Spello, One of the Beautiful, Walled Hill Towns of Umbria

From the Highway, Spello is just a stones throw, as you can see from the picture below.  It's another town that will test your legs if you decide to "walk up" rather than vie for one of the few parking places inside the walls.  Almost all of the hill towns have some version of the original walls.  Of course there has been maintenance over the years, but you are seeing "old" construction.

I opted to hoof it, and was rewarded with some great views of what it must be like to live here on one of the very narrow streets, sometimes without a yard at all, and sometimes with a small garden.  After all, this is a thriving little town and a popular residential place.

Below, you can see that one must share the road once inside the walls.  This is a two-way street.  In Italy driving is a sport, and you would be amazed at the highway driving.  However in these hill towns, everyone seemed to be very polite about giving way.

This picture of the famous church, Santa Maria Maggiore was captured before the attendant (sitting at his desk reading a newspaper) mentioned that photographs were forbidden.

The church houses amazing frescoes by Pinturicchio, famous in his time but new to me.  They really were something to see.

Yes this is a road, and those doors go to houses where people live.

One of the things call to my attention early in the week is the number of different building materials which have been used over the centuries to expand, repair and maintain the buildings of the hill towns.  Look at this wall below, and count all the different types of stone.

After Spello

I decided to do what I love most in a foreign country.  I hit the little back roads and head in a general direction to see what turns up.  One name on a direction sign interested me for some reason, so I set out south to find Montefalco.  I turns out that this is a central point for both the grape and olive industry in the valley.  As far as the eye could see, there were fields of one or the other, accented occasionally by a freshly plowed field which will be planted with next year's wheat.  Hard semolina of course, because that is what's best for pasta.


The grapes below are sagrantino, which are the best of all Italy,  I got it first hand from the man I ran into (or he into me) who was the owner of the grapes.  We had a spirited conversation making maximum use of my six words of Italian, and his seven words of English.  But we parted friends with a handshake and a Ciao!  Look at the density of the grape bunches.  This must be a banner year.

The next farm was growing olives, and several nets had been placed under the trees ready to catch the crop.  There were no workers around, so I assume it was their lunch break.  Nevertheless, here is a shot showing the density of the olives on a tree.  Remember from an earlier post, these are "raked" off the tree by hand.  Given the hundreds of thousands of trees in the valley, there is employment to be had in Umbria, at least now at harvest time.

Tomorrow, I pack up and drive to the Naples airport, where I will turn in my car and be picked up by the Untours driver who will then take me to Amalfi along with other Untourists flying into Naples.  I don't have a car in Amalfi, at the suggestion of Untours because parking is virtually impossible in the area.  Instead, I will be provided with a week of bus passes, so good bye to my little 5-speed, she has been a ball to drive this week on the twisty mountain roads and the high speed highways in Umbria.

The Big City

Yesterday was Perugia day, and I remembered why I love the small hill towns so much.  After a later than normal start in an attempt to miss the notorious Perugia traffic jams, I landed in the middle of one, two or three of then.  As a cross roads of the Italian version of Interstate highways, construction can bring things to a standstill.  When the construction closes two major tunnels which carry the load into the city, it becomes a parking lot.

The National Gallery of Umbra and the National Archaeological Museum of Umbria are here, however, and it makes the wait worthwhile.  For the rest of the day, I set aside some time to work on pictures.  You can only traipse around with your camera so long before the backlog catches up.

Today it is the hill town of Spello, and possibly another hill town up north.  Now it's time to get a load of wash done.  Don't want to be a dirty tourist.  I'd like to say I'm going down to the river to beat my underwear on a rock, but the apartment has a very modern washing room to be shared by the guests.  OOOOPs, stepped out the door to do the wash, and we have another dense fog morning.  It looks like I'll finish my washing (and hanging on a rack to dry) before going to Spello.  1 hour later:  My whites are whiter, my colors brighter..............  It must be the Tide! (or whatever that stuff in the big box was called.)

I have a feeling that just touching this old olive-picking ladder might send it crashing to the ground. Or..........., maybe it's holding up the wall.

Norcia and the Steep Mountains of Eastern Italy

Today's adventure was to head to the Sibillini Mountains, It is in the area of the recent earthquakes Which killed 300 and wiped out Amatrice almost completely.  This is not my picture, it came from the internet.  The police still have the roads blocked into what's left of the town.

