Tuscany, Umbria & Marche - July 23 to August 13, 2006

Village Life....  We have well and truly settled into life in Montone and each day feel more and more like locals. Our experiences interacting with the local people is both interesting and rewarding.  One example was trying to be taught an Italian card game called "Scopa" which is played with a pack of cards quite different to our normal pack so not only did we have to learn the game, all in Italian, but also learn what each suit is called and the value of each card.   We finally picked up the basics of the game but were struggling to understand the scoring system.   A search of the internet and hey presto, we have all the rules and scoring system so after some secret practice we are readyto challenge them to another game.   If you would like to read about some of our village experiences and impressions of life in Italy then click here.

We have also spent a considerable amount of time touring around the provinces of Umbria, Tuscany & Marche and below are the highlights and towns we would strongly recommend anyone taking a trip to Italy to visit for both their history and natural beauty.

Florence, A Return Visit….  It was to be our second visit to Florence which is about 135km by car from Montone.   Parking in Florence, believe it or not, is relatively easy providing you are prepared to walk about 1 km to the centre of the city.   It seems that most Italians do not like parking in underground car parks and opt for abandoning their cars wherever it suits them. 

They say that Florence has more good art than any city in Europe and to see it all would take at least three weeks so of course, you must narrow it down and visit the highlights. 

We had a short walk into the centre of Florence via the Basilica Di Santa Croce then along the Arno river to the Ponta Vecchio taking in some of the oldest streets in the city.   On each side of the Ponta Vecchio are exquisite jewellery shops with the most magnificently expensive  gold and silver jewellery displayed in the shop windows.  We walked and walked in the warmth of the day along with many other tourists and thank goodness there are no hills to climb and everything you want to see is within easy walking distance. 

Just down from the Ponte Vecchio there is the Palazzo Vecchio with its 94m tower and the Piazza della Signoria with the copy of Michelangelo’s Statute of David, the Neptune Fountain and about a thousand tourists gazing around and taking it all in. 

The Piazza del Duomo and the Piazza San Giovanni are probably best visited early morning or later in the day when the crowds are less.  We queued for a surprisingly short time to enter the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (Duomo) and see Brunelleschi’s Dome – an absolute landmark in Florence.  To gaze up at the art work is amazing but to climb up the network of stairs and see it closer is worth doing as well.  

San Lorenzo Market operates all day with no closing for siesta as they are too busy selling leather goods, clothing, jewellery etc to the tourists.  This area takes up a large area of Piazza San Lorenzo to the Mercato Central.   There are numerous small roads with beautiful shops for browsing.  Florence is well known for its leather and jewellery along with the big fashion names plus restaurants galore.   

Orvieto – one of our favourite towns....   This town owes much of its success to an ancient volcano which created its magnificent pedestal – a 325 m sheer crag of volcanic rock.  This same volcano enriched the valleys below which helped cultivate the vines for the famous Orvieto white wine.   The cathedral, again in the main piazza, is apparently one of Italy’s greatest cathedrals due to its magnificent front façade.  It  would have to be our favourite.   You can spend so much time taking in the detail and the work of the 152 sculptors who built this brilliant façade.  Inside, we were lucky to listen to the 10.30am mass being held in one of the side chapels.  Around the Piazza de Duomo is the clock tower where a bronze figure named Maurizio strikes the hours and has done so since 1351.  Being in Tuscany, many of the shops sell the typical Tuscan ceramics of grapes and fruits all in the bright colours of blue, yellow, green and red.  As well there are many cantinas serving their Orvieto wines both by the glass and by the bottle.

Journey in the “City Underground”....   Over the past 3000 years, Orvieto  has had an unbelievable number of caves and cavities beneath the streets and buildings of this town.  Archaelogical studies and careful excavations have found how the Etruscans lived and worked breeding pigeons for eating and making pottery and living in the endless succession of tunnels, stairs and rooms.  Then followed the Medieval and the Renaissance times, when not only pottery was still made, but olive pressings took place and underground living standards improved .  Up until 1960, there were a few people found to be still making their home below the ground.  It was well worth Euro5.50 each to join the one hour tour to learn about the roots of the city.

 A Visit To The Theatre.....   We were lucky to visit the Orvieto Teatro just before it closed for siesta.  Again a theatre surrounded by boxes with the ceiling and walls ornately decorated.  During August the opera La Boheme is playing for one night.  We hope to return and experience some Italian opera with our friends Bevan and Jill. 

