in Italy. There is certainly enough there to keep you going for several days.

Visit all the sights in the centre of the city but don't miss San Zeno, as Andrew says; in addition to the superb doors there is a splendid Mantegna. And make sure you cross the river to see some of the churches on the opposite side, which people often miss, for example, Santi Nazaro e Celso - and also the splendid Giardino Giusti, one of the finest gardens in Italy.

And do go to Vicenza, as Brian says. A lovely city.

The other major city in the Veneto (apart from Venice, obviously) is Padua. You can't miss the Giotto frescoes in the Scrovegni chapel. And the basilica of Sant'Antonio is one of the great churches in Italy - worth visiting for the Donatello sculptures alone.

But then I'd also put in a plea for the following cities: Treviso, Montagnana, Asolo, Castelfranco, Cittadella... If you're going to pick just one of these, take Asolo - which also has strong Browning associations and is extremely pictursque. Probably you'll have to move to the Veneto in the end, Allen. Throw away your return ticket.

All of these places can be reached with reasonable ease (and little expense) by public transport.

[Allen Tice]

Thanks, Gregory, a most un-boring reply! I will reread it more than twice in the coming weeks. Asolo. Good thought re Browning relevance. Your answer is full of grist. I like that bus ride idea, but might rent a car. I've driven before in Italy and Greece too (that one's a caution --- but well worth it). As I said, I will reread this carefully.

As to those rich ruins you refer to: They might not have all been there when our poet was active, but there was already a decent start. The famous Catullus Valerius (poet of Lesbia and co) was part of an already successful, widely spread extended trading family. T. P. Wiseman has found representatives in Spain, the Greek islands, and Anatolia who were contemporary with or possibly earlier than Catullus, the teaser of Caesar. See "Catullus and His World" for loads of info, and a sketched reconstruction of the somewhat later Valerii Catulli villa, which is on page 65 of T P Wiseman's contribution, "The Valerii Catulli of Verona" in A Companion to Catullus, edited by Marilyn B. Johnson.) If you and everyone else will forgive me here, I'd like to quote myself briefly. The following is from the last half of the essay I published in The London Magazine, August 2, 2012.

"Catullus was born into a north Italian business family successful enough to have entertained Julius Caesar overnight when he travelled. T. P. Wiseman of the University of Exeter and Christian Settipani of the Sorbonne and Oxford have found that after Catullus died his extended family continued to flourish and grew very wealthy near Verona. Solid evidence exists for direct relatives there up to two hundred years after the poet’s birth, and we know that a single odd ‘Catullus Valerius’ was born in AD 235."

But back to the trip!

[John Whitworth]

Drivig in Italy, mate. Watch the undertakers. I do not mean morticians, though it might come to that, but the drivers who overtake you on the blind side. It's an Italian pastime. Having said that, I envy you. Since my wife cannot fly (in an aeroplane natch) our trips to Italy are a thing of the past. The most beautiful country in the world, and the Italians are nice too. And the food!

[W.F. Lantry]

Allen,

A couple hours south of Verona, an easy day trip if you have a car, there's a little town, not very impressive in itself, and certainly not as picturesque as some of those mentioned (and I hope its residents will forgive me), called Ravenna. Not much in itself, but as Ovid said of another place:

"O little town, O small estate,
however unimportant you appear,
because of him I call you truly great."

Yes, there's a poet buried there. Buried isn't quite the right word. If memory serves, there's a sarcophagus. Who knows if his bones are even there? A small room in shadow, a little dank, what the heck. Here are the coordinates:

https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF-...0CJgBEPwSMA A

I only visited two tombs in Europe: Yeats' and his. It's not well-kept up, it's not exactly a tourist attraction. I found it pretty moving. But then, I'm a reverent devotee...

Best,

Bill

[Nigel Mace]

Second all the recommendations so far, especially in Verona the Mantegna altarpiece in S. Zeno - itself a magnificent space - but, if you relish the Renaissance, do not miss the magical Pisanello frescos in Sant' Anastasia just north of the beautiful Piazza dell' Erbe. (Also a fascinating relief of the martyrdom of St Peter Martyr on the right side of the west door - if the history of the representation of anti-dualism is to your taste!)

