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Back to Ancona. We trained from Turin to Spoleto (as part of big circle we made after a good non-stop RT offer from DC to Milano). At our Ancona change, I made the following notes:
"We will take the Eurostar to Ancona then change to an intercity train for Spoleto.... We both dozed but when we were awake, we noticed Tuscany-type hills and agriculture. At Rimini, we are by the coast and the train is right by the Adriatic Sea. We pass almost hut-sized summer rooms (?) and a few folks jogging on the beach. Ancona very built up. We see our first escalator in a train station in Italy here!" I was already curious about the area so it was nice to read about it. |
TDudette annhig Thank you. When we owned our large inn, we had a welcoming Italian flag flying during August. We had many Italian guests at that time of year, and, one night alone, we turned away 17 couples from Italy because there was no room left at our inn. I have often asked Italians why they would bother coming to the US with a lifetime full of so many great places, rich in history and architecture, to visit in Italy. Often the response was a shrug: “You have probably been to more places in Italy than we have.” (That likely changed a lot this year with all the staycations arising from Covid).Our trip did slow down for a few days after Ancona. Still, there are13 more new places to report on, six outside Umbria.
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You've finally arrived in my neck of the woods! I'm curious as to where you visited on your previous trip to Le Marche.
The paper museum in Fabriano has a very interesting tour, and they usually have an English-speaking guide available. I often take visiting friends and relatives there. Several years ago, we took my granddaughter there, and they gave her the tour of her life. At one point in the tour, they demonstrate the making of paper with the traditional machines, and they let my granddaughter make a sheet of paper herself. I don't know if they usually do this with children, but she was super thrilled. They also have a very nice gift store. Their modern factory is in the nearby charming town of Pioraco. There's a much smaller museum of papermaking there, but it's got very limited hours. Fabriano was one of the earliest centers of paper making in Europe. You'll just have to come back to Le Marche to see the museum! Jesi is sometimes spelled with a J and sometimes with an I (not an L). The letter J is not considered to be a letter in the Italian alphabet, although it's used in foreign words, like "jeans". Before the 20th century, the J was considered to be just a variant way of writing the letter I, often used when the first or last letter of a word was an I. (An example is the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj in Rome.) I suspect (with no evidence) that Mussolini tried to change the spelling of Jesi to Iesi; he tried very hard to eliminate all foreign influences from the language. He is the one who changed the name "football" to "calcio", and "croissant" to "cornetto". Along the road from our home to Jesi (where we catch the train to Rome when we go there), some of the road signs say "Jesi", while others say "Iesi". In Italian words where "j" is still used, the two letters have an identical sound. In foreign words, it's usually pronounced with the sound it has in English. The Pergolesi theatre in Jesi, unlike many historic theatres, has an active season of plays, dance, and concerts. Ancona suffered severe damage during WWII, but maybe just as much by a series of earthquakes, over the course of eleven months in 1972, that damaged virtually every building in the city. The cathedral of Ancona is the cathedral of San Ciriaco. I don't know where you got Donato & Pietro. There is a cathedral of San Pietro e Donato in Arezzo, maybe you meant that? You found the interior a bit bleak; I love Romanesque architecture, and this is one of the few medieval churches in Italy that hasn't been redone in Baroque style, which I find oppressively ornamental. Speaking of Arezzo, I didn't see any mention of the Basilica of San Francesco, which houses the spectacular fresco cycle, the Legend of the True Cross, by the 15th century artist Piero della Francesca. Did you see that? |
Originally Posted by bvlenci
(Post 17301385)
You've finally arrived in my neck of the woods! I'm curious as to where you visited on your previous trip to Le Marche.
