Archive Date: 6/20/1998
VENICE
La Serenissima
A title befitting the Venice of ages past
There is nothing serene about Venice today
Sherbet colored palaces lie alongside canals busy with water traffic
The Rialto Bridge teems with throngs of people
While pigeons and humans vie for spots
As ever-growing multitudes descend on St. Mark's Square
VERONA
Shakespearean images of lost love, tragedy and family feuds
Do not haunt Verona
Instead, the Roman Arena and the medieval city walls
Belie a place of stoic history
Not futile romance
MILAN
(The Gothic cathedral)
As Assisi was the magnificence of God
Milan's Duomo is the magnificence of man
Its Gothic facade resplendent with glorious spires
Seems to be on a course to touch Heaven
Its stained glass interior elevates and mystifies
Bringing about feelings of quiet pride, airy splendor and of ... home.
PISA
(The triumvirate of historic buildings)
In this field of miracles
Three white edifices stand
One, a domed monument
The other, a striped, quadrangular structure
And the third is world renowned
A leaning tower
Tilting ever so slowly towards the oblivious ground
Holding the town's fortune in sway
FLORENCE
Cradle of the Renaissance
The city by the Arno has stood witness to the genius of Michelangelo
The brilliance of Ghiberti
The precision of Brunelleschi
It holds treasures beyond measure
Displaying them throughout the open streets
With exuberant pride
SIENA
(The remains of its patron saint)
The fair child has been brought back to Siena
Siena, where out of humility, greatness is borne
The medieval steps ring with quiet pride
For its native daughter Catherine
VARESE
(The vibe)
Classically fluid grace
Nature's symphony of air and silence rains down
Surrounded by soundless trees
Only strains of gentle breeze could be heard running up against branches and cascading down in whispers in Varese ... the best surprise of all.
POMPOSA
(The medieval cathedral)
The stoic assault of heavy stone upon stone
Less elegant than Gothic's spiraling tenets,
Less awe-inspiring than Renaissance's bombast
Lie as testament to a people's simplicity
A test withstood by time
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