Zurers in Italy 2023

[Jim Zurer]

Friday June 16: Day 4 - Vercelli (part 1)​

A beautiful day....we eat breakfast on the terrace again.

Today is market day in Vercelli.....and it is quite extensive. The streets leading to the Piazza Cavour are crowded with stalls and we find the entire piazza completely taken over by the market.

All the stalls we can see are clothing or merchandise, so Diana asks someone where the produce and food sellers are. We are directed to a further piazza which does have fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, cheese, etc.

The cherries look great so I get on line with the Vercellese housewives and hold my ground waiting my turn in the crush. It is worth the effort...the cherries are delicious.

Our plan this morning is to get in the car and follow the itinerary of castles in Vercelli province. There are extensive rice fields on this route as well but we stop in a number of towns to get closer looks at the castles. In Casanova Elvo, the locals seem fascinated by the tourists "invading" their village to see their castle.

We also stop in Balocco where the castle and clock tower dominate the small village.

and in the larger town of Burunzo where the castle complex is quite extensive.

End of Part 1 of Day 4

 

[Jim Zurer]

Friday June 16: Day 4 - Vercelli (part 2)​

We go back to Vercelli and, since we are not hungry, we decide to have a gelato for lunch. On our way across the Piazza Cavour, we see a lot of police activity and people lined up. Today is the day that the Mille Miglia, a historic Italian car parade, is to pass through Vercelli. We are less interested than the other spectators but we do watch as the first sports cars roar by.

While eating our gelato in a neighboring piazza, a lady shouts at us from her balcony in Italian, alerting us to the excitement on the street and seems annoyed when we ignore her.

The Museo Borgogna is the biggest art museum in town...started as a private collection by Antonio Borgogna, a 19th century landowner, lawyer, politician, world traveler, and art collector. The collection was opened to the public in 1908 as directed in his will. As we approach the entrance, I see scurrying around inside. The staff are getting into position to "welcome" us....since we are the only visitors in the place.

We get our own private escort who shadows us as we move around the collection. The first floor is extremely daunting....there are rooms and rooms of early Italian church paintings and frescoes. We get a bit fatigued as we move from room to room but there are always one or two works that attract us.

Here are some of the paintings that we especially liked from the three floors and hundreds of paintings, etc. (All photos of paintings from the Museo Borgogna website.)

I am a sucker for Last Suppers....

A view of Venice by William James

Saint Girolamo in his study by Hendrick van Steenwijck II

A micromosaic of the Roman Forum by Michelangelo Barberi

La Chiesa Interdetta by Arthur Severin Johann Nikutowski

And our favorite, per ottanta centesimi (For eighty cents) by Angelo Morbelli.

For more about this painting, take a look at this video.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=731328718010964

We end up really enjoying our afternoon at the museum even though we were almost done in at the beginning by the rooms and rooms of madonnas and cherubs.

Here is a link to the collection.

https://www.museoborgogna.it/le-collezioni-2/

We need an activity to bridge the time until dinner so it seems to be a perfect time to find a self-service laundromat and get ahead of our dirty laundry. We find a very good one (large, clean, modern, and with wi-fi) close by. Diana gets to quilt some while we wait.

Dinner is at a restaurant just off the Piazza Cavour, an easy five minute walk from our B&B. We arrive a little before 8 pm....and the place is closed up tight. But we are not alone...before they open the door, there are a dozen people standing in the street waiting to get in. Once inside, we are seated in a very inviting, unusually decorated room

and have a very good dinner. We share an excellent risotto with guanciale and then Diana has a favorite dish of hers...lamb chops...and I have the Piemonte fritto misto...lots of different organ meats, vegetables, and sweets all mixed up on one plate. The wine...a local barbera...is very drinkable and the only disappointment is a panna cotta that is too gelatinous for my taste.

Tomorrow we leave Vercelli for Sovana in southern Tuscany.

Jim and Diana

 

[Mary Hanson]

Thursday June 15: Day 3 - Vercelli (part 1)​

Today it is warm enough to take breakfast outside on the terrace....apparently, the place filled up last night since all the tables are occupied.