The paper museum in Fabriano has a very interesting tour, and they usually have an English-speaking guide available. I often take visiting friends and relatives there. Several years ago, we took my granddaughter there, and they gave her the tour of her life. At one point in the tour, they demonstrate the making of paper with the traditional machines, and they let my granddaughter make a sheet of paper herself. I don't know if they usually do this with children, but she was super thrilled. They also have a very nice gift store. Their modern factory is in the nearby charming town of Pioraco. There's a much smaller museum of papermaking there, but it's got very limited hours. Fabriano was one of the earliest centers of paper making in Europe. You'll just have to come back to Le Marche to see the museum! Jesi is sometimes spelled with a J and sometimes with an I (not an L). The letter J is not considered to be a letter in the Italian alphabet, although it's used in foreign words, like "jeans". Before the 20th century, the J was considered to be just a variant way of writing the letter I, often used when the first or last letter of a word was an I. (An example is the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj in Rome.) I suspect (with no evidence) that Mussolini tried to change the spelling of Jesi to Iesi; he tried very hard to eliminate all foreign influences from the language. He is the one who changed the name "football" to "calcio", and "croissant" to "cornetto". Along the road from our home to Jesi (where we catch the train to Rome when we go there), some of the road signs say "Jesi", while others say "Iesi". In Italian words where "j" is still used, the two letters have an identical sound. In foreign words, it's usually pronounced with the sound it has in English. The Pergolesi theatre in Jesi, unlike many historic theatres, has an active season of plays, dance, and concerts. Ancona suffered severe damage during WWII, but maybe just as much by a series of earthquakes, over the course of eleven months in 1972, that damaged virtually every building in the city. The cathedral of Ancona is the cathedral of San Ciriaco. I don't know where you got Donato & Pietro. There is a cathedral of San Pietro e Donato in Arezzo, maybe you meant that? You found the interior a bit bleak; I love Romanesque architecture, and this is one of the few medieval churches in Italy that hasn't been redone in Baroque style, which I find oppressively ornamental. Speaking of Arezzo, I didn't see any mention of the Basilica of San Francesco, which houses the spectacular fresco cycle, the Legend of the True Cross, by the 15th century artist Piero della Francesca. Did you see that? Funny you should mention the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj in Rome.The first time I heard of it was when my wife told me that Jill Biden and others were having a luncheon there yesterday. We looked it up and noted they have Caravaggios among other paintings. We like his work and have seen some in Malta, and, on this trip, we accidentally found a few he did of St. Matthew in a Rome church. We also spent time, to be discussed near the end of this report, in Porta Ercole where Caravaggio died. With regard to our prior time in Le Marche, we stayed in Macerata, Urbino and Ascoli Piceno and also fondly recall the small towns of San Ippolito, Apero, Corinaldo and Mondavio. We love the sea and found Le Marche to be a hidden gem, not on the radar of American tourists. We like that. Two corrections thanks to you: (1) We did visit the Basilica of San Francesco and saw the remarkable frescoes. The photos we attributed to the Basilica of San Domenico, I believe, were in fact that Basilica. We also visited the Basilica of San Domenico to see the noted Cimabue crucifix. Five churches in a partial day was way too much to fully digest, and, trying to re-construct things from photos, memories and daily messages to family obviously has its flaws. (2) Yes, of course you are correct that the Ancona Cathedral that we visited, photographed and described is the Cathedral of San Ciriaco; and yes I was confusing the name with the Cathedral we visited in Arezzo. Here is a photo of the crypt and burial site for the martyr of that name in Ancona. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a02e719b4.jpeg |
I’ll never drive in Europe, Whitehall, but the flexibility certainly gave you options that public transport just can’t meet. Fabulous write up again, thanks.
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Adelaidean The fabulous European rail system and discount airlines provide great options to see much of the continent without cars. We have taken a number of trips to Europe, either in whole or part, without a car. We do enjoy trains, and a car accident in Le Marche nine years ago gave me some pause. We don’t like buses, and we also sometimes like the convenience of a car and the ability to go to out of the way places. For example, I don’t think we could have enjoyed Puglia as much without a car.
