You will recall on the previous post (E:16) that I was having a little rant about Italian roads and drivers……. well the drive to Belluno on the 1st May (note the date!) was eerily quiet, no traffic, no bullying drivers, no shops open……. nobody anywhere!…………….then after a quick butchers in our ‘Rough Guide to Italy’ we discovered it was another Public Holiday…………In strange synchronicity with British Bank Holidays the weather was dull, foggy and rainy!
Anyway we decided to limit our day (also a fasting day) to repositioning to Belluno at the edge of the Dolomites. Now, our ‘Camperstop Europe’ guidebook stated that the Sosta in Belluno was free from 18:00 to 08:00 and €0.80 per hour at all other times. Being canny we pulled up at the ticket barrier just on the stroke of 18:00…….we even sat for a moment as the town bells rang on the hour……the ticket machine ticked over to 18:00……….Bingo! We we’re in for a free night stop (we like these).
However we discovered the above does not apply on a Public Holiday when the rate is €1 all day! (and the free night stop does not start until 19:00 on a Public Holiday) ………… we’d just paid a whole Euro for one hour, it’s an outrage I tell you!
Joking apart, we spent a quiet night in the Sosta and then the following morning walked around the historic centre of the old town (our final parking fee amounted to €3.40……. a bargain!)
The historic centre is easily accessed from the car park via the Scala Mobile, a series of very steep covered escalators….
straight out on to the Piazza Duomo….
The principle Duomo, just off the square….
which has an interior typical for this region, highly decorated with marble…..
Porta Rugo, one of the old city gates….
Porta Dojona, slightly grander than the other one….
Palazzo Rettori Prefettura (we think it’s the town hall)
This little unassuming church of San Pietro looks very plain on the outside….
and yet again is highly decorated with marble internally….
Coming back down the very steep escalator….
and finally, as we drove out of Belluno we were treated to a glimpse of what was to come!
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