May 9, Wed., Assisi & Gubbio

Yet another interesting and strenuous day, first in Assisi where our local guide, Marco, gave us an art history lesson as well as the story of St. Francis. Beautiful frescoes covered the walls inside of the Basillica. After lunch we hopped aboard our bus and headed off to Gubbio, (in Umbria, as is Assisi), a medieval town built on a steep hillside. Next weekend is a big festival, so most buildings sport colorful banners representing the different neighborhoods of the city. This gives the town a very medieval feel.

We are staying in a renovated ducal palace that is at least 500 years old, but has all the modern conveniences. Bells ring day and night from a nearby bell tower. The last two photos above show Gubbio, and the top 3 are from Assisi (second photo shows a Roman temple with columns).

It's Tuesday, it must be Orvieto

We spent the afternoon in the Umbrian town of Orvieto. Dating back to Etruscan times, Orvieto is perched on a tufa hill that rises well above the surrounding plain, so was protected naturally from invaders. The huge Gothic Cathedral dominates the center of the town, which is reached by a funicular and bus. Lots of shops, especially those selling local pottery, caught our eye and our wallet. Gelato there was excellent. A local guide took us into the cathedral to see the Signorelli frescoes dating back to the 1400-1500s. Then we explored two of the tufa caves under the city which are open to the public. There are many, many other caves running under the buildings of the town, many of which are now used as wine cellars. Our day finished with a delicious dinner in Pienza in the historic center.

A reminder that if you wish to see these photos in larger format, simply click on them.

May 8 - Civita di Bagnoreggio

Today dawned sunny and warm, and we were off early to the "dying town" of Civita di Bagnoreggio in the province of Lazio. This little village qualifies as t,he smallest town in Italy with only 20 year-round inhabitants. The town is built with volcanic tufa rock, which erodes easily, and in the 1990s a bridge had to be built to link the hilltop with the rest of Bagnoreggio. It was quite a steep walk up to the village, but once we got to the top it was well worth the effort, everywhere we turned there was a photo op. Above are a few of those photos.

More May 7- Orcia valley and St Antimo Abbey

Photos show another view of the valley and the peaceful St. Antimo Abbey where we listened to five monks sing Gregorian chants in a Romanesque church built in the late 1100's. Best of all, the weather was clear most of the day.

May 7 cont'd, Montalcino

After our visit to the winery, we spent 2-3 hours wandering the picturesque streets of the hilltop town of Montalcino. The town has a complicated history of trying to avoid choosing sides between Siena and Florence - both cities wanted its strategic position as well as its prosperity in the 1200's. Florence finally won out. The town is small and a fortress anchors one
end at the highest point. Steep cobblestone streets and alleys slope down the hill from the fort and give amazing views if the Orcia valley.

Cassata Primadonna Winery, Montalcino May 7

Today we visited a winery owned and operated by women, who until recently have had a very small role in the Italian wine industry. Cassata Primadonna makes the famous Brunello red wine, made from 100% Sangiovese grapes grown in the Orcia valley near Siena. The winery is part of a consortium of 200 or so wineries all producing different Brunello wines.

Here are some photos of our morning there.

May 6, Monteriggioni & Pienza cont'd.