2024 Sept 14 Saturday

Bressanone/Brixen, Italy

No rain so we were happy to get out to investigate the town. The Piazza Duomo is a center of the town with many of the most important sights ringing the piazza. The Duomo, Cloister, Parish Chirch, White Tower, Town Hall, and Diocesan Museum are all very close. Luckily we have two days to get through it.

5.75 miles, 14,467 steps.

No Relive video for the day.

Our accommodation, GrunerBaum Hotel, was just across the river.
The view from our hotel window. We can see the towers of the Piazza Duomo: the double tower of the duomo and the white tower.
The Rathouse (Town Hall) is also on the Piazza Duomo. It has the green cupola.
The Duomo of Santa Maria Assumption and San Cassiano. It is an Italian national monument.
Next to the duomo, the ancient cloister has frescoes from the 14th to 16th century telling Bible stories.
Saturday morning was a day for weddings. We had to wait to enter the parish church, St. Michael the Archangel.
Another wedding was held at the Rathouse. Another happy couple.
The Duomo is called the Church of Santa Maria Assumption and Saint Cassian. It dates back to 980 AD. The two facade towers in Romanesque style dates to 1200. Between 1745 and 1754, the Baroque building was constructed.
The ceiling frescoe shows the scenes of the life of St. Cassian and the Assumption of Mary into heaven.
The martyrdom of St Cassian is in the chapel to the left of the main altar.
A memorial to Franz Reinisch, a martyre of conscience who refused to sign an oath of allegiance to Adolph Hitler. As a result of his stand, he was beheaded by guillotine on August 21, 1942.
The cloister with ancient frescoes.
This ancient fresco from the cloister shows an elephant before one had actually been seen. He looks like a horse with a trunk.
The cloister also contains graves of many of the bishops of Bressanone.
The Chuch of San Michael Archangel.
The altar painting shows St. Michael chasing Lucifer into hell together with a host of rebel angels.
The farmer’s market was Saturday morning. These ladies were making and selling food at the market.
The fried food is crescione or cassone with different fillings from north to south.
We had a wonderful lunch at this restaurant recommended by Francesca.

10 Responses

    1. This is the town Francesca loves and she is so right! It has so much to see (not quite as much as Ravenna!) and the mountains are so close! When we were close to the first bride, I instinctively blew her a kiss. She acknowledged me with a mouthed thank you as she headed to the Porsche to leave.

  2. I see breathtaking skies above it all. Back on the ground, life at church on a Saturday. The streets are so different where you travel. This gives each scene a sense of connectedness of the object and all that is about the object.

    1. Bressanone was a well-planned city with cobblestone streets that radiated from the central square. I could spend much more time there. It also seems that rain could be close, and that makes the skies more dramatic. Thankfully, we haven’t had trouble although some of our upcoming locations are having severe weather. The breathtaking skies can sometimes come at a cost.

  3. Your picture from your hotel window is one of my favorite photos so far. Beautiful composition. What photo equipment do you use?

    1. I can’t claim any great photography skills—the hotel picture was taken with my iPhone. We just had a great room. It was above the parking lot and facing the bridge and road so it was noisier in the morning, but each time I looked out and saw those towers it made me happy.

  4. Going back through your pictures today. What an amazing travel log you are creating. The churches are absolutely amazing and each one seems so UNIQUE. Loved the pictures of the wedding too! GLAD YOU ARE eating such good looking tasty meals because with all that walking you need to keep up your energy and it looks like you are getting skinnier each day. So glad you were able to fix that toe,Jan! Also to cross all those bridges! Wendy

  5. We are having a wonderful trip! We’re not walking as much as previous years and still eating well—I’m not feeling very skinny. We eat a mix of restaurant meals and “put together” picnics, usually bread, cheese, fruit, and wine. Now we’re in the Dolomites away from any town, so last night I made pasta and a salad and it was perfect! Every church is different and every accommodation is different. Keeps life interesting!

  6. So lovely! I love the contrast of the guided, spectacular church and the delightful marketplace. Your hotel view was a postcard.