Medieval Hilltop villages of Umbria

This morning I woke up and once again realised why I love cruising so much – we opened our curtains – and voila - a new vista – Civitavecchia – the port for Rome – without the aggravation of packing, checking out of hotels, taxis, airports, planes, delays etc. etc. Our home moves while we sleep!!

As much as possible we book small group private tours with a group of friends and avoid the large ship’s tours for a number of reasons – we can be off the ship quickly and can go into a lot of places that the larger buses just can’t manage. Today, we decided to avoid the summer crowds in Rome and venture into the Umbrian countryside – the centre of the ancient Etruscan civilisation.

As we exited from the ship, we were met by our driver Fabrizio, from Rome in Limo – he had been used by our group in 2011 and so we were looking forward to meeting him again. As we walked out of the terminal, he was standing there tapping his watch – ‘you are late, I have been waiting for you for one year!!’ Jo had booked him as soon as we booked this cruise, early last year, and he had turned up for our tour on 14^th August 2012 – a bit early!! He said he didn’t read his paperwork properly, but he was able to pick up another tour from the dock, so even though he missed us, all was not lost. We had a great laugh and that set the tone for our day in Umbria as we explored two medieval fortified hilltop villages.

The first stop was in Orvieto, dominated by a central piazza and the beautiful Duomo di San Brizio, constructed in 1290. The outside façade is spectacular, with mosaic frescos on a background of pure gold – a stunning sight - glinting  in the sunlight. We meandered down the back laneways of the village, pretty vistas opening up before us around every corner. The best views were from the top of the Del Moro tower, the clock tower in the centre piazza of the town – 240 stairs up – well woth the effort as we could see the surrounding rural area dotted with castles and other villages in all four directions. When we arrived the village was deserted and very pleasant to walk around, but after almost two hours, the Princess buses descended and the streets became crowded and blocked, so it was time to leave.

Our next stop was another hilltop gem – Civita di Bagniregio, this village is only accessible on foot (some of the 17 inhabitants use motor scooters to traverse the bridge with supplies) – the brochure advises visitors to approach the village with the same respect as you would a dying relative – cause the village is surely dying. The original walkway was natural rock but it has weathered away and so a pedestrian bridge has been built to replace it.

before we made the strenuous trek to the village, it was time for some sustenance!! Lunch today was on the rooftop verandah of the di Ponte, with the village as our backdrop. We couldn’t decide on what to eat – everything sounded delicious, so we asked the proprietor to surprise us – and she made an excellent choice – each plate was a selection of three delicious pastas – a ravioli style filled with eggplant and cheese, a gnocchi – tiny bites of wonder in a sauce of zucchini flowers and truffles, and my personal favourite – ‘little money bags’ filled with pear, radicchio and cheese – an amazing combination of the sweetness of the pear and the bitterness of the radicchio – another lunchtime triumph!! Of course, we had a deliciously crisp fresh salad to accompany the food.

Wow, this blog is starting to read like we just lurch from one lunch to another in an equally stunning location – who cares – this is Italy!!!

Back to the touring - suitably energised, we braved the heat and walked uphill across the bridge – as we walked across we could hear violin music, and we thought that it was being piped into speakers that we couldn’t see – turning around one bend we came upon an elderly gentleman - fully dressed in a suit, and playing his violin – the perfect opportunity to stop and listen (and catch our breath) as we admired the views.

We walked through a huge stone tunnel to access the village and stepped back in time. Each house had a deep underground cistern, a ‘hole’ where rainwater collects to be used as needed. we went down into the cistern of one house, a couple of flights of stairs and it was a wonderfully cold cellar. Further along we found an underground cave which advertised olive oil tastings – we remembered the place from a Rick Steves Europe program, so we were keen to check it out. Inside was a huge press- a large stone wheel where in the past – a donkey would walk around the press to turn the wheel and crush olives for oil.

Too soon it was time to return to the 21^st century and we crossed back over the bridge to our driver., and the 2 hour drive back to the ship, punctuated halfway, of course, by a stop in Monte Ramano for gelati. I have accepted the arduous challenge of testing the gelati all around Italy – (and in fact, all around Europe if the need arises) to decide on the best – today the samples were coconut and dark sour cherry – delicious and refreshing – but I still think the Limoncello from Amalfi is still winning in the taste stakes.

Now, we are back in our little floating casa, downloading our photos and charging camera batteries in preparation to do it all again tomorrow.

Captain, throw off the lines- we are going to Sicily!!