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| This is me on my terrace. |
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| Inside the castle walls |
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| That's my house on the left. |
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My first expedition was to the nearby Fonte del Clitunno - the springs dedicated to the god Clitumnus. In spite of that first syllable, Clitumnus was a male god, probably of very ancient origin. The site was well-known in Roman times and was visited by several Emperors. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clitumnus. The apparent Roman temple is actually an early Christian church built from Roman scavenged materials. |
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| The springs gush from the hillside at several points and form a small, tranquil lake. |
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Spoleto was my nearest large town. My stay coincided with the Festival
dei due Monde, a "serious" annual music festival. (Unlike the frivolous
Umbria Jazz festival up the road in Perugia). The piazza in front of the cathedral was being prepared for a series of concerts. Unlike other festivals, all of the Spoleto concerts charge admission. One night, I passed by this spot and there was some quite pleasant jazz being played on stage. There was a barrier, with a functionary in a suit, to prevent anyone getting closer without a ticket. But I suddenly thought of the maze of medieval streets and alleys which I'd explored the day before. I twisted and dived and turned and climbed, and suddenly I popped out like a prairie dog from a burrow, down where those white umbrellas are in the photo. The seating was only about three-quaters occupied. I can't help feeling that if the concert had been free, then the piazza would have been packed. |
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| The land around my holiday home was a fertile, flat valley-bottom, and it was heavily farmed. Beautiful though. |
| OK, so I didn't really have a Porsche to drive when I was in Italy. Mine was a Fiat Punto, all right?! Yes, a diesel. I'm so ashamed. This was in the main square of Montefalco, a lovely little town. I wish I'd had the time to go back for another visit. |  |
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| Transport seems to be the theme here. | |
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This is another small town nearby: Bevagna. What I like about these towns is the perfect continuity of history from medieval times, or even ealier. There is modern building work, but it integrates harmoniously with what was there before. |
| Bastardo is quite a large town in the neighbourhood.
There's not really
anything remarkable about it apart from its name. |
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I couldn't resist capturing the headlines the morning after Italy's shock defeat of Germany in the World Cup semi-final. Note down at the bottom, a call (from the State prosecutor) for scandal-ridden teams Fiorentina, Lazio and Milan to be relegated to Serie B while the mighty Juventus may be dropped to Serie C. |
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I kind of like the idea of a pagan Roman temple still
sitting there,
intact, in Christian Assisi. Of course, it only survived though being
converted into a church, but I'm sure Minerva is still in there. |
| This is the Via Flaminia as it passes though the Roman town of Carsulae. Carsulae is one of those rare sites, where the Roman town didn't become the basis for an existing one. The layout and remains of the town are quite clear, and some of the arches are still standing after 2000 years. The forum is on the left of the main street and the basilica on the right. Apparently, this was unusual, but necessitated by the geography of the location. |  |
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The famous decorated front of the cathedral in Orvieto. Last time I was here, it was having its face cleaned and was all covered up with scaffolding and tarpaulins. Orvieto is interesting, but it struck me as rather scruffy after having seen scrubbed-clean Assisi a couple of days previously. |
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| Do I mean scruffy, or do I mean picturesque? No, really, the Piazza del Popolo needs a bit of a clean up. |
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| Todi. I took this photo for the vivid colours more than anything else. |
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I spent my last day in Perugia during the Umbria Jazz festival. I love this gate. It was built in Etruscan times as one of the original gates to the city. A long time later, when the city was conquered by the Romans, the Emperor Augustus had his name carved around the arc. You can't really make it out in this photo, but it's still quite legible - AVGVSTA PERVSIA - Augustus, Perugia. Bloody vandal. |
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| There were two main outdoor stages, plus itinerant musicans on the main Corso and the little alleys joining it. This is blues man Les Getrex. | And this is soul sister Sharon Jones. |
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| An American college Big Band were playing in the main piazza. Note that the event is sponsored by Peroni, but the advertising is strangely reminiscent of the Budweiser branding. That's because the owners of Bud bought out Peroni last year. I don't think it will improve the beer. |
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| I don't know if these guys were out specifically because of the American connection, but they weren't being agressive or offensive. They made their point though. |
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| I have no idea who this band were, but they were great. They were set up in a little alley - with a beer stall. |
Then, in the evening, I went to the big concert in the stadium: Eric Clapton with Robert Cray. This one wasn't free, but I'd bought a ticket via the Internet before going to Italy. The place was bunged! I've been saying 20,000 people, but that's just a wild guess. The Blues as played by Eric are just a little synthetic for me, but I enjoyed the evening well enough. |
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I was a little surprised that so many people seemed to be fans, and not just there for the event (like me). They'd sing along and cheer the intros and so on. There was a great atmosphere, and it's a wonderful venue. |
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| A cast of thousands. Do you really need 13 people on stage to play the Blues? |