HK Independent Traveller Blog

24 November 2014 (Mon) Our stay at Milan in 2014 was not blessed with sunshine. The visit to Crema was on one out of six days of sunshine during my half month's stay.  We were in Milan on the rest days with sunshine.  No harm.  Let's talk about Crema.  It is a historic town in Lombardy, about 40 kilometers from Milan. Dating back it was primarily an agricultural town with cattle raising.  Today it produces cheese, iron products, textile, etc.  And the prosperity finances the renovation of the town.  For example, the cathedral was closed for some years.  Now, it appears fresh and awesome in the town centre. It was cold in the morning.  Our first stop was Santa Maria della Croc e, 15-20 minutes by walking.  The church was build in Lombardy Renaissance style.  One piece of arts is Caterina meets Our Lady .  She was from a wealthy family.  Her husband axed her hand and attempted to kill her.  She prayed ...

11 April 2015 It's Saturday morning in mid-April, sunny and warm.  We visited Vercelli for its layback atmosphere and an exhibition at Museum Borgogna .  Close to the railway station is the first highlight of the town,  Basilica of Sant’Andrea .  It has awesome exterior and interior.  Art inside is a treasure, both the frescoes and sculptures. The elegant facade is built with different stones and combined with the red brickwork and white cotto of the upper part of the two side bell towers.The architecture style is Lombard-Emilian Romanesque: wide gable of the central section, two blind arcades and a big rose window in the middle. The entrance is through three Romanesque portals.  The lunette of the central portal has a relief depicting the martyrdom of St. Andrew .  The left portal shows Cardinal Bicchieri offering the Church to St. Andrew.  The sculptures are likely from one or more of the pupils from Benedetto Antelami...