Leaving La Licia

 

wonderful La Licina

On our final morning at La Licina we hiked a leg of the Via Francesca from Licina to the village of Poreta, a walk that allows spectacular views from Spoleto to Montefalco and Trevi as one climbs steeply into the olive groves out of the beautiful village of Eggi. Olive groves left behind we descended through oak forest to the town of Bazzano Inferiore and then steeply up to its twin village Bazzano Superiore with its tiny small help yourself library, lovely gardens and walnut groves. We picked walnuts and figs along the way to sustain us until a late breakfast in Poreta.

 

Eggi

Eggi from above

Poreta is almost on the plain and after a steep descent she announced herself with the most evocative ringing of church bells, not just “ding dong” but a bell song inviting the faithful to church. On Soon the bell tower was visible and as we walked through a row of plane trees into the town the local priest sped by in his little red car.

 

Waiting for breakfast, Poreta

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Climbing up!

Bazzano Inferiore

Generously, Ludovico had offered to pick us up and stopped for a coffee and pastry while we waited at a little bar chatting to the elderly shopkeeper who kindly brought our breakfast to a table in her sunny garden courtyard. Almost on queue  as we finished Ludovico appeared returning us to the sad task of packing. Farewells exchanged we departed for the other side of the valley to Agriturismo Casale Fusco in the foothills of the Martani mountains where Willy and I stayed for an extended period in 2013. On the top of a hill the grand old house looks over forested hills, rich agricultural land, olive groves and vineyards and clearly visible on an opposite hill line is the restored Castle Morgnano. A quite different range of walks in the more remote environment of the Martani Mountain are possible, the only drawback the paucity of good signage.

Andrea and Vincenzo are wonderful hosts and before we had unpacked the car were ensconced with proseco in a shady position near their recently installed pool overlooking the valley. The vista is exceptional with the castle of Spoleto; Monteluco mountain behind and the valley spread out beneath. Vincenzo explained that the pool is one which allows fish and frogs to also survive as it needs only a tiny dose of chemical to maintain safety so we were hopeful of days warm enough to swim.

 

The pool

While we had brought the leftovers from the previous evening for lunch, Andrea and Vincenzo insisted we share an impromptu lunch of pasta and salad with them. The simple pasta dish with tuna and freshly picked tomatoes, a caprese salad, followed by fresh fruit salad and ice-cream, accompanied by their own grechetto and sagrantino was far from modest fare and afterwards we rolled upstairs to  dress for our late afternoon performance of La Traviata by the Belli Sperimentali Lyrica, a highly acclaimed Opera company based in Spoleto  but well regarded in Europe as a training school for professional singers.

What a treat we experienced! The venue a medium sized 18C  decorative opera house with excellent acoustics and  the cast particularly the gorgeous Violetta with a fantastic presence and voice swept us into the passion of the narrative and music so perfectly performed by the Belli orchestra. Each autumn Spoleto  hosts an Opera festival and the Belli company completes the event with a well known opera which then  tours the region. This was their final performance and the audience response enthusiastic with loud cries of “Brava, Brava” as Violetta took her bows. What a wonderful town this is; a place of beauty, nature, art, music, history food and wine and how fortunate are we to experience its generosity!

 

Teatro Nuovo

Orchestra pit

Waiting for the action

We had booked for dinner at Tempio del Gusto a fantastic restaurant near Piazza Mercato in the centre of the ancient town next to a remaining Etruscan arch way so an almost  perfect day ended with a perfect dinner of mouth watering grilled tuna and salad followed by a semi freddo with peach. I looked forward to my first morning walk in what feels like a slice of paradise. 

Vallo di Nera

 

Bell Tower Vallo di Nera

We left La Licina while still dark to drive to Sant Anatolia di Narco, a beautiful village near the Nera River for the walk to Vallo di Nera an equally delightful town higher up in the mountains.  Having stopped for coffee and a sustaining cornetto in Spoleto’s Piazza Garibaldi it was light by the time we set off from San Anatolia firstly along the river to lovely San Felice where we encountered our first obstacle.  The bridge over the river had been damaged and closed to the public, presumably in the earthquake but as it provided the only access to our trail we needed to cross. Fortunately it was relatively easy to lift the temporary barrier from its mooring, squeeze past and replace!

