Ravenna, Montefalco, and Assisi
We left Padova for our hotel in Montefalco, the Villa Pambuffeti, our base for touring Assisi. On the way, we stopped in Ravenna, once the capital of the western portion of the Roman empire after the principal capital had moved to Constantinople. The primary attraction of Ravenna is its treasure trove of mosaics, dating from the fifth century.
There are eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Ravenna, all featuring stunning mosaics such as these. The oldest, and probably the most beautiful, are in the mausoleum, (pictured above), of Galla Placida, who died in the year 450, and was the daughter of the Roman Emporer, Theodosis.
Ravenna's central square features several cafes and a great gelato shop. Try the meloni--cantaloupe flavored!
Ravenna's signature food is a simple sandwich they call a piadina. It was cheap, quick, and outstanding.
Dante is sometimes called Italy's Shakespeare. He fell out of political favor in his native Florence and was exiled to Ravenna, where he died. There's a memorial to him in the Santa Croce church in Florence but it's not his tomb--his remains are still in Ravenna. Every year the Florence town council asks for the return of his body and every year Ravenna says "No."
We next traveled to the tiny village of Montefalco where we stayed at a lovely family operated country inn just a few hundred yards from the village gates. After a welcome prosecco, we strolled to the town and hiked up the central street to the top of the town. (We thought this was a strenuous climb. We hadn't seen anything, yet!) From our vantage point we could see across a broad valley to the town off Assisi, our destination for the next day. We enjoyed some excellent food and wine.
Our hotel
The small town square at the top of Montefalco
The Montefalco climb
The view across the valley to Assisi
There were a couple of very nice restaurants on the town square. We opted for the one with the best outside table and had one of the best meals of the trip. We all had beef, a specialty of the area, paired with one of the two wines for which the area is known: Montefalco Sagrantino, a full-bodied red, and Montefalco Rosso, which is somewhat lighter and sweeter.
Assisi is, of course, the home of the founder of the Franciscans, St. Francis. His tomb is located in the basilica on the left side of the photo. The town has its roots in Roman times and has been an important pilgrimage site since Francis' death in 1226. The town runs uphill from the basilica.
St. Francis died in the small chapel in the photo to the left. After his death, the chapel was decorated in the manner you see and then the much larger church was built around it. Behind the church are cells where Francis and the other monks lived and a garden with a statue of St. Francis.
Even that was not enough to properly honor Francis, and so this basilica was built on the hilltop, where his tomb now lies. The building is beautiful and houses some marvelous works of art. Unfortunately, interior photos were prohibited.
Cloisters
Franciscan monks from all over the world were everywhere, wearing their traditional robes and sandals.
As you leave the basilica, the town of Assisi opens up before you and you see that the Franciscans have planted greenery with contrasting colors spelling the word "PAX," Latin for peace.
Assisi was one of several places where we were provided with local guides who have a specialized level of knowledge about their particular communities. They were uniformly excellent.
This oval wall marks the perimeter of a Roman arena.
Assisi's mixed Roman and medieval roots are apparent everywhere you look. These column formed the facade of a pagan Roman temple that was converted to a Christian church. The bell tower added in the middle ages.
Assisi is a beautiful town with barely a hint of modernity. It felt as if you were visiting during the 13th century, with virtually no cars, no chain stores, and no fast food franchises.
We were again lucky enough to arrive on a market day with dozens of vendors selling pork sandwiches, fruits, nuts, vegetables, clothing, hardware, flowers, and even pets.I still don't know how they got all their stands up the very steep hills through the very narrow streets.
About this time of the trip we began to understand why they were called "Hill Towns."
Truffles
After our day in Assisi, we took a short drive to a truffle farm to see how well-trained dogs hunt this black gold fungi. We learned that truffles grow around oak trees, so the owners of the farm grow oak trees. We walked out among the trees with Bruno and his dogs. Upon his command, the dogs would race out into the woods, quickly find (what may have been seeded) truffles, pick them up in their mouths, and return them unharmed to Bruno for a pasta reward. We then had an excellent dinner at the farm featuring truffles in every dish.
Scrambled eggs and truffles
In the morning we left Montefalco for Orvieto, stopping on the way at Deruta, a well-known pottery-making center. We stopped at a family-owned pottery. Trina'sfather was a potter and she was very knowledgeable about the processes involved.
We saw a potter throw a pot,
and the pottery being fired
and then being painted by hand.
Mother, Father, and Daughter all working in the business
Pottery and ceramics of all sorts being sold in the gift shop. (Yes, they ship back to the United States.)