We walked over to the synagogue where we have arranged to go inside. It was built in the late 19th century when there was a flourishing Jewish community in Vercelli. In fact, the Piedmont region always had a significant Jewish population. The community became more visible after emancipation under Napoleon and with the creation of the Italian nation in the 19th century. However, since World War II, there is now only one person...a very old woman living in a nursing home. The synagogue is quite grand...though showing signs of neglect. According to the representative of the Jewish community, there are infrequent celebrations--bar mitzvahs, etc.--held here but it mostly remains locked up.

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(photo courtesy of the Vercelli Jewish community)

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It's really an impressive building and we try to imagine it when it was filled with Jewish men and women, praying.

On the sidewalk outside, there are three "stumbling stones" (stolpersteine in German, pietra inciampo in Italian) ...part of a European movement memorializing those murdered in the Holocaust.

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We get in the car and take a ride into the countryside....we follow the itinerary laid out in a tourist brochure "Medieval Corners: Among the rice fields" which deals with "the history of Vercelli agriculture and the transformation of the territory from lowland woodland to rice-growing land (which) can be traced in a small strip of plain, between Vercelli, Crescentino and Trino, known as the Grange Triangle."

The ride takes us through miles and miles of rice paddies. You can see the Piemontese mountains in the distance.

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We make stops in a number of small towns along the way and visit (see from outside) some of the impressive walled farmhouses with closed courtyards (Granges) that were integral to the development of the rice economy.

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Here is a link to more information about the Grange triangle.

https://visitvalsesiavercelli.it/en/scopri/itinerari/exploring-the-grange/

While driving, I spot two large towers in the distance which look like they are connected to a nuclear power plant.

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We drive closer and discover that it is in fact a decommissioned nuclear facility...and the area has been transformed into a major solar panel farm by ENEL, the Italian electric power company.

We find ourselves in Crescentino at lunch time and we decide to break a long-standing rule (often breached) not to have a big lunch with wine if we want to do more sightseeing in the afternoon. However, the restaurant that popped up from my internet search looks so appealing that we opt for breaking the rule. The restaurant--Archigusto--is in the back of a wine shop in the old (rundown) section of Crescentino. By contrast, the restaurant is refined and appealing....white tablecloths on tables set in front of shelves of wine bottles from all over Italy. To make a long story short, lunch is amazing....we split a carne cruda (delicious), Diana has a local cheese platter (Robiola) with red onion marmalade that makes her very happy and I have a very different version of the local rice dish panissa (rice, beans, and salami)...this one is baked in the oven and is terrific. We even risk a glass of wine each...surprisingly a wine from Etna in Sicily...from the producer Cavanera. (Coincidentally, I just had clients staying at the Cavanera Wine Resort a week ago.) Definitely worth breaking the rules for....

(end of part 1)

I love Sorano and Sovano. The drive between them is spectacular. One of my favorites. The area is famous for its history of bandits. There is an actual tour d' bandits. There used to be a map in Farnese that shows the road and history.
Farnese (a hamlet of about 350 people has Gambero Rosso restaurant Piazette d sole. 2 weeks before Covid we visited our favorite restaurant in Farnese Brigante

Special Alert​

Reports will be delayed but stay tuned. Today was a travel day....we drove from Vercelli in the north to Sovana in southern Tuscany and the traffic was fierce.

We are staying at the Hotel Sovana and Resort for a whole week

https://www.sovanahotel.com/

and I will get back on track tomorrow.

Here is a preview of our time in Tuscany.

The "back" side (from the south) of Mount Amiata...we mostly have seen it from the north in the Val d'Orcia.

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Poppies and olive trees...we must be back in Tuscany.

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Jim and Diana

We love Sovano. The drive to Sorano is among the top drives in Italy for scenery. As I am sure you know Pitigliano is close and while it's Jewish history is spectacular very little exists today.
The area has a fascinating history of Bandits. You can tour their hideouts etc. The information is sparse and mostly on signs equivalent to our roadside markers. Most of the info is in Farnese (small comune 321 people according to ISTAT). THERE IS A Gambero Rosso restaurant in town Piazette de Sole. Small, run by 2 sisters weekends only. Reservations mandatory.
The area is also famous for wolves so if you are into wilderness hiking be forewarned.
Hot springs abound. I think if you dug a hole randomly anywhere it would become a thermal hot spring. The commercial springs at Saturnia are overrated, overpriced and overrun. There are the free famous waterfall hot springs and maybe this year it won't be crazy parking crowded. If you go wear aqua shoes, the rocks in the falls are slippery.
If you haven't been the museum and Etruscan graves at Tarquinia are worth the drive. Tons of Etruscan sites in the area.
Little known is Castro. Which is a town that was totally destroyed by a pope in 1642? Don't quote me on the date. . There is an archeological park which you will need to get directions to from the police in Farnese. I think it's location has been deliberately obscured to prevent antiquities theft.
The olive oil from the local mill wins awards IN ITALY. It's on the road between Farnese and Ischia d Castro.
Lake Bolsena has a cruise you can take. And since you seem to be a fan of white wines Montepulciano(on Bolsena) has gorgeous whites. Nathaniel Hawthorne's wife described them as "like drinking diamonds". After reading that I wonder just how much of his work is hers.

