Montone and Further A Field - July 9 to 23, 2006
Beat The Drums..... The last night of the Film Festival was held in the piazza on the Sunday night, July 9 so we sat down in the bar below with four other 
Australians, Lyn and Alan from Alexander Headland, and Betty and Geoff from Wangaratta. We had all met in Lake Como, and by coincidence they were spending a week in Montone. With beating of drums and French horns sounding, a procession of locals in traditional costume marched into the piazza through the main porta (entrance). After speeches the 'Key of Montone' was presented to the Danish film producer, Lone Scherfig who was attending the film festival. The piazza was full of locals and visitors who enjoyed the regalia followed by complimentary smorgasbord meal and wine which was catered for by the Commune di Montone. It was such a fitting end to a great week of films from all over the world. And by the way, an Australian film called "Bloody Football' won second place in the children's section of the festival.
And All That Jazz..... It just seems that one festival finishes and another begins. The Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia had commenced, and Sergio Mendez was playing at 10.30pm the following day in the Piazza IV Novembre. Thousands upon thousands of people gathered to hear him and his band play. The music is continual from different locations within the walled city of Perugia and it continues from 11.00 am in the morning until well after midnight each day for ten days. In addition to Sergio Mendez other headline acts included Carlos Santana and Diana Krall. For those that are interested there will be an Umbria Jazz Festival in Melbourne in March 2007. Perugia is a university town, so there were many young people enjoying the atmosphere as well as young families and older people soaking up the atmosphere.
English Speaking Visitors..... Our good friends from Melbourne, Bill and Liz arrived in Florence from Paris so we drove up and picked them up from the airport. We had a couple of easy days for them just to adjust to Montone’s slower pace of life and to unwind after their tour of parts of Europe. The first appointment was for Liz to visit the beauty salon in Montone and with the help of Christina, the hairdresser, Lucianna who lives in the village and Liz J’s broken Italian, plus hand gestures, everything was organized for Liz's makeover and after 1 ½ hours she came out feeling and looking like a new woman. Bill & Liz quickly adjusted to the lifestyle in the village and spent many hours exploring the medieval streets and taking in the beautiful views of the surrounding countryside.
The Weekly Shop..... There had to be a visit to the local market in Citta di Castello to buy the fruit and vegetables and to see how most of the locals shop. The market is held every Thursday and you can buy everything including clothing, shoes, utensils, materials, and more all at bargain prices. There is a stall holder at the market who cooks suckling pig overnight ready for market the next day. He was doing a roaring trade with people lined up to buy his porchetta in slices for an evening meal or made up as panine (sandwich) for lunch. Then on to the supermarket for our weekly grocery shop and for Bill & Liz to experience and interpret the differences from shopping in Australia. Can't be all that difficult says Bill, everything has pictures on it, until he tries to find tomato juice for breakfast and then realises he has purchased tomato pasta sauce used in spaghetti.
Travelling Further A Field..... Assisi Of course, a trip to Umbria is not complete without a visit to the city of Assisi where the Basilica of St. Francis, built in 1228, stands out on the horizon as you approach the walled city. We spent a fair time in this beautiful basilica which is decorated with frescos from the 13 & 14 century. Deep below the basilica there is the crypt which houses the tomb of St. Francis. 
Bill had a “moving experience” with Father Frank in the Temple of Mineiva in the Piazza del Comun which he found to be a highlight of his trip to Assisi. We also had a “moving experience” with the carpark attendant. Usually the Italians “abandon” their cars anywhere, but this Italian was the neat and tidy car park attendant who just wanted your car parked absolutely correctly. After Rob manoeuvred the car backwards and forwards a few times, our Italian friend was happy. He must have been an engineer in an earlier life. On our return to the car park later in the day, we found the neatest car park one has ever seen. Not a 
car out of place. It is nice to see pride in one's work even if you are a car park attendant.
We all enjoyed wandering around and taking everything in. There are plenty of gift and souvenir shops in Assisi, many selling quality religious artefacts and others tourist oriented gifts. One such shop was a millinery shop who did 'on the spot' embroidery of your name on any article you purchased. The speed at which they did this on a manual sewing machine was remarkable and we watched with fascination as they spelt out 'Elisabetta' on an apron which Liz J purchased.
Gubbio is well known for ceramics and this was a “must visit”. Gubbio is a picturesque drive, 35 kms from Montone and is a very large walled city built on the side of Mount Ingino. To reach parts of the city, you c
an travel in deep underground elevators to save your legs - a really fantastic idea when the temperature is over 30oC. Gubbio is a very large walled city and to cover all the areas would take at least a couple of days so on this trip with Bill & Liz we decided 'to hit the highlights'. On future visits we will explore more of this beautiful city which boasts 15 churches, a Duomo (Cathederal), a Basilica and a Monastery.
