Bagni di Lucca and Beyond

On our visit to Soave, a delightful small town  in the Veneto region of Italy, we discovered a town scattered with colourful animals. It was a miserable, cold, rainy, windy day, but the animals seemed cheerful enough.

Hot pink snails were the first to appear near the Porta Verona, one of the entrances to the town.

I’ve seen these critters years ago in Milan. One of them attacked my friend in 2010 just outside the Galleria.

Frogs in the canal and on a wall.

Birds at Porta Verona.

Orange meerkats high on a wall.

Large green rabbits.

An elephant pushing a column.

Others watch, or ignore.

Blue birds on a balcony.

 

One on the street below.

Geese in a canal, a few have been blown over by the fierce wind blowing through the town. That same wind is ruining the pansies on the bridge, just like in Ponte a Serraglio right now.

The installations have been in place since February 8 and will remain until May 8th.

There is much more to Soave than a collection of large, plastic animals.

The Scaligero Castle is a medieval military fortification towering over the town and the surrounding countryside. It is most likely built on the site of an ancient Roman fortress. The castle consists of a high tower, the Mastio, around which walls encompass 3 courtyards. The outer line has a gate and drawbridge and is the most recent addition, built by the Venetians in the 15th century.

 

The rain, cold wind and miserable conditions did not stop us from exploring the castle. We first came to the drawbridge, with a handsome guard watching from above.

 

The entrance to the castle.

 

The first courtyard.

A small room on the ground floor.

Up the stairs.

The rooms upstairs.

The views from the walk up to the tower and from the top are spectacular, even on a crummy day.

 

The Scaliger walls around the town, built by Cansigorio della Scala, are about 1,600 metres long with 24 towers. As you walk through the town you catch glimpses of the intact walls at each crossroad. They are clearly visible from the castle.

The horrible weather made walking around the town a bit ordinary, but we could see that there are some attractive shops and excellent places to try the wine the area is famous for.

 

One morning there was a local market which was well patronised.

Soave is a delightful little town. We will visit again, hopefully in better weather.