Journey to Bolzano, 7 curiosities about the queen of trade

Dto the Ginkgo Biloba given by the Princess Sissi to uncle Enrico d’Austria At 136 thousand enameled tiles of Duomo dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta. From the caves of the historic buildings Via dei Portici al Mercantile Museumwhich also tells the identity of the city. Bolzano It is a small pearl rich in history and tradition. Located in a strategic position: when it is too hot, in twelve minutes of cable car, you arrive on the mountains of the Renon. But in moments when temperatures are not too high, the city reveals all its peculiarities, especially if you choose to make a guided tour or if you study a little before you get lost in the alleys.

Piazza Walther, the good living room of Bolzano between Laza marble, porphyry and the cathedral with a precious roof

Piazza Walther is considered the good living room of Bolzano. In the center of the square is the statue of Di Walther von der vogelweide (ca. 1168 – ca. 1228), the minstrel from which the square takes its name. “The statue”, as the Nadia Tulia Tourist Guide«Is made with the Lanza marbleis the most hard 20% of Carrara marble and we find it everywhere in the world. For example the flooring of the World Trade Center Station in New Yorkwhere once the twin towers stood, it is made with the marble of Lanza, as well as the memorial of the Queen Vittoria outside Buckingham Palacein London ».

In Piazza Walther, another important element is represented by flooring, consisting of porphyry slabs. “It is volcanic rock, volcanic magma,” explains Turia. “It seems almost incredible, but Bolzano rises where once there was a volcano from which an incredible quantity of material was eruded, which a little at a time also gave birth to the reliefs surrounding the city”. Also the Duomo, dedicated to Santa Maria Assuntais a pearl in the center of the city, which contains many wealth. «His roof, for example, is covered by 136 thousand enameled tiles. Was made in a way very similar to the roof of Duomo of Santo Stefano in Vienna. A roof can always be seen, even far away, and Bolzano wanted to make it clear that he was an important and wealthy city ».

Ginkgo Biloba given by Princess Sissi and the love story between Enrico d’Austria and the opera singer Leopoldine Hofmann

Always in the square, but a little more collected, there is the courtyard inside the park of Palais Campofranco. At the center of the courtyard we absolutely wanted to keep an ancient tree, which for the large basement in which it remained preserved entered the Guinness of primates. “The tree dates back to the end of the nineteenth century,” says our guide. “It’s a Ginkgo Biloba And it was a Gift of the then Princess Sissi to her uncle Enrico of Austriawho lived right here, at Palazzo Campofranco.

From the Love story opposed between Enrico d’Austria and the work singer Leopoldine Hofmann was born Rainiera Mariawho married the Sicilian prince of Campofranco. Hence the current name of the building. The love story between Henry of Austria and Leopoldine Hofmann, continued despite the opposite opinion and opposition of the family, ended on the same night when, a few hours later, both died in Vienna after contracting the pneumonia “.

Palazzo Pocket, the noble building that hosted the emperor Joseph II and Pope Pius VI

Palazzo POCK It is a noble building that stands in via della Exhibition. Strongly desired as a residence from Richer Franz anton pock fabric merchantwhich also set up a 200 seater theatercame Built in 1759 in Rococo style. Here important guests have stayed such as the future emperor Joseph II of Habsburg-Lorena In 1765, Pope Pius VI Traveling for Vienna to try to dissuade Emperor Joseph II from his work of suppression of churches and religious institutes in 1782, theEmperor Francis II of Habsburg-Lorena In 1820 and Francesco Giuseppe I of Austria In 1905. Palazzo Pock was purchased in 1928 by Adriatic meeting of Sigurtà (Ras). The bully coat of arms, a rampant goat, is located near the entrance door.

Discover the buildings in via dei Portici and the function of the caves

“Via dei Portici is the oldest way to our city,” says Tulia. «The houses are located on the right and left and you must not be fooled by the facades: each house follows a second and then a third. The houses are all connected with internal alleys and the caves open between these houses. It is internal courtyards with raises beyond the roof that had the function of bringing both the air and the light between one house and another ».

Visit the Mercantile Museum and better understand the identity of Bolzano

The Mercantile Museum It traces the economic history of the city of Bolzano and hosts collections of documents, paintings and furnishings of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It is set up in the Mercantile palace, which was already prestigious headquarters of the Mercantile magistrate, established in 1635, and the Chamber of Commerce. The large staircase with the two entrance portals and the long balcony highlight the typical Italian baroque architectural style. This is the only Renaissance-Barocco palace inserted in the architecture of the arcades. “The medieval cellars There are the original ones of the settlement, “he says Elisabetta Carnielli, head of the Mercantile Museum. «The walls date back to the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. They were used by the mercantile magistrate as an archive. Here is also intact the wire rackbuilt with river pebbles and one meter wide, which in case of fire prevented the flames of Propagase. Even the arc of entry into the cellar represents a medieval evidence of the thirteenth century “.

The Mercantile Palace is the ancient seat of the Mercantile magistratejurisdictional body of the Bolzano exhibition activity established in 1635 by the Archduchess Claudia de ‘Medici. The magistrate had the task of making the city’s commercial life re -release with special measures capable of regulating any disputes in short time among merchants from different locations. The current building was erected between the years 1708 and 1727 by the architect brothers Giovanni and Giuseppe Delai On a project by the Veronese architect Francesco Perotti.

Like the houses of the arcades, the Mercantile Museum also has its cavedio, “which is however much wider, because it has incorporated two particles”. The merchant palace is also The only “house” of the arcades, with a balcony instead of the airker (a corner window that protrudes from the facade of the building, creating a small additional space), an architectural element typical of all the Gothic facades of the via Portica and beyond. The visit ends in the imposing Hall of honor of the first floor – classroom of Mercantil courtAnd and the heart of the palace – where history seems to have affixed an epochal seal, keeping the suggestive atmospheres of the eighteenth century unchanged.

Where to eat

Parkhotel Laurin
In summer the Laurin Laurin Laurin bar It turns into a real refrigeration oasis for Bolzanini and vacationers. Its beautiful park is a triumph of green and colorful flowers, with different art objects and elephants of various sizes and materials. Between cocktails and aperitifs it is one of the perfect places for a relaxing break.

37 Alpine Eating
The 37 Alpine Eating Elegant restaurant under the arcades where tradition meets modernity and where you have a panoramic view of the roofs of the historic center and the Dolomites. It is located on the top floor of a historic building and offers a South Tyrolean Alpine cuisine revisited with a contemporary touch. The kitchen is led by the chef Matthias Lanz of Egna, whose strengths are creative composition of the dishes and conscious use of food. Among the dishes of the menu, which changes seasonally, at the moment there are, for example, handmade buckwheat chapels stuffed with artichokes, creamy peas and icing apricots or crunchy courgettes stuffed with fresh cheese with herbs, vegetable wok, coconut and ginger foam.

To stay

Stadt Hotel Città
In the heart of the city, it Stadt Hotel Città It is a historic hotel, opened in 1913

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