This is going to be a short post to write briefly about a lovely trip I took last weekend to Rovereto and Trento in the Trentino region (north of Verona).
My Italian teacher discovered that the Israel Museum is lending the MART museum in Rovereto its Impressionist and Post Impressionist collection for a few months. Since I'd heard that the MART is a very good contemporary art museum worth the detour to Rovereto and since I love impressionist art I decided to try and get an invitation for the opening. I managed this but in the process I turned out to be the embassy's representative at the event - which meant I really had to go. The museum is interesting not only because of the exhibits inside but also because of its architectural structure. It was designed by Mario Botta who was also the architect behind the restructuring of the La Scala opera house in Milan, the Cymbalista Synagogue and Jewish Heritage Center in Tel Aviv and the Kyobo Tower in Seoul among others.
I tried to catch the train over there but I just didn't have enough time to get to the train station, so I ended up taking my car (for the first time for a long trip outside of Milan). The drive out there was OK, after turning north - it becomes really beautiful as you begin driving through the Dolomites with the Adige river flowing nearby. I got there just in time and just about had enough time to check into my hotel and change. The museum was packed with people and it was nice to see the familiar pictures in their new temporary home - it's funny how you see the pictures differently when they hang somewhere else, having the same effect like when you move pictures at home. They seem somehow new or different. Strangely enough, I discovered I knew the Israeli curator of the exhibition - we studied together at the university.
Aside from this exhibition the museum has some interesting permanent collections (and I'm not always a fan of these types of things). I highly recommend going there, and also visiting the town, which is very pleasant.
I stayed overnight in a nice hotel called Leon D'Oro (a four star hotel).
The next day I drove north to Trento - the main town in the region.
They had some kind of medieval fair going on. It's funny how in the right atmosphere and with the "right kind" of structures around - people can look like they're from the middle ages just by changing their clothes - they were doing all kinds of things the very old way - weaving, milling, making silk, etc. Below you can see two examples of this:
From the Duomo Square I walked to the Castello del Buonconsiglio (the Castle of Good Counsel) where they had an interesting exhibition of prints by Rembrandt.
The Council of Trent which is considered one of the most important councils in the history of the Catholic Church, convened there in 1545. This Council gave rise to the Counter Reformation in the wake of the Protestant Reformation.
The castle is well worth a visit as is the whole town - it has a very medieval feel to it which is nice, in addition to being very pleasant. As always with me, I like it when there are mountains around - and both Trento and Rovereto are well situated that way.
I leave you with two pictures from Trento - the one on the left taken from the Castello and the one on the right taken on the street - one of many houses with an old feel to it.
I didn't really take enough pictures there to give you a feeling of what the two towns are like but I want to say again that I had a great time over there and think it's an excellent place to spend some time in - and to use as a base for touring the area from.
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