Ever since we rode the St. Louis Zoo train as kids and later as adults, we have been avid supporters of the tiny trains. We ride them every chance we get. This one had a limited route but it was still fun and took us places we had never been before. As we were disembarking the train we saw that the main church in the palazzo, the Basilica of San Petronio, was opening its doors and so we thought that the time was right to peek inside. What a good decision, this place was huge and well worth the time. Inside were all the religious items one would expect, stained glass, gilded crosses, side knaves dedicated to various saints and so on, but surprisingly the largest "sun dial" in the world was built into the marble floor. Then it was home to a chicken dinner!
We are the first on the train
It got is out of the sun
A levitating crypt
Two folks wondering when the church re-opens
Street art
Some wide open streets
Who is in charge here, the chimp?
A fingerprint like logo
An even bigger stick
Aqueducts or fortifications?
Monster
A canal that is still open, it this technically a bridge? It must be because there are love locks adorning the sides of the bridge
How many churches?
Two dogs, one bag of treats
We passes portico after portico
Going into a narrow street
The real beauty of all the porticos is how well they are maintained
This is part of the Portico of San Luca, a long continuous portico that goes on for almost 4 km
Passing another church
Love the colors
Person included for scale
It is Luigi Galvani, inventor of the galvanometer and a pioneer in electrical experimentation.
He is holding the back half of a dissected frog that he was able make twitch using electrical stimulation
Off the train and into the church
Stained glass
A big art project
The sides were amazing
The main alter of the Basilica of San Petronio
Very delightful
A dark set of stained glass
Gold!
Paintings
The scale is huge
A full sized nativity scene
Upkeep is continuous
Like a life sized illuminated manuscript
This one is so bright sunglasses are required to view
A vary fancy gate
This alcove is as ornate as many entire churches
The world largest sun dial. This on will identify the day of the year instead of the time of day
The zodiac signs are also indicated
The graduations along the line are roped off
This column came close to interfering
The 18th of the month
One side is the spring zodiac and the other side is the fall zodiac
Linea Meridiana
Ascending and descending zodiacs
A pope
A small museum was located at the end
Vestmenets
Delightful fabrics
Decorative silver pieces
Silver and gold
Some relics
A towering altar
So many details
Gigantic illustrated manuscripts
Back at the AirBnB, our own ceilings are decorated
Roasted chicken
Yum!
Freshly shucked peas and chicken soup
I saw these boots out at the trash bins, alas they are not my size
