Perugia - a town of past Etruscans and present-day learners

Continuing our practice of using public transport when we can, we caught the train to nearby Perugia, Umbria's most significant city. Like many Umbrian towns, Perugia is built at the top of a steep hill. Not surprisingly, the railway refused to create its station at the top; happily however there was a 'mini metro' system that carried you from the train station right up to the city centre at the top.

Perugia's excellent mini metro system speeds you up the hill!

Perugia is an ancient city - more than 3000 years old in fact; first inhabited by the Villanova peoples before the Etruscans moved in around 800BC. Today it's thronged with young people attending its popular university (it brought to mind the sad case of Meredith Kercher who was also a student here). Like so many other towns in Italy, it has a well-preserved medieval heart which is jealously protected  from inappropriate building projects, making the strolling experience an enjoyable one.

The historic centre with its famous fountain.

More Umbrian travels

Orvieto and surrounding countryside

Years ago when I toured Italy on a motorbike (see HERE) I had visited Orvieto and it left a lasting impression on me; Marilena wanted to see it also, so we set off from Bolsena for the day to see it together. The Umbrian countryside through which we motored was fascinating - and so very different from back home. It was more open of course because Italy's fields are not enclosed with hedges like ours. What they did have were trees, configured in shapes and ways that are novel to English eyes. Plantings along roadsides made for spectacular avenues of green through which we skimmed in our Bongo; and the landscape skylines appeared to receive special attention judging by the numerous lines of cedars and umbrella pines silhouetted against the clear blue. 

The fields here are relatively small but the wide variety of crops in them turns the countryside into a multi-textured patchwork quilt, with coarse stretches of overripe, drooping sunflowers, military drills of vines sloping at wildly different angles, olive groves of bluish-green bobs and blocks of strong green eucalyptus trees. It's a visual delight!

Orvieto cathedral's utterly magnificent facade.

Orvieto is another ancient hilltop Umbrian city lived in since Etruscan times. Again, the city authorities have protected the medieval centre from modern developments; you have the impression is walking back in time as you stroll around the town. Remarkable. We were both taken with the quite magnificent cathedral; although it had a more restrained interior, its exterior couldn't have been more extrovert. Real medieval bling!

The town that gave us Corpus Christi

Lake Bolsena from the camp site. Sadly, despite the beautifully clear water
Marilena never got her swim. She couldn't face taking a dip in a gale!

After five days at the wonderful Hotel Kursaal we reluctantly took our leave and set out south, heading for Bolsena, by the lake of the same name. On our way we dropped into the lovely little town of Todi; again, on a hilltop and containing a splendid medieval core. The camp site at Bolsena was in retreat - on the point of closing-down and so it had a slightly depressing, end-of-season feel. It was however close to Orvieto, a town we were keen to visit and so we hunkered down and got set up.

Fortunately by now we knew how to set up camp well because that's when the wind started! And it blew and blew. Happily, like the little pig who built his house with bricks we stayed strong and the awning did us proud by standing tall. But the noise created by a high wind on canvas was deafening. We were happy to get out of the site for a few hours to Orvieto. But on our return, the wind started up again and our second night was again a noisy one. As a result we decided to move on in the hope of finding better weather - and maybe a better camp site too (our hopes had been raised by the Hotel Kursaal).

The chapel in Santa Cristina commemorating
the miracle of Bolsena.

Before we left we checked out the church of Santa Cristina; we'd seen signs in the village boasting that it was the site of a famous miracle. And indeed it proved to be the case. The church itself was very old and beautifully preserved. The centrepiece was an altar displaying some altar stones stained by blood, so it is claimed. The story goes that in the 13th century the parish priest of Santa Cristina was having doubts about the real presence in the Eucharist; one day whilst celebrating mass before the congregation, the host he held up began to bleed copiously. The event created a sensation and led to the founding of the feast of Corpus Christi in the Catholic Church. As a young lad Corpus Christi was a very big deal in the life of my local parish and I remember going out on procession to celebrate. I was delighted to have discovered the source of the feast.

Luxury . . . at last

Camper with awning attached.

Our form of touring is a combination of vanning and camping. Our van is small and lacks the storage capacity to hold all our everyday needs; so we bring a tent awning that attaches to the side of the van.  This has proved a practical solution and we store much of our stuff in the awning once we've arrived at the camp site. Inevitably, there is an element of roughing it however, since we are open to the elements.
And of course because our van is too small to contain a private loo and/or shower, we use the public facilities of the camp site. So our experience of camp living is closely dependent on the quality of the camp site's public facilities. In general, we have found these to be satisfactory, although one must be prepared to share many activities in public that normally one would undertake in the privacy of the home.

The entrance to Hotel Kursaal lined with tall pine trees.

We thought that knew what to expect of these facilities until we arrived at the Kursaal Hotel by Lake Trasimeno in Tuscany. But here we were introduced to camping quality of a truly astonishing kind; everything was not just good - it was fabulous! The grounds, the loos, the pool - everything was kept scrupulously clean and well presented. The customer service was of a level rarely encountered anywhere - and it was given cheerfully and generously; we were enraptured with the spot.

Marilena soaks up the sun beside the pool.

John smiles at the prospect of tackling a dish of
grilled lake perch in the hotel restaurant.
As you might expect they  tasted delicious.
John used to fish a lot as a boy and caught
lots of perch but this was the first time
he got round to eating one.

In the footsteps of St Francis

Assisi was remarkable amongst the medieval towns we visited in Umbria. Not
only was it the birthplace of St Francis and remarkably well preserved but it
retained an atmosphere of quietness, not found elsewhere. I suspect many
of the visitors were pilgrims as well as tourists and this reflected in their
response to this special place.

Inside the Basilica of St Maria degli Angeli near Assisi you will find the
original chapel that St Francis built with his bare hands, in response to
God's request  to build up his church. It's a beautiful and fitting way of
protecting such a sacred site.

Assisi is beautifully kept and full of narrow streets that
engage the eye.

Souvenir shops were plentiful but did not spoil the town's
street architecture. A cheeky option here in a shop window
intrudes on a largely devotional display.

We've visited more churches on this trip than
 you could shake a stick at (to quote PG Wodehouse).
One of the things it's difficult to miss is the variety
of ways in which the crucifixion of Jesus is portrayed.
My generation of Catholics was brought up with very
sentimental portrayals of this truly awful form of execution.
Interestingly, many medieval artists tackle the reality very
differently in their paintings and sculptures.

Wandering around Siena

John pauses in the Piazza del Campo in Siena around which the
Pallio horse race takes place each year.

Getting ready to search out a pizzeria in Siena.

We eat one of our best ice-creams; bought from a small side street in Siena.
John has fruits of the forest, Marilena melon and mango. What a joy it is
to eat real ice-cream. We've got lots of Italians in catering in the UK; how
come they don't produce ice-cream like this for us, too??

Autumn gleanings

Left behind fruit

In this part of Italy - Emilia Romagna - they have a tradition of leaving the less than perfect fruit on the trees for people to pick freely for their families, after the harvesters have done their work. It's a wonderful tradition and much appreciated by the locals. Luisella has already been out and you can see the results of her efforts in the photo.

Some of the hazel nuts Marilena and I picked up today

Even the squirrels over here respect this tradition of gleaning after the harvest. Marilena and I, when out on a stroll today, found nuts galore on the ground next the hedges. Very rare in the district where I live near Epsom. English squirrels don't appear to be such good sharers of Nature's bounty.