San Felice

 

Abbey of San Felice

Leaving San Felice

Setting off  from San Anatolia di Narco

Pleased with ourselves we began a steep and seemingly never ending climb through dense oak and beech forest our footfalls the only sound other than birdsong. While strenuous and at times difficult, views of surrounding peaks where small hamlets perched, the scent of wild flowers and the absolute tranquility of the place were exhilarating. 

towards Vallo di Nera

Unfortunately the route indicated on my map (five years old) no longer exists so instead we safely followed the new trail markers to Vallo di Nera and ignored the older map tracks. The town came into view tantalizingly behind a screen of trees where it remained until we were quite close with then a clear view of the bell tower and stonewalls of the medieval village. A little church close to the village was unfortunately closed but through the barred windows we could see some quite lovely frescoed walls but nothing compared to the village itself- a jewel with its steep lanes, pretty gardens and spectacular views.

 

Abbie peering into locked chaple

photo of frescoes through the bars

Vallo di  Nera

Inside the town

After an exploration rather than return the way we had come we walked down quite a long way- kilometres to the river where there is a greenway track leading back to San Anatolia. What a delight to walk the shady path along the river, even when it petered out into farmers’ fields. Apple trees everywhere laden with sweet red crisp fruit we picked enough to make a pudding for our last dinner at La Licina that evening.

Once at the closed bridge but on the other side we found a path back to San Anatolia and having reached the lower town treated ourselves to an excellent coffee at a very busy bar. Near to San Anatolia is the little town of Caso with a small church with unusual frescoes that we wanted to see but could only do so through a registered guide booked through the local museum. I had sent an email request but as there had been no response we decided to turn up in person and ask. We were in luck and one of the guides was in charge at the museum that day and we were able to negotiate for her to take us there for the princely cost of 5 euro on the following Tuesday! This was achieved with my very limited Italian and her equally little English.

 

Greenway path back to San Anatolia

River Nera

Apple tree and source of the apple crumble

With a dinner to prepare on the last evening for our host Ludovico we returned to the shops in Spoleto to make our purchases. The plan was an Australian menu of roast lamb and apple crumble but we couldn’t obtain the lamb roast so settled for pork to be accompanied by the potatoes and onions we bought in Colfiorito and a green salad. A sutiable addition was sweet gathered figs, rock melon and prosciutto and of course the apple crumble accompanied with crème fraiche.

With excellent local Grechetto and Montefalco Rosso to go with the dinner it turned out a treat , at least from our view point.

It is sad to farewell a loved place a friend and excellent host but I am sure we will return and we still had a local walk planned for the next morning!

Colfiorito

Santa Maria Plestia

Situated on a high plateau between Umbria and Marche Colfiorito Park has a number of spectacular natural and man made features. Word heritage listed for its mountain wetlands the region also contains evidence of thousands of years of human habitation with archaic pre Roman  hill settlements and  the remains of a Roman  site at Plestia.

An ancient trail the Via Lauretana winds up through the mountains and eventually to Colfiorito and  Abbie and I planned to hike it but first needed a detailed map, which could only be obtained by visiting the park office/natural history museum at Colfiorito. As it is only 26 kilometres from Foligno, not a big deal in the car and what a little gem it is! The lady in museum gave us an excellent map with the trail clearly marked and also other interesting booklets about the park and surrounding towns. We were also surprised to learn found fossils of giant hippopotami and elephant from before the emergence of the Italian peninsular millions of years ago have been found in the park region. 

We spent a good hour exploring the natural history museum, completely free of charge, with excellent displays of the animals and birds found in the region- the wetlands in particular are a bird watchers dream, with also badgers, deer wolves, foxes and hedgehogs.

 

source of our wonderful coffee

perfect cornettos

Interior museum

Map in hand we set off at 6 am the following morning to the little town of Belfiore where we began our hike on the via Lauretana, but first stopped for a most excellent coffee and delicious hot cornetto at Bar San Marco in Belfiore. Parking near the trailhead we set off upwards on a very long sustained climb through oak and beech forest to the spectacular Menotre falls and then to the lovely village of Pale, where there is interesting restoration work after the recent earthquakes. Nearby there is an isolated monastery clinging to a rocky outcrop but to visit requires 3 days  advance pre planning so on we marched up to the village of Sostino, where the main climb finished and spread out before us was a fertile mountain  plateau surrounded by the magnificence of the Subiaso moutnains. The most incredibly breathtaking vistas and no one else around.

