Italy with Vietnamese friends

While I was in Milano, I was surprised and pleased to receive a letter from an old colleague informing him that he was in Italy to visit his biological sister near Bologna. Bologna and taste the Vietnamese food he brings.

It's nice to visit and shop in Milan on Friday, there are no plans on Friday, so noon on Thursday to Bologna. Bologna is a city of cultural and historical importance in Italy, so there are many tourist destinations, the capital of Emilia Romagna - the region with the highest living standards of Italy so I very much want to see. In Vietnam, I only know Bologna through Bologna! My friend's sister's house is a car ride away from Bologna, in a peaceful little town called Cento.

On the sixth day we were visited by his friend's cousin to see the city of Ferrara, an ancient city but also a very famous tourist destination of Italy for Carnival carnival in late January. Year, on scale just lost Venice Carnival! When I came to the festival, it was cold so the streets were quite deserted but in the shops on either side of the street saw selling costumes for adults and children albeit not much. Homes are not high, built of red brick or very ancient stone. In the central square, the fortress Estense, built in the 14th century, is intact with the walls, the watchtower in the moat around the fortress is always full and green. Now inside the fort are the offices and offices of the city government. Not far from the fort is the central square with its cathedral, town hall and medieval brick buildings. Ferrara preserved many of the medieval structures, especially churches, because there was no earthquake or bombing of the war. The large church has a white marble facade with many statues depicting Biblical characters, but most especially in the front yard of the church are still two large Gryphons (lion head eagle) and two The lion is smaller than the red granite that tourists love to take pictures. From the large square, there are many streets in four directions. The streets here are small and quiet with rows of low-rise brick blocks connected by a curved corridor system. This architecture dates back to the Middle Ages when the area was a trading center, where merchants from regions came to live and exchange goods. Ferrara has a large Jewish community, where they have lived for centuries, and their business and business have contributed to the prosperity of the city. During World War II, their area of residence was turned into a ghetto, they were deprived of their possessions and transferred to concentration camps in Europe, many of them never returning. more. Today the ghetto becomes the Jewish museum, which chronicles the tragic history of the Jewish people, as well as remind people not to repeat the war. Now in the mall, there is an Asian community, mainly in China and the Philippines and Pakistan, to open garment and footwear shops.

Leaving the Old Quarter, we turn to the main boulevard of the city, where there are many fashion boutiques. I was introduced to the specialty shops of this area: bacon. I do not know about sausages and ham, but never seen so many types and sizes monumental here. Sausages are bigger than their ankles, more than one meter long, hams are about five to six pounds, looking at the outer shell is a different way of processing because of the black smoke, white mold, with rolled through the seeds and chili seeds with nothing more so it looks mottled color is very fun. Phomat, each cake is about 50-60 cm in diameter about 30 cm high, so it looks like a big drum. The main street was built in the 17th and 18th centuries, so the road was very wide, the houses were also beautiful, because their owners were very wealthy people because of business. We try to visit a building on the street because this building has a window structure, large gate and a very sophisticated and unique facade, turned out to be a very large campus with gardens, fountains and U-shaped building with large columns, arched door surrounds the stone paved yard and ornamental plants. Unfortunately the winter leaves and flowers have fallen out of leaves, otherwise this place will look like in the fairy tale Thousand and one night! In the evening we return to Cento, in addition to Italian pizzas, I was welcomed by the ladies of the duck egg, my friend brought from Vietnam with the same vegetables, followed by pomegranate grapefruit dessert ! Then we make a big feast together, drinking and smoking happily !!! :v 