Nevertheless, I did visit Norcia, which had substantially less damage; and enjoyed seeing a city famous today for its meats and meat products (especially pork) along with its black truffles.  Norica butchers are famous throughout italy.  It may explain that the city was once famous for producing surgeons, including those who helped young boys keep their voices from ever changing.  Pity the castratos.

Historically, it was the home of St. Benedict, the founder of western monasticism, and this twin sister, St. Scholastica.  The town Piazza features a statue of St. Benedict (Benedetto) shown below.

This pork butcher really knows how to advertise his wares, and reminded me about a marketing consultant who said, "When marketing a hog, the best sign to use is Pig for sale"  The inside of the store was equally exciting with every imaginable version of pork you could want.

Less intimidating, however, it was this smiling young lady's pitch that convinced me to purchase my sausage (Salame) and truffles (Tartufo) from her.

Tonight, I'll be cooking in the apartment with what I purchased in Norcia.  Strangozzi ai funghi porcini (pasta infused with Porcini mushrooms), tarfudu (black truffles), Parmigiano Reggano (cheese), Amatriciana Pomodoro Sauce with pancetta, and of course some local olive oil.  Washing it down with Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and then frutta fresca.  Come join me.  There is plenty.

Following Norcia, I drove into the mountains, found what my little 5-speed could do on the narrow mountain roads, and then returned to Spoleto where I found a little road on the opposite side of the valley where I could better photograph the aqueduct and some of the ruins looking back towards Spoleto.

Ciao

Assisi in the Fog (Most of the Morning)

I out smarted myself this morning, and arrived at Assisi before the tourists and before the sun melted the fog away.  Then, I almost killed myself walking up and down the steep slopes.  It was worth it, however, and you have to love the architecture of this famous hill town.  Here are a few of the images from this morning.  The first, second and fourth are of the Basilica di San Francesco.  The third is the Rocca Maggiore (Great Fort), rebuilt by the church to give the impression of impregnability. The fourth is the Church of St. Mary.

So far I've been pleased with the results from the new, Fujifilm X-T2, travel camera, and it is great not to carry a 40# back pack full of my Canon gear especially in these hill towns.

The Romans Built It

Over the years, the modern day Italians have done a lot of work on the aqueduct, including the current project to check for damage due to the recent earthquake.  But for the Romans it brought water from the mountains into the city which is now Spoleto  It boggles the mind that structures last for over 2,000 years, if constructed correctly.

BTW, the roman road that ran through this city is now called SS3, but it's the same route.  I guess they had good surveyors back then as well.  As for the pyramids...............

Cemeteries are Different Here

I was driving down a back road, and stumbled on something very different -  a cemetery which looks like a miniature town.  Arranged in streets and cross streets which were about 100 meters long, were a series of small buildings of the same size but unique designs.  The buildings were of very high quality.  Looking through the doors, I could see that is was like a mausoleum with bodies behind polished granite walls with the names and dates carved.

I later found out that the cemetery sells the land, and the owners put up the buildings (with strict guidelines), and then the bodies are buried.  The cost is from 30,000 - 40,000 Euros.  Some of the dates I saw were back in the 1800's, and there may have been some much older.  It really was quite beautiful.

One of the surprising things was that some of the doors were open a crack so fresh air could get in, and I knew the residents didn't need that.  Many had freshly cut flowers and/or burning candles.  I was told by a local, that they were approaching a holiday where a family tends to return to their home town, and visiting the dead is a part of that tradition.  There was a florist on site, but probably to service owners for this holiday.  You always learn something when you travel.

ps:  Since this post, I have seen many others, and usually on a much less costly scale.

Ciao

Why it pays to get up before dawn

Breakfast is great at 4:30 am, when you have all the makings from your local marketplace, and that includes freshly cut ham, farm fresh eggs, fresh fruit and coffee made in one of those screw-together hexagonal pots that make perfect coffee every time.  The real reason it is so good is arriving at the places you want to photograph before anyone but the street sweepers are there.  The sun was just coming up, but had not broken over the mountains yet.

These shots are from the very top of the hill town of Spoleto, where the fortress and the Duomo look over the entire valley.  The second image taken from the Duomo steps, and shows one of the many flights of stairs one must navigate to live in a hilltown in Umbria.  As I was leaving, the first of the tour busses discharged their passengers, so they could begin the arduous climb to the Duomo.  In an hour or two the area will be packed with people.

