Rovigo Local Customs

The Prince of Naples crèche (or "maternal school" as we call them in Italy) is the oldest crèche in Rovigo. It was already there when my grandfather was young, so it has quite a long history.
I think this is a beautiful location for a school, since it lies in a quiet street and has some trees too, as you can see.

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When you come to Rovigo, try asking anyone: "Tell me something about Giovanni Miani, please". You will likely get no answer. Personally, before thinking of writing this tip, I just knew he was a famous son of Rovigo who explored some part of Africa, but nothing more. And I guess most of my fellow-citizens don't even know that. So, here is some news I've found on Wikipedia: Giovanni Miani was born in Rovigo on 17 March 1810 and died in Africa in November 1872.
Before starting exploring the Dark Continent, he was an opera singer, a pedagogue and a scholar. He took part in the 1849 Risorgimento risings, after which he was exiled and lived in several cities, such as Athens and Izmir.
His exploring trips began from Egypt in 1859. He went in search of Nile's spring as far as Uganda, and drew a map of the river for the French Geographic Society.
In 1871 he began his second and most important trip from Khartoum along Kazal river. He died in Nangazizi, Zaire in 1872, but the news arrived in Italia only one year later.

So, he had quite an adventurous life, didn't he? However, he is only commemorated with a marble statue made by Virgilio Milani in 1935 and located under some trees in Largo Libertà, at the end of via Don Minzoni and the beginning of via Miani. The inscription is not even evident (see second pic of this tip). It's a pity that a town doesn't honour one of its greatest citizens in a better way...

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This building hosted the "liceo classico" (high school for classical studies, I haven't found an English equivalent), which I attended from 1997 to 2002. This palace in fascist style remains in the memories of a lot of students. My grand-father also studied there in the 1940s, too (but he didn't attend high school, just some inferior classes).
The name of the school comes from Domenico Celio, a Renaissance humanist.

El Cogheto is one of the oldest and most traditional bars in Rovigo. It is located under the arcades that lead to Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, so it's right in the city centre. I suggest you should go there and have a coffee or a cappuccino with a brioche when you visit my town.