The potato and zucchini soufflé at Ca De Ven.
That’s it. That’s all you really need to know about my recent trip to the Po River Valley with SAI. It was delicious and if I had to pick a dish to eat for the rest of my life, this would probably be it and that’s saying a lot for a girl who lives for her mom’s chilaquiles.
Admittedly, there was a whole lot more to our trip than the potato and zucchini souffle, but it was definitely a highlight.
DAY 1
On our first day in Ravenna we were warmly welcomed by two wonderful local tour guides. The first stop on our tour was the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, once known as Domini Nostri Jesu Christi. This basilica was originally built for Arian worship, however after the Byzantine Empire conquered the city of Ravenna, it was passed as a Catholic Church. The name of Sant’ Apollinare Nuovo was put in place after the proto-bishop Apollinare. The basilica itself was covered in mosaics which are beautiful small fragments of colored glass put together to create an image. The mosaics in Sant’ Apollinare Nuovo represent the life of Christ, as well as the images of Saints, Prophets, Martyrs and Holy Virgins.
After visiting the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare we walked around the town of Ravenna which reminded me of Florence, only smaller and much quieter. I really enjoyed the peacefulness of the town, it was refreshing to be away from the hustle and bustle of Florence. One thing I noted in the three towns we visited over the weekend, was the sense of community within. During all tours, our tour guides were greeted by many people who we came to learn were in fact close friends or acquaintances of theirs.
We later visited the Basilica of San Vitale which was so BREATHTAKINGLY BEAUTIFUL, the mosaics were so detailed and methodically placed that it looked like a vibrant painting! Many people say that once you’ve seen one church, you’ve seen them all, but I disagree. During my time abroad, I have been to more churches that I can count and each time I am so incredibly amazed. The Basilica of San Vitale is without a doubt one of the most beautiful churches I have been to.
After lunch we visited the Mausoleo Galla Placidia, although it is not actually being used as a mausoleum, but it is considered as one of the earliest and most well-preserved mosaic monument! We then headed off to Ravenna Beach. In my opinion, it was the perfect weather, it was warm yet there was a nice, cool breeze in the air. I was not as bold as my roommates and I did not get in the water, which they mentioned wasn’t “that cold”. It was cold.
Dinner. After the beach we headed over to the city center for dinner at Ca De Ven, where we all fell in love with the souffle. No shame. The restaurant had a beautiful Tuscan tavern design—fell in love with that too. Our dinner was delicious from start to finish, so when Eli tells you about an amazing dinner you’ll love... YOU’RE GOING TO LOVE IT.
DAY 2
On our second day of our excursion we hopped on the bus bright and early and headed over to Padova. I would describe Padova as the perfect balance of Ravenna and Florence. This is because it was larger and busier like Florence but still quaint and tranquil like Ravenna. The weather Gods also blessed us on our second day because the sky was bright blue, not a cloud in sight with a warm breeze—my favorite if you haven’t caught on by now. We participated in a guided walking tour of the city where we got to see and explore the town of Padova.
One of our first stops was the Basilica Pontifica di Sant’Antonio di Padova dedicated to St. Anthony who is the patron saint of lost things. When we entered the basilica and there was service, which during my entire time abroad I’ve noticed to be a rarity. This is because often when we visit a church, service usually never being held. Here we got to explore the grandiosity of the basilica and the oddity of The Chapel of the Relics knowns as the treasury chapel. Here we saw the Incorrupt Tongue of Saint Anthony, it is said that when exhumed, his body had turned to dust however, his tongue remained in nearly pristine condition signing to his gift of preaching.
After lunch we visited the Scrovegni Chapel, where we saw the masterpieces that are Giotto’s frescoes. I really enjoyed this site because before entering the chapel we were shown a short film explaining the story behind the paintings which for me, made it more meaningful. The only downside was that there is so much art to admire but so little time do so.
DAY 3
Oh Comacchio. I loved the serenity of the town, the people and of course: their amazing seafood. We left Ravenna at around 7:30am and arrived at 9:00am, once we arrived we headed for a boat tour of the estuary in Comacchio. Shortly after we arrived, our group split up for a quick coffee break in which my roommate Alex and I decided not to partake in. Instead, we decided to wait on the bus for the sake of warmth and comfort. Everything was all fine and dandy until the bus doors closed and bus started moving. The horror. Alex and I looked at each other and didn’t quite realize what was happening—our bus driver was leaving with us still in the bus! We looked back at Eli and Marisa only to see them just as confused as we were. They tried calling the bus driver to no avail. To our surprise, our bus driver was only parking… not taking off with us. Ha false alarm. So that was our first experience in Comacchio.
Our second experience? We learned that—well at least I learned, that flamingos indeed do fly! I had never seen a flamingo in my life before and seeing one fly was wild to me. Once it was time for our boat tour, Allison and I sat at the very front basking in the landscape. The boat tour was fantastic, my favorite part was seeing flamingos in the water taking flight. If you’ve never seen a flamingo take flight, its quite the funny scene because they look like they are running on water!
After out boat tour we headed into town for a quick guided tour. The town of Comacchio is certainly quaint and beautiful. Of all the places we visited over the weekend, Comacchio surely was my favorite and I wish we had just a little more time to explore and immerse ourselves. After our tour, we headed out for lunch at Restaurant Apollo 72 which was right on the beach! Here we had a delicious lunch which satisfied my seafood cravings!
All in all, our three-day excursion to the Po River Valley was amazing and I’m extremely grateful that Eli and my roommates encouraged me to go! It truly was a perfect weekend, who can say that they’ve had perfect weather, an ENTIRE beach to themselves, seen St. Anthony’s relics, and seen flamingos fly in the span of 72 hours? SAI students, that’s who.
Florentine Recommendation:
Le Vespe Café
Via Ghibellina, 76 red, 50122 Florence FI
If you’re a breakfast lover like I am, I’ll save you some misery in trying to hunt a breakfast place that feels like back home. Le Vespe Café is very quaint with a boho style and delicious food—also one of the only places I have found in Florence that serves Chai Lattes! Their menu is very vast with both vegetarian and vegan options!