We have spent many happy months in the area and always have found something new. As soon as Italy adds towns with declining population not just zones? We will move.

 

[Ian Sutton]

Our plan this morning is to get in the car and follow the itinerary of castles in Vercelli province. There are extensive rice fields on this route as well but we stop in a number of towns to get closer looks at the castles. In Casanova Elvo, the locals seem fascinated by the tourists "invading" their village to see their castle.

View attachment 41535

I love those moments where there is a mixture of surprise and pride, that a tourist would choose to visit an out of the way / off the tourist trail location. They can be the best interactions.

 

[Jim Zurer]

Saturday June 17: Day 5 - Vercelli-Sovana​

Time to leave Vercelli....we have enjoyed our stay here very much. The hotel--La Terrazza Vercelli Bed & Charme--has many advantages...an excellent location steps away from the historic center, the owner Cristina is charming and very helpful, and breakfasts on the terrace are very pleasant. However, for us, the small size of the room, the lack of a comfortable chair in the room or any public space, etc. were disadvantages and we are probably too old to "rough it" like this. Also the tiny, quirky elevator for one where you have to continually hold the button to call it and make it go, was a bit challenging and something to avoid if claustrophobic....

After breakfast, we pack the car and make a stop at the gas station to try and recoup our lost Euro 50.00. The attendant is there, he punches in the requisite code, directs me to pump the gas, and the tank takes Euro 32.00 before filling up. So the total loss is Euro 18.00....not too bad.

The autostrada down to Genoa is very hilly, sometimes quite narrow, and with tight curves in many places. This slows us down some as does the very heavy, bumper to bumper traffic south of Genoa and the many tunnels. We make two abortive stops at service areas for lunch where no parking is available but at the third stop, south of Livorno, we are able to park and have two delicious sandwiches at the Autogrille.

The drive in the Tuscan landscape from the coast is quite lovely....rolling hills, hill towns, grape vines (the vines are, of course, much more advanced in June than when we usually see them in May), and olive groves. As we approach the town of Pitigliano, we are greeted by the spectacular vista of the town rising out of the tufa bluff.

Photo by Costaetrusca

Sovana is only a few miles further....it is a beautiful small town almost perfectly preserved. There is one main street about 1/2 mile long bookended by the massive ruined fortress and the impressive 12th century Duomo. (Pictures to follow in the next report.)

We check into our hotel....Hotel Sovana Resort...located at one end of town. It is in an impressive old-style Tuscan building with lots of public space with comfortable seating, a large outdoor garden and olive grove, and a large distinctive swimming pool. We have been upgraded to a suite with a living room and large bedroom...a big difference from our room in Vercelli.

After unpacking, I take a walk into town. It could pass for a dream of an Italian village, with lots of flowers and pretty wrought iron, buildings all of a piece, some old women sitting in front of their houses, kids playing ball in the street, and what seems like dozens of cats wandering around. There are numerous restaurants, a few bars and some shops as well as the church and town hall.

We have dinner at the restaurant connected to the hotel which is an easy stroll (the village is on a very gentle grade) to the middle of town. We just miss the last outside table so we are seated inside. I am apprehensive at the start...the staff seems preoccupied...but all turns out well. The food is quite good....we split a plate of crostini, salume, and cheese which we enjoy. Diana has a tasty plate of fried shrimp and I like my spinach sformato (like a flan) with a parmigiano sauce. The panna cotta is very good. The wine--a local vermentino--is easy to drink and we finish a bottle without any difficulty.

It is a quiet, easy, and pleasant walk back to the hotel.

