Hi everybody! Finally I can take a couple of minutes to tell you how my short vacation was ... =D ;)
I really enjoyed it, and I have to say that I'm really happy to see how Italy is working; Mr Berlusconi is working in a pretty good way, his allied parties are fixing a lot of "historical" defects and our economy is in good health after all. Yes!!! Italy is not suffering this global crisis (at least not that much); the basic difference between Italy and other countries is the non-existent lack of money, problems are 'simply' caused by a bad administration of capitals on the highest spheres. Here in Spain there're a lot of problems for example: People and banks are running out of money ... factories, big companies, construction sites, shops and restaurants are closing; in Italy only few companies are suffering these problems, it's a pretty restrained crisis for now. :P ;D

Anyway, let's talk about about other things:
I spent a lot of time with my friends and I finally had the occasion to watch The Dark Knight, Madagascar 2 and Il Cosmo sul Comò (The Universe on the Dresser); The Dark Knight is a spectacular movie, I'd give it 10 points over 10, but I didn't like it that much ... it's a wonderful movie, but it's not a comic anymore; personally I was expecting something different, I'd have appreciated it in the right way without Batman Begins. BTW, Madagascar 2 was absolutely hilarious ... those penguins are the best!!! XD


Ok, now we can start with some photos; someone of you knows that my grandparents bought a new house, it's smaller than the previuos one ... half in size 40 squared meters. I stayed there for those two weeks, sleeping on the sofa-bed. It's a very nice place, the house is located in an old courtyard (part of a medieval monastery); their portion is on the ground floor near the arch under that balcony. ---Now each tenant is restoring his own section.








And ... little experiment with my camera (my grandfather was curious)


Then I visited all the churches in Monza (and this explains the second part of the title; "Circuitus Ecclesiarum" means "Church Tour") ... I particularly liked Santa Maria in Carrobiolo (1232) and San Pietro Martire (1369). Then I visited the Cathedral once more; it was nice to see it again! (If you want to see more photos click here)

The apse on the right is the place where Theodelinda, Queen of Longobards, was buried; in that chapel you can find The Iron Crown of Lombardy.




There were two earthquakes that day, but we didn't noticed them ... they were respectively 5,2 and 4,8 degrees on the Richter Scale.
However, the day after my two friends, Davide and Christian (also known as Ceri and Ciccio), invited me to their place near Varenna on the Lake Como; we decided to visit the ancient Castle Vetius, an ancient stronghold and watchtower built in the VII century during Queen Theodelinda's kingdom.

Ciccio & Cerizza


Punta Spartivento, where Lake Lecco meets Lake Como




Varenna and Castle Vetius (on the mountain top you can see the main tower)


The old path to the Castle




The outer wall ...


... and the main tower




They say there's a ghost ... but that's just me! ;) :P


Then we organized a good dinner with a good part of my ex-classmates (which took this photo; I love making crazy faces) XD








I was really happy because I finally saw some snow again! (BTW, yesterday there were 50 cm of snow in Monza and Milano)
Here's the Town Hall with park and square ...






Later I visited a couple of new places ... and churches of course! ;D =) Here's some photos I took in Agliate, the medieval basilica built between the IX and XI century with its baptistery and bell tower. Fortunately that zone wasn't very foggy when we arrived; the area around Monza and Brianza is famous for its incredible fog!








If you pay attention, you can see that every column is different ... (anyway, the photo is not that clear)




A neogothic church in Tregasio with its neclassical Baptistery


The medieval fortified church of Vimercate ... (view from the apse)




... and its roman bridge (III century) with its medieval towers and city gate (XIV century);


So, we spent the last day at our favourite pub: Il Fundeghè.
We had some beers and some fun; my friends gave me a couple of gifts and told me to come back as soon as possible, I really appreciated what they did for me! That was a night I'll never forget! =D





Well ... I hope you've enjoyed the tour! I'm curious to read some comments now! ;)
Let's see what happens; meanwhile you can take a look on this short shitty video I took that night! XD
See you soon people! Ciao!
 
(Sorry for the lack of translation, but I'm a bit lazy at the moment; if you want
to know what we're saying, just tell me what part you want ;)