Le Montagne Chiamano…
This weekend I went with a group of other students from the JFRC to Vincenza for a hike up the Strada Delle 52 Gallerie – a path carved into the Alps during World War 1 by Italian soldiers to serve as the front against the Austrians. The entire trip was so much fun and it felt great to get outside of Rome and see more of Italy.
Our trip started early (maybe a bit too early) on Friday morning where we took a train from Termini to Verona. Once we arrived in Verona, however, the early morning turned into a perfect afternoon. The weather was beautiful, and Verona was an adorable little city to explore. My friends and I went around to some little shops, got some gelato, and eventually stumbled onto the ~supposed~ balcony of Juliet. At the balcony, people leave locks and letters to their loved ones. The balcony was fine, but I loved the doors covered in notes (below) and the alley covered in graffiti (above).
After Verona, we made our way further north to the city of Vicenza where we would be staying in between our hike up the Alps. Vicenza itself is full of buildings designed by Andrea Palladio. Palladio’s work is exemplary of Renaissance architecture, with tons of classical references and proportions. Merely walking through the city, one stumbles into countless pieces of his work including the Teatro Olympico.
The real beauty of the trip, however, was the hike along Strada Delle 52 Gallerie itself. As we approached the start of the hike in our bus, I mentioned offhandedly how I wished we could reach the peaks of the mountains while along the hike. Little did I realize, but that’s exactly how high up the hike goes! La Strada can get steep and difficult, and it is amazing (and horrifying) how ingenious humans can be during war. The tunnels were dug by pickax and dynamite and placed strategically along the mountains to counter attacks by the Austrians. I could try to describe the beauty of the Alps themselves but instead I’ll just share some photos:
(To show how high up we were, I took a photo of the restaurant where we ate lunch once we returned to the base of the mountains. If you look in the center of the red circle, you’ll see a big yellow building that has become a tiny yellow dot — that was the restaurant on the return down from the Strada).
The hike was beautiful, the Alps were amazing, and my time with friends made it all that much better. I’m still a little sore, but I could not be more amazed and elated by the mountains we climbed. The adventurer in me could not have been happier, but now – back in Rome – I’m all the more excited for the next one!
(The photos of Verona and Vicenza were contributed by my amazing friend, Mikaela, shown in the middle of this one)