We are now in our last day here in our little haven of Chiusi. We have still found places to visit and restaurants to eat at!

We visited Bevanga , a medieval town surrounded by well preserved ancient walls and NOT on a hill.

 

The central Piazza Silvestri is the home of 2 beautiful 13th Century Churches, there are 17 in this tiny village. The Church of San Michele Arcangelo was beautiful both inside and out, as was the Romanesque Basilica of Saint Sylvester , which was built in 1195 , and well preserved in it’s original structure.

 

 

It was very pleasant wandering through the winding streets of this very pretty small village.

 

 

 

We then called into the slightly larger town of Trevi which is “perched magnificently” along the side of a hill.

Trevi is well known throughout Italy for it’s high quality Olive oil, hence loads of shops selling olive oil , and it even has an Olive oil Museum, which we did not visit!

The main square , the Piazza Mazzini, is the home of the Palazzo Comunale (1522) and the 13th Century Torre del Comune (tower). Both were substantially remodelled after an earthquake in 1703. Some lovely views of the surrounding countryside are to be seen from the Belvedere.

Two smaller villages not far from us are Cetona and Sarteano.  Cetona was our “Friday night Pizza town where we enjoyed great pizzas with of course a beer or 2!

 

The Belvedere at Cetona gives you magnificent views across the countryside. As most of them do!

Sarteano was a pleasant surprise, not overly touristy , and a very pretty place. Piazza XXIV Giugno , the main square, was a good people watching and coffee spot. The small winding streets and alleyways were great to wander through.

 

We have noticed along some back road “truck routes” , the working girls are in action. You see them sitting in their plastic chairs, under their umbrellas (or the “cheaper ones ” sitting on milk crates) with their mobile phones , waiting for a customer! Quite a sight. Needless to say Rhonda did not let Greg stop!

We visited the medieval walled village of Castiglione del Largo which gave us a great view of Lake Trasimeno ( above)

 

 

It was very touristy with loads of shops selling the usual “tourist stuff” but we can now tick it off the list!

 

 

 

We also went to Citta del Castello and really enjoyed it , probably because it was quiet and no tourists!

 

The 16th century walled old medieval village had a magnificent Cathedral. Although the outside was not that awe inspiring, when we went inside our view changed.

 

The cylindrical Bell tower (one of 2 in Italy) dates back to the Roman age. Its lower part is Roman and the top is Gothic! The Civic Tower standing in the main square was built in 1474 and has been used as a jail. We found a good spot for a refreshing afternoon beer!

Almost every afternoon we sit on our terrace and watch the thunderstorms roll in. Sometimes they miss us , but last Sunday we had a huge one. Lightening, thunder and hail and a power blackout! Greg became a little worried about Olaf but luckily he had no damage.

Of course we are still visiting hill top villages , even though we are almost over them!

 

The small hamlet of Castel Ritaldi had a great castle. It also , more importantly had a good coffee stop! The next stop was another small village called Gualdo Cattaneo, with a fortress being the main attraction. It’s construction began in 1494 and completed in 1500. It’s “claim to fame” is that Galileo Galilei stayed there in 1624! Ah history!

 

Another days touring took us to 2 great (yes hill top) villages. The walls of Amelia were built in the Roman period and are some of the oldest in Italy. The Porta Roma (above) was built in the 3rd Century , but partly re built in the 17th century. The Duomo was quite spectacular inside and worth a photo. The gold was quite impressive.

 

We loved the views of the rooftops from the tops of all these villages. The 30 metre tall Civic tower was also impressive.

 

The second village was Narni and looked stunning when we drove in as it was perched on the side of a hill.

 

 

Our host Raffaele told us about “the church with no roof” , so we decided to visit. The Abby of San Galgano was quite amazing. It was built between 1218 and 1288 by the Cistercian Monks and was the first Gothic church built in Tuscany.

In 1786 lightening struck the bell tower , which in turn collapsed the roof and the church was de consecrated in 1789.

 

 

A short walk from the Abby is the Hermitage of Monte Siepi. It is now a chapel that was built after San Galgano’s death in 1181. In the middle of the chapel is a stone in which he placed his sword and swore to ” give up fighting and begin a new life in faith”. Believe it or not ….but apparently research done in 2001 shows that it is true!

 

 

 

We are still enjoying the local food and wine and tonight we will have our last plate of pasta and Greg will drool over his last panna cotta. He is now known as “Senore Panna Cotta” at our favourite restaurant in the village!

 

Today is our last day here in Chiusi. It was spent packing and cleaning. Olaf has had a wash both inside and out and he is sparkling! Rhonda has had a visit to the hairdresser! Considering her lack of Italian , and the hairdressers lack of English, the hair cut didn’t turn out too bad at all!

We will then take 3 or 4 days to drive across France which will allow us 3 or 4 days of French food and wine….a change from pasta and Rhonda can have her duck!!!!!!

We will then spend our last 4 weeks in Spain. We have enjoyed our stay in Italy but there are some things we definitely will not miss, namely the roads and the drivers.

So for the last time in Italy

Ciao ciao

The Robertos!