Assisi

Despite the dark and threatening skies this morning, we headed for Assisi. And we did actually see some sun but not much. We wended our way into town by a new route that sometimes went completely the opposite direction to where we wanted to go but it all worked out, putting us out at the intersection that led to our usual parking lot. We discovered that there is a tunnel into the old part of town from that lot so we took it and it ended up just about where we were hoping to go first, the Church of St. Claire. This is a lovely 13th century church built out of white and rose stone. There was a very large piece of art in the piazza in front of the church that depicts immigrants coming to Italy. It is made out of wood from rundown houses and barns that would otherwise be thrown away.
After seeing inside the church – no pictures allowed – we wandered down the street. When I say down the street in Italy, it means truly down. Likewise, up ascends, sometimes very steeply with steps to assist. We did far more shopping that we needed to but it was lots of fun. Assisi is known for lace and, of course, there are always ceramics. Claire and I looked at some stoles and chasubles but weren’t wowed by any of them. Too Roman, I guess.

We stopped for lunch at the Buca di San Francesco, sampling the white wine from the Assisi region and very good food, even dessert. I think everyone in the restaurant were Americans. The people at the table behind us were from Columbia, SC and Cleveland, Ohio so we swapped “we’ve been there”s. We had fun trying to get the water in the bathrooms to run for more than a very few seconds. Bev expected her hands to foam if it started raining again – they did not.

Of course, our next stop was the Basilica. They are very strict about pictures but that didn’t stop many people from trying to take them anyway. It was hard to get a feel for the place this year as there were more tour groups than ever. This must be a school holiday week. We have had school groups everywhere we have gone but Assisi was swarming with them. The frescoes, though, never disappoint and there is an altar area where they are restoring the frescoes so we spent time watching that. Today, I was particularly aware of the fresh flowers on all the altars since so many of them were lilies. But the altar where we sat watching the restoration work was decorated with several kinds of flowers, one of which looked like rhododendron bushes – they were potted.
So we wandered up this time, heading for San Ruffino which is the Duomo where Francis, Claire and Frederick Barbarosa were all baptized. It’s 11th century, I believe. Most of the outside stone decorations are very worn, to the point it is sometimes hard to figure out what they are. We like the crucifix in this church. Jesus looks like he just breathed his last and is at peace. I think he looks a little sad still. Naturally, there are no pictures to be taken here, either, although I think we did the last time we came.
And so home again, stopping at the grocery store for a few necessities. Bev and I have done some laundry and it is drying by the fireplace. It’s given new meaning to the term hot pants. We have had wine, cheese, salami and crackers for dinner, downloaded two of three cameras and shared some good conversation and laughter. Soon we will head for bed, perchance to sleep.

Spoleto

We had a wonderful day in Spoleto! It didn’t rain all that much even though it waited until we were walking out of the parking garage to start. We have checked the weather channel and now don’t expect to see much sun on this trip at all. Spoleto’s history includes both Umbran and Etruscan roots prior to the Roman occupation. We started at the Teatro Romano – those Romans surely did love their theater! – and then began walking up into the town. We did some window shopping along the way and arrived at the Duomo only to find it closed until 3:00. So we began the real climb to the Rocca, a walled town at the top of the hill. But we found a simply wonderful store just up the hill from the Duomo so we had a shopping break before continuing the climb.
Needless to say, the views from the top were quite spectacular and the rain stopped for most of the rest of the day. We found a gelatteria and had our second helping for this trip – I had pistachio and stracciatella – and then set off to see the aqueduct that spans the gorge, 278 ft. high – or down - from where we were. It is an incredible structure and I managed to get right up to the railings on the path to take pictures (I don’t like heights). Then, wonder of wonders, we discovered that you can walk across to the other side of the gorge on the aqueduct! Taking our phobia in hand, we all walked across. Fortunately, the path is about four feet wide so I could stay close to the wall. It really was a spectacular view from the middle. Lee stayed on the “left bank” quite awhile, walking all of the trails and getting higher and higher. We ladies opted to go back across and walk the rest of the way around the Rocca, taking pictures of flowers and trees along the way. When we got around to the Duomo side, we discovered the path blocked by construction so we retraced our steps, located Lee, still on the other side, by his whistling and then headed back to the Duomo.

