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After a wonderful sleep in a pleasantly air-conditioned room, we woke feeling well-rested. Our breakfast was served in an opulent, painting-lined room. There was enough food for twelve, although Mary and I seemed to be the only patrons this morning. We needed a team of bicyclists to polish off the leftovers.
We had a lovely conversation (two-thirds English, one-third Italian) with the owner of the agriturismo. He and his family purchased the building and factory twenty years ago, and now they produce fruit, fruit juice, and wine. They host passing guests..The owner has big plans for his enterprise, including opening a pre-school next year where the students will be exposed to the outdoors and the life of a farm.
We were sorry to depart, and the family gathered to send us on our way.
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| Leaving the Agriturismo |
The day’s stage was relatively short, less than 15KM. Rovigo is no more than 10KM away by the main road, but the Via follows the Adige river. We walked atop the levee that channels the water. This part of the Veneto, the Polesine, lays between two major rivers, the Adige and the Po. In decades past, when floods have hit Italy, the rivers have broken through their levees and caused a great deal of damage. Better flood control has reduced the problems, but I wouldn’t want to live here in a time of a sudden downpour.
Today’s problem was the combination of heat and humidity. I thought it was bad yesterday, but I kept my handkerchief in near continuous movement, daubing the sweat flowing down from my hatband over my face. The thermometer rose past 90 F yesterday, and it felt like today was even hotter.
As we neared the town of Boara Polesine, we encountered a small library that encouraged visitors to take a book, What a delightful feature.
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| Free Book Library |
The last four kilometers into Rovigo followed a bike path. Even though the route was longer than a direct course, I appreciated being away from the roads today. We only encountered one car the entire journey.
I don’t think Rovigo will be our favorite town. It seems a bit gritty and rundown. In the evening we took our appertivo on the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, and then strolled around to an amazing church, the Tempio della Beata Vergine del Soccorso, also known as the Rotonda.
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| La Rotonda |
The church has several interesting features. The first is architectural: it is octagonal. Inside is absolutely amazing. Each of the eight walls is covered with gorgeous paintings. It is a temple to later Venetian art and the patrons who made the art possible. We tried to work out what some of the scenes represented. It was difficult, because you might have an image of Mary, and she would be surrounded by Venetian nobility. The patrons managed to have themselves painted into each picture.
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| Rotonda Interior |
We spoke with Lorenzo, a man who was able to explain some of the finer points about the Rotonda. Lorenzo spoke no English, but for some reason, my comprehension level (I can usually understand about 70% of what I hear in Italian) was much higher with him. Perhaps it was a reversal of the Tower of Babel miracle.
He explained that the image painted at the apex of the dome represented the most important part of the church’s history. There had once been a small Franciscan chapel with a fresco of Mary, holding Jesus and a rose, on one of its walls. This particular image of Mary had gained a reputation for answering prayers among the people of Rovigo, and ultimately, they had convinced the Venetians to move the image and build a new church around it.
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| Altar with Famous Image |
Thus was born the Rotonda, which began construction in 1594. This, however, said Lorenzo, was a church with a difference. The Venetian Republic insisted that because of the people’s particular devotion, that the church would belong to the city of Rovigo, not to the Catholic church. And so it remains to this day. The Catholic church still holds a Sunday morning mass in the Rotonda, but the city is the official owner of the building.
It is a stunningly beautiful church that also serves as a venue for classical concerts. A church of the people, decorated by the people (the Venetians), honoring the virgin who protects the people.
Today's Distance: 14.8 KM
Total Distance: 428 KM
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