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Day 24: Bevagna, Montefalco again
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BevagnaWith a dozen days left on our five-week trip (four weeks based in Umbria), this was our first of three days, where we stayed close to home. We love pasta. In Umbria, of course they do as well. But the default here is pasta with grated truffles. The first thing I learned to cook was spaghetti sauce, RED sauce that is. Sauteeing garlic in good olive oil before adding fresh, canned or boxed tomatoes. Add some fresh basil, oregano, a little hot pepper. And, sometimes hot sausage or meatballs, fully cooked in the sauce (not fried). I also like pesto. Before our retirement, we owned a 45-room inn on the Maine coast and tried to deal with addiction and ego issues with the available chefs. At least, until our son, who is one of those people who can do anything, took charge of the kitchen. One season, he hired two young women apprentices from Thailand with one-year visas. We were seasonal, so we split them with a ski area in West Virginia. After being trained by our son, they regularly made us our favorite meal, fresh house-made pasta, with lots of pesto. And lots of red sauce with local Maine halibut. I think it’s the Piedmont region that is the only place in Italy that favors such a mixture of sauces. Everywhere else, it is one or the other or something else. That is one of the reasons we eat at home a lot. So, we went to our new favorite pasta shop and the butcher who makes the pesto in Bevagna. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...71dc8c4f6.jpeg And, we loaded up on both. Once home, we made a quick lunch with lemon ravioli and a healthy dose of pesto. No red sauce (although we bought some boxes of crushed tomatoes at Lidl in Foligno for only about $1 USD per large box). We had things to do this afternoon, so it was just a little easier to toss the pasta with someone else’s pesto. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...05f5586118.jpg We were headed back just past Bevagna for a late afternoon in the Montefalco hills. This was a special day for another reason. My wife did some horseback riding as a kid, thanks to a nearby cousin with horses. She has talked a lot about horses over the years, so I finally booked some private time with a horseman in Montefalco. The incredibly inexpensive few hours were marketed as,” there are people who simply want to ride and others who want to understand them to better love them, communicate with them and lead them.” My wife definitely fit into both categories. The narrow dirt lane, with olive groves and grapevines everywhere, brought us to Giovanni’s place. Our eyes quickly scanned the area. The expansive views. The picture perfect horse barn. We quickly met Giovanni and his affable college age daughter and high school son. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...29302f5cb.jpeg Before we met the horses, we were almost ready to sneak all three of these friendly little kittens into our carry-on bags. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...640645d4a3.jpg Then we were introduced to Giovanni’s three horses, and quickly went to equine school, understanding his approach to horsemanship. In short, it is the so-called Parelli approach showing love, communicating and basically, with kind and gentle firmness, showing the horse that you are the leader or boss. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...21494c328b.jpg Ahead of time, Giovanni found some boots that met each of our quirky shoe sizes. Soon, we were saddling the horses and heading into the corral, or the “arena” as he called it. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...061ae7b16d.jpg Don’t be fooled by the photo that suggested we both rode off into the sunset. It soon became evident that it might take more time than was available to get me over my inexperience with horses, so we agreed that Giovanni would take my wife for a ride through the hills. I would stay in the arena with his daughter and get a bit more training. As the sun was setting, all of us got together on the terrace of Giovanni’s home and got to know each other better with some Sardinian beers. A perfect end to a memorable day. |
Days 25 and 26: Spello
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Days 25 and 26: Spello
After three weeks of near perfect weather, it looked like some cloudiness and rain were finally coming. And, Spello was getting ready for some type of festival. We wanted to be there for it, but still weren’t quite sure what the festivities were all about. It sounded like a big deal, to include three regions and towns, "trains, bikes, mountains and two seas". Italy loves festivals though, so we were all in.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...de814f258f.jpg In three weeks, we still had not been on every street in Spello and even discovered a little bakery out of the way that obviously is only there for locals. And, we got some cornetti for our walk. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...cfa2c019b7.jpg In reviewing the many photos of the morning, we see one theme in Spello: arches. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ed43923a8.jpeg We also discovered a beautiful secluded square with the ruins of an old Roman forum. Later in the day, this square would be the center of the big festival. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5bc2ecb13f.jpg Except for the tragedy outside the school a couple days earlier, the only time we see police in Spello is at the beginning and end of each school day. Cars are cleared from the main square, in this case by three officers, and traffic is blocked in the town center. Plush looking buses come in to take kids to the larger community, and there are plenty of parents waiting outside the school as well. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2e89cc37f.jpeg The end of the school day was our signal that it was time for us to eat. More pasta. Strangozzi, a wheat pasta that is the standard in Umbria, is for those who want the closest thing to spaghetti. And, this time, I got my pesto AND red sauce. