Piazze

The Piazza del Popolo in Ravenna was marked with mosaic signs

Piazza del Popolo, a very common name (Square of the People)

Piazza del Duomo, adjacent to Piazza del Nettuno in Bologna

Piazza della Santa Croce Firenze  The most famous square is Piazza dei Signori but it was so large, it was impossible to get it in one photo

main piazza in Castelrotto in front of the church. The men sported hats with sprigs of rosemary

Platz Walther, Bolzano We ate at the café on the far left on our last day there

Piazza del San Marco Venice

Piazza delle Erbe Verona

same piazza, different view

Piazza dei Signori Verona

Piazza Bra, Verona

Piazza del Duomo Milano

Piazze are the social hubs in Italy (as the Plazas in Spain, Places in France, Platzen in Germany). In the US, not so much though almost every New England town has a town square. Ann Arbor has the  small ugly Liberty Square in which the park benches have sleeping homeless on them...not inviting. The campus has the large Diag under huge elm trees that the students congregate around.

So cold here with wind chills below zero. I ran in the snow yesterday. The roads had a coating of slush making them slippery. I am fighting a cold so perhaps today will be spent indoors. Last winter was so brutal, everyone fears a repeat though one of the snowiest winters on record, 1982 was followed by the least snowiest 1983.

I was pregnant with Josh during 1982. I used to be able to ski in the fields near our house (out in the township) almost every winter day but that winter, I was afraid to as I was pregnant. Our driveway went uphill with a sharp corner to negotiate right before the street. Cars would whip onto the street without a second's notice so while one gained momentum, we had to look at the street one last time. Very easy to end up in the huge snowbanks flanking our path. I fretted that we would be stuck in the snowbanks when it came time to go to the hospital though on the night I was admitted, it was warm and foggy. I was able to ski after he was born as the snows persisted into April.

The next winter, I had taken up running to deal with the babyfat, which fortunately melted away. Work was 6.5 miles uphill from our house. I ran home three days a week (downhill but usually against the wind), I never was stopped by ice or snow the entire season (though very bad for cross country skiing). It was a nice run going along a parkway then a couple miles along the river. The last 1.5 miles were not fun as it went along busy roads. We then moved much closer to work where we have lived almost 31 years. We were on the outskirts of the city but as new developments keep happening, soon we will be surrounded. The city council is unable to say No though most of the new stuff is in the townships. Where are all these people coming from? Don't they remember 2008?