Day 3, May 27 (Grazzano Visconti and Pavia)

Today we had a continental breakfast at our hotel in Salice Terme before heading to the town of Grazzano Visconti at 9 am. This is a part authentic, part re-created medieval village, named for the Visconti family who ruled much of this area of Italy (Lombardi) in the 14th and 15th centuries. The castle, which lies in the center of town, is original, while the other buildings were built about 100 years ago to resemble medieval architecture. Some highlights included a beautiful garden with a labyrinth, and several statues of a mysterious "guardian angel" of the town named Louisa.

After visiting the town, we followed the Visconti trail a little further to the Certosa di Pavia, a chapel and monastery started by the Viscontis in 1396 which originally housed Carthusian monks. The complex took 250 years to build, and was completed by the Sforza family, who ruled after the Viscontis. When the Spanish conquered this area of Italy in the 16th century (Lombardi), the chapel was not yet completed, so the facade of the church is a mix of renaissance and baroque styling. Nevertheless, it is a beautiful place, with an ornately decorated interior (including a stunning choir built with thousands of pieces of inlaid wood). These days, the Cartusians are gone, and there are Cistern monks in residence. When they heard that a choir was visiting, they allowed us to sing a little inside the chuch--that was a real experience, both for singer and listener!

Around 5:30, we made our way to the city of Pavia, the second most important city (after Milan) in Lombardi, and another place filled with Visconti relics. We had dinner at a terrific restaurant (we were prepared for the multiple courses this time), and then travelled to the concert venue, the beautiful San Francesco church. The acoustics were wonderful for choral singing, and after a short rehearsal and devotions led by senior Beth Jeddeloh, our first concert of the tour began around 9:15. We were happy to connect with President and Mrs. Torgerson and the other guests accompanying them on the companion tour. Nordic sang four selections, after which they took a break and listened to 3 wonderful soloists--a soprano, tenor, and flutist--play and sing selections from classic operas. At one point, the tenor sang the famous aria "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini's Turandot, and several women from Nordic provided an impromptu off-stage choir. The full choir returned for two more selections and two encores. Although it is true that European audiences, in general, are more reserved with their applause than American ones, Nordic received two standing ovations! At almost 2 1/2 hours, the audience received its fill of beautiful music tonight. A reception awaited us in a courtyard across the street from the church, and we finally headed back to the hotel in Salice Terme around midnight.