Assisi

Assisi

Monday 29^th July

Hotel Berti breakfast alongside the Porta San Pietro in the shade from the summer sun watching the new arrivals pour in - one moment hot & bothered, gesticulating, pointing but by the time they have traversed the 8 metres width under the Porta  they are smiling and happy. How does this occur? Is it a miracle? No! It is the simple psychology of a good story which has withstood the test of time and now has become part of us. E spiritus di San Francesco e San Clarissa – the idea that the humble, gentle,  good-hearted,  nature-loving, non-judgemental, easy-going  innocent will be looked after by the gods seems to be in the streets of Assisi and everything seems much more relaxed than Rome and even Orvieto – but it could also be that there is more money here than in either of the aforementioned places. This is the most beautiful place so far. And I cannot imagine that we will have another 5 weeks like this first week when every day has been filled with one unique moment after another, at every step the views and images change but never for the worse.

San Pietro – beautiful & moving, very detailed nativity scene and good modern sculptures.

Roman Forum – an excavation of the forum which existed in front of temple Minerva but which is now underground – another example of the Italian lasagne effect (for those wondering please refer to previous blogs)

Santa Maria Sopra Minerva – the temple Minerva had been sequestered by Rome/the pope/the  Catholic chuch and refurbished accordingly. It makes one wonder what idea it will embody in one thousand years?

Gelato – Mary requires  a gelato hit every lunchtime-today’s flavours were: fragole,  crema and melone

San Rufino is the oldest church (after the patron saint of Assisi) in the town and adorned with your pre-byzantine style of sculptures: lions chewing the heads off Christians are on either side of the main entry to the church, strange creature devouring each other’s heads surround the architrave of doorways, strange shaped humans working  glumly at unidentifiable tasks – all very first millennium.

Rocca Maggiore – (not Sav), view to Rocca Minore (not Anthony). But just as Sav and Anthony could take the spectacular high mark– so does this old fort provide the best 360 degree view of the Umbrian landscape from the heart of Umbria.

Roman Amphitheatre – which is now a hotel but the first century walls remain as does the first century communal laundries which included a named & separate laundry for the noble & well-connected.

Santa Chiara – extraordinary crypt and tomb with articles of clothing made by Saint Clare for Saint Francis and for herself. She was the saint for poverty and humble manual labour (so we all still have a chance for a sainthood). Dick does not think the tomb is as moving as the tomb of Saint Francis as surrounding  the tomb of St Francis were his 4 best mates.

Total time - 7 hours, total distance maybe 8-10 km, total cumulative height climbed =approx. 2 km at gradient 20-25% or so it seemed phew.

Orvieto - Assisi

Orvieto –Assisi

Sunday 28^th July

Before we left Orvieto we wanted to visit St Patrick’s Well, which was started in 1527 and finished ten year's later. To ensure the town had a water supply in case of invasion or siege. The well was dug by hand, and a double helix spiral staircase surrounds it. The well is an amazing engineering feat, as each staircase is one way. The really amazing thing is that we walked down, down, down to the very bottom, and then walked up, up, up. 497 steps down and 497 steps up!

We then took the train to Terentola and changed there for Assisi, arriving at about 3:00pm. Assisi is a beautiful town perched high up the hill.   Steep walks to anything and everything. There are churches everywhere, as well as monasteries and convents. Everywhere. The town is all about St Francis. His image is everywhere. The Basilica of St Francis is very beautiful, again amazing frescoes, some by Giotto. St Francis’s tomb is situated below the basilica and is a very quiet and peaceful place. I was surprised at how much I was “moved” by it. There was a stream of people praying, touching the tomb walls, placing candles and sitting quietly in contemplation.

We strolled from the basilica back to our hotel, stopping for panini, beer and gelato, before a bit of a rest before dinner,  and another walk after dinner.

Assisi is quiet at night which is rather pleasant. Orvieto was lovely, but our hotel overlooked a very busy square, with all sorts of comings and goings all night, as well as the bells. We had to close the window to block out the sound of the bells, but then the room got a bit stuffy and close.