Tomorrow we plan to take it easy and enjoy our surroundings.

Jim and Diana

 

[Pauline]

That's a small elevator! Years ago we were in a hotel in Zurich with an elevator like that and we took the stairs because I am a bit claustrophobic. One time as we came down the stairs a women came out of the elevator. She had been trapped in it for 30 minutes!! I would have passed out I think.

 

[Jim Zurer]

I love Sorano and Sovano. The drive between them is spectacular. One of my favorites. The area is famous for its history of bandits. There is an actual tour d' bandits. There used to be a map in Farnese that shows the road and history.
Farnese (a hamlet of about 350 people has Gambero Rosso restaurant Piazette d sole. 2 weeks before Covid we visited our favorite restaurant in Farnese Brigante

We love Sovano. The drive to Sorano is among the top drives in Italy for scenery. As I am sure you know Pitigliano is close and while it's Jewish history is spectacular very little exists today.
The area has a fascinating history of Bandits. You can tour their hideouts etc. The information is sparse and mostly on signs equivalent to our roadside markers. Most of the info is in Farnese (small comune 321 people according to ISTAT). THERE IS A Gambero Rosso restaurant in town Piazette de Sole. Small, run by 2 sisters weekends only. Reservations mandatory.
The area is also famous for wolves so if you are into wilderness hiking be forewarned.
Hot springs abound. I think if you dug a hole randomly anywhere it would become a thermal hot spring. The commercial springs at Saturnia are overrated, overpriced and overrun. There are the free famous waterfall hot springs and maybe this year it won't be crazy parking crowded. If you go wear aqua shoes, the rocks in the falls are slippery.
If you haven't been the museum and Etruscan graves at Tarquinia are worth the drive. Tons of Etruscan sites in the area.
Little known is Castro. Which is a town that was totally destroyed by a pope in 1642? Don't quote me on thet]date. . There is an archeological park which you will need to get directions to from the police in Farnese. I think it's location has been deliberately obscured to prevent antiquities theft.
The olive oil from the local mill wins awards IN ITALY. It's on the road between Farnese and Ischia d Castro.
Lake Bolsena has a cruise you can take. And since you seem to be a fan of white wines Montepulciano(on Bolsena) has gorgeous whites. Nathaniel Hawthorne's wife described them as "like drinking diamonds". After reading that I wonder just how much of his work is hers.

We have spent many happy months in the area and always have found something new. As soon as Italy adds towns with declining population not just zones? We will move.

Thanks Mary....I appreciate your suggestions and will note them for the future. I am hoping to visit Bagni San Fillippo which I think is less developed than other hot springs in the area. We were wowed by Tarquinia and have visited the Pitigliano, Sorano, and Sovana previously.

 

[Jim Zurer]

Sunday June 18: Day 6 - Sovana​

We do sleep well in the Tuscan countryside....it is definitely very peaceful. Today, we plan to take it easy...maybe "a vacation from the vacation". It is a beautiful morning and we eat breakfast outside on the terrace looking at the flowers and olive trees. The breakfast offerings are more varied than at La Terrazza but it is not a spectacular spread by any standard. But the coffee is strong, the tea is hot, the small croissants are fresh, the ricotta is delicious....even though the Tuscan bread is mediocre.

After breakfast, we sit in the garden...I do some work and report writing and Diana takes out her quilt. The quilting attracts the attention of some other guests who are doing needlepoint and Diana explains her project to them.

For lunch, we walk down to the center along the main (and almost only) street

and have lunch at a bar across from the clock tower.

Diana is happy with her first prosciutto e melone of the trip and I have a good prosciutto and mozzarella sandwich with a glass of red wine.

After lunch, Diana is ready to rest and nap and I get in the car to explore the area. I end up driving to the nearby town of Sorano, which seems to grow right out of the tufa. I park in the main square and walk into the older part of the town through one of the original gates.

The street passes through the old Jewish ghetto and there is a memorial sign on one of the synagogues.

I am heading for the "top of the town"--the Masso Leopoldino--a large panoramic terrace with excellent views over the town and the countryside. It is a steep climb to the top but the views make the effort worthwhile.

Going back down is much easier....

Later in the afternoon, we take another drive together in a different direction but the ride is less scenic than we had hoped....so we head back. We are rewarded with spectacular views over the valley towards Mount Amiata as we pass by Castel Azzara (my phone camera couldn't do them justice). Back in town, we stop for a prosecco and enjoy the quiet charm of the village.

