Europe Tour blog 4 - Pillars, Porticoes and Piazzas
July 2023

Roman forum, Brescia
Photo © Jo Hackett

Steve in Brescia
Photo © Jo Hackett

What an incredible tour in spectacular Italy!

As we arrived in Brescia we were enchanted by the beautiful buildings, spanning history through the years. There Jo and I particularly enjoyed seeing the Roman forum as well as a sixth century cylindrical church with its complex and intriguingly spooky interior...

Both the Brescia and Pistoia shows went off like a rocket with a fantastic crowd response. It felt great to return to picturesque Pistoia with its fantastic Medieval buildings.

Then on to Ostia Antica, just outside Rome. It was an incredible experience to play in the ancient Roman theatre there to around 2000 people. A totally magical and exciting show!

The following morning a wonderful guide showed Jo and I with our friend Raffaella around the extraordinary ancient city ruins, reminiscent of Pompeii.

Then on to Caserta, actually close to Pompeii! Pals Giovanni and Achille took us to the original city of Caserta on a hilltop... a total gem with its early Medieval buildings and streets, plus ruined castle and a wonderful view of the volcano Vesuvius! That night we enjoyed playing in the huge courtyard that had belonged to one of the palaces of the local ruler, who also ran a large silk making business in the same building!

Ferrara was equally fascinating with its impressive Medieval castle that had been home to the d'Este family, and at one point also to the notorious Lucrezia Borgia, illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander IV. It felt strange to explore the dark dank dungeons, only one floor below the opulent rooms of the ruling family.

We played in the atmospheric square between the cathedral and an old palace to a fantastic crowd...

The following evening the response in Palmanova was equally ecstatic. Lightning and thunder clouds threatened, but we were spared the potential downpour and that last Italian gig was a great success!

As always we enjoyed our Italian tour immensely, with the warmest welcome of everyone there and our wonderful Italian team. A very big thank you to Sergio, Massimo, Raffaella, Vania and Oscar along with everyone from Musical Box 2, as well as Adrian, Brian and all at Solo...