Loved that I am in Italy Today!

What an amazing day we had.  Today we decided to hit a medieval castle since Grayson loves all things knights.  There is a gorgeous town between here and Verona that we went to called Soave.  To me, it's been the best place we've visited so far. The people were friendly, the food was outstanding, the architechure was quaint and historic, the castle was breathtaking and the gelato...delish!

The weather is turning to spring, the trees are starting to flower and the vineyards are getting groomed and primed for a new season.  As we were driving I just silently enjoyed the scenery of the villages up against hills, the towers of many churches, the ordered acres of vineyards and the myriad of colors, from the different hues of buildings to the beautiful landscape of nature.  I felt so lucky to be in Italy today.

We started our visit to Soave at this amazing Trattoria.  This was the first time we have all loved, much less liked, our food.  Grayson started making noises like Bob from "What About Bob" (one of our favorite movies) as he ate his lasagna. I had a thicker spaghetti with tomato sauce, zucchini, onion and something that made it smokey.  Very tastey.  Landon had a carbonara pasta and Les had some pasta thing with duck in it.  The owner was fun and very welcoming. He was great with the boys.  He makes his own pasta daily and you can tell the difference. 

Les, Grayson, me and Landon in front of the Trattoria.

I did a little research on Soave.  I found out Soave is one of the few medieval walled cities still entirely surrounded by its walls.  Most only have partial walls still standing.  There are only three entrances into the town by the three towers of the wall.  Soava was popluated during the Roman era.  I guess they've found lots of Roman coins all over this area.  The most important buildings in Soave date from the Middle Ages and beyond, like the castle, named Scaligero Castle.  The castel was built on the site of a Roman fortress and served as a defensive structure.

Les pointing the way to the castle.  Original rock walls. 

Great shot of Landon (Rett) laughing as we are climbing up the old rock street towards the Castle.

Picture of one of the towers that protected the city. 

Sign about the history of the Castle.

This is the first courtyard when you come into the castle walls. This boundary wall was erected in the 10th century by the Republic of Venice.  At the top corner you see the ruins of a church that dates back to the 10th century as well.  The arched opening goes into the second courtyard.

Interior of the drawbridge. This was the front entrance to the castle and led into the first courtyard.  This tower is called St. Giorgio since there is a statue of the Saint in a niche over the outside part of the door.

This was the door we went through to get to the first courtyard.  LOVE IT!!!

Les and I in the ruins of the old church.

Here we are again in a different part of the church ruins.  I'm not one for cheesey stuff, but this was pretty cute.  Les just decided to declare his love and Landon got the shot.  Lucky lady, I am.

This is the 3rd and inner courtyard.  That is the old well and "Capitan's house".  The house welcomed the garrison troops.  The ground floor is a room called "guard".  It still has some iron rings in the wall where they tied up prisoners.  There are suits of offensive and defensive armor, a mace, and two pallets for the soldiers to sleep in.  The ceilings are amazing!

The stairs leading up go to a room called "Caminata" because of the huge fireplace in it.  It's beautiful.  You then go into the captains' bedroom that is filled with heaviley carved furniture and suits of armor.  There's a 13th centurty fresco of the Madonna and the crying Magdalene on the wall.

There is also a dining room and a small adjacent study. 

This is the "guard" room. Suits of armor and in the far back is one of the sleeping pallets for the soldiers.

This is the other side of the inner or 3rd courtyard.  You can see the remains of a fireplace.  There used to be a two-story house here that was probably to house more soldiers, production of arms and to cook food.

This is in the center of the 3rd courtyard.  It's an embattled tower planted on a granite base and represented the last and the most strenuous bastion of defence.  It was also used as a prison and place of torture.  When they opened up the bottom (which didn't have this door Grayson is leaning in) they found human bones piled 2 meters high.  We went inside that place and it was eerie.

Carved Ballisters doing up to the second story of Captain's house.  Each one is different.  I loved these.

Another one.

This is the entrance to the third courtyard.  I loved seeing how the upper walls had narrow corriders where the soldiers would walk and protect the courtyard.  My imagination had a field day with this one.



This is the view from the top of the castle.  You can see the walls that enclose part of the town. 

View of the tower.  We walked to the top of it.

We went outside the castle and took a picture of the drawbride.  The boys had to T-bow for me.

Drawbridge and main entrance to the castle.

 The statue of St. Giorgio above the drawbridege door.

Example of the colors of spring.  I found this to feel so romantic and special.  



Climbing back down to the Village.  Those roads are NOT good for walking in heeled boots.  Just saying.

 Capped our fun day off with gelato.  Landon got a delicious strawberry and a chocolate.  Gray got chocolate and shared it with his white shirt.  (He's so nice).  Les got pear with cinnamon (which was good) and grapefruit/apple (not bad either).  I got a cheese with cookie crumbles.  Heaven.  I only got one scoop and Les kept trying to dig his spoon into mine.  I may have to go for the two scoops so I get at least my one! 

Here's some history of the castle for those of you who like that.  I do.  I found it on the web.

Castle

The Castle of Soave is a typical medieval military edifice, commanding the neighbourhood of the city from the Tenda Hill. It comprises a mastio (dungeon) and three lines of walls forming three courts of different size. The outer line, with a gate and a draw bridge, is the most recent, built by the Venetians in the 15th century. It houses the remains of a small church from the 10th century.

 

The second and larger court, the first of the original castle, is called della Madonna for a fresco portraying St. Mary (1321). Another fresco is visible after the door leading to the inner court, and portrays a Scaliger soldier. The mastio is the most impressive feature of the castle. Bones found within have showed it was used also as prison and place of tortures. The House called del Capitano (the Scaliger commander) houses Roman coins, weapons parts, medals and other ancient remains found during the most recent restoration. Adiacent is a bedroom with a 13th century fresco with St. Mary and Madeleine and a dining room with medieval kitchenware. Another room houses the portraits of the most famous Scaliger figures: Mastino I, Cangrande, Cansignorio and Taddea da Carrara, wife of Mastino II; the portrait of Dante Alighieri testify an alleged sojourn of the poet in the castle

The castle was cited for the first time in occasion of the Magyar invasions (934). In the 13th century it was a possession of the Counts Bonifacio, which installed a  capitano here. The walls still visible today, were built in 1379 by Casignorio of the Scaliger family. Their rule was followed by those of the Visconti from Milan and the Carraresi from Padua; the latter lost Soave in 1405 to the Republic of Venice. In 1439 Visconti troops under Niccolo Piccinino captured it back, but Venice regained it soon. During the War of the League of Cambrai  (1508), the city was fired and 366 Soavesi killed, but again in 1515 it was reacquired by Venice, which later sold the castle to the Gritti noble family.
In 1797-1805 the city was under French rule. In 1809 there were small fights between French and Austrian troops in the vicinity. Later Soave was included in the kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, and in 1866 became part of Italy.