Blogging My Dreams

While staying in Orvieto we took a day trip to this wonderful old hilltop town. It is truly a hilltop town now as the only way to access it is through a very modern, long and inclining footbridge. Since a major earthquake in the 1600’s the surrounding area has gradually fallen, eroded and shifted to leave this beautiful old Etruscan town balancing atop, all alone. We took a bus from Orvieto to Bagnoregio, the town down below. As the buses had stopped running for a few hours we, of course, walked. At first it was a little imposing to think of walking over this long, swaying bridge but oh well!

It is a lovely old town that is almost now non existent but for the tourists. The buildings look in good condition, except for those hovering on the edges. There are several restaurants and stores which seem to have come into existence since Rick Steves wrote that it is his favorite hilltop town. We ate a great lunch, toured around for about three hours then headed back for the long trek.

It is well worth the visit, but for anyone with health issues that limit them, I would suggest they might want to skip this one.

We had a great time visiting Orvieto. We have passed it by train many times but never visited. Our landlady in Cortona, Maria, had a couple coming to stay for five days so we took advantage of that time to visit Orvieto. It is a very interesting town to visit and much larger than I had imagined.

It has one of the largest and most beautiful churches. Inside the church is the Capella Nova or Della Madonna Di San Brizio. This Capella has frescoes and paintings by friar Giovanni da Fiesole and Luca Signorelli.It is truly a beautiful sight. I was so amazed, and found it more beautiful than the Sistine Chapel! It is covered floor to ceiling and beyond in the most fabulous paintings and colors. you wouldn’t believe the amazing gold tones that shimmer even today!

John went on the underground cave tour, I chose to stay above ground! He said it was well worth the visit. There  are twelve hundred caves beneath the city. At one time many people lived down there and there were actually stores as well. They also used the caves to breed pigeons for sale for food. They also sold the dung for fertilizer. The caves were dug three thousand years ago. As there were so many caves being dug, the townsfolk made sure that large pillars were left intact to support the town above. During the war they used the caves as a bomb shelter.

While we were staying in Orvieto for the five days, we also went to Rome (separate post) and Civita di Bagnoregio (separate post).

We had a great time getting to know the town, the stores and restaurants. Had rented an apartment which was very cute, old stone walls, very comfortable. On our last night in town we went to the best restaurant we have found in all of our trips to Italy.  Everthing about it was superb from the view, the service to the best food ever!  le Grotte del Funaro, if you are ever in Orvieto!

We have been back in Cortona for two days now and have a lot to do!

A few more photos taken on our tour of Monte San Savino. It takes me about ten minutes to load each photo, as I have to load each one individually because of the Internet and about one in three have an error message so I have to start over!

We had such a wonderful time visiting Monte San Savino. Francesco was so kind to come and pick us up, show us all of the sights and take us all the way back to Cortona! (it takes about 40 minutes to get there). It is such a lovely, quiet town.

Monte San Savino originated around 1100. it is located in Tuscany in the Arezzo province. It is a beautiful, peaceful, undiscovered town. it is my understanding that the town would like more attention and tourist visits, which it surely deserves.

We had an amazing time walking around the town and seeing all of the historical buildings. Then we met up with Maria Vittoria and headed for lunch. Had a great feast that included plates of meats and cheeses and bruschetta. Next course was three different types of pastas, then John and Francesco ate beef too! finished off with coffee and tiramisu. We then headed to see one of the agritourismos that Maria’s family owns…..beautiful! We then drove way up into the hillside to view the Castle of Garganzo. It has a 13th century gate and 14th century Roman church. it was considered to be a fortified Tuscan agricultural hamlet. One of the things it is famous for is that it is where Dante was exiled to when he suffered for not going along with the politics of that time and refusing to pay taxes. It is still in beautiful shape, but they have closed it so you are only able to tour the outside.

It is a great area and I would recommend anyone taking the time out to see it, if not to stay there. The people are warm and inviting, the town is lovely and the area is not to be missed.

We have been so busy the last few days that I haven’t had a moment to sit and upload any photos. I will, hopefully, have a little time today to catch up and post some photos of what we have been up to.

We did attend the Festival in Cortona, had a nice time catching up with our friend Vanessa, and spent a wonderful afternoon with our friend Francesco and his lovely lady friend Maria Vittoria touring Monte San Savino. Then we headed by train to stay in Orvieto for five days. Yesterday we went in to Rome to the Vatican for the Popes Wednesday blessing. After we were there for a couple of hours we decided to walk to Trastevere. We walked through there then headed to Campo di Fiore then on to Piazza Navona. In all we figure we walked at least 8.5 miles! Therefore I am laid up with a swollen knee and have time to write.

John is headed to do the underground caves walking tour, and since you won’t catch me in caves this is a perfect time for me to rest and catch up!

I wIll do separate blog posts for each area so none of them are too long and it won’t overtax the internet too much!

The first photo is from our tour around Monte San Savino, the second is of the valley that surrounds Orvieto and the third is a small portion of the Duomo here in Orvieto.

Just a quick blog to post a few photos of food.

