Rome!
Florence!
Venice!
Milan!
Orio al Serio?
On the list of top places to see in Italy, the last little hamlet is likely not too far up on most travelers' list, but the little town reminded Corie and me that sometimes when plans hiccup, nice things happen. That certainly was the case for our first day in Italy, which started twelve hours earlier than we had planned.
For several weeks before our flight to Milan, I’d received a handful of emails from the airline saying our flight times had been changed. For the most part, the changes were minor, but an email three days before our flight stood out. Our flight had been cancelled, and the airline booked us on a new flight. Instead of leaving mid-morning on Wednesday, we were scheduled to leave in the evening on Tuesday.
In the grand scheme of things, we weren’t going to complain about spending an extra twelve hours in Italy, but that meant we had to find another night’s lodging since our bus tickets from the airport to Milan weren’t good until the next day.
So after a quick online search for hotels, we found a well-reviewed inn in Orio al Serio within easy walking distance of the airport.
Now I’m going to be completely honest and say there’s a reason why most visitors to Italy won’t put Orio al Serio at the top of their vacation itineraries. One can get a good sense of the town during a fifteen-minute stroll, and the sole event on the town’s website is a September 21 showing of a puppet show titled, Witches, Dragons and Wizards.
But I will always remember our brief stay in the town.
When we woke the next morning to the steady clang of a church bell, lazily echoing through the deserted street below our window, we knew our day was off to a good start.
At breakfast, we told the innkeeper how nice it was to wake up to the bell. She sighed and said she had asked the priest several times to stop ringing it so early in the morning because so many of the inn’s guests come in on late flights. She was relieved to know we found it quite charming, but I’m sure the church-inn dispute will continue to be the top gossip in the town for years to come.
After breakfast, we strolled to see the San Giorgio Martire church, passing several locals walking their dogs and greeting us with a friendly, buon giorno!
When we entered the 18th-century church, we were greeted with a beautiful display of baroque artwork adorning the walls and ceiling, donated or commissioned by the wealthy landowners in the area. The church is home to a 19th-century organ, one of the parish’s prized treasures as the locals claim it would be a fitting instrument in the country’s larger basilicas. In the morning silence, I could only imagine how amazing its sound would be, reverberating among the ornate plasterwork.
Afterwards, we walked back to the airport, boarded our bus for Milan where we would visit another church, one that's considerably larger.
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