Umbrian Hill Towns
Umbria has hills. It also has a long history of violence and warfare on an epic scale. Consequently, people were less likely to build their towns on the plains, near the farmland and river (and mosquitoes, as it happens) but on more or less any convenient hill.
We visited Todi early on. My tutor in the Lit course owns a house there and very kindly sent me a copy of the information she gives any holiday tenants. It was extremely useful We found the carpark with a lift that way. And, yes, the town is perched high enough that it really is worthwhile.
Even at the top, you still go higher.
The view's not bad when you get there.
And this was from our table at the restaurant.
The town is lovely. So lovely it was voted the best place to live in some US magazine. So now it's lovely and full of tourists.
Assisi is The Big One when it comes to towns on hills. It's a big hill, to start with, at the foot of a mountain, Monte Subiaso. When you drive there on the little roads, you come round the corner and suddenly it's there.
It is the birthplace of a saint, a rather major one at that, and a lot of the tourists are also pilgrims. You don't just get to buy tourist tat, you can buy religious tourist tat.
What would normally be the main town square has a pillared church in it. Except it's a repurposed pillared church - it started out as a temple of Minerva.
The main purpose of the town, however, is the Basilica, built in honour of St Francis not long after he died. He was a reformer, founding his order of Franciscan friars vowed to utter poverty. To build this, however, his successor sold indulgences (get-out-of-purgatory-free cards) all over Europe. The saint was probably rotating in his grave.
Note those steps to the left. There are two cathedrals in Assisi, one on top of the other.
Inside the cathedrals are frescoes. Wonderful frescoes by Giotto and Cimabue. Sadly, but understandably, they don't let you take photos inside. The whole place is bright with intense colour, some seven centuries old.
And the windows are pretty special, too.
And a rather pleasant mezzanine double cloister between the lower and upper basilicas.
Dave walked up to the tower at the top. I had a granita in a bar. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it.
I think this has gone on long enough - I'll do another post with more hill towns, just for a change.
We visited Todi early on. My tutor in the Lit course owns a house there and very kindly sent me a copy of the information she gives any holiday tenants. It was extremely useful We found the carpark with a lift that way. And, yes, the town is perched high enough that it really is worthwhile.
Even at the top, you still go higher.
The view's not bad when you get there.
And this was from our table at the restaurant.
The town is lovely. So lovely it was voted the best place to live in some US magazine. So now it's lovely and full of tourists.
Assisi is The Big One when it comes to towns on hills. It's a big hill, to start with, at the foot of a mountain, Monte Subiaso. When you drive there on the little roads, you come round the corner and suddenly it's there.
It is the birthplace of a saint, a rather major one at that, and a lot of the tourists are also pilgrims. You don't just get to buy tourist tat, you can buy religious tourist tat.
What would normally be the main town square has a pillared church in it. Except it's a repurposed pillared church - it started out as a temple of Minerva.
The main purpose of the town, however, is the Basilica, built in honour of St Francis not long after he died. He was a reformer, founding his order of Franciscan friars vowed to utter poverty. To build this, however, his successor sold indulgences (get-out-of-purgatory-free cards) all over Europe. The saint was probably rotating in his grave.
Note those steps to the left. There are two cathedrals in Assisi, one on top of the other.
Inside the cathedrals are frescoes. Wonderful frescoes by Giotto and Cimabue. Sadly, but understandably, they don't let you take photos inside. The whole place is bright with intense colour, some seven centuries old.
And the windows are pretty special, too.
And a rather pleasant mezzanine double cloister between the lower and upper basilicas.
Dave walked up to the tower at the top. I had a granita in a bar. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it.
I think this has gone on long enough - I'll do another post with more hill towns, just for a change.