The Blue Seas Of The Adriatic....  We decided it was time to go to the beach so we set off for a 1½ hr drive through the mountains over to the east coast of Italy to Pesaro – the beach holiday resort for thousands of Italians and the birthplace of Rossini.  Pesaro is the large town but the further north you go, the more like Surfers Paradise it becomes with hotels lining the promenade, except here, the hotels lining the promenade own a part of the beach.  Each hotel sets up their own colourful beach umbrellas including a reclining sun lounge.  There are hundreds of them and they are all in neatly set out in rows very close to each other.  You can imagine on a hot day the rows of sun tanning bodies lying on the beach.  Everyone is in holiday mode here  swimming, sailing wind surfers and riding pedalo boats and small boats, and the shops are busy selling holiday clothing and tourist souvenirs.  The water was really warm and a good place to be in the warm weather.

We drove through the National park on the edge of the beach and had lunch in a restaurant overlooking the water.  A very pleasant way to spend a couple of hours over a glass of wine. 

Todi, Another Hilltop Village....  Which means good exercise for us.  It is a small medieval town with a magnificent 13th – 15th century Piazza del Popolo, the centre of civic life and the Duomo which was commenced in 12th century .  Todi has a magnificent Teatro (theatre) built in 1872.  It is constructed on four tiers with private boxes available as well as seating in the stalls.  “Aida” by Verdi was being performed there during their musical festival.  Peter and Kaye from Melbourne had joined us in Montone for a week and we revisited Todi, but unfortunately on our second visit the theatre was closed.   We enjoyed  lunch in a delightful restaurant just on the edge of the wall with magnificent views over the surrounding countryside and wineries.

 Montelpuciano, Great Wine.....   This area is known for its cantinas (cellars) and the owners are ready for discussion on the virtues of their famous wines.  One of these cantinas dates back to the 1500’s.  It is another walled town perched high on a hilltop so lots of steps to reach the Piazza Michelozzo and the church.  The views over the valley below were worthwhile as Rob and I enjoyed  lunch.  A huge thunderstorm with lightening and heavy rain poured down just after lunch, so we had to take shelter in some of the shops that remained open.  One in particular was this exquisite Italian leather shop selling handbags, leather bound writing folios, books, shoes, and small articles made of the softest leather.  Peter and Kaye were keen to visit Montelpuciano, and we were very happy to oblige as we had not completed our previous exploration of the city.  This time the weather was better  and we were able to see the walled town without a downpour interrupting our casual stroll around.

Urbino....    We took a trip to Urbino with Peter and Kay which is an isolated mountain setting and known for the Ducal Palace built by Duke Federico Montelfeltro.  The palace facade overlooks the hills on the edge of town and consists of three levels of balconies .  The palace is now an art museum with the collection originally owned by the Duke.  The best known work in Urbino is the "Flagellation" by Piero della Francesca and the "Ideal City" with an amazing piece of art, quite "modern" considering it was painted in the Renaissance period.  Urbino today, is a university town and a lively place full of students from many countries. 

Siena..... We had another return visit to Siena with Peter and Kaye and after nearly reporting Peter as a "missing person", (Peter claims he knew where he was all the time), we set off on our different ways to explore more parts of the city.  We visited the crypt of the cathedral and listened by audio headsets about the history of the Crypt built under the Cathedral.   At the back of the Cathedral was the Baptistry which contains some of the finest art in Siena.  Frescoes by Vecchietta decorate much of the interior.

We visited the Sanctuary and House of Saint Catherine with each room converted into a chapel with works of art depicting the life of Saint Catherine, one of twenty-five children.  She received the stigmata and led her life as a holy woman settling disputes between kings and popes and encouraging Church reform.  She died at the young age of 33 years before she became Canonized.  It was a most interesting visit.

The Piazza del Campo (main square) was running the Palio the following week, so from our previous visit with Bill and Liz, the area had been transformed into a race track.  Packed sand had been laid around the square and barriers and grand stands had been erected around the track.  It was easy to imagine the horses racing and the atmosphere of  60,000 people gathered here. 

The following week we were lucky enough to see a direct telecast of the Palio on TV.   It was just amazing to see the passionate Italians cheer for their favourite Contrada and the excitement when the winner of the July 2006 Palio won the August 2006 event.

During the week with Peter and Kaye, Montone was becoming busy with the preparation of their Donazione Della Santa Spina - a week of medieval festivity.  Taverns were being decorated, colourful flags representing the three quarters of the village were being hung and drum, trumpet, and a rehearsal for a street play were being held.  The following week will be a very busy time for Montone.  We said goodbye to Peter and Kaye who were travelling onto Florence for a few days before returning home.     

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