It really is a beautiful church. A school group came in about the same time we did. They were pretty quiet and respectful. Most of them dipped their fingers in the holy water, looked at the high altar and crossed themselves, then kissed their hand. I hadn’t seen that last part before. No one at St. Christopher’s does it that way. ;-)

After taking all the pictures we wanted, we walked up the steps again so we could walk back down by a different street. This led to a piazza where we sat down to rest and have a glass of wine. As we sat, we talked about maybe finding an internet café. Lee looked up and found it right across the street! So he finished his wine and went over to check it out. Since he didn’t come back, we paid our bill and followed him over. Well, the internet was free to patrons so Lee had gotten another glass of wine. Bev and I followed suit while Claire switched to cappuccino. We checked emails, weather and found a brochure listing housing for sale in Spoleto. The latter gave us a chance to expand our Italian and also listed a perfect apartment that Bev wants to buy. We put the brochure back in order to avoid temptation.
We figured we ought to think about dinner since it was 7:00 so we asked the bar owner if he had a recommendation for us. And he did, calling to make us a reservation even! So we walked down the street, right past the restaurant, down a few more streets and then asked for directions. She pointed us back the way we had come and we found the back door but it wasn’t marked so we kept looking. Lee went down the opposite way and I headed back the way we had originally come. Sure enough, twenty feet from the street corner, there was Tempio del Gusto. We went in, told them Mauro had sent us and were treated to a wonderful dinner. They always begin with “amuse bouche” – three little hors d’ouvres, one we can’t remember except for its taste (good!), one beef with truffle sauce, one ham trout which was pickled trout, we think. Lee had ordered a primi piatti so they brought complementary primi to us ladies, a wonderful combination of cheese and puff pastry topped with truffle sauce. And *then* we had our dinners and, of course, dessert. We left there quite happy and more than a little full only to discover that the walkway to the parking garage was closed! No one panicked except yours truly. Lee finally found an elevator that took us right to the car and off we came home.

Sunday in Orvieto

Sunday morning, we came as close to hurrying as we have managed on this trip. I got into and out of the shower, dressed and came back into the living room only to discover Claire lighting clown candles on a cruciform cake! I had completely forgotten it was my birthday but they hadn’t.
We took an overland route to get to Orvieto. At one point, we followed the Tiber River for quite a ways and ended up in the middle of a bicycle race. Cars parked on the side of the road – more like in the road – and police watching to make sure no one hit anything. This road reminded Bev of the Blue Ridge Parkway without the curbs and I have to say I was very glad to be in the front seat!
Once in Orvieto, we had just enough time to find the Church of the Resurrection, the Episcopal mission there. Finding it was purely serendipitous. We were on the right street and I had found the Tabacci shop and wine bar that were supposed to be opposite the church. But the church refused to reveal itself. Finally, a young lady in a dress walked into this little alcove/courtyard and I said she looked like she was going to church. So we followed her and, sure enough, that’s exactly where she was going! Russ, the new vicar, greeted us as we came in as did Kay who I remember from our last visit. After the service, one of the others I remember (Rod) walked up and said “Father Kempton! That’s what our connection is!” He and his wife live in Belgium half of the year and go to Kempton’s church there. I hadn’t remembered that connection so we chatted about both the church in Orvieto and the one in Waterloo for some time. This is a great congregation.
We had lunch in the restaurant where we ate two years ago and it was very good. We drank white wine since that is what Orvieto is known for and the waiter brought us complementary Asti after the meal because it was my birthday. This was a “sec” Asti, much better than the sweet stuff we get in the States.
And after lunch, it began to pour. No gentle rain this. It came straight down all afternoon. That didn’t stop us from seeing the Duomo, my favorite church in all of Italy, and doing some shopping. Bev happened onto a sweater store and bought three! Claire and I kept ourselves to shopping for family and friends. We also found probably the priciest internet café ever and checked emails for the first time. They had good tea, though, and it was warm and dry. We took the major road route home even though it was supposed to be longer. Timewise, it was a lot shorter and all of us arrived home without feeling queasy. :-)