 

Menotre falls

We feasted on apples and figs picked as we walked and noticed the large expanses of lentil fields and fenced plantations of young oak trees seeded with truffle. Wild flowers are abundant; tiny cyclamen, snapdragons, cornflowers and miniature daisies, violets with the sweet scent of penny- royal, sage and fennel and accompanying birdsong-a sensual delight as we marched on!

 

vista from the top

truffle plantation

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the valley

leaving village of Sostino

view over Belfiore

Now on the down hill section we could see before us the extensive wetlands of the Colfiorito lagoon and through my inadequate binoculars, wading birds and ducks. Even though close to our destination we took a short break adjacent to a restored 16C communal fountain to soak in the scene below us. The walk into Colfiorito proceeds along a shaded a path next to the lagoon, home to many species of water bird with also massive clumps of white floating water lilly and reed banks where terns nest.

 

Water lily bank Colfiorito

view over the Colfiorito Wetlands

 After 18 kilometres of  at times very strenuous effort we were certainly ready for a break and plonked ourselves at a small restaurant/bar in the centre of town- outside naturally given our state. After a quite delicious mixed salad with tuna and mozzarella and white wine of course we found ourselves quite revived and ready to walk the last kilometre to Plestia, the remains of a Roman town  from the republican era, plundered to  construct the 11 C church of Santa Maria. The outline of the town is clear from the remaining foundation stonework, now partially undercover and the church is also lovely in its simplicity.

 

lunch break at Colfiorito

With rain threatening we hurried back into town, past stalls with local red potatoes, garlic, onions and lentils. We made it back just in time, taking shelter in the portico of the archeological museum as the deluge descended. Sadly the museum didn’t open until four and very tired now we called a very expensive taxi from Foligno to take us back to our car in Belfiore.  

 On the way home and near to Spoleto we stopped to look at a small church, Tempiette di Clitunno, which as a crumbling Roman temple was repurposed as a church in the 12C. Utilising Roman materials it is a stunning fusion of stylistic elements with strong characteristics of both church and temple.

 

Tempiette di Clitunno

interior of temple 

What diversity in natural environment and cultural heritage is available in Umbria particularly Spoleto, and how fortunate are we for the opportunity to  discover and explore such environments!

Spoleto

 

Perugini Madonna and Child Trevi

How wonderful to be back in Spoleto at lovely La Licina, which feels like home away from home.  After a torrid four hour drive from Ferrara keeping up with other traffic at 140 k per hour and then negotiating endless road works it was fantastic to arrive and settle in after picking up my friend Abbie from the train station in Spoleto. Our hosts Francesca and Ludovico had kindly invited us to a welcome dinner at their gorgeous 17C villa adjacent to our apartment and what a delightful start to our stay to catch up on the changes they had made and share news of family.

 

Morning walk to Spoleto

On our first morning we enjoyed a walk into the historical centre of the town, particularly the Duomo with its glittering gold mosaic façade and the exquisite Fillippo Lippi frescoed apse. We also downloaded the excellent cathedral app which describes in both text and audio each aspect of the building with sufficient detail for a guided tour and a good overview.

 

Facade mosaic

Duomo Facade

In the afternoon we drove to nearby Montefalco to the very good museum of San Francesco, formerly a church, where in addition to the picture collection and exquisite frescoed apse by Benozzo Gozzoli is an exhibition of 13C religious art including sculpture. This is part of a regional exhibition, Masterpieces of the Fourteenth Century, which highlights the work of artists in the region, particularly the towns of Spoleto, Montefalco , Trevi and Sceggino. This really is very fine and well curated and Abbie and I observed how even small towns in Italy manage to develop such excellent small museums.

