More Umbrian towns, towns, towns!

October 31, Thursday
Halloween in Italy. Yes, we did see school kids dressed in costume, with many witches in the crowd and a few trick or treaters in the evening, but in these sleepy hill-towns, Halloween was pretty quiet. For our last day in this region, we thought we'd tackle 3 nearby towns; one each for breakfast, lunch and dinner!
Breakfast in Spello: a very steep hill-town. Got in a major hamstring work out before breakfast. You'd think our hamstrings would be made of steel by now!

Strada (street) in Spello

We were in search of a little breakfast bar, but came upon the town's main church-can I say that when there is a church on nearly every corner? Santa Maria Maggiore is quite a gem for this tiny town. A man guards the small Baglioni Chapel and charges 1 euro per person for admission and to turn on the lights. Why all the fuss? The preservation of the frescoes by Benardino di Betto, known as Pinturicchio. Of what? You guessed it: Life of the Virgin! But really, this doesn't get old at all--these are fabulous! Now I'm having fun finding my favorite part of each fresco. I can't decide if the young man to the right of the horse is gazing to the Heavens with reverence or just thinking, "alright already-I'm so bored"!

Pinturicchio's "Nativity/Gifts of the Magi"

Then thinking we would surely get breakfast now, we stumbled upon the next church with another Pinturicchio treasure and couldn't resist filming this one. What are those flying baby-faced things around Mary? The strangest angels I've ever seen!

Pinturicchio's "Madonna..."

Flying angels?

Ahh...finally a breakfast bar for cappuccino, tea and cornetti (croissants).  One thing that has been fun on this trip is finding the hidden unexpected gems--in Spoletto, it was walking across the gorge. Today it was ducking inside a simple appearing breakfast bar to find this giardino outback with a gorgeous view!

Breakfast with a view

Feeling fortified we tackled more of the town's hilly streets, to the top of town for more great views. The pietra rossa stone used for the streets and buildings gives everything a warm, pinky-beige glow.

We walked up...

...and up!

Pietra rossa stone

Lunch in Bevagna. This town is in the valley so, great joy, it is flat! Its claim to fame: it was literally built on top of Roman ruins. We strolled around and then, you guessed it, had lunch in the piazza.

Roman columns embedded in this medieval wall

Piazza in Bevagna

We have to confess being a bit under-whelmed by Bevagna. Maybe it was because the lunch was only fair. Maybe because some of the things I wanted to see were closed-who knows why: off-season, renovation or ? We were disappointed to find the (supposed) actual rock that St. Francis stood upon to deliver his sermon to the birds, was imbedded in this wall and impregnated with iron bars. Quite strange.

Famous rock?

But saving the day and still making us bend over for a complete belly-laugh, was the "tour" we got at the Roman bath ruins. We walked in and were greeted a woman manning a desk-we figured for payment. But no, she was there to offer a tour (there was only one room). We said sure and she started. It took a moment to appreciate she was speaking in English, and though Italians speak fast in Italian, we hadn't heard one speak English this fast. I don't think she drew a breath! It went something like this: here are the mosaics-rectangle sea creature-circle-dolphins-triton,king of the sea-see the flower-look at the wall-water heated here-steam there-men/women separate or together-sauna-body or face-bye. And we were out, stunned and then looked at each other and started the kind of laughing that gives your ab's a work-out. Might be talking/laughing about that one for awhile!

Roman baths in Bevagna

Dinner in Montefalco. Another hill-top town with character. Lovely Piazza with a well-known restaurant, L'Alchimista. We were able to make a dinner reservation and booked the last table-thanks to off-season lack of crowds-or would have been out of luck for this popular spot. Grazie, Enrica per il tuo buon consiglio!

Piazza in Montefalco

Buon ristorante 

We walked around town to the various "punto panoramico"; Montefalco is known as the "balcony over Umbria".  Amazing views in all directions.

Valley view

Then onto the artistic highlight of the day-the Chiesa San Francesco and the amazing fresco cycle of the life of St. Francis by Benozzo Gozzoli. Ok, so we were just in "the" Chiesa (Basilica) San Francesco in Assisi, and saw "the" fresco cycle of the life of the Saint by Giotto....but I really like Gozzoli's style. His colors and dimension are profound. I love the details-especially of the buildings in the background.

Gozzoli's "St. Francis preaches to the birds"

"Francis Renounces his Father's Possessions"

We also found this interesting painting. I guess Mary was not beating the child, but the demon that was trying to take over! At first glance, it looks a bit scary. 

Long day of touring three towns. Fortunately we had a great appetite for a fabulous dinner!

La cena buonissima!