Trevi, Montefalco and Deruta

On Saturday, we set out to see Trevi. It is a lovely little town with a new piazza and an old one. We waited in the new piazza for Lee to park the car and enjoyed basking in the sun. Then we set off up the hill, ostensibly to look for an internet café, and stumbled into San Francesco. They were setting up for a concert that evening. We think this church has been deconsecrated. In any case, we looked around for a few minutes and then they kicked us out. So we kept walking up and found the Church of Saint Emiliano. I’m going to guess this is a Romanesque-era church given the style of walls and the statue of the saint on the outside wall. Inside is very bright, thanks to clear clerestory windows. We took lots of pictures as you can imagine.
When we wandered back down to the old piazza, there was the internet café but it was lunchtime so it was closed. We decided to take ourselves to Montefalco, a town not too far away but not all that easy to get to. Sometimes the road signs in Italy aren’t too clear. We found the car park and climbed up to the town gate. Once inside, we realized it really was lunch time and we were hungry. So we took ourselves to the piazza and had a very nice lunch outside the Hotel Federico II. We did a lot of people watching while we were there. I hate to say it but we picked out the British tourists by their teeth. A school group wandered past us once or twice and some families looking like they were on vacation, too. Must be an Easter holiday?
Montefalco is known for its red wine. As with Brunello in Montalcino, there’s the official Sagrantino di Montefalco and then there’s Rosso di Montefalco. The rosso is excellent. We had the same brand at lunch that we had had the day before in Gubbio. Still good. Since there was also an enoteca at the hotel, we bought some Montefalco wines to bring back with us. We opened a sagrantino yesterday and it, too, is excellent, drier than the rosso - actually, I decided it was too dry for my taste but I was in the minority. Then there is the sagrantino di passito which is a very nice dessert wine, good with cantucci (sort of small biscotti with almonds). And yes, we bought some of that too!
After lunch, we decided to head for Deruta and get the pottery cravings out of the way. We wandered up hill and down dale, over where rivers ought to be but not through the woods and finally found it (actually, it was right where the map said it would be but getting from one road to another was exciting as they didn’t always seem to be where they belonged). The road was lined with ceramic stores so we just picked one, went it and bought all the pieces we had planned to buy. They are being shipped even as I type and will arrive at my house before we do.
And then we decided we had had enough wandering around for one day so we found the SS3, our main highway to everywhere, and headed for home. We had a lazy evening and set an alarm so we could get up early enough to make church in Orvieto Sunday morning. Naturally then, Claire and I didn’t go to sleep until after 2:00.

Gubbio

We had a leisurely morning before heading north to Gubbio. We parked near the Roman Theater. The day was mostly overcast so who knows whether Bev can Photoshop enough sunshine into those pictures to make them worthwhile. The town is lovely and old. We found a good hotel restaurant for lunch. Claire and Bev had risotto with zucchini. Bev had some kind of wonderful artichoke tart with a magnificent sauce on it. We all sampled it. I had a pasta made from bread crumbs and parmesan cheese combined with vegetables and Lee had a scrambled eggs and black truffles dish that was served, as were all the others except for the artichoke tart, in an odd sort of parmesan basket. I have no idea how they made those! We wandered from the the Piazza dei Console down to the church of San Francesco, stopping in the church of San Giovani along the way. Both of the churches “felt” like churches rather than museums as so many churches do in big cities in Europe. Then we had the first gelato of the trip before heading for the car.

One doesn't really expect to look up and see a dog in the window! But this little fellow was watching everyone go by from his perch about ten feet above the street. Given that there are no front yards in Gubbio, I suppose this is as good as it gets.

This splendid statue of St. Francis and the wolf was, naturally, outside the church of St. Francis! The light wasn't poor so I couldn't get a really good shot. This wolf is smiling.