We have an excellent dinner at the strangely named eehgia Bistrot (according to the charming waiter, it is the title of one of his favorite songs). We share a plate of mixed crostini--olive oil and salt, spicy nduja, and lardo--then a tagliatelle with a local ragu for me and a very different baked cheese stuffed with nduja for Diana. Diana is happy when the waiter compliments her on her Italian...saying she speaks like a southern Italian who has lived in America for many years. He tells me that I should pay attention because I have a good teacher.

Tomorrow we will visit some of the Etruscan sites in the area.

Jim and Diana

 

[Pauline]

I like seeing that tufa stone, made from the volcanic rock of the area. Very distinctive.

Usually Diana brings small quilt pieces to work on but this trip it looks like she brought a bigger piece. Photo? I am getting my knitting project organized for our September trip to Switzerland!

 

[joe]

Fantastic scenery, both urban and in the countryside - keep the photos coming.....

I was a bit curious about the synagogue in Sorano - it received the name "Piccolo Synagoga" = "small" synagogue. In that same sign, the Hebrew reads the same thing. That's an odd way to call a synagogue - even if it is indeed very small - but other than an interesting history that I read about in a search, I couldn't find any explanation for the name.

 

[Jim Zurer]

I like seeing that tufa stone, made from the volcanic rock of the area. Very distinctive.

Usually Diana brings small quilt pieces to work on but this trip it looks like she brought a bigger piece. Photo? I am getting my knitting project organized for our September trip to Switzerland!

Usually I do bring the little pieces to sew the blocks. This time the top was finished, the sandwich made, and it's small enough to carry so that I am now quilting it. It's to be a baby quilt for a baby due in October. No elaborate quilting pattern - just straight lines, using 1/4" disposable tape. One year I brought a lap quilt which I quilted on the ferry from Livorno to Sardegna. Kept me busy and had lots of pleasant encounters with folks curious about the quilt.

 

[Jim Zurer]

Monday June 19: Day 7 - Sovana​

Another nice day eating breakfast out on the terrace....after breakfast today turns into a long social hour. Diana's quilting attracts more notice....this time from an English couple who are here on a walking tour and who just happen to be fabric designers. We have also been "hanging out" with a Belgian couple who are also staying at the hotel...we keep bumping into them at meals and around town. The socializing goes on for more than an hour...it was very pleasant but our program for the day is delayed.

Our destination is the nearby necropolis which has a number of the remains of Etruscan tombs and several "vie cave".....narrow Etruscan roads that cut straight through the tufa that facilitated trade and travel. I had asked at the tourist office in Sovana which Etruscan site would be easiest in terms of walking for Diana and he assured me that this one would be suitable. The path up to the ticket office is steep but manageable but when we get to the entrance to the first tombs, it becomes apparent that it is going to be too challenging.

We find a picnic table where Diana waits while I explore the tombs. We have also met the Belgian couple here but the husband knows that there is no way for him to walk up to the tombs so just stays in the car.

The star of the show is the Tomba Ildebranda...the largest Etruscan tomb in Tuscany; it dates back to the third century BCE. It is built in the form of a temple....

and this is what it is supposed to have looked like back then.

There are a number of burial places still accessible by climbing down steep flights of steps.

The other tomb that I visit in my tour of the necropolis is decorated with an intricately carved statue of a winged demon from the 2nd century BCE -- Tomba dei Demoni Alati.

The other attraction at the necropolis is one of the network of roads dramatically cut through the tufa to link various settlements. Hikers are drawn to the area to walk the interconnected trails. Not being a hiker, I am happy to walk just a short length of one of the "vie cave". Down on the road, it is cool and shady in contrast to the mid-80s elsewhere.

For lunch, we get on the road and drive to nearby Lake Bolsena, located in the neighboring region of Lazio, about a thirty minute drive from Sovana. We have been spoiled by driving around southern Tuscany where almost every kilometer has panoramic views over the rolling landscape, often with hill towns rising in the distance. This area is more rugged and has more trees so there are limited opportunities for breathtaking vistas as we drive around the countryside.

There are nice views as you approach Lake Bolsena, a large volcanic lake.

