The Hill Towns of Tuscany and Civita di Bagnoregio

July 26, 2010

The Hill Towns of Tuscany and Sunset at Civita di Bagnoregio

After our farmhouse breakfast, we, that is, Elaine, decided that we needed to sit in an outdoor cafe in the main square of Siena and people-watch for awhile. I had a mocchaccino that I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed. Touring the Duomo, with Rick Steves in hand, was worth every cent of the admission charge. The Italian architecture is quite different from the French and it reminded us of the Duomo in Florence that we saw 36 years ago and will see again in a few days.

We headed south along the back roads to tour the hill towns of Tuscany. Without exaggeration, I probably took 50 pictures of landscapes along the way. The road had several pull- out spots where others had obviously felt compelled to do the same. Rolling hills, patchwork-quilt fields of wheat, grapevines, sunflowers, and olive groves punctuated by rows of cypress trees lining the skyline provided one OMG after another.
First stop: Montalcino, famous for Brunella of Montalcino vino rosso. We wandered through this village, set high on a hilltop with a commanding view of the countryside and had a focaccia panini in a little enoteca, complete with a glass of lovely red before heading to the next stop: Montepulciano, whose red wine we had previously sampled at home.

Then we headed further south to Orvieto, our destination for the night. I always feel a little nervous just before arriving at our accommodation. Did I pick a good one? Is it going to be a dive? So far we have had fabulous rooms every single night. And this one is no exception. Situated right smack at the base of the escarpment of the walled city of Orvieto, it is a B&B tucked in an olive grove with a colourful garden and a pergola draped in lush grapevines. Our room is scrupulously clean and can only be described as cute. It has a fresh white coverlet on the (unusually) comfortable bed, country style furnishings, decals of cats at the base of the walls, a colourful wooden parrot on a perch over the bed and a large bathroom. We have a wrought iron table and chairs set on a stone patio surrounded by flowers and hand-painted stones.

We were anxious to see the nearby town of Civita di Bagnoregio, which, according to Rick Steves, is Italy's ultimate hill town (www.civitadibagnoregio.it). It dates from Etruscan and ancient Roman times and has a distinctly medieval feel to it. Perched on a hill of soft rock that has eroded over time, it is connected to the rest of the world by a
pedestrian bridge. We read that only fourteen people, all elderly, still live here but it appeared to us that there were several recently renovated (and likely very pricey) apartments. Wandering through this ancient town as the sun was setting and imagining day- to- day life in medieval times was a memory we will hold on to.

Also not to be forgotten was my moment of panic a few hours later in Orvieto. After dining in a trattoria on a cobblestone street, we went to find the access to our car in the parking lot. Locked. Closed at 21:00. It's 21:30. Our car is about four levels underground in this city of caverns and we have no idea whatsoever how to get down to it. It's dark. The flashlight that we were given at the B&B is, you guessed it, in the car. Good thing Italians are friendly and helpful. A desk clerk from a nearby hotel helped us out and we were on our way "home".

Enough experiences for this girl for one day.