Sansepolcro

Sansepolcro is a quiet, safe, slow paced town renowned as the home place of the famous painter Piero Della Francesca and it contains some of his most well known works.   I came to the area mostly to meet up with a lovely couple, Anna and Fabio who I met a few times at Markets for Antiques.  They are world travelers who live among the lower slopes of the Appenines only 4 Kms from the city.  I was very lucky to arrive on the evening of a great party nearby.  Interesting people, beautiful surroundings, terrific food and vino.  It can't get any better.  Of course the weather in Italy helps so much when hanging precious decorations outdoors.

A terrific Yurt in the garden

Fabio and Frederico

With Anna and Fabio

Felice the host, he made the Yurt





Camping is so different to staying in hotels, one meets the most interesting people and they're all on holidays and in a great mood.  Here's just a few of those I've had fun with lately.

15 August celebrated by about 50 people at the camp site.  A three course meal was ordered in and the wine was flowing.  All that for 12 euros.

Graziano, the wine maker par excellance.

My lovely neighbours from Holland, Monique and Geerd Jan with Soren and Willeke.  We had such fun times together I missed them when it was time to move on.

A farewell grill at Anna and Antonello's (from dAquila)
with Birgit and Hubert from Germany.

Birgit and I at lunch in Pienza.

CHURCHES

So much of the beautiful Italian art is in the churches so have been visiting them on a regular basis for the first time in years.
This lovely little church is in Assisi.  Isn't it just the kind of place to encourage meditation and prayer.  No gilded pictures, no pious eyes cast upwards, no painted statues.  Just a simple, quiet, very old building.

The confessional

Another very famous church in Assisi is, of course, that of St Francis.  Although very large it is very accessible and free to roam around looking at the wonderful frescoes attributed to Giotto.  On the lower lever there is also the tomb of St Francis himself.

The steps up to the church

The nave and frescoes.



One of the largest churches is to be found in Orvieto, home of the popes during the middle ages.   It is enormous.

Orvieto Cathedral

LAZY DAYS IN TRASIMENO

Sitting or lying around under the hot Tuscan sun feeling very reluctant to do anything more energetic than reach for a glass of something cool  or stand under the cold water shower by the lake.

Here in this family campsite the children run around freely making friends regardless of the different languages spoken.  All the Nordic and Dutch little flaxen haired children mingling with the mops of dark curly Italian kids.  The lake is not deep and the whole area is very quiet and safe .

Trasimeno is close to many interesting cities but the call of site seeing is not very strong this August weekend.

I was recently in Orvieto, the town of Papal refuge during medieval times.  It has an enormous cathedral to rival St. Peters and it also has St Patrick’s Well – This is no ordinary well and was built down in to the Etruscan remains of the city.  Can you imagine it is vast, over 53 meters deep and 13 meters wide.  Back in the 1500s donkeys used the two spiral staircases one for ascending, one for descending and each independent of each other.  The donkeys carried the water up 248 steps to the surface.  There are 70 windows cut into the wall to light the stairs.  An unbelievable feat of engineering.