Civita di Bagnoregio
We took a late afternoon trip from Orvieto to Civita di Bagnoregio. Set on a tabletop of granite, accessible only by a narrow bridge across a gorge is the medieval town of Civita. Once a thriving, albeit tiny, town, Civita now exists solely for the benefit of tourists and a handful of Romans and Florentines who keep weekend homes here. A measure of just how stunning the town and its setting is just how popular it is with tourists. You can only reach it on foot and the walk to and from the town is strenuous, with many, many steps even before you get to the bridge, which is, itself a pretty good uphill hike. But you'll be oh so glad you made the trek.
Even though we had seen several photos of Civita well before our visit, our first glimpse of the town sitting on its promontory, was jaw-dropping. It must have been impregnable to the attacks it was built to prevent.
The bridge is steeper than what it appears from a distance.
Scenes from Civita
Restaurant recommendation: Trina told us her favorite restaurant in Orvieto, which was run by friends of hers, was Il Malandrino Bistrot. We didn't have a reservation, but when we dropped her name, the owners made room for us, gave us some free samples of some new dishes they were working on, and served us a really great meal, one of the best we had on the trip. Remember, tell them "Trina sent me."
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The next morning, we got up early for stops at an Etruscan museum and for a cooking lesson on our way to Siena in the small town of Chianciano.
The displays at the museum were very good, but what made the stop extraordinary was Roberto, here with Trina, who runs the museum and works part of the time as a guide for Rick Steves. (You can see him traveling with Rick on his PBS shows in and around Siena.) He was very informative and very, very funny.
This is a funerary piece, containing the ashes of a child. More than 2,000 years old, it puts you in mind of Michaelangelo's Pieta.
Pieces recovered from an Etruscan statue of a chariot and its rider. The detail is amazing.
More funerary pottery.
Just down the road from the museum was La Pietriccia, an agritourismo, or combination working farm, country inn, and restaurant. Here, the owner, Stefano, is lecturing us on European Union agricultural policy.
Stefano gave us instruction on making ravioli, pesto, and other dishes, which then became our lunch. Molly thought we had all done a good job.