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A bit more about yesterday

I had a most wonderful time with our host, Ettore, at the farm; and was thoroughly impressed with his intelligence, creativity and his wonderfully warm personality.  He prepared lunch from the produce of his farm, and served in the ancient kitchen complete with open fireplace.  We also enjoyed some of the wine he produces.  

We discussed everything from the history of Italy in Roman times,  the Etruscans and their early “ownership” of Umbria, and Umbria’s birth as an independent entity.  He went into great detail about the loss of all the olive trees in Umbria when a freeze occurred after an unusually early spring.  All the trees were in full flower and then froze solid.  The trees had to be cut down to the ground.  They did restore themselves over time from the roots, but one can imagine the economic devastation from this event.  One tree survived in Trevi, and it is believed to be over 1,500 years old, it was near the church, so it is considered a miracle.

Of particular interest to me was his explanations of the farming business following the withdrawal of farm subsidies in Italy.  He grew three crops: Olives, wheat and tobacco, and that has helped him withstand a downturn in one of the three dissimilar markets.  Without subsidies; however, he needed a better business plan.  He began growing vegetables and fruit, with a heavy emphasis on organic since the margins are slightly better.  A cooperative helped reduce administrative expenses.

Here is Ettore's picture entering the rooms to be used for conferences and large dinners.

Presently, he is one of a small number of farmers in his co-op investigating the growing of hemp.  It turns out one of the byproducts of the hemp core is a building material which has structure as well as some wonderful moisture toleration and insulation properties.  It may be a perfect material to use in the earthquake-prone mountains of Italy.  He explained that there are several marketable by-products of hemp harvesting, but this one struck my fancy.

He already has the several rental units for tourists like me, and is creating more in addition to a small conference center on the main farm.  We spent four and one-half hours together, and I’m sure I will look at this as one of the highlights of the trip.  All this and he can cook too!.

Here is an interesting side note.  All the windows of the facility have bars except the home.  It seems that olive oil is so valuable, that safeguarding the inventory is more important than safeguarding the family.  This picture is from the factory side, and shows the shutters on the inside which were part of the system to maintain the proper temperature in the rooms processing the oil.

The factory had central heating, but the home did not.

More from Today in Spoleto

I do have a car here, and sleep was impossible past 4:30 due to jet lag, so I took off at sunrise and reconnoitered the area.prior to a two-hour briefing scheduled for 11:00.  That led me to Trevi, the town shown in the earlier blog.  Driving the snake trail up the mountain to the town one passes through miles of olive groves, the biggest crop on the east side of the valley.  Since Roman times, the east side of the valley grew olives and the west side grew grapes.  Oil and wine being the two main products of  Umbria.

Here are a few shots of the men picking olives, the harvest has just begun.  After spreading the nets under the tree, two of them will climb the ladders and "comb" the olives off the branches.  They sometimes use a battery operated vibrating device but it damages the tree more than this tried and true method.

This next shot is of the same town, as the earlier post, but in the morning.  Parking can be a problem in these cities, where many of the streets allow a car to pass with about two layers of paint to spare.

Later in the day, I had a great treat, when I visited a farm owned by the man who owns the apartment I'm living in.  The farm dates to the 1,5 oo's and his family has owned it back to his great-great grandfather.  He walked me through the veritable museum of equipment used to make olive oil over the history of the farm, and gave me enough information to go into the business.

Finally, a few shots of the apartment I'm staying in.  I can't believe how modern and beautiful it is, given it is a rehab of an old farm building.

Untours, that helped me set up this trip furnished the basket of food (enough for three days) on the kitchen table to greet me when I arrived, and the kitchen is completely furnished with the dishes, and cooking utensils.  I can't say enough about UnTours (based in Philadelphia).  If you like to drive, as I do, they are the perfect companion to give you the tools to enjoy exploring anyplace in Europe.  

Ciao!

Arrived in Italy

Well, this is Italy, although I had a little problem with my communications equipment.  For some reason Sprint does not work here even though Sprint assured me that I was all set up.  Secondly, my computer cannot hook up to the Internet at the apartment.  Therefore, this is being sent from a wine bar down the road.

This is the scene I saw from my apartment's back yard when I arrived yesterday.

It looked likd a rain storm was coming, so I grabbed a camera, and caught the sun lighting up Trevi, just five miles away.  It's typical of the hill towns of Umbria.  More coming, but my scrambled eggs with black truffles just arrived and my wine is getting warm.