Life...The Vivere

A BIT OF UMBRIA and TUSCANY 

SEPTEMBER 23, 2015  

Two happy people... mother and daughter... ready to join our friends, Kristi and Bill Steiner (hosts of ADVENTURES IN ITALY) for a whirlwind tour of a few of their favorite hill towns in Umbria and Tuscany. I wish our time away had allowed us more visiting time in these towns...to meet the people and join in their everyday life as we do in Orvieto where we stayed...but we would have had to extend our trip. Another time, perhaps...

The above photo is of Michelle and I at the bottom of the long trek up to the 2,500 year old town (founded by the Etruscans) called Civita di Bagnoregio. Atop a plateau of volcanic rock overlooking the Tiber River, this tiny village boasts a population of 12 in the winter and little more than 100 in summer. It's beautiful...like visiting a fairytale place, because it was difficult to see everyday locals "living their lives."  The tough trek up the steep hill was worth it...the only vehicle traffic they have is that of motorcycles transporting goods up to the residents (or shops during tourist season.) Here are a few photos of Civita...

 

The lovely nooks, crannies, cobbled  labyrinthine streets and alleyways of Pitigliano was our next stop. 

Also dating back to Etruscan times, the first record  dates only to 1061. It has a booming population of almost 4000 residents and has been known, throughout history, as "little Jerusalem" owing to the historical presence of the Jewish community that has always been well integrated into the social context of the village. Although there are almost no Jews left in town, the synagogue (1598) is still officiated from time to time. 

Here are some images from the rest of this lovely, ancient town... chock full of extraordinary ancient doors (still in use,)

shrines built into the rock,

 and superb architecture.

By this time, we were all fading a bit. But, we did fit in one more visit...to SORANO,

an ancient medieval hill town hanging from a tuff stone (tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption) over the Lente River. The first mention of Sorano was in the 3rd Century BC when it was Etruscan (of course.) The most current census was in 2001 when  a population of almost 4,000 was reported. 

Here's a composite of some of what we saw...

(NOTE: Although we couldn't find out the whole story, it seems the holes in the rock (lower right in the composite) were made to insert reinforcing paraphernalia to stop the rock from eroding further!)

Fully exhausted and thoroughly fulfilled, we returned to our beloved Orvieto for some R&R and dinner.

Our trip was just a week, but every moment of it was precious and extraordinary... food for our hearts and souls as well as all our senses. It's a place we'll be returning to again and again... it's part of both Michelle and me. Thanks so much to Kristi and Bill for providing the vehicle for us to journey to Orvieto and the care once we arrived...each time! Looking forward to the next...

Interested?  Deep Sigh :)