It is still very hot! There doesn’t seem to be any let up. We are still trudging around everywhere, despite the heat, but do look rather bedraggled and sweaty most places we go. With the heat, the stairs up and down wells and towers, we are feeling a bit weary tonight.

I am trying to put up photos. it may be a while longer.

Orvieto

Saturday 27^th July

We bought the Carta Unica, a pass to all that Orvieto has to offer, and we were determined to cross everything off the list.

·         The Duomo – done (Friday)

·         The chapel of San Brizio with frescoes by Luca Signorelli – done (Friday)

·         Museo Archelogico Nazionale – done

·         Museo dell’Opera del Duomo – done

·         Museo C. Faina – done

·         Orvieto Underground – done - (Friday)

·         Torre del Moro- done – all 47 metres by stairs!

·         Necropoli del Crocifisso del Tufo – done

·         Pozzo Della Cava – done

·         Pozzo del San Patrizio –  to be done tomorrow

Excellent value!!!

There is so much we can tell you about tufo, the Etruscans, pigeons, Classico Orvieto (the famous local white wine) and restoration of frescoes – just ask us!

We also wandered around the Farmers Market in the Piazza on which our hotel is located, walked the path at the base of the cliff (the Rupe) and had a romantic stroll along the ramparts after dinner on Friday.

We have eaten wild boar, truffles, pork in Orvieto Classico, and gelati.

Impressive as all that seems, bear in mind that the temperature hovered around 38-40 degrees all day.

The heat wave has not prevented the Italians from always looking stylish, relaxed and cool.

The police, carabinieri, businessmen, young men,  look impeccable – trousers pressed to perfection, shirts crisp and sharp, women, old and young, stepping lightly along the cobblestones in the highest of heels, in fresh linen,  and while all the tourists are wilting, the Italians look sharp!

During dinner we watched as a man in his mid 60’s, dressed in blindingly white and tight pants, trim azure blue polo shirt, slip on shoes perfectly coiffed snow white hair, pedalled his bike leisurely around the square, eyeing the girls. Fanatastic!

Nevertheless, the heat has not hindered the

Orvieto – highly recommended!

Rome to Orvieto

Friday 26^th July

Rome – Orvieto         

We left our lovely hotel in the heart of Rome and took a taxi ride to Termini Station. WOW! The traffic! Chaos. The taxi driver seemed to be saying that it was ridiculous and why would anyone be driving in Rome. It made me wonder why he was actually driving a taxi. He was getting very frustrated and cranky. Well, other taxis just stop in the middle of the road to drop off passengers and luggage and who cares if the traffic is backed up back to the Coliseum. Anyway, we got on the train to get to Orvieto.

Orvieto is a hill top town just over an hour on the train from Rome. It is set high up a cliff of tufo. Beautiful, orderly, calm. No traffic and quiet, except for the clock in the tower  that chimes on the half hour all day and hourly throughout the night. All night.

Our room is a lovely B & B overlooking a piazza in which a farmers market is currently.  It is set into the roof, with very low beams. One of which crosses the doorway into the bathroom, so we need to duck our heads to get in and out. Quaint, and potentially  lethal. However it is three times the size of our room in Rome – which was elegant and tasteful , however small.

Orvieto has a most incredible duomo. The façade is beautifully ornate, with mosaics, sculptures, carvings, and four tall spires. Inside the frescoes are spectacular and are slowly being restored to a glorious state. There is a jewelled and enamelled reliquary (once the most expensive jewel in Italy) that used to hold a cloth that captured a the blood from a bleeding Communion host.

The town itself is picturesque, lanes and piazzas, lined with shops selling high end homewares, clothing, toys. There are quite a few bars and restaurants. And every one appears to be Dutch. So there are groups of sullen young teenage children everywhere. But what a great opportunity to start a holiday rental business. The guide who took us down the 800 BC Etruscan caves and water wells explained she was from Orvieto but now it was too expensive for her to live. A European middle class young family hilltop island paradise. Here everyone gets shaved fresh truffles on their pasta or steak to be washed down by 100% Montelpucino red wine followed by a lovely walk along the ramparts high above reality below.