The cultural delights of Ravenna roll way beyond the Dante tomb, but I'm sure you know of them anyway. However, do not visit without eating (lunchtime has a great buzz) in the Ca' d Ven - a wonderful wine mecca with great local food and more individual Sangioveses than you can count. (There's a similar place in Verona the Antica Bottega del Vino - Via Scudo di Francia 3 - also wonderful, especially in the evening.)

In Vicenza, I can recommend the Relais Santa Corona for a city centre hotel - even has a sinuously difficult garage (a huge plus in the city centre - but book for your car ahead as it only takes 2!) with the excellent Al Pestello about two corners away for eating and drinking - and browsing more Italian wine and food guides than you ever thought possible. And while you are hunting down classical poets, don't miss the little town of Arqua di Petrarca with Petrarch's tomb and his beautiful last house (the one from which he had his exchanges with Boccaccio about having abandoned Florence for the hospitality of a signorie and the Este family). This is a wonderful mixture of layers of worship and the sheer beauty and peace of the location and of the building itself - and what a visitors book! In any case the Eugenian hills are worth a wander through in themselves - and at their base you can find the extraordinary Casa del Vento in whose upper chamber Galileo sheltered with Venetian friends when lying low from the Papacy. The food, though very good, is not quite as special as it used to be but the naturally wind cooled cellars are a marvel and worth the visit alone.

Padova is another huge plus and often missed are the Donatello panels on the high altar of St Antonio - people tend to settle for the equestrian statue outside as the altar panels are sometimes obscured by the coach loads of pilgrims who tend to dominate the whole church. Oh - and if Mantegna has taken your fancy already, there are the sad fragments of his wonderful cycle in the Eremetani church (unfortunately largely destroyed by a stray US bomb in the war - but you can find hand tinted colour photos from before the war to set the scene.)

All that Gregory says about touring from Sirmione which is itself delightful, especially out of season. (His post sounded like my 'Gardaphile' mother in full flood, as for her this was the jewel among all the Italian lakes.)

And don't listen to John - Italian driving is nowhere near as bad as it used to be; it's just decisive - he who hesitates is... And take Gregory's advice and stay. (But you'll have noticed I haven't urged you south to Le Marche - that's a secret for another time!)

Best wishes and buon vacanza,
Nigel

[Allen Tice]

Nigel, Bill, John, Gregory et al., Ravenna! Might do!
Ravenna.

[Gail White]

I just saw this thread, and you can add me to those who are overcome with envy, even though I was in Northern italy just 2 months ago. Venice is my favorite city in the world, and my constant prayer is, if I'm not good enough to make it into heaven, then please God let me haunt Venice...

Have a wonderful time on the Catullus Trail!

[Allen Tice]

Next year in Ravenna. I can't wedge it in this time. Not only for Dante's tomb, but the incredible Byzantine-period mosaics there : Justinian, Belisarius, many churches, and the fantastically good ones in the heretical Arian Baptistry. Yeats was inspired by Ravenna (... Grecian goldsmiths ...), and he was (online company here at Eratosphere excepted), the first-best English language poet of the last hundred years (Auden being the second best).

[Gail White]

I forgot to mention earlier that while you're in Venice, I highly recommend setting aside a day for taking the boat to Torcello. To me this was a magical place - the island is all but uninhabited (you have to be careful to get off at the right place or you'll miss it), and it contains 2 deserted Romanesque churches (a famous one with wonderful mosaics, and a smaller one next to it) which few tourists bother to see.
Also a restaurant called, I think "the Devil's Bridge" where the food is superb -- outstanding even for Italy.

[Allen Tice]

Venice is cool and pastel under some clouds, but pleasantly unusual. Worth a trip. Soon off to try out a certain small hotel in Verona that a bird told me about.