This is the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Italy, not far from Venice.
Giotto painted the entire interior in the most fabulous frescos of biblical scenes, the background an exquisite lapis lazuli blue, around 700 years ago.
More than anything else in Italy, I have longed to see this for many years.
Here's the Annunciation. I find it completely charming that the buildings are often in a different scale from the figures...
Pentecost ...
The Nativity
Well, so far it is proving difficult to access tickets which must be purchased in advance. I have found the website difficult to manage, and having 'opened an account' as requested, I then received an email with, presumably, further instructions. In Italian.
Which I cannot speak or read.
I tried ringing the Chapel, but was put on hold for 5 minutes, after which the line went dead. Hate to think what the phone account for that will be.
But I will not give up!!!
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My dear friend J, aka Caitlin's Grandma, has been to Peru.
And look what she brought back for me:
The cutest little pottery Christmas Nativity figures Ever...
The perfect gift for a Christmas tragic..
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We took a turn round the Antique Centre: 3 vintage Golden Books for Little Aussie - done...
Little Prince George made his first official public appearance -
You have to start them young..
He is a real cutie pie - taking it all in..
In other riveting news, the last time I did any crotchet was to make a blanket for my first-born, something like these..
Mine was yellow and white, like this one, but I have no photos and the blanket seems to have disappeared.
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Last week lovely D gave me some wool and crotchet hooks. It's like riding a bike - my hands remembered the 'how to' and hadn't forgotten at all.
Three granny squares done.
I have no idea what I am making, but I'll just keep on going.
The only bit I forget is how to join them together nicely.
Hugs to all grand-children!
XXXX
EDITED TO ADD:
Thank you all for your helpful suggestions. With the help of an online translator we could read the email, which connected us to the ticket reservation site. It was in Italian, but with the help of a little Italian dictionary Mr C received for Christmas, we worked it out. Have made reservations for the night showing on day 1, and another for the afternoon of day 2. Just to be sure..
How very frustrating Patricia - it is years since I visited the chapel. We just turned up and there was hardly anyone else present, but times move on.
ReplyDeleteI have read that you definitely must book - have you tried booking at a less likely time e.g late in the day when many tourists have moved on else where.
So far, I have not gotten to the point of actually making the booking Rosemary. However, I now know that night is best, when you get 20 minutes, while the day visits are only 10 minutes. I have been thinking of making reservations for 2 days, in order to get a good look.
Deletep.s have you tried translating the email in Google Translate?
ReplyDeleteThank you, yes, since writing the post, have had an email with a link and now have it translated. It is a bit convoluted, so I'll try it with Mr C around to add input. Fingers crossed for success tomorrow!
DeleteGood luck with the booking Patricia.... isn't it funny how fingers remember what to do. I found that when I went back to crocheting after years away..... and when I fail to practice piano for 6 months ( because the piano is now in France ! ) my fingers rather than my head remember what to do when I get back to it. ( I suspect that a bit more piano practice might help the fingers remember things slightly more accurately though ) Jx
ReplyDeleteThank you Janice. Thank goodness for finger memory, but you have touched on my guilty secret. I have neglected piano practice so much over the past 10 years that I actually have started to forget. I tried to remember some scales and could not do them a while back. However when I hear pieces I used to play on the radio, my fingers sense the patterning as I listen.
ReplyDeleteGood luck getting the booking. Looks like a must-see stop in Italy! Re the granny squares, I used to make them. Putting them together is the difficult part. Hard to make it neat. Best I remember it's sewing them together with a large tapestry needle.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sanda, we will work on it again today. You have confirmed the issue with the crotchet, which I thought would be how to make it neat. I will remember the large tapestry needle, and I think I have one somewhere here.
DeleteI hope you are able to get the tickets. Have you tried putting the copying and pasting the email into Google translate? I love the pottery nativity set! Have fun with your crochet squares. There will be online tutorials for how to join them up.
ReplyDeleteYes, after a tip off I managed to cut and paste and print out the Italian letter. The process is convoluted but we will try again today to make the reservations. Ah, online tutorials...that is a good idea.
DeleteHello Patricia;
ReplyDeleteHow simply wonderful the Scrovegni Chapel looks to be. The Giotto frescos appear beyond belief and the background of blue is, surely, heavenly. Now this has gone straight to the top of our wish list, a must see, and a must see NOW. Thank you so much for bringing such a treasure to our attention. And good luck!!
Hello Jane and Lance. I'm sure I won't be disappointed in the Scrovegni Chapel, with its gorgeous heavenly blue and whimsical architecture. This might be my only chance, so I will embrace with great enthusiasm! Just need to get those tickets... Thank you for your comment and I hope you get there some day too.