 

Exorcism! Museum of San Francesco Montefalco

As we were in Montefalco a winery visit was essential as the town is the centre of the Sagrantino wine region. We called in at Montioni wines and spent an enjoyable hour tasting and talking with Paolo the winemaker. Vintage had officially begun that very day and Paolo was upbeat about the quality of the fruit. This is a family concern with all hands on deck during the harvest, even the quite elderly mother who stands is co-opted tothe tasting room when Paolo is busy in the winery. The wine was of exceptional quality and of course we bought a selection; greccheto, Montefalco Rosso and the king, Sagrantino.

Returning to La Licina we sat in the garden outside our apartment and just soaked up the peace and beauty of the late afternoon light over mountains and olive groves. This really is a slice of heaven!

Trevi-

view of olive groves Trevi

With Abbie recovering from bronchitis we eased into our program of walking with one of the less demanding legs of the Via San Francesco between Trevi and Foligno. Trevi is a stunningly beautiful small hill town which has surprisingly few tourists for all that it offers; incredible views over the valley, ancient and well preserved houses, several excellent cafes and restaurants, an excellent museum and a number of lovely churches. Trevi is also the centre for olive oil production in the region with an interesting interpretative museum where you learn about the history of olive production in the area, the process of producing oil and stories about the families who till the terraced olive groves covering the hillsides between Spoleto and Trevi.

Overlooking the valley, Trevi

We left our car at the Trevi train station, 3 kilometres down hill from the old town so our day began with a very strenuous walk up a winding road to the historical centre. We couldn’t help stopping every few minutes to admire particular views or darling small colourful courtyard gardens. Trevi also seems a paradise for cats with trays of food available at various spots, thus the creatures are numerous, sleek and healthy.

Old town san Eraclio

 

Leaving Trevi

Finally in the upper piazza, we treated ourselves to  cappuccino and warm pastry at Café Roma before beginning the walk in earnest. Fortunately the trail markers have been freshened recently so even with the many turns and crossings we managed to stay on course on the largely downhill trail through forest, little villages and olive groves. Another reviving coffee at a bar on the edge of Foligno in the ancient walled town of San Eraclio steeled us for the last few kilometres through urban Foligno to  the lovely medieval historical centre.

 

On the trail!

At the tourist centre we inquired about a trail map to Colfiorito National Park, which is reasonably close to Foligno where we planned to walk but discovered that one needs to actually visit the park office in Colfiorito to get the map! After a short wander; the town was in full preparation for their annual food and wine festival with accompanying horse race through the streets, it was off to the train station for the short journey back to Trevi to collect the car, or so we thought! 

What should have been a straightforward mission turned into a saga when we couldn’t open the train door Trevi station and the train driver unaware of our predicament continued on to Spoleto with us still aboard! The conductor merely shrugged and advised us to wait for the next train back. A very kind man opened the door for us at Spoleto where we learned that the next train was 90 minutes away. We retrieved the situation with a very pleasant impromptu picnic on the platform with proscuito and mozzarella panini and a glass of white wine. The very lovely bar lady even brought out a little wicker table and cloth to formally anoint our picnic.

 

picnic

Finally the train arrived and in less than 10 minutes we arrived at Trevi, this time leaving door opening to a capable high school student who immediately released us to the freedom of our car.  On the agenda was a visit to the next station of the 14C Masterpieces in the Museum of San Francesco ( a deconsecrated church as in Montefalco)and on the way back to Trevi Centro stopped at the little church of Madonna delle Lacrime  to once again visit the marvelous Perugini and Lo Spagna frescoes. As this church is usually closed we were in luck and had the freedom to admire the fine detail and emotion of the paintings, which have retained their soft and luscious colour for more than 500 years!

 

Sculpture Madomma and child

Onto the museum and the exhibition which particularly focused on the works of important local artists from the 14C and again they were quite marvelous, both the works and their curation. These delights in beautiful little towns, the ability to walk in spectacular and pristine environments to places where can be found wonderful art, so ubiquitous here, with a sense of continuity between past and present, culture and agriculture are the draw cards for my repeat visits.

 

Hercules, Museum Trevi 1C AC

We returned home quite late and decided to cook for ourselves, rather Abbie prepared exceptional grilled salmon and salad accompanied by a bottle of our Montefalco grechetto. Another varied and wonderful day in Umbria. 

 

Umbria