Under porticoes

Like so many autumns before, this time last year we had recently returned from the Mediterranean, more specifically from Italy. I managed to post something on our days in Venice and Rome but never anything on the other places where we stayed such as Bologna, the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region north of Tuscany.

This was our first visit to the city known for its university – the oldest in Europe founded in 1088 – and the large historical centre, especially the porticoes serving as sidewalks.

I knew there would be many of those, both ancient and more modern. Still their abundance surprised me. There are almost 40 kilometres of porticoes, often on both sides of the street, within the historical centre that used to be surrounded by a city wall.

The weather was rather chilly and rainy all through our visit in early October. However, in Bologna you can walk street after street comfortably under a portico with very little need for an umbrella anywhere else than at crossings.

We stayed at a small family hotel by Porta Maggiore (above), one of the twelve medieval city gates, and walked the length of Strada Maggiore to the very centre of the old town and back at least twice daily. All the above photos except the very first on this post are from that stretch of a kilometre or so.

I am sure you can see why we got a little carried away photographing the fabulous porticoes that were everywhere.

We even happened to sight a couple of the oldest wooden ones. The oak beams holding the top floor of Casa Isolani from the 13th century are 9m tall! I wonder whether the inhabitants or employees behind those windows ever feel unsafe up there.

We should have come earlier to this beautiful unique city and will certainly return. There are some 30 kilometres more of porticoes to explore, not to mention the climb to the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca. (More about that here.)

Flowering café

The other day I drove my husband to Helsinki and had a couple of hours to kill while he had a cast removed from his hand. He underwent surgery on the worst of his arthritic fingers last week.

Chauffeuring as I was, I decided to take a little ride along the western coastline of the city to find a nice little café where to wait for his call. As vacant parking spaces were scarce I ended up at the Tamminiementie café operating in an old wooden villa on the grounds of the Meilahti manor.

Pots full of roses were greeting you on the porch. There was a table packed with orchids by a window in the entrance hall. By the time I entered the parlour of the café and saw an orchid or two on each of the tables I was convinced the entrepreneur, an obvious aesthete of the casual sort, must have some kind of an arrangement with a flower shop, or more likely a wholesaler.

The café had opened half an hour earlier. It seemed I was the first customer on that morning. The cakes hadn’t been taken from the fridge yet and at least the one I chose – a piece of cherry cake – was far too cold and moist to be recommended. Nevertheless, I had nothing to complain about the cup of tea I had, especially as I had the parlour all to myself. There was much to look at: all types of more or less shabby period furniture, a lovely ceiling with painted decorations, even an old tiled stove.

But the prices were shocking. Then again I suppose every once in a while you will be willing to pay some extra for a delightful setting even if you didn’t get much of a service, and even that may be totally different on high season. This easy-going café must be a charming place to visit in the summertime when you can sit on the flowering veranda facing the garden.

An old tiled stove in the ladies' room, not functional I would assume. Note the old timber walls
that are protected with thick sheets of plastic.

Today, summer feels very far away. It is All Saints’ Day and below freezing point. I’ve put a few oil candles to burn through the night on the pitch dark patio and the porch. In recent years, this has been the time when I couldn’t have helped starting my winter beauty sleep. There’s nothing of such inactivity to be expected this season.