We love to walk around the markets and look at all of the different foods they have for sale. On Saturdays the market is held in Piazza Signorelli and on Thursdays one is held down in Camucia, a town at the bottom of the hill that is still in the province of Cortona.

We eat simply, being very picky eaters so we mostly enjoy the fresh fruits and vegetables available – and they are fresh! We also cook at home a lot of the time, buying roasted chickens from the markets and wonderful local beef. We go to several places in town for desserts and coffees.

The photo of the bottle of grappa is included because it has such an interesting name “Morbida”. It actually means soft in Italian but we laughed because it sounded like if you drank it you were risking death. We have not tried it!

Our landlady just arrived back from Naples and brought us mozzarella so that became part of our lunch today.

This evening we will be heading out to enjoy more of the festival activities surrounding the celebration of Santa Margherita then on to a concert being performed by our friend Francesco Attesti. (Www.attesti.com). Then possibly more card playing with Maria.

Sharing some of of the sights from our walk today.

The first is of the Val di Chiana from halfway up Cortona

The second and third is a Vespa I want, an original in great shape and in my favorite color!

The fourth and fifth are of typical buildings seen throughout the area.

We came across the sixth in a quiet cul de sac, It is very large and features a bearded man and there is a skull and a pig. Would love to know what this is all about but have no idea. There is a plaque that says it was donated by the Rotary but no explanation.

The last photo I took in the chapel belonging to the Monastery and Convent SS Trinita. We were up there in the chapel listening to the nuns singing vespers. We discovered them years ago and go back to listen to them singing their noon time prayers whenever we are here. It truly sounds like you are listening to Angels sing.

The Monastery/Convent was built in 1545. The monks and nuns belong to the Trappist order. It is also known for housing the tomb of Veronica Laparelli (1537-1620).  She came from a wealthy family of Cortona and at the age of 23 entered the convent. She gave up her wealth and status and was credited with healing the sick and poor and for the discernment of spirits. it is said that before her death she said “I’m going but I will return spiritually among you. Do not worry, I will help you and will protect not only you but everyone who visits my grave”. While she was alive it was said of her “Cortona has two treasures, one in Heaven and another on earth. The first was the Blessed Margherita the second Veronica”.

The weather here has miraculously changed. We have gone from wool socks, thick sweaters, five blankets on the bed to shorts and t-shirts over night!  From grey overcast skies to blazing sunshine. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to the weather in Cortona these days. We were just told by a friend of ours that it actually snowed here two days after Easter.

Needless to say we have been making the most of this beautiful weather before it disappears again. It is truly a gift to be able to walk the ancient streets of this beautiful old town. The flowers are all just starting to appear. Fields dotted with the purple of wild irises, the bright orangey red of poppies and little yellow flowers, name unknown to me. The sight of a field with magnificent olive trees, poppies and irises is overwhelmingly one of the most lovely sights you could imagine.

The tourists are starting to arrive, especially on the weekends, which is great for the local businesses. I have heard that business has been a little hard these last few years. Maybe Frances Mayes could be convinced to write another book about the area?

I hope you enjoy the photos, It takes me about ten minutes to upload each photo with the Internet sporadically going down so I give up after a few.

Heading back out to enjoy the lovely evening weather! See you in Cortona!

We have been really living the “Italian Life”, or at least what we foreigners think that life is! I actually think they are some of the hardest working people. They do know how to take time to enjoy life and their friends and family along with that hard work though.  I have been strolling along the streets of Cortona people watching. I love to see the locals gathering together chatting. They seem so passionate about what they are talking about. It is wonderful to see them strolling around arm in arm in the evening, just enjoying their lives. One of the bests sights is to see the Italian men gathered together visiting with each other outside the cafe in Camucia.It is one of the biggest gatherings, and they say women are the gossips!

We have been staying close to home adjusting to the time change. Strolling the streets, eating, visiting with some of the locals, eating. Yes! I know I said eating twice, if you get my drift. We have enjoyed revisiting the streets and sights here in Cortona.

The weather changed today and the cold and rain went away. We woke to beautiful sunshine so it was time to head out. We took the local bus into Arezzo which takes about 45 minutes. We have been their twice before but have always chosen to go when the massive antique show is happening. Today was nice as it was pretty quiet in town and we were able to see the sights easier. We visited the areas sights and shopped. It was so nice to be in the sun! When we arrived back in Cortona we sat in Piazza Signorelli and now it is evening and we are hanging out in the apartment.

Rather than just write day to day happenings, I am considering blogging about some of the things that interest me from the areas we visit. We will see how that goes! It is definitely a lesson in patience to try doing anything with the internet limitations. The photographs end up where they happen to upload, a lot of the time the internet goes down half way through uploading one photo at a time. This will not only teach me patience, but also help me appreciate the benefits we enjoy back home.

Until later!

The camera on the tail of our plane

So good!

The best cappuccino from Nessun Dorma Cafe

beautiful plants for sale in Piazza Signorelli

John on train from Rome

me at Nessun Dorme

Marmalde Croissant