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5785338c2.jpeg Excitement was building for the “Stravagante”. It seems like a really big festival, since they say it will “overcome borders, explore landscapes, and unite what has been divided: peoples, ideas, affections, time, territories, communities”. Can you imagine a festival like that in the US? https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...03c86af2ae.jpg We got the wine from our two tastings ready for the late afternoon/evening festivities. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...815fbeeea.jpeg This would be the first time we would be required to show our vaccine certificates in Spello. This was new for the volunteers, so we had to explain the legal significance of our CDC cards and have a local person vouch for what we were saying. They were preparing for a crowd in the normally secluded square. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5f5f55d20.jpeg In the main tourist square in the center, two slapstick comedians were doing rope tricks to try to lead people to the 3-day event that started the day before in Rome and will end the next day in Arcevia in Le Marche. After all, from the press release this is a “festival for everyone, itinerant and obstinate, plastic-free, on two wheels, and with many events, from dawn to dusk, including theatrical performances, light and classical music concerts, exhibitions, installations, live painting, street art, workshops for children and more.” This festival travels by bicycle (three days isn’t enough to bring them across Italy, so part of the journey for the bikers is on trains). “Bicycles are an ancient and modern mans of transport like the theater.” I just got around to reading the whole press release for the festival, and now realize it was all about bringing people together after Covid lockdowns. “Stravagante focuses on art, culture, history and beauty. We decided that the best reaction to one of the most anomalous and crazy periods that has ever happened is to ‘do’ and ‘do together’”. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...839b0a24f1.jpg There were 70 artists, storytellers, musicians and illustrators involved in this event. There were two other warm up acts here, besides the guys with the rope act. One was an old-fashioned puppet show and the other more like Sesame Street on wheels. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6611c6a3b.jpeg And then the marching band came in. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...fa027f665.jpeg Followed by the bicycles, maybe a dozen, including some bike clowns. One of the cyclists was the brother of Michele Scarponi, an Italian champion racer killed four years in a traffic accident while training. And, the guy on the left with the beige hat, is Dr. Andrea Satta, one of the organizers and a Rome pediatrician who serves hundreds of migrant children. He is best known as a frontman and songwriter for a popular Italian rock band. Sounds like an interesting guy. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c106ef9cf.jpeg There was a community chorus too. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...45989e7c88.jpg And, next, was an evening performance in the little community theatre I mentioned earlier. We wanted to see it, but had been led to believe the 3-day play had been sold out. We stopped by and found that the only seats taken this night were for those people connected to the event. We got a great box and got to see the compact but beautiful opera house. The seats on the floor were covered; we thought for Covid. But that was just part of the play. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8bc55f66e.jpeg On day 26, we finally got some rain in the morning. It did not deter, this accordion player early this morning below our apartment window. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...46a78ddd8f.jpg But as the day progressed, the school kids needed umbrellas to get to their buses. Even though the weather cleared off, we didn’t venture out. Just did some reading, cooked some veggies and potatoes, and, yes a little more pasta, and just relaxed. |
"After all, from the press release this is a “festival for everyone, itinerant and obstinate, plastic-free, on two wheels, and with many events, from dawn to dusk, including theatrical performances, light and classical music concerts, exhibitions, installations, live painting, street art, workshops for children and more.”"–Absolutely fabulous, whitehall...another reason to love Italy.
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Originally Posted by TDudette
(Post 17301643)
"After all, from the press release this is a “festival for everyone, itinerant and obstinate, plastic-free, on two wheels, and with many events, from dawn to dusk, including theatrical performances, light and classical music concerts, exhibitions, installations, live painting, street art, workshops for children and more.”"–Absolutely fabulous, whitehall...another reason to love Italy.
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What do you suppose Dr. Satta is like with children?! 😁
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Really enjoying your descriptions and photos of where you've been and what you've seen. Thanks for sharing!
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Whitehall, I’m admittedly late to the party that is your wonderful trip report. I had been avoiding travel forums for awhile, with no immediate plan to travel outside the States. I’m glad I finally logged on to read your report.
My husband and I have thrice travelled to Umbria, each time staying a week or so in Spello. Your report is bringing back the best memories. Each time we go to Italy, I try to talk myself out of Umbria, but it’s hard to resist the urge to return. There’s so much there to love. Thanks for sharing your trip with us. |
Whitehall, am so enjoying your detailed descriptions and fabulous pictures, thanks for sharing your journey with us. One of these coming years we hope to spend a month each in France and Italy, your TR only whets the appetite…😊
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Thank you dreamon and geetika .
