Here you can browse through my blog posts prior to February 2022. Currently I'm sharing my travel experiences, candid opinions, and what's on my mind solely on my Facebook page. — Rick
Padova’s Scrovegni Chapel is slathered with precious and exquisite frescos by Giotto, including several poignant scenes from Holy Week, Jesus’ Crucifixion, and the Resurrection. I’m hoping to do an Easter special (as a follow-up to our Christmas special) for public television, so we filmed each of these beautiful scenes in anticipation of that project. In this frantic little video clip, I take one minute to blitz the events of Jesus’ last week as presented by Giotto. (Thankfully, when you visit the chapel, you’ll get 15 minutes.)
If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.
It’s fun to get off the beaten path when filming our TV series. The show we’re doing now is all about not going to Venice — instead, we’re visiting nearby places we’re calling “sotto-estimato”…underestimated: Verona, Padova, and Ravenna. While I love Venice, the welcome is warmer and less greedy in towns on the nearby mainland.
Pilgrims Converge on Padova’s Basilica of St. Anthony
One of the most popular pilgrimage sites in all of Christendom is Padova’s Basilica of St. Anthony. And plenty of pilgrims were here celebrating the canonization of two recent popes, John XXIII and John Paul II.
Just Our Crew and the Best of Giotto
Padova’s Scrovegni Chapel, with a precious and exquisite series of frescos by Giotto, is one of those super-fragile and popular art treasures (like Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper) where, in order to control the humidity, only a few people (who have reservations in advance) are allowed in for short visits. With our film work, rather than the normal 15-minute visit, we got to stay for two hours…and, four times each hour (as other visitors were ushered in and out), we had the chapel all to ourselves for a couple of delightful minutes. The last time we filmed here was 12 years ago, when it was covered in scaffolding. Making the best of a disappointing situation, we adjusted the script to focus on the restoration process itself. This time we enjoyed the chapel in all its Giotto glory.
Grief Frescoed as Never Before in 1300
Enjoying the artistic genius of Giotto in Padova’s Scrovegni Chapel is a highlight for any art lover. It’s amazing to consider that these scenes, including this Crucifixion, were frescoed 200 years before the age of Michelangelo and Leonardo.
Damn You… All of You…
The entire Scrovegni Chapel is frescoed by Giotto. And, while it’s a carefully designed series of panels showing events from the lives of Jesus and Mary with a dramatic Judgment Day filling the back wall, I enjoyed finding my own favorite little snippets. You can find countless details that, if framed and hung on a wall, would be gorgeously designed scenes on their own. This tiny segment is in the gruesome corner: the damned on Judgment Day, just kicking off what promises to be a pretty miserable eternity.
Man, I Need a Cigarette
I love working hard with people equally committed to our mission of sharing the wonders of Europe with our travelers. And my crew — producer Simon Griffith and cameraman Karel Bauer — make TV production both a joy and very rewarding. We get to be alone with Europe’s greatest art. And after private time with the very greatest, we feel a special exhilaration. Even though none of us smokes tobacco, in moments like this, we joke that we need a cigarette.
Pilgrims and happy Roman Catholics were pouring into Rome last week for the canonization of two popes. And many among them were Poles celebrating the sainthood of their beloved Pope John Paul II (born Karol Wojtyla in communist-era Poland). Here in Italy, at Padova’s Basilica of Saint Anthony, a new painting of JPII has already joined the ranks of centuries of inspirational Christians who became saints. Being here as they put up a painting that travelers will stand before for generations to come is a reminder that we are part of history.
If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.
Our filming of the Italian university town of Padova continues. One of our challenges here was to capture a slice of student life. As you’ll see from these photos, I think we succeeded.
While filming Padova’s Goliardia, we partied with this guy, Samuele Mattia Zanetti. And he came prepared for the opportunity to capitalize on my visit to find an American girlfriend. He seemed nice enough — with great hair — so I thought I’d help him out. If you’d like to meet a wild and crazy student from the north of Italy…there’s a good chance he’d like to meet you, too. Contact Samuele via his Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/samuelemattia.zanetti).Filming in Padova, I wanted to catch the fun as a new graduate is roasted by his or her friends. While there were no graduations during our visit, my local guide friend managed to get the local goofball fraternity, the Goliardia, to play the role…and it worked great. Here we’re warming up with a drink in the student bar before they step out into the street and sing the university’s graduation anthem (which says, basically, “You’re a doctor, yes, you’re a doctor… but you’re still just an a-hole”).When filming in the big and famous cities, we go unnoticed by the local press. But in smaller towns, we sense the pride locals feel as we work to share their home with an American television audience. As we worked one day, the local reporter connected with us. The next morning we were in the paper. The headline: “Saints, Spritz, and Goliardia: Padova goes to the USA.”
It’s great to be joined by my film crew as we begin shooting the last episodes of our new television season (which airs this fall). We’re spending six days filming in Verona, Ravenna, and Padova (a.k.a. Padua). Here are a few shots that illustrate the fun we’re having as we kick things off in Padova. Just half an hour from Venice, Padova is a university town with 60,000 students and a wonderfully youthful vibe.
All over town, young people — apparently without a lot of private space in their apartments — hang out and kiss and cuddle in public spaces. These students seemed very comfortable literally under the medieval tomb of one of their city’s historic fathers.All over Italy, people enjoy the early evening on the piazza with a spritz and friends. The local Campari drink is just an excuse for people to get together and enjoy some quality time as the sun sets, the floodlights come on, and —regardless, it seems, of the economy, the politicians, or your family troubles — life is good. We had an easy time making friends with the camera rolling and enjoying this slice of the Italian dolce vita.Each episode of my series starts with a goofy “tease” where I welcome our viewers with some intimate activity — shearing a lamb, sizing up an octopus, or sweating in a sauna. For this show, I relieved a man of his artichoke-trimming work. Not quite trusting the rawhide glove and the razor-sharp knife, I gingerly topped the artichoke and said, “We’re back with more of the best of Europe…” Here you can see me behind the artichoke stand, reviewing the footage cameraman Karel Bauer shot.