Saturday I visited the city of Bologna. Today is also the day when there is an outdoor market so the street is quite crowded. I was also curious to see, the market is very wide see the sale of clothes with cheap shoes startled, but the quality is the same price. Sellers are mainly Chinese, South Asian and Eastern Europeans. I did not see the Italians. We left the market to walk to the central Maggiore square of the city. Bologna in the Middle Ages was a very prosperous city, not only because of the busy trade, but also because of the location of the University of Bologna - one of the oldest and largest European universities ever. 11th-12th centuries. Students are a very important and significant community in the city population. Many centuries-old Italian composers, poets and composers have been lecturers and students of this school. I also found interesting that the street name here is not only placed in Italy as in other cities but also in the name of scientific and artistic celebrities, not only Italian but also Foreign celebrities like Jack London, Moliere, even those who do not think much in Western Europe like Maxim Gorki. Maggiore Square has many beautiful old mansions, medieval fortresses intact, now the exhibition of paintings and concerts, in the center of the square is the fountain with the bronze statue of the sea Neptune. The most magnificent and imposing building on the square is the city library, which houses works of intellectual elitism for centuries. Consider the size of the library enough to know why this place is known as the cultural center of European medieval science and the Renaissance. The most characteristic feature of Bologna is the arched porcelain architecture almost across the street, the city has 280km of corridors so students here to school not afraid of rain or snow. The city also retains almost intact, primitive architecture from the middle ages: churches, towers, neighborhoods and university campuses, all of which are built of red brick. Bologna is now well-known for its wide range of shops, from luxury to luxury. On the streets of modern shops are located close together on the first floor, visitors just go in the corridor to see all the glass wall, shopping here is very convenient.

We also visit the museum of the University of Bologna located in the ancient building near the square Verdi. The artifacts in the museum are divided into disciplines. In the geographic room with globe and map of the world from the 14th-15th centuries, Italian mariners and merchants had great merit in gathering and recording materials to create motifs. This is through their journeys. Marine departments have many models of ships, warships ... from countries and eras. Italy is also the birthplace of great mariners and captains, skilled sailors such as Marco Polo and Christophe Columbus. In Galvani's physics room there is a portrait of Galvani and his famous bioelectric research, whose current name is Galvani. He is not only a well-known scientist but also a professorial professor. many excellent scientists from Bologna. There is also portraiture of Laura Bassi, the first woman in Europe to become a full-time faculty member of a university. She was promoted to the rank of professor of physics and mathematics at the age of 24 in 1735. passing the most rigorous tests of the Bologna professors. Not only famous for his research and teaching talents in mathematics, she also excels in philosophy, languages, foreign languages, poetry and has a rare beauty. Bologna is also famous for its openness to freedom of education, regardless of religion, gender, social class, etc., if they demonstrate their academic ability. Perhaps this is why Bologna has so many talents to teach and to learn, devoted not only to Italy but to humanity. This is also where many female students attend although most of the universities in medieval Europe and the Renaissance do not accept female students. The largest and most abundant exhibit of the school is the Department of Medicine, which is typically the anatomical and obstetrician models. Medieval anatomy was not developed because the law was very strict in using corpses to study. However, thanks to the support of passionate painters and sculptors, human anatomical parts have been reproduced very precisely and in detail on wax models and drawings, helping to Students learn more effectively. With obstetrics, fetal development patterns, maternal bodies are also very detailed and diverse, helping students learn more easily. Bologna has great merit in making obstetrics an important medical science, as in other medical specialties, contributing to the reduction of maternal and child mortality. Earlier work delivery was considered to be the work of the gardeners are not qualified. In Bologna in the 16th century, not only do obstetricians have been trained in obstetrics but midwives also learned the knowledge and skills necessary for obstetric monitoring and delivery from professors. school. The showroom has kept the iron table for centuries, perhaps one of the earliest specialized obstetric instruments in Europe! See what I think in Vietnam also has a university museum nhí, his medical school also has a history of more than a hundred years!

We left our museum back to the main street, this month is the promotion month, the stores sell up to 50-60% discount can buy beautiful things that are not expensive. Encouraged by his friend, he also boldly gritted his teeth to buy a coat and a woolen dress, but must say is worth the money bowl rice! This is called "grind to grind the trumpet here." The shopping laughter time consumes a lot of time, not much to buy, only look at the top two to three hours. We arrived in Cento more than 8 hours.

Lastday I was welcomed chicken noodle soup, with coriander ship from Vietnam to Italy! The last two days of the week was exhausted, Sunday I went back to Milano to catch the plane back to Barcelona!

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