12 hours in Rome - things to do

Thursday 25 July

9:00am: Breakfast

10:00am Walk to Barberini Metro, changing lines at Termini to get to:

10:15 Cavour Metro. Walk to:

10:30 San Pietro in Vincoli (St Peter in Chains) to see  Michelangelo’s Moses, one of the great man’s final works AND the actual chains that held St Peter while he was in prison prior to his death!!!. Take the train to:

11:00 Repubblica Metro  to the Santa Maria in Vittoria church to see Bernini’s sculpture of The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa. Take the train to Ottaviano Metro and join the throng on the way to:

11:45 The Vatican to see the Obelisk. Take the train to:

12:30 Piazza Di Popolo – Obelisk. Take train to Barberini Metro to:

1:00 Piazza di Barberini – For lunch of pizza, salad and beer on the sidewalk café overlooking the shrouded Tritone Fountain. Cross over to the “fountain” to:

2:15 Meet the Crypts and Catacombs Tour

2:30 Visit: Capuchin Crypt.  3000 skeletons used to create picturesque depictions of Life, Death, Hope, Resurrection, life after death.-Time Flies – an hour glass with wings, created with shoulder blades. There are several rooms (crypts) - The Room Of The Skulls, The Room Of The Pelvises, The Room Of The Shoulder Blades, The Room Of The Femurs. And a Caravaggio – St Francis contemplating death, of course. It is a fascinatingly eerie, strange and unusual place. Oh, and St Cecilia’s heart is on display in a special little glass cabinet. I do love the relics!

3:30 – 4pm- Drive out to the Catacombs and  pass Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore with two more obelisks, front and back and the oldest obelisk in Rome at 3500 years at San Giovanni Laterano, the first Christian church in Rome, built by Constantine.

4:00 Visit The Catacombs – Outside the City Walls. A huge vast area maze of underground crypts – miles and miles of burial niches, four levels deep.  A quarter of a million people were buried there.

5:00 Visit San Clemente Basilica to see the “lasagne effect” of Rome. Current ground level 18^th Century Basilica built on top of 12^th C Basilica, which was built on top of 4^th C church, which was built on top of a 1^st Century church, incorporating a pagan temple, on top of 100 BC apartment building, with running water to each room from an underground spring, 20 metres below 21^st C ground level.

6:00 Rest time in hotel

7:20 Go to dinner at Hostaria Romana. Enjoy artichokes romana, spaghetti carbonara, spaghetti con funghi, vino rossa della casa.

8:30 – return to hotel and go to bed.

 

Searching for obelisks and Trastevere Food Tour

 

Wednesday July 25

We woke up rested and refreshed, ready for next day of exploration. Breakfast was at a little restaurant connected to the hotel.  

We set off on the day’s adventure, walking to Via Nazionale, past the Quiranale, Exhibition, towards the Forum,. We stopped off at a couple of churches, -you just never know what may be inside – a Caravaggio or Michelangelo.  There were none, but you never know!

After the Forum we headed back towards the Baths off Diocletian, which is now a church – Santa Maria degli Angeli, designed on the Baths site, by Michelangelo. Very beautiful and a welcome relief to be able to sit in the cool and calm. Rome is really hot. Temperatures in the high 30’s every day. We are visiting lots of churches – you can sit, you can get relief from the heat and there is usually something spectacular or ornate or interesting to see.

We found more Obelisks – at the Forum, in the Piazza di Quiranale, and at Piazza Veneto. Some of the obelisks are actually columns, but for our purposes we’ll group them as “tall, pointy things that are erected by emperors, popes, other important Romans, to make a ‘big statement’ about their power and importance”. Our quest is to locate the 13 which survive from the original 40 recorded in antiquity.

We had booked a Food Tour in the Trastevere for Wednesday evening. We were not sure how far to the Trastevere so we got on a bus which took us for ride way out into the sticks: largo Somalia, largo Ethiopia. It was the wrong direction. Lost again. We decided to get off and take a train back when a young extremely perfect Italian gentleman advised us the trains had broken down and he hailed us a cab. Another fast cab drive – 10kms in 10minutes through Rome – playing chicken with other competitors for our space and line with consummate skill.

 The food tour was brilliant with a good group of people of varied ages and a young American actress as a guide. We were taken to ten different restaurants and bars, to sample fabulous food and wine.