indyhiker Wow. Three separate weeks in Spello! It does feel like home. But we aren't sure we will make it back there. We have been to so many other beautiful places as well and still have so many more to go. And, yes then there is France. At some point we will have to do our Covid-cancelled trip to Corsica. |
Day 27: Perugia & Corciano
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Saturday in Spello brought at least four tour buses. It seemed like it was time to get away, but not where you might expect. We agreed to set aside one day to do some clothes shopping for our daughter’s November wedding. Perugia has an outlet mall, and we decided to start there. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2fbbe1473.jpeg Outside the modern Quasar Village in Perugia, they already have booths set up for what seems like a Christmas market. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...73a36bdcf.jpeg We also saw two Padel courts outside the mall. That’s the sport we previously mentioned that we first learned about watching pros play on TV. A little like pickle ball but they use the glass on the sides and behind the players to bank shots. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f67388319e.jpg Inside, it is spacious, clean and has food courts full of food you might actually want to eat. Even a large grocery store. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...315a684a1a.jpgWhen we didn’t find what we thought we were looking for, we stopped at two other malls, the first one, perhaps a Covid casualty or maybe just part of the demise of retail everywhere. It was close to empty on this Saturday and had a lot of vacancies and a closed multi-plex movie house. They had a lot of food places, one with some great looking bread and two of them American style, a 50’s style dinner and huge wild west place. But make no mistake, the caprese piadina is still the most popular thing at Piadi Burger. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8300a97d91.jpg Our third unsuccessful shopping try was at the upscale mall in the area. It was packed with people, had one of the largest grocers we have ever seen in Italy, and long lines at McDonalds (largely due to green pass requirements). There were other much better food court options with smaller lines, and my wife walked close to one of them to get a peek at the food. Two security guards in suits pounced. You cannot even look at the food there, without showing someone your green card first. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5c8c33a810.jpg Corciano A short ride from the malls is the tiny medieval hill town of Corciano. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b61fc5d05.jpeg It looked like another lucky day for us. We saw a poster promoting a 2-day event “dedicated to kissing and lovers” that included this day. The night before they had book signings by romantic authors, a concert and readings of love poems. And they finished with a walk, along with minstrels, on the wide grand opening of the newly restored Lover’s Lane (the focus, we believe, of this event). The evening’s finale was the projection of photos in a contest and live voting for the “most emotional photo”, followed by an awards ceremony. We never could find the schedule of events for Saturday, so we just showed up. There were QR codes posted in town to get your “Kiss Pass.” https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...30a321c85f.jpg Maybe everyone was exhausted from all the love-making the night before, but what we found was a completely empty town. As perfect and beautiful as any medieval village we have been in. Could be a movie set. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...dcef8fb70a.jpg Stunning. But nobody home. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...29bdf20409.jpg We wanted lunch and did see some signs for an open restaurant and followed them to an area just outside the heart of the village, near a church, and there was lover’s lane. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b4af1e5ff3.jpg Sandwiched between the church and the lane was a massive 4-story well-kept old convent. Inside was a beautiful restaurant with an outside garden full of diners, in large part due to a wedding. We ordered sausage skewers, roasted potatoes and salad. They apologized, in advance, for any food delays since the sausage was grilled to order. No worries and thank you. Another wonderful lunch. |
Day 28: Montone, Citta di Castello, Citerna, and Umbertide
It was an overcast day today, but we decided on a Sunday drive into an area of Umbria new to us, about an hour northwest of Spello and not far from Arezzo. We had four villages on our list, but figure we wouldn’t see them all.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...61b2193873.jpg We are in denial about most of the negatives of Italy, but every time we return, we remark that we forgot about all the cigarette smoke in the air. We have always wondered if the tobacco here is coming from places like Virginia or North Carolina. We got our answer. This area of Umbria has few olives and grapes and lots of tobacco. We checked, Italy actually produces more than one-third of all the tobacco grown in Europe. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4fcddac92.jpeg Citerna Above the tobacco fields, high up on a hill, is the village of Citerna. It is named after the many large cisterns, the remnants of which are still there, that were filled below the village to make sure they always had plenty of water, even when they encountered invaders. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...58140db02c.jpg It is a walled village that has held on despite a long history of earthquakes and invaders, including destruction delivered by the Germans in WWII. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...757719aaa1.jpg It is also another of those “most beautiful villages in Italy.” That is a long list, but how do you choose? https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2f7555b49.jpeg Although the church was closed, a sculpture there recently was attributed to Donatello, and we noticed a Donatello exhibition; but it was also not open. Rather, the town was preparing lunch for people who were beginning to arrive by cars in their Sunday best. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...91c0cc4ba6.jpg We thought of eating in the best looking place that had seats set up. Another concession to Covid, all those tables were in part of a unique covered medieval walkway or passageway that runs along the village wall. