The Hill Towns of Umbria (5/15/09)

Today we saw the rest of Orvieto, waking up early to see the interior of the Duomo before we had to check out of our hotel. We had drizzle off and on all day, but nothing bad. The grey skies cleared by mid-afternoon. Anyway, the Duomo was built wider at the back than the front to make it seem longer than it actually was. Two of the side chapels were incredible (No photos allowed there) and contained Singorelli’s frescoes depicting the Last Judgement.



From there we had our Car Rental adventure. After finally finding the Hertz, we upgraded to an Automatic transmission (so I could drive the crazy roads instead of Lisa) that they happened to have. I barely fit in the Fiat Panda, but we were zipping through the hillsides before we knew it. We headed towards Civita di Bagnoregio, a crumbling hill town with only two permanent residents left. It was absolutely incredible. There we met Maurisio at his family’s restaurant where they’ve been making Olive Oil since the 1500s (no, not a misprint). Without a doubt, this was the best bruschetta either of us have ever had, and it was just bread (toasted over a wood fire), a little salt, and their homemade oil. He and his father were very enthusiastic hosts, and everything we had was to die for. A must stop on any Tuscan/Umbrian tour.



Once we left Civita, I was very happy we had the GPS, because we drove and hour and a half to Assisi, and my navigator fell asleep. We drove along the Tiber River for a while, before we hopped on the Autostrada and made our way to Assisi. Once in Assisi, we had a tough time figuring things out as driving in the city walls isn’t always allowed, and our hotel clerk didn’t speak English. Once we found parking we were able to get to our hotel, and head out to see things before it got too late.
We visited the Basilica of St. Clare, of the order of the Poor Clares. She is buried there, and they also have some of the clothes both she and St. Francis wore. (Sorry, no pictures allowed inside). We then walked up to the Basilica of San Rufino, which is actually the Patron Saint of Assisi. Both Sts. Clare and Francis were baptized there. (No pictures here either) The city of Assisi is bigger than we realized and really one giant hill. It was a long climb from our hotel up to the Basilicas. However, being on a hill gives the city great views of the Umbrian countryside. We finished the night with a walk past the temple of Minerva, an old roman temple converted into a church, and all the way down to the Basilica of St. Francis.



Since we had a great, and late, lunch, we just settled for some Gelato and had an early night. Tomorrow we head into Tuscany, some small wine towns, and eventually arrive in Siena.