What a beautiful language, Italian (?)
Olomouc (Czech Republic) 20 August 2009
; My vacation in the Czech Republic was in its last days, after a week in my beloved Prague and a couple of days I was in Liberec for a few days in that of Brno host of friends of the place. Brno - the capital of Moravia and the second city in the state - tourism is very interesting not least because of its castle (located on one of the two hills around which grew the city) is - for the Italians - infamous: it is the which were held in notorious Spilberg Pellico, Peter Maroncelli and other patriots Italian Risorgimento (and beyond) now become an attractive venue with exhibitions, art gallery and concerts in the courtyard area. But this city is also an ideal base to visit many places Moravian reached by an extensive network of public transport was so I decided to visit Olomouc ...
 |
| Olomouc: the view from the central square tower of the cathedral of St. Maurice |
Olomouc - the ancient capital of Moravia - is easily accessible from Brno thanks to a timely and efficient bus service, mostly somewhat outdated although still not fully efficient. The drivers - while speaking only Czech - are always very polite and as far as possible are always ready to give information to tourists lost. My limited Czech dictionary barely allows me to understand some simple concepts such as "left, right, forward, first, second, third ..." thus enabling us to understand in broad terms when and where to turn to get to my destination. Today's program does not require the need: the message might be close to my destination ...
 |
| Olomuc: il Municipio |
 |
| Olomuc: il piccolo Township cortile |
brings me to Olomouc in the late morning of a sunny day, and get off the easy for me to find myself in a few minutes in the beautiful historical center of the city characterized by very large square surrounded by a frame of period buildings - mainly Baroque - which give a very special charm: the total lack of modern buildings in sight seems to make the visitor a step back in time more than two centuries. At the center of the square stands the palace of the ancient Town Hall in which small, cool and now very quiet courtyard for many years was home to many shops. The soft colors and very clear buy under the intense light of a sun almost blinding radiance: in spite of what is pleasant to walk around the square, admiring the size and the charm of its architecture ...
Hungry for news more than food, within the crowded tourist information office right in the Town Hall site: despite the presence of many visitors, however, the wait is short and a young and courteous I used to rapidly provide all the information I need, including departure time of buses for the return. In the end I go out into his hands not only the map of the city but also a large number of leaflets written in Italian dedicated to the various monuments of the city so come to know things and totally new news to me. Given where I am now I stop to watch the astronomical clock located in a sort of large niche on the outside wall of City Hall. While not of exceptional artistic value, however, has a history that proves just at first glance: the mosaics and moving figures are characterized by the typical austere style, and ideological celebration of Socialist Realism (a legacy of Soviet rule) giving testimony to its realization in an age chronologically but still close enough (in many ways) long gone, but this style so dissonant from what surrounds it is not that much out of tune ...
 |
| Olomouc: Astronomical Clock |
One of the leaflets as soon as I received goes on to explain the meaning of the pompous baroque fountain that stands next to them: I find it to be one of the six distributed features Baroque fountains in the ancient heart of the village. Specifically it is the one dedicated to Julius Caesar who was - according to local legend - the founder of the city.
 |
| Olomouc: Town Hall and in front of the baroque fountain dedicated to Julius Caesar |
But in the square, as if to counterbalance the Town Hall, there is also a monument rather special: it is the Holy Trinity Column, a monument rightly came to be part of the UNESCO World Heritage since 2000 by ' UNESCO. Its construction (built in the first half of 700) was due to a vote of gratitude to God at the end of one of the recurring pestilence that has plagued Europe in ancient times. Of columns similar - in fact - there are several cities of what was the Austrian Empire (I personally saw those in Brno and Telc, and also remember having seen one in Vienna as well) but what makes it absolutely one of Olomouc unique and special are the size (it is by far the largest of its kind) that can accommodate al'l'interno its base chapel (decorated lavishly and freely open to visitors) and the incredible richness and variety of sculptures that decorate externally. This is not my story it wants to be a replacement guide, but in this case, I must dwell a bit of '... The chapel, in fact, has the impressive size of phone booth in which it is impossible to stay more than three or four people at once. I was very lucky: despite the many tourists around the square at that time no one was in there so I took the opportunity to get into it and observe it well. I admit that the comparison with a phone booth (albeit impressive) is somewhat irreverent as the chapel is actually a space richer not only in size but also for the beauty of rich reliefs that decorate the interior walls. And the light shines on them - coming from the large perforation of the chapel - it enriches them with shadows and nuances that give them special aura that seems to emphasize the spirituality of the place ... But Inside I find not to be only that a distinguished gentleman in his sixties, which plays a leading role, greets me smiling. Given the quiet moment and my sheer presence, the Lord begins to calmly describe the representations in excellent English and with a participation that - despite being the umpteenth repetition of what has been said hundreds of people - make it seem completely new and the explanation made for me! So I can appreciate the sacred representations about pages and characters of the Old Testament figures of Cain, Abel, Noah, Abraham and Isaac unfold around me to focus on the relief of the Crucifixion of Christ ... I admit I did not remember exactly these details ( I refreshed surfing the Internet) but I remember very well understand the satisfaction in what I was looking almost accompanied by a sense of complicity that tied me to the lady at that time ... I felt almost as if at that time we were the only two people in the world able to appreciate such works. What a strange state of mind are created when you can enjoy the momentary privilege even to be the only tourists there! It was a pleasant exchange of questions and explanations - however brief - was much more satisfying and rich long visits to castles and monuments made in those days ... Natural and obvious that the nice lady at the end, the first to greet me, ask me what country I came, when he learned that he was very surprised I was Italian but - alas - and certainly not in the sense of the English lady of South Zeal! Candidly confessed that he was very surprised that it seemed strange that an Italian speaking good English with ease as all good Italian tourists who drive in them or did not speak English at all or did so very badly and it shall remain disappointed that the guide does not speak Italian ... In that moment I felt very uncomfortable, not knowing whether to feel flattered by the compliment to my English or indirectly made to feel ashamed if the ' ignorance and shallowness demonstrated by the majority of my fellow citizens who travel abroad ... sketched a sentence of fact (I was frankly hard to justify my compatriots ...) and - thankfully - got a bunch of Asian tourists that I facilitated the command: so I took the opportunity to greet and plunge back again into the sun to come out of the square.
 |
| Olomouc: Holy Trinity Column with the entrance to the chapel |
Outdoors thought about the episode and I immediately remembered that he felt the same uneasiness a week when first visiting the Konopiste, I was found to aggregate a group of friendly and ignorant provincial Italian pensioners, moderately "caciaroni" from banal comments and unable to ask a smart question that it was a the end of a visit, however, interesting ...
But that's another story, for love of country, it will tell you!