Not only are there escalators but a chair lift that climbs very steeply to near the top of Mount Ingino and here there is the small but beautiful Basilica of Sant 'Ubaldo and the Monastery of Sant 'Ambrogio. Above the high alter in the Basilica can be seen, inside a Neo-Gothic urn, the incorrupt body of Ubald, Patron Saint of Gubbio who died in 1136. He looks remarkably good seeing he is now 870 years old. A short walk from the Basilica is a restaurant with the best views of Gubbio, if not the whole of Umbria, and it was here we enjoyed a relaxed lunch and a drink before descending back down into the centro storica (the old town) for a walk around before heading back to Montone after a long day.
Siena is an easy 2 hour drive from Montone and a trip to Tuscany is not complete without a visit to this beautiful and historical city. The famous Palio horse race contested between the Contrade (Districts of Sienna) is run in Piazza del Campo on July 2 and August 16 each year. The oldest recorded Palio was run in 1283. A 25 minute documentary about
the history and build up to the race and the actual race days in the Il Campo was being run in the local cinema. We decided it would enhance our knowledge on the history of Sienna to spend 30 minutes to see this interesting documentary. The crowds that gather in the Il Campo are absolutely huge, 40,000 people alone in the centre of the Piazza so Rob and Liz decided that they would not be attending the next race to be held in August.
One of the highlights of a visit to Sienna is the Duomo (Cathedral) built from white and black marble and towering over the city skyline. Construction on this Cathedral commenced in 1215, the dome finally covered in 1263 and further extensions took place in 1316. Sienna is a city with something for everyone - churches, museums, and abundance of history, designer shops and a wide variety of restaurants and bars. Certainly a city that you could return to many times to appreciate it's diversity and beauty.
Lake Trasimeno We spent time around Lake Trasimeno, situated in an ideal area between Umbria and Tuscany and the fourth largest lake in Italy. There are three islands and we caught the ferry to the biggest, Maggiore and had lunch in a lakeside restaurant before taking the ferry back to the mainland. 
Another visit to the walled village of Castiglione del Lago on the shores of Lake Trasimeno for Liz and Bill to sample the different types of salami and cheeses available.
It has been nice to visit the smaller quieter walled villages as well as the bigger towns and cities. Our very special one is Monte Santa Maria Tiberina plus Monterchi where an elderly Italian man approached the girls and took them into a very old building and in Italian proudly told them the history of the room and showed them photos of his parents and the village life.
Another festival..... No sooner are we over the Umbria Film Festival in Montone and another one commences. This time it is their musical festival. This festival continues for 14 days with seven events featuring philharmonic orchestras and bands from around the region and from Montone. Bill & Liz were lucky enough to be in Montone for the first two events both held in different piazza's in the village. We are very fortunate that the final events are held in Piazza Fortebraccio right below us and it brings a whole new meaning to the saying, "A Night Out At Home" as we can sit on our balcony and have the best seats in the house for the concerts. The majority of tunes being played were recognisable including a very stirring "When the Saints Come Marching Home". Liz stood up for this great tune, and she knew that it was a very good omen for the St. Kilda football team!
Arriverderci.....Ciao..... It was time to say good bye to Bill & Liz after a busy nine days - at times not even fitting in a siesta. Liz and Bill were leaving by train from Terontola to Rome airport and then were catching a flight to Athens to join a 9 day tour of Turkey and the Greek Islands, so we decided to travel to Rome with them and spend the day there. We said our goodbyes at Rome Termini and then we headed off to explore parts of the city.
Bella Roma…. This was our second visit to Rome over a few years so of course we had to revisit some of the main attractions – The Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Via del Corso and a quick walk past the Forum but we also wanted to see some of the less visited Rome attractions. One place in particular was the "The Crypt of the Cappuchin Monks" at the Church of Santa Maria del Concezione. This place is quite macabre but so interesting and well worth visiting when in Rome. There are 5 different crypts (rooms) decorated with the bones of four thousands monks artistically arranged. There is the Crypt of the Resurrection, Crypt of the Skulls, the Crypt of the Pelvises, The Crypt of the Leg and Thigh Bones and the Crypt of the Three Skeletons. In the final crypt there is an inscription written by the Monks that brings home a chilling reminder of how mortal we really are and it reads...... You are what we were..... You will be what we are......
Coolest Church in Rome..... San Clemente wins this title more on what’s underneath the church than what’s at street level. The basilica dates back to the 12th century but it is built on an earlier 4th century church with chambers, columns, ancient frescoes, evidence of mosaic floors and tunnels. Under this church is the ancient Roman level again with a series of tunnels and chambers and even a natural spring with running water. Archaeological work is still being being carried out and gradually being opened to tourists.
At this time of the year Rome is very busy with tourists and Italians on their annual holidays visiting the capital. The weather was fairly warm and after walking many kms and travelling on their 'Met' train system, it was time to return by train to our peaceful little haven of Montone.
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