The thing about the Romans is they liked building towns on top of hills. The Umbrian and Tuscan countryside is littered with them!
Our WorkAway was situated 5 minutes outside of one of them, Citta Della Pieve (CDP for short), and we have been into CDP several times. On our first weekend our host, Liesbeth, gave us a guided tour which was great because we could repeat the tour with Chris Gasser and his wife and daughter when they came to visit (see footnote).
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| Citta Della Pieve (With Modern Addition Of Power Lines!) |
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| Typical CDP Street and Delivery Van |
One of the cutest things in town is Vicolo Baciodonna. It's a tiny street that you have to turn sideways to go through. If a couple fancied each other they would go through from opposite ends and as they turned give each other a bacio (kiss) as they passed. The tradition still holds.
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| Anthony's Favourite Street |
Other hilltop towns in the area we visited are Montepulciano, Civita Di Bagnoregio, Orvieto, Castiglione Del Lago, Panicale and Assisi.
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| Basilica of Francesco (Assisi) |
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| Assisi Laneway |
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| Basilica And Statue - Assisi |
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| Montepulciano Clock Tower |
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| View From Montepulciano |
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| Civita Di Bagnoregio - Slowly Falling Into The Valley As The Hill Erodes Away |
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| Orvieto (We Harvested Some Figs From A Tree At This Viewpoint) |
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| Local Umbrian Cheese And Pulses |
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| Castigliano Del Lago - Lake View From One Of The City Gates |
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| Panicale - Street Flags |
One of our favourite daytrips was to Bagni Di San Filippo. These are sulphur springs about an hour away from us and we have managed two outings there – one with Liesbeth’s daughters, Mandy and Tara. So beautiful, unspoilt and relaxing to sit in the hot pools (well actually we avoided the hot ones and went for the warm ones)
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| Dipping Toes To See How Warm They Are |
Footnote:
Chris and I were really good friends at Bryanston High School but lost touch when he went back to Europe. The last time we saw each other was around 1989. After trying a few times to find him via Google, Facebook etc, I eventually saw him on LinkedIn about 4 years ago. This led to us being in contact again and when he found out we were going to be in Italy, he decided to come and spend the weekend with his wife,Julia and daughter, Jade. We had such a lovely catch up with Chris and introduction to Julia and Jade and hopefully will stay in touch. For those of you who remember Chris I have included photos below.
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| Aperol Spritz On The Deck At Pian Della Bandina (WorkAway Venue) |
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| Anthony & Jade Performing With The Muppets |
How gorgeous were those towns and villages!!! Liked best the Muppet show... so nice to find long lost friends! love to you both
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