DeleteGood for you, Patricia, I'm happy to see you enjoying crochet again. Thanks for sharing the chapel, I love to see these places.
ReplyDeleteCrotchet is very soothing, isn't it Jennifer? Sometimes I need to just sit and do a relaxing craft. You have some fascinating churches in New Mexico, too. We saw one on the road between Santa Fe and Taos (I forget its name), very old Spanish church, in a remote location. Most interesting. And of course in Santa Fe, the Miraculous staircase - I loved that!
DeleteI´m excited about your trip to Europe too, hoping to see and read your thorough reports!
ReplyDeleteI don´t know why, but the little George sure looks older than our Mariel, though he is a bit younger.
Maybe the clothing, the amount of hair?
Dear Mette, I so hope I can report along the way. Fingers crossed for wi-fi etc. Little George does look older than his 8 months, I agree. He is a solid boy, and yes, the amount of hair also. Clearly he's not backward in the moving department either, nearly standing up.
DeleteYour granny squares look great! Well done you. I hope that you can arrange to visit the church, it is so beautiful and would be amazing to see in person I'm sure. Have you tried using a search engine to translate the e-mail, if you copy the text that you want to translate put it into the search box and add translate or just search for translate Italian to English and it will do it for you (might be a bit odd, but you would get the gist of it I'm sure). Anyhow, I am sure that you will sort it! xx
ReplyDeleteThanks Amy, I'll keep practising and try to achieve your perfect crotchet tension. Yes, we have a translation now, thank you one and all. We just have to persist with the awkward online reservations system now. Fingers crossed! xx
Deletelove your squares. My mum taught me to crochet when i was a young girl.. I havent done it since then. Seeing your post Patricia.. I think i will have a bash at it. Yours have come out so well.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine your excitement at your going to Italy. Lots to see and do.
I do advise that you buy your tickets before you go to the churches.. otherwise you will have about a 3 hour wait . As Amy said.. you can use your translater.. or just type in english and ask how much they are and book. Good luck.. xxxx val
Aw, my mother taught me when I was about 6 or 7 also, Val. I still have my first little piece, an edge around a small doily. My eyes were much better then! Good tip about buying tickets - I can't cope with 3 hour waits in queues. My skin is very sun-sensitive. The Arena Chapel people are tricky, and they don't respond to email requests, which I have tried. The webpage connects into an automated booking system, but we will persevere with it now we have the translation. I really don't want to miss out on this one! Thank you for your assistance. xxxx
DeleteHappy to see you got your tickets sorted out. What a wonderful visit your are going to have. Planning ahead is half the fun. Enjoy making your Granny Squares. I find knitting and crocheting both very relaxing. Unless I drop a stitch of course.
ReplyDeleteDarla
Thanks Darla - I am so looking forward to our trip. Handwork is very relaxing, I find it too. I keep find myself splitting the wool and have to go back and pull the whole piece through. Hope this will improve with practice.
DeleteI was going to offer my help but now see that you've managed booking your tickets. If you need any assistance with something else, please ask. Italy can be very annoying sometimes !
ReplyDeleteThank you Silver Bunny, I have greatly relieved to have at least the reservations for the Chapel. The real test will come when we arrive in Padua and have to collect the actual tickets - fingers crossed the system has worked! I am grateful for your offer, and if I get stuck again I'll call out for help.. xxx
DeleteThanks you Val, I see I need to get into the Italian vibe, and not expect everything to work with Swiss precision. Our travel agent has completed most of our arrangements, and I am hoping all the hotels have concierges, as we will almost certainly use them too. I don't want to book the Sistine Chapel until we arrive, and see how jet-lagged we are. Then we will choose the day.
ReplyDeleteI also like your squares! Had a go doing it a few times, but never got the hung of it! :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't been to the chapel, Patricia, but the images took me straight to the basilica in Assisi, with its wonderful series of frescoes on the life of Saint Francis, also the work of Giotto. His style is so distinctive, I would recognise it anywhere. I'm so glad you managed to make your booking eventually.
ReplyDeleteI don't crochet, but wish I did. DD and also my sister are good crocheters and I've seen them make some very pretty baby blankets like yours. Good luck with the rest of it. :-)
Ah, yes, I know I would love Assisi too, Perpetua. Giotto has really taken my fancy over the years, and I can't wait to see something personally. For whatever reason, he appeals more than Michelangelo, though of course I"ll be checking him out too!
DeleteNow I have resumed the crotchet habit, I might switch to another project soon, and purchase wool specifically. We'll see! Happy Easter to you and your family.
I don't profess to be an expert on Sydney but I'm sure that photo taken at Kirribilli has been flipped horizontally. Kirribilli is on the North shore of the harbour and East of the bridge. Does anyone else think that the background in the photo looks a bit peculiar?
ReplyDelete