Many of the restaurants on the lake are closed for lunch on Monday but we find one open in Grotte di Castro--Il Chiosco. The town of Grotte di Castro has set up a throwback parking system....instead of meters, they have set up a booth staffed by a young lady who collects the payments as you enter and issues a hand-written paper ticket.

The restaurant is more like a shack set right on the shore. There is a narrow veranda set with tables that are almost all full. But they set another table for us and we have lunch looking out over the lake. There are people on the beach and kids playing in the water. The restaurant seems a bit disorganized....they don't really know how to deal with the two Americans who have stumbled in and only want a plate of pasta for lunch while the other tables are feasting on multiple course lunches. But we order--two plates of tagliatelle--one with a sauce of coregone and one with a sauce of perch (both lake fish)--and they are quite good.

We stop on the way back for a gelato in the town of Gradoli before going back to the hotel and taking a swim in the large hotel pool.

We eat dinner again at the hotel's restaurant, the Taverna Etrusca, in "downtown" Sovana. We get an outside table, say hello to our Belgian friends who are also eating there, and enjoy our dinner. We split a plate of crostini....tomato, chicken liver, and lardo...followed by a surprisingly (it is not a seafood heavy cuisine in the area) delicious linguine alle vongole (small clams) for me and an okay tagliata (sliced steak) for Diana. We finish off a bottle of the same vermentino we had two nights earlier and it is just as good.

It is a pleasant stroll back to the hotel. Tomorrow we are off to Pitigliano.

Jim and Diana

 

[Pauline]

I love Etruscan sites but have never been to this one. It looks great! Does it have a name or can you tell me where it is?

That hotel pool looks beautiful!

We have an article on the Etruscan Pathways around Pitigliano if anyone wants to read more:

Tuscany - Etruscan Pathways

Over 2,000 years ago the ancient Etruscans around Pitigliano cut into the volcanic tufa rock to create pathways (Vie Cave which means excavated roads or cuts). These pathways are usually three meters wide and half a kilometer or more in length. The depth varies but many are more than 15 meters...

www.sloweurope.com

 

[Jim Zurer]

I love Etruscan sites but have never been to this one. It looks great! Does it have a name or can you tell me where it is?

That hotel pool looks beautiful!

We have an article on the Etruscan Pathways around Pitigliano if anyone wants to read more:

Tuscany - Etruscan Pathways

Over 2,000 years ago the ancient Etruscans around Pitigliano cut into the volcanic tufa rock to create pathways (Vie Cave which means excavated roads or cuts). These pathways are usually three meters wide and half a kilometer or more in length. The depth varies but many are more than 15 meters...

www.sloweurope.com

The Sovana archaeological park is located about a mile from Sovana on the road to San Martino sul Fiora.

 

[jan]

Pitigliano and that area have been on my list for years but somehow we've never made it there. Thanks for the second hand experience.
Also, this book has been on my list, still unread, for a while:

Amazon.com: The Orphan of Pitigliano: 9780989754361: Brown, Marina: Books

Amazon.com: The Orphan of Pitigliano: 9780989754361: Brown, Marina: Books

www.amazon.com

 

[Jim Zurer]

Tuesday June 20: Day 8 - Sovana​

We get an early start today...we are first ones at breakfast on another warm and sunny morning. We get in the car and head to Pitigliano for a bit of sightseeing. We first locate the small laundromat which we will visit later in the week. I drop Diana near the main piazza and head up the hill to search for parking. We wander around the town....the main piazza is large and bustling and we remember our previous visits...including one with Seth in 1998 when we happened on a big festival and played in the big "tombola" game (a variation on bingo) in this same piazza.

The main entrance gate is quite impressive

and the Palazzo Orsini...it houses the big museum in town...dominates the piazza.

We then walk into the old part of town passing the Duomo and the entrance to the synagogue.

Pitigliano historically had a large Jewish population and the rabbis and priests cooperated in administering the town. Now there are no Jews living here but the ghetto has been restored as a tourist attraction. It is promoted as "La Piccola Gerusalemme".

The historic center is quite attractive with narrow streets and views of the countryside through some alleys.

We have a quick lunch back in Sovana at the same bar as yesterday...again a sandwich and prosciutto e melone. We retire to the hotel for a rest during the heat of the day and venture out late in the afternoon for a quick re-visit of Sorano. On the drive to Sorano, the road winds through high tufa walls...a modern version of the Etruscan "vie cave" that we visited yesterday.

