Trento, Italy

From Bolzano, the train took me south to the Autonomous Province of Trento. I’d left the Italian German speakers behind. Here, it was Italian with a good dose of English.

A tall, deep green statue of Dante greets you in the park – Piazza Dante – opposite Trento train station. Italians revere Dante because he is arguably as important to the Italian language, its vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar, as Shakespeare is to English, or the Brothers Grimm are to the German language.

Next, you become aware, as you wheel your case over cobblestones toward your accommodation in the Old Town, that the city is surrounded by a mountainous landscape. You check the map and notice with relief that the streets are joined by walkways under buildings to facilitate foot traffic; you don't have to walk around an entire block to get from A to B.

Images: Statue of Dante; typical pedestrian arched walkways; the main town square; the productive, mountainous countryside; doors that let you know you’re definitely in Italy; Trento’s regal architecture; view from the top of the funicular; typical apartment buildings and courtyards.

There’s a huge choice of accommodation and this time, I’d chosen an Airbnb apartment because I hadn’t cooked since leaving Sydney and felt the urge to prepare at least some of my meals (crazy, I know). The apartment was one of a dozen flats retrofitted into an ancient building with the occasional centuries-old brick arch left awkwardly suspended mid-corridor acknowledging the building’s past. Even though I hit my head several times, I appreciated that part of history protruded into my kitchen. The brochure on the coffee table pointed to the nearest supermarket and main attractions; it's not a large town. Exploring the streets with many restaurants and outdoor cafes while people-watching was especially relaxing in Trento. Late afternoon, music fills the air, and the sound leads you to a town square where rock bands play into the evening. Of course, like all such picturesque towns, Trento has its fair share of museums, including the very modern glass and steel Museo delle Scienze with its artistic and impactful awareness program about the human impact on the globe. It’s cleverly educational for young and old. Next door, the Palazzo delle Albere, an abandoned stately home, now showcases Avant guard art installations, such as a three-tiered carousel on which dozens of life-like chickens go round and round. (No idea what it meant). There are also some beautiful churches to visit, but none are as awe-inspiring as Trento’s gigantic Duomo. Photographing the interior is strictly forbidden; a shame – because it's both different and grander than most cathedrals elsewhere.

Images: Alfresco dining was popular everywhere; ancient arch in my kitchen; accommodation retrofit; church window; the Duomo; Palazzo delle Albere with its chicken art exhibition; Museo delle Scienze.

In warmer months, you'll see lots of young people picnicking on the grassy banks of the Adige River, where there’s also a funicular that takes you up the mountain from where you have spectacular views of the entire region, including a castle at the far edge of town that, even from a distance, invites exploration. Like the rest of Italy, the Castello di Buonconsiglio has had a long and convoluted past. It was initially built as small fortress, then added to extensively, later becoming the residence of the Prince Bishops of Trent in the 13th century. This was facilitated by the Holy Roman Emperor who ruled his vast empire from ‘Germany’ but needed access to Rome. Trento was a strategic location on that journey. The Bishopric of Trento reported to both the emperor and to the Pope. Due to the additions and alterations made to the castle overtime, you can see three distinct sections of Mediaeval through Renaissance to the more recent. After the bishopric was disbanded, the castle fell into disrepair, but after WWI, it was salvaged and converted into the Art Museum we see today. Inside, the wall frescoes, paintings, artifacts, and ceiling decorations are splendid. It’s simply gorgeous and well worth a visit.