Dear Readers,
Welcome back. Marty and I have been to Italy many times. We’ve been to the major cities (Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan) as well as to the Lake District (north of Milan), Piedmont and the Amalfi coast as well as Sicily. So since we obviously love Italy, I decided we should visit an area we have never been to. I decided on Umbria which is smack in the middle of the country- north of Rome and south of Florence. We will be visiting quite a number of small hilltop towns using two towns as a base.
We are starting from Perugia which is the capital of Umbria. We are staying at the Sino Brufani Hotel which is an old world elegant hotel. We arrived here late yesterday afternoon in time to unpack and have dinner. Since I knew we would be tired, I opted to have dinner at the hotel. It did not disappoint. Our first meal in Italy on this trip started with a lovely cheese board and then we both had pasta. It is Italy after all! Mine was fusilloni – the largest, fattest fusilli I’ve ever seen; delicious with asparagus and zucchini blossoms. And, of course, a lovely Sangiovese wine. Do not despair; I won’t describe each meal or you’ll all be starving!
Perugia is quite small. We visited its major sites in less than a day. We started with the Fontana Maggore – a medieval fountain with 2 pink and white marble basins, one inside the other, surrounded by carved marble tiles representing the months of the year & the signs of the zodiac.
Then we went to the Duomo which claims to have Mary’s wedding ring which is almost the size of a bracelet.
Right next to the Duomo is the Palazzo deli Priori. It’s an imposing palace built in the 13th century. The facade is decorated with a griffin which is the symbol of Perugia and a lion which is a symbol of Perugia’s power.
Perugia goes back to the time of the Etruscans & artifacts abound including a well. Here’s the top and a peak at the bottom.
Part of the fun in traveling the way we do is coming across something I hadn’t researched in advance. Today’s adventure was the Casa Museo di Palazzo Sorbello which is an ancient palace dating back to the 17th century. It houses a collection of paintings, porcelain, printed works and embroidered fabrics. The printed works included an original set of the Diderot encyclopedia! We had a delightful spur of the moment private tour.
And here’s a typical street:
Dinner was similar to last night. We shared a pate. I had agnolotti; again, the largest agnolotti I’ve ever seen and a lovely wine from Umbria.
Thus ends day 1 of our current adventure. Stay tuned for more. Looking forward to your comments. Send them to my email, not to the comments at the end of my Haber Report; that doesn’t always work.
❤️
Your intrepid reporter,
Irene