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f11eeddb80.jpgWe also saw that the 16th century clock here that reportedly has all wooden mechanical parts. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f6b0d3611.jpeg Although the stone buildings make for a picturesque village, the views outward are what the locals presumably appreciate the most. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...87734e54ac.jpg Città di Castello Next up was the larger Citta di Castello, a walled town only slightly elevated and surrounded by farm fields. Our arrival via a little escalator brought us to a little park near the duomo. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f51a100cbd.jpg Although the cathedral has some restoration work going on, the dome, which collapsed in a 1789 earthquake and was re-done shortly after, was particularly striking. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0509c600bf.jpg The problem in Italy with trying to see several places in one day is some of our potential visits necessarily run up against siesta time. For us, that meant missing two places of interest: a municipal art gallery in an old palazzo, said to have some of the best works to be seen in Umbria, and a 1799 print shop. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2597e2fbc5.jpg Although it was Sunday, we could see that this was normally a busy town, with lots of shops and restaurants on many streets. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...511828e688.jpg We also saw many impressive buildings, the result of a town with a history of many great artists and architects during the Middle Ages. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2ccef8351.jpeg Umbria is the single biggest producer of truffles in Italy, and this area celebrates it with large photos in this empty centrally located building. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0ccb04aea3.jpg We tried at the few sit down restaurants to get lunch, but, although this is a town of few tourists, on Sundays no reservation means no seats. So, we had to settle for fast food, a piadini and some gelato. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f0d0213aff.jpg We don’t know if it is Covid related, but we were surprised at the payment system in this cute little gelato shop. All payments, change and receipts were do it yourself and automated. All by itself in this big square, the gelato seating was at such a distance that it clearly was a nod to Covid. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6cbaf6fd21.jpg Umbertide As we headed back south toward Spello, we stopped at another non-hill town, Umbertide. It is located where the Reggie River, and the better known Tiber, come together. And, frankly, it was the least impressive village of the day. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ca7a8b5e44.jpg Umbertide has a little castle, a nice square and a few medieval streets. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...836f20d61b.jpg They were getting ready for some type of community show later in the day. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...83c8f95f6d.jpg The octagonal church of Santa Maria della Reggia Collegiata was built by the town to house a miraculous icon of the Virgin frescoed inside a nearby small chapel. In 1556, a seven year old girl, with a severely deformed leg and unable to walk on her own, prayed before this icon of the Virgin Mary and reportedly was miraculously healed. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...adcbe2d231.jpg Montone We felt guilty about feeling a bit negative about Umbertide and initially blamed it on it being a gray day. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b5c14602a0.jpg That theory went out the window, as we arrived at Montone, amidst some sprinkles and soon our first Umbrian drenching. We loved Montone, another manicured hill town with great views of the valley below that included a large equestrian center. The perfectly restored historic town is connected more by steps than streets. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a7a2069a0.jpeg No wonder this is the site of the annual Umbria Film Festival. We saw a set of bleachers set up in one little square, perhaps a leftover from the July event. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...636333a3e3.jpg Even the tiny 14th century prison is in a nice square that provided a little light to the cell. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...30a0ccc66.jpeg An old weather station still seemed to be working. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6865df2002.jpg The church of St. Gregory the Great is magnificent in its art and marble of many varying colors. But it is not the only church. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b51fb73cde.jpg We had considered bringing our son’s drone on this trip to best photograph the hill towns we would visit, but we feared we would be arrested for invasion of privacy. When we sought shelter from a sudden downpour, we discovered a convent/monastery connected to the Gothic Church of San Francesco. We paid an admission fee, and entered the somber church as a video was being shown on a large blank wall. The video included a nice aerial shot of this prominent property. The arched cut-out in the screen is the inside of the front door to the church. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d269d257f9.jpg The simple church, with trussed roof ceiling itself has beautiful frescoes, many of them in ruins, and some ancient woodwork. Since the main doors were locked, we entered through a monastic courtyard. There also is a significant museum of local religious artifacts in the lower level. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c70655cab.jpeg A few steps from the church is Rocca di Bracio, castle ruins that appear to be used as a small local gathering place. It is where a famous local renegade tried to create an independent state at one time. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...bf8558c73.jpeg After all the day’s driving, it was nice to find a small, easy to use, self-service gas station right at the entrance to Montone. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...558adeb05.jpeg As we left, rays of sun from on high brightened up the Umbrian landscape. |
More Bella Italia and thanks, whitehall. BTW, did you need an app to find petrol stations?
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Originally Posted by TDudette
(Post 17302057)
More Bella Italia and thanks, whitehall. BTW, did you need an app to find petrol stations?
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