The highlight was sipping 100% Montepulciano grapes in a 2000 year old cellar which started its existence as a Jewish synagogue – the oldest 4 walls/room still in service in Rome, storing wine for one of the consistently top restaurants in Rome. It is so old and protected that the owners cannot even dust the walls.

We walked back across the Tiber and caught a tram to Piazza Veneto and then walked home, without getting lost!

Trevi Fountain Tuesday evening

The hotel owner suggested a restaurant about 50 metres from the hotel - what a find! It was very busy, however they squeezed us in. If you are in Rome, I recommend you go to Hostaria Romana in Via Rasella, fabulous food and the vino rosso della casa was very, very drinkable. Dick had a piece of fillet steak that was cooked to his liking- bloody - and I had saltimbocca romana. We shared the potatoes, mushrooms and the Roman speciality of stuffed artichokes. So good, we booked for another night. Great service, great food.
Memorable meal No. 1.
Restaurant patrons graffiti the walls and it was fascinating reading - looking for someone we may have known. Only found The Lane Family from Melbourne 2012 as a possibility.

We began our passeggiata towards the Trevi Fountain  which was swarming with tourists, but still looked gorgeous all lit up.  We through in our coins so that we will return and then strolled to the Pantheon, and wandered around the square - Obelisk No. 3! We made our way back to the hotel, or so we thought.  We became hopelessly lost and a long way from the hotel. Hot, tired, grumpy. Our map reading after 40 hours awake, a couple of glasses of vino rosso della casa and lots of traipsing around probably wasn't quite up to par. However, there is always something fabulous to see in Rome, and came across Obelisk No. 4 in the Piazza Colonna.
We found our way back to the hotel and slept like exhausted tourists.

Melbourne - Dubai - Rome

Monday 22^nd July ~  Melbourne –Dubai - Rome

We got to the airport in plenty of time to catch our flight at 9:25pm. We left on time and had a pretty uneventful flight to Dubai. Lots of movies - The Sapphires, The Place Beyond the Pines, Killing Them Softly, A Late Quartet, something with Bruce Willis and that’s just the first leg.

There was a four hour wait for the connection to Rome, so we wandered the concourse and tried lots of perfumes and looked at make up, (well Mary did)  and marvelled at the amazingly low price of Bombay Sapphire - $US20 a litre!!!!!!! and drew up a shopping list for the stopover on the way home.

The Hong Kong Children’s Symphony Orchestra  is also waiting nearby. Children everywhere.  Very lively and noisy. I don’t feel as if I’m on leave yet!

More movies on the flight to Rome, and uneventful, which was good.

Tuesday, 23^rd July - Rome                                                                 

We stepped out of the Rome airport to bright sunshine and heat! Our hotel organised a chauffer(!) to collect us and the drive to the hotel was thrilling. It is obvious that speed signs are merely advisory – while the sign displayed 100, the driver went 200. That’s a 22 minute drive from Fiumincino to the centre of Rome with a little bit of sightseeing on the way.  Basilica di San Paolo, Circo Massimo, Coliseum, Quirinale -  Presidential Palace, Constatine’s Arch. The WOW! Moments have begun.

Freshened up at the hotel and showered off 28 hours of planes and airports and went for an exploratory walk of our neighbourhood – crazy, crazy Roman traffic and tourists everywhere. We strolled almost to the Trevi Fountain and then detoured towards an enormous (of course it’s enormous, it’s Rome) church –Santa Maria de Miracoli, but couldn’t find an entrance.  The Piazza di Spagna, the Spanish Steps and the house where John Keats died were just around a corner or two. Halfway up the Spanish Steps, I thought I was going to die, and as Dick said, if I was to die, it was a pretty fabulous place to do so. The heat, the steps, the heat, the steps, being awake for about 40 hours, absolutely no fitness whatsoever and the heat, and the steps nearly wiped me out. However a restorative gelato, a rest in the shade and the promise of a lie down in the cool hotel room had me rallying, sort of.

There are 13 Egyptian and Roman obelisks in Rome and we have set ourselves the challenge of finding all of them. Two, so far, Piazza di Spagna and Trinita dei Monti, above the Spanish Steps.