We departed Zany Siena and rolled past the beautiful Tuscan countryside
toward our lunch stop, Assisi, home of St. Francis.
After passing through the entry arch with its benediction:
, Trina led us through the town
, past the church of St. Claire (the founder of the Order of St. Claire)
, to the town center, Piazza del Comune:
(check out the Roman temple repurposed as a church)
We had some free time to explore the town, so I headed for Rocca Maggiore, a medieval fortress.
On the way, I passed by the Cathedral of San Rufino:
, and saw this sign:
Plenty to see in this small town! But the castle beckoned, and I headed… up the unending stairs, of course:
On the way, I passed by a most interesting sign posted on one of the buildings:
Apparently, this was a former “temple of music” where such artists performed (first block of names) and such guests attended (second block).
I also passed the gates to Paradise:
, but they were locked, and no guardian was to be found.
But the castle was there!
, in all its medieval glory.
The views from there were marvelous, but I noticed an observation platform on one of the castle’ towers:
More stairs to climb, and unobstructed views! I couldn’t resist.
Even this foreboding sign couldn’t dissuade me:
There were plenty of English signs to make sense of what I was seeing. The castle was built almost a thousand years ago! Frederic Barbarossa stayed here! In 1972, it served as a setting for Zeffirelli’s movie “Brother Sun, Sister Moon.”
This is how the defenders saw the surrounding countryside:
I wanted a better view. After passing through a very long, low and narrow tunnel:
(the inside view)
(the outside view)
, and climbing the medieval staircase
, I beheld these views:
Absolutely freaking awesome, aren’t they?
I asked an Italian gentleman to take my picture:
From the top, I could see the whole town:
, as well as the Basilica of Saint Francis, which is where our group was headed presently:
, but of course, it was a long way down and far from the city center.
A local guide provided an overview of the town on the way and took us through the Basilica. Unfortunately, photographs were not allowed. I understand why: visiting it was a powerful religious experience.
On the way out, I was able to take a picture of the fresco by Cimabue depicting St. Francis through one of the open doors:
(he’s the humble fellow in the brown habit beside Maestà, the enthroned Madonna)
, and some pictures of the stone and woodwork outside:
The guide told us an amazing story of how, during the Second World War, the citizens of Assisi hid their Jewish brethren from the Nazis, first in the space between the two floors of the Basilica, and then, after providing them with paperwork, in the surrounding farms, convents, and monasteries. The story is told in the movie “The Assisi Underground,” starring James Mason, Maximillian Schell, and other notable actors.
Before arriving at our “agriturismo” destination, our guide had another surprise for us: a visit to a small village on top of a tall mountain.
We met a local guide who took us through the village. At first, it didn’t seem that remarkable. We saw quiet streets
, and small plazas
, and some cute balconies
, and even some historic gates:
, but it wasn’t until we came to the edge of the village that we understood what made it so special:
Location,
location,
location!
The views from the mountaintop were spectacular!
I wouldn’t mind having a chance to sit there any day!
The guide also took us to a remarkable museum. Let’s see if you can guess what it is a museum of:
How about now:
No? How about a better hint:
OK, I’ll give it away:
You got it now?!
It’s a museum of decorated eggs! Every year, the village holds an international (!) festival of amateur and professional (! who knew?) egg decorators. The prize-winning entries are stored in this museum!
Remarkable, aren’t they?
After departing from the village, we rode by some farms:
, and arrived at the home of our host, Marco, the farmer who made his extensive farmhouse available to us. We had dinner on the porch, prepared by Marco’s family and assistants. The meal included meat from the local wild boars Marco hunts regularly, homegrown vegetables, and wine and olive oil produced on the farm.
Because accommodation space was limited, the four male solo travelers had to double up: Matt and I shared a two-bedroom apartment with a full kitchen and a rustic bathroom.
The views from our windows made up for the sparse accommodations! In the morning, the fog covered most of the valley, but the bright moon’s light was coming through:
The fog lifted little by little:
, until we could see the beautiful view:
After a hearty country breakfast, the bus took us via winding mountain roads to Orvieto, “one of the most striking, memorable, and enjoyable hill towns in central Italy,” as Rick Steves puts it.
Here it is on approach:
As always, our guide Trina gave us an orientation to the town and took us to the town center:
, which was dominated by the Cathedral, Duomo di Orvieto:
What a fabulous farrago of beautifully wrought details!
Trina walked us through the inside of the Cathedral as well:
The stained glass windows date to the 1300s and are some of the oldest in Italy!
The Cathedral is justly famed for one of its chapels, the Chapel of St. Brizio, which is covered in stunning frescos depicting scenes from the end of days.
Fra Angelico started painting the chapel with this portrayal of the Last Judgment:
, and Luca Signorelli completed the panoply fifty years later:
One of the frescos depicts Dante Alighieri:
And look at the wealth of detail in this stonework!
There was a Baptism taking place in the other chapel, so we could only see it from a distance:
After the Duomo, we had free time. I joined a group going to tour the Orvieto Underground, a series of caves, some dating to Etruscan times!
We saw many caverns dug out of rock made from compressed volcano ash:
, and then a series of very unusual caves:
What the hack are those holes for? Smuggled shoes? Contraband salami? Turns out, they are for the pigeons! Wealthy citizens bred pigeons in these caves (which had a window to the outside so the pigeons could fly out during the day and feed themselves) for profit (pigeon meat) and protection (food source during a possible siege). The guide showed us the tunnels leading to the owners’ kitchens.
And again, it was the views from the mountaintop that stole the show:
In the evening, we had another fabulous repast provided by our agriturismo host:
Tomorrow: Rome!