Friday, May 31, 2024

Koper, Slovenia

Koper is a charming port at the northern end of Slovenia’s 29 mile coastline along the Adriatic Sea. Historic Koper dates back to the Middle Bronze Age, and is mixture of Italian and Slovenian cultures and languages. The country is bordered by Italy, Austria, Hungary, Croatia and the Adriatic Sea. The town has features an old town a large piazza framed by a 12th century Cathedral, residences and and a cool old restaurant with shops, gelato bars (there seems no wrong time for gelato!), and coffee shops. Onward docked right across the street from the entrance to the old town — convenient for an easy walk about, mussels and calamari lunch and dodging rain. We’ve been lucky, hardly any bad weather for the entire voyage! Azamara umbrellas have been put to use.

A day ago, docked in Chioggia Italy, we toured Padua, a picturesque cultural town centered on the impressive Basilica di Sant’ Antonio and the ancient University of Padua was established in 1222 by a group of students and teachers who seceded from the University of Bologna. Notably, the university flourished during the 15th and 16th centuries, becoming one of Europe’s leading institutions.

Padua attracted famous Renaissance philosophers and scientists. Among its notable professors was Galileo Galilei, who made groundbreaking contributions to physics and astronomy. The university excelled in various fields, including medicine, law, theology, and philosophy. Andreas Vesalius, a pioneer in human anatomy, also taught at Padua. (Dr. Haley this might be on the board exam!)

We also strolled through Chioggia, a charming fishing village with canals with pedestrian bridges like nearby Venice. Many of our shipmates jaunted to Venice, an hour away. Having visited Venice years ago, we decided to enjoy fewer tourists in these other nice scenic spots featuring the river, the Adriatic and the fields of crops.

Galileo studied speed, velocity, gravity, free fall, and more. He was one of the earliest Renaissance developers of the thermoscope, the inventor of various compasses, and used the telescope for scientific observations of celestial objects. With an improved telescope he built, he observed the stars of the Milky Way, Venus, the Jupiter, Saturn and sunspots and lunar craters. He also built an early microscope. What a guy — no wonder they erected a statue of him and pointed out the very classroom where he taught centuries ago!