Rocca Pendice, Padua's Rock-climbing Paradise

Set in the midst of the Euganean Hills, Paduans can easily reach this natural outdoor rock gym, Rocca Pendice, which offers a cool summer haven of short rock-climbing runs and longer jaunts for the more adventurous. It was first climbed in 1908 by Mr. and Mrs. Carugati. Let me share their story.

The gentleman and his wife were guests at a friend's house in Monselice, a nearby town. They were bragging over dinner about their rock-climbing experiences in the mountains when the host dared them to conquer a mighty rock wall in Teolo. The next day, the couple immediately went to inspect the rock formation and made their first attempt at climbing it, unsuccessfully. Time restraints and bad weather caused them to try three times before finishing their climb to the top of Rocca Pendice.

Imagine these genteel people, wearing sporty-but-cumbersome waistcoats and heavily weighted down with dozens of nails and hammers, climbing up this big rock. It was a town sensation. Friends and curious observers had gathered at the bottom of the climb and shot off their guns into the air for moral support as the couple went up the steep rock.

Their course is now called the Via Carugati, with slight modifications, and is part of the eastern exposure of Rocca Pendice. The valley including the city of Padua can be seen during the climb from this side of the Rocca.

The entire eastern portion usually remains off-limits to climbers until mid-July due to the nesting of a protected falcon family that calls this rock home.

Rianimatrici aziendali

This new university degree roughly translates as "Business Resuscitators" or "Business Cheerleaders".

Last week, the University of Trieste had its first two graduates receive this novel degree, under the department of Communication Sciences and professor Franco Grossi, the degree's founder. The two graduates are middle-aged wives and mothers who firmly believe they can help "save" businesses, especially in their beloved Veneto region. Monia Favaro, 39, is a mother of 2, and Marzia Dal Poz, 40, has one child. They are both from Treviso.

The purpose of this degree is to pump blood into small and medium businesses which are floundering in the both bad and global economy. The graduates are supposed to have the means to analyze businesses' current status, set future goals and help them communicate with the outside and global economy.

1,2,3, GO GRADUATES GO and get businesses back on track!
GO AND GET THEM!
Slap those businesses happy!

Culla della Vita

This in no ordinary box in a wall. It might look somewhat like a sort of mailbox but it is very special. This box turns out to be a "crib". Yes, that's right! The city of Padua has set up a crib in a city wall for unwanted children to be left anonymously in a safe place where an alarm will alert nurses to pick up the child inside immediately and have it receive medical attention or whatever the little one needs as it begins its life as an abandoned baby. This nest comes with a heating system and video camera which shows the baby's status as soon as the box is opened.

This box reveals a dark side of motherhood: rejection of the role. It is a hard fact that babies are being left in random places all the time, especially near trash receptacles. Here the idea is that the mother can leave her child in a safe place and know that the child will immediately receive attention. My question is whether these mothers at the brink of "tossing" their children are honestly informed enough to know about the whereabouts for this "crib". Many desperate mothers do not read the newspapers regularly, where I heard about its existance. Part of me hopes this box never gets used since the idea of abandoning a helpless human is so awful to contemplate, but if the service is needed, I hope the right people are using it.

Padua has placed it at Via Ognissanti, 68. Padua is not the only city that has built these sanctuaries for abandoned babies.