Day 12
One of my favorite days was visiting the city of Verona. I had been assigned to make a podcast on the history and urbanism of this city, as well as give a presentation on one of its monumental architectural works, the Castelvecchio. I believe I appreciated this city the most because I studied it more thoroughly prior to visiting. I learned a great deal on the development of the city from ancient Rome to medieval times. It was interesting to see the urban fabric of the city firsthand knowing that the base of it comes from the gridded street system from ancient Rome. Architectural history excites me because I get to analyze how architecture has developed and changed over time. Having the opportunity to see monuments that I studied like the Arena of Verona, the Lamberti Tower, and Piazza Erbe made the visit all the more rewarding.
It was quite a rainy day, but that did not stop me from making sure I got photographs to remember it all. I think the highlight of visiting Verona was getting to present the history and development of the Castelvecchio Museum. It was the second modern example of Carlo Scarpa’s work that we got to see, in which he utilizes new and modern materials to enhance and preserve the history of the original work. It was quite interesting to see the scales of details of Scarpa’s work, whether it be framing windows or designing joinery. The Castelvecchio was a refreshing work not only in its modernity, but also its masonry. The tone of the bricks was consistent throughout Verona, reading and one wholistic city and urban fabric.