Arriving in Bovara and lunching with Ettore

Our agriturismo is in Bovara – bigger than Bald Creek but only just. It is called I Mandorli and our apartment is downhill. There’s a set of twenty steps and then six or seven more down before the four up to the apartment door. We have a lovely view of the grounds out our windows. We can hear the church nearby ring the hour, quarter hour and sometimes three quarter hour. Oddly, we seem to miss the half hour! Last night, it rang continuously for a few minutes but we didn’t bother to see if there was an emergency as we were feeling very lazy.

After we arrived and unpacked, we opened a bottle of wine, pulled out the cheese and salami and bread that our hosts had left us and feasted in the backyard. By the time we had polished off all the food and two bottles of wine, we simply went to bed. Lee is still working through his cold so he was first in but the rest of us followed not too far behind him.

Thursday morning, we lazed around the apartment until it was time to meet Jo-Ann a little ways down the road at Ettore’s farm – that’s Eh’ tore ay. We are the only Untourists in Umbria this two weeks so we had a mini-orientation as we already know about road signs, parking lots and using the right kind of fuel in the car. After Jo-Ann talked, Ettore showed us around the farm. It has been in his family for four generations, having started life as a convent. He grows spelt, olives, organic fruits and vegetables and tobacco – yes, we had a hard time believing that last one and were too polite to stop his lecture by telling him we already knew about curing tobacco. He also keeps chickens, sheep and four cows. Three of the cows are Chianina beef and one is a milk cow. He grows enough grapes to make wine for his family and his brother’s – both families live on the farm. His wife, Lorella, made us a wild asparagus omelet for part of our lunch. Ettore made bruschetta over the fireplace coals and used his own olive oil on it along with salt. That’s all real bruschetta is supposed to be. More than that is crostini. We finished the meal with a wonderful blackberry tart, all home grown right down to the flour and lemon.

Our trip to Italy

Greetings! We have been to Italy, Umbria mostly with a few spots in Tuscany as well, and have returned home to warm Spring weather and a swine flu outbreak. Well, no swine flu here yet but it certainly is the hot topic - the only good news being that the Church is recommending hugs instead of handshakes at the passing of the peace.

I kept a travel journal on the trip but it is too lengthy to post all at once (12 pages!). So here's a summary and then I'll post pieces with pictures which will, in fine computer style, be posted ahead of this post. The last shall be first....

Overall, we had a wonderful time in Umbria. Our agriturismo - the best way to see Italy is to stay at one of these and do day trips, I am convinced - was in Bovara at the foot of the town of Trevi. The weather was cool and more often than not also rainy. That only stopped prolific picture taking but not our travels. We went to Gubbio, Trevi, Montefalco, Orvieto, Spoleto, Bevagna, Bettona, Spello, Deruta, Assisi, Florence, Montalcino, Buonconvento and Sant' Antimo. We also spent a fair amount of time just resting in our apartment with a lovely fire in the corner fireplace, a bottle or two of wine and local cheeses and meats. We found some really wonderful little restaurants - the one in Trevi was so good, we ate there twice in one day and came back two days later - lots of goodies we simply had to buy, and fell in love with some of the local wines, most notably the whites which none of us usually drink at home. The day of the worst rain, we saw a double rainbow and then had about a half dozen more rainbow sightings even as the sky grew darker and darker.

The people of Italy continue to charm us and my Pimsleur Italian really did come in handy more than once. Sitting in the airport Wednesday morning waiting for our flight, I eavesdropped on a conversation behind me and discovered that I could understand some of what they were saying. This doesn't mean, of course, that anyone there would have understood me!

One of the renewed insights, though, is the marked difference between a church that is active and one that is merely a museum. There is such a different feel and smell to those places where people still gather for worship. It affects the whole space, even the art on the walls and the statues in their niches, bringing life to what would otherwise be rather dead. The loveliest painting in a museum cannot hold a candle to a fading fresco in a church where candles are lit in prayer, music is sung and liturgies are offered. None of that will likely come through in the pictures we took but it is a sense that we will always remember when we look at them again.