In Sorano, I walk around the fortress which also houses the main hotel in town.

The views from the fortress are very striking...you get an idea about the tufa walls along the roads.

and the cypresses along the opposite ridge.

After a short walk in the old part of Sorano

we go back to Sovana. I take a walk around town--it doesn't take very long--and stop to try out the local gelateria (mediocre).

We return to Eehgia Bistro which is very crowded since many of the places in town are closed. We split a plate of salume, Diana has the tagliatelle with meat and sausage ragu and I have the local specialty--acquacotta--a vegetable soup with bread topped with a poached egg.

Tomorrow my college friend Lou Kahn and his wife Mary, who have a house in Umbria, are coming to visit.

Jim and Diana

 

[Jim Zurer]

Wednesday June 22: Day 9 - Sovana​

A slow morning....breakfast again on the terrace. Diana continues working on her quilt (don't look, Nonny - it's for your upcoming grandchild)

and we relax, waiting for the arrival of my college classmate and his wife, Lou and Mary Kahn, who are stopping in Sovana overnight on their way to the Tuscan coast for a holiday. They live in New Hampshire but have had a house in Viepri (near Todi) since 2016 and come to Italy several times a year.

They arrive around 11 and we sit around talking and catching up until lunch time. We walk into the village (it is very hot--around 92 degrees) and have a casual lunch at the bar where we have eaten lunch before.

It is too hot to do much sightseeing at midday so we all retire to our rooms and agree to meet at 4:30 for an excursion. Pitigliano is our destination...I drop them at the entrance to town and drive up the hill to find parking. I luck out and park in the closest space to the center.

We stroll around town--the Kahns had not been here before--talking, looking at store windows, and taking a few pictures.

I was struck by this vending machine that dispenses not only cigarettes but loose tobacco, lighters, condoms, food, marijuana, and "usa e getta" which seems to mean disposables but I didn't check to see what was on offer.

It looks like this store owner may have had difficulties with Trip Advisor...

Here are a few more views of the old town...

and one from inside the Duomo.

Before leaving town, we stop for drinks (aperitivi) and continue talking and catching up.

On the way back to Sovana, I have a brain freeze and take the wrong road. When we do figure out we are going the wrong way, we are briefly in an area with no GPS service (we think we might have to resort to a paper map) but we quickly right ourselves, return to Pitigliano, and find the right road to Sovana.

Dinner at the eehGia Bistro again....we really like the charming host Danilo, whose mother is the chef.

Dishes include tagliatelle with asparagus, a half-order of a flat tortelli with spinach and ricotta, tagliatelle with the meat and sausage sauce, and tagliata (sliced steak) with black salt. We enjoy a bottle of the local red Tesan which disappears without a problem.

We walk back to the hotel under a crescent moon and what the Kahns say is the planet Jupiter.

Tomorrow the temperature is supposed to hit 96...so we are unsure of our plans.

Jim and Diana

 

[Jim Zurer]

Sunday June 25: SPECIAL UPDATE FROM MONTEPULCIANO​

We are now happily ensconced at our rented villa just outside Montepulciano with our three sons, three daughters-in-law, and three grandchildren. We are having a great time but it is cutting down on my report writing time. I hope to find time to catch up and return to my regular schedule but this is a very special time for us so the report writing is taking second place.

Jim and Diana

 

[Jim Zurer]

Sunday July 2: Lucca - UPDATE​

Just a quick note to let you know that we had a great family week at the villa outside of Montepulciano. It was wonderful to be together in a beautiful spot. The week was not without challenges...the villa had many quirks and the physical layout was challenging (I blame myself for not doing enough due diligence in the research)...but the family time together was priceless.

We have now split up...Jonathan and Lisa back home after an overnight stay in Lisbon, Michael and family in Lucerne Switzerland en route to Germany, and Seth's gang with us in Lucca for a few days until they head off to the Netherlands. We will be in Florence and Lerici before heading home.

I plan to write a piece with impressions from the villa week with pictures and then resume the daily journal.

Here's an informal photo of the gang, almost replicating where everyone stood ten years ago when we took our "official" photo....

More to come....

Jim and Diana

 

[Pauline]

These are great family photos! Look how grown up those babies are - in 10 years!