Bolzano, Italy: A Mountain Town with Culture, Class, & History.

Bolzano is a fascinating stop on our Grand Tour. It's located in the Italian Alps, but German speaking. Along with its outstanding natural beauty it houses one of Europe's most interesting archeological finds: Ötzi, the mummified remains of a prehistoric man found in 1991 by hikers in the nearby mountains. In the following post Tim Pozzi of BBC Travel highlights some of Bolzano's many charms. 

Bolzano is the gateway to the Dolomites. It sits in a valley, and it’s quite something to gaze up from the main square, pretty Piazza Walther, at the forest-clad slopes and ridges of jagged limestone that surround it.

The centre is traffic-free, so as you meander away from Piazza Walther you hear sparrows cheeping, coffee machines whirring, old women gossiping, cups and saucers clinking.

The colourful medieval, Gothic and Belle Époque buildings, with their stepped gables, turrets and attractively faded frescoes, have a north European feel. Yet the porticoed main commercial street, Via Portici, feels Mediterranean. At Piazza delle Erbe, described with pleasure by Goethe in his Italian Journey, the two flavours meet. Some of the cosiest bars and cafés are hidden behind the stalls of fruit and flowers, spices and cheeses. And speaking of fruit – did you know that South Tyrol produces 12 per cent of Europe’s apples?

Bolzano’s churches; its Franciscan cloisters with 15th-century frescoes of monks from Scotland and Newcastle; its Mercantile Museum; and Museion, a spectacular, glass-clad collection of modern art on the banks of the River Talvera, are all rewarding places to visit. But Bolzano’s biggest attraction is Ötzi, a mummy discovered by chance in 1991 after spending the previous 5,300 years frozen in mountain ice. Most intriguingly, he was murdered.

You can see Ötzi in his fridge, kept at 21F (-6C), at the Museum of Archaeology, alongside a thrillingly vast quantity of artefacts found with him, from bear-fur hat to bow and arrows, and fascinating footage of the police, not realising how old he was, extracting his body.

This being the 20th anniversary of his discovery [in 2011], there is also a stunning new reconstruction of how tattooed, muscly Ötzi would have looked on the last day of his life.

The chance to come face to face with a man who lived some 500 years before the building of the Pyramids makes the journey to Bolzano worthwhile on its own.

Discovering Great Art With An Emotional Punch

Art can speak to us in profound ways, moving us emotionally, intellectually, and even spiritually. Europe is filled with countless artistic masterpieces worthy of your time and attention. Part of the joy of exploring Europe's art is discovering those pieces that speak to you personally. What evokes this connection is unique to each person and difficult to predict, however we think the following works are worth checking out—and will hopefully provide some inspiration for you to discover new ones of your own. 

Stained Glass Windows, Saint Stephan’s Church, Marc Chagall. Mainz, Germany. 

The experience is aesthetically arresting; blue light filtering through the stained glass bathes the church’s interior. The scene’s subject matter is biblical in origin—Adam and Eve, Moses, angels, scenes from the natural word. However the style is thoroughly modern with the unmistakeable flourish of Chagall—colorful, whimsical, mystical. 

After the atrocities of WWII, Chagall, a Jew, spent three years considering whether to work with this Catholic church in Germany. He finally agreed sensing an opportunity for reconciliation. The scenes he so beautifully portrays are made all the more poignant in the context of the suffering and hope that went into their creation.

Wheatfield with Crows, Vincent Van Gogh. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands. 

Standing in front of this work, thought by may to be his last, Van Gogh’s brilliance—and madness—are undeniable. A brooding sky of dark blue and black contrasts with the bright yellow field; a pathway leads into the distance. Black birds hovering above provide a sense of movement and foreboding. The visuals are stunning, but the real power of this piece comes from contemplating the man behind the masterpiece and the final glimpse we get into his psyche. 

Holocaust Memorial, Peter Eisenman. Berlin, Germany. 

This outdoor monument is a must-do experience when in Berlin. The concept is simple: a large field of raised rectangular concrete columns rise upward, creating a criss-crossing network of pathways. As one walks towards the center of the exhibit the floor slopes downward while the columns extend upward until one is lost in a forest of concrete. Reminiscent of tombs, the countless columns create a tangible reminder of the scale of this tragedy. Walking through these a visceral sense of isolation results, first physical and then emotional. This is an extremely well designed installation, creating ample opportunity for one to reflect on this most horrendous chapter of Europe's history. 

Pieta, Michelangelo. Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome, Italy. 

In this exquisite sculpture Michelangelo breaks from convention, portraying a youthful, beautiful Mary—instead of the usual, more sedate version. While there are countless sculptures depicting this scene of Mary and Jesus, Michelangelo's rendition is particularly poignant. Undoubtedly his raw talent is a factor, as was Michelangelo’s own hope to depict a "religious vision of abandonment and a serene face of the son.” We're not the only ones to be moved by this piece. In 1972 a mentally disturbed archeologist chipped off Mary’s nose. The fragment was never found so the repair was made using a piece of marble taken from Mary's back. The sculpture now rests behind bullet-proof glass.

What pieces of art have made an impression on you? We'd love to hear about your favorites!