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Wide
expanses of purple flowers, a heady perfume, bees buzzing…no, we are not in
Provence, nor in faraway Tasmania, but
just a short drive from the
cruise ships docked in Civitavecchia and about an hour from Rome.
Here is a short video of the lavender fields I took yesterday. There was a soft breeze and lots of bees gathering pollen.
lavender sachets
at the lavender shop in Viterbo
a window full of lavender products
Finding the
lavender fields is
also an exciting experience
for the road
leading to them is actually
an Etruscan “tagliata “, a narrow passage carved out of the tufa rock by the Etruscans.
Here is a short video clip of the drive along Strada Signorino, leading to
the lavender fields.
Please share this with friends who love lavender, for the flowering continues until mid or end of July.
If you are coming to see the lavender fields in the Viterbo area, I will be speaking at the Caffeina festival in Viterbo (Piazza S. Maria Nuova ) on July 2nd, at 8 p.m.
Your comments are welcome. Just click in the comments box at the end of this article. You can sign in as "anonymous", but then leave your name.
A hilltop
cottage or a candle-lit cantina, a tree house surrounded by lavender or a seaside villa with mature gardens, a castle overlooking the Tiber
river valley or a tower suite
in medieval Viterbo: whatever your idea of a romantic
hideaway, you can probably find it in Etruria/Tuscia, just an hour north of Rome.
Forget
about expensive Tuscany, hard to reach Cinqueterre and touristy Venice and focus on Rome’s hinterland now being discovered by some of the 2.5 million
cruisers who pass through the port city of Civitavecchia.
In the past
20 years dozens of romantic places to stay have sprung up offering a wide variety of romantic and unique getaways.
Yesterday
we were invited to the inauguration of Mauro’s restored
cantina in the center of
Capranica, 50 kms north of Rome. Furnished
with antiques collected over the years, this cozy apartment with a
luxury bath is carved out of the ancient stone cantina where wine was made until a few years ago. Today it has
become a luxury apartment perfect for escaping the present century.
Entrepreneur
Renzo moved from Milan to set up a
country B&B which includes a romantic tree house that
is booked solid until 2015, proof
that city folk have an innate desire to
return to nature.
Cinthia’s cottage suites with an English flavor are perched atop
Menica Marta hill near Fabrica di Roma where
her horses roam among the olive trees.
The colorful suites include private outdoor spaces, a BBQ and guest
laundry plus the fascination of being in
nature.
breakfast at Menica Marta Country House
Celeste’s
magical villa in Tarquinia overlooks mature gardens which once belonged to a
luxury loving cardinal.
Nearby are black sand beaches, Etruscan sites and Civitavecchia’s port, making Le Tre Portale perfect for pre or post cruise vacations.
Villa Le Tre Portale near Tarquinia
Does your
idea of a romantic hideaway mean staying in
a castle? If so, sisters Elsa
and Gabriella can grant your wish at their family castle located in the tiny hamlet of Mugnano .
see previous blog post about our visit here
It has only three suites and magnificent views from the loggia over the Tiber river valley. The adjacent church makes it perfect as a venue for wedding parties.
Palazzo Orsini, Mugnano in Teverina
For those
who prefer a city location,
Giulia’s medieval Torre di Vico ,
a B&B in the center of Viterbo fills
the bill.
You will have all of Viterbo
to explore plus the thrill of climbing
the tower to your suite at the end of the day.
Other
unique romantic places to stay abound in the area north of Rome. Let us know
if you have a favorite.
Sandro Vanucci leads the group past the Colosseum-
-and the Roman Forum
Today hundreds of horsemen, bikers and trekkers left Rome
for a 230 km. voyage of rediscovery:
they are traveling along the
ancient Roman road, Via Clodia, north from Rome, through the Lazio
countryside.
Via Clodia route from Rome to Grosseto
traffic under my windows on May 8th
Cavalieri del 8 Maggio celebrate Vetralla's Wedding of the Trees
lunch stop at Lake Martignano
Arrival in
the Tuscan provincial town of Grosseto
is expected on Sunday, May 18th, as the climax of “Passione Maremma-Foodand Wine Shire” festival
where over 100 producers will celebrate the area’s fine food products,
wine and handicrafts.
Maremma cowboys, butteri, herd wild horses
For 2,000 years the Via Clodia was a major road connecting the towns of Etruria. Then,with the defeat
of the Etruscans by the Romans it was abandoned in favor of the Via Cassia and
Via Aurelia.
1581 map of ancient Etruria
Since the Middle Ages Lazio and Tuscan coastal areas were
considered uninhabitable , a land of
punishment and exile.
Until about 60 years ago the area between Montalto
di Castro and Grosseto were
under the shadow of malaria and the area was known as “Maremma
Amara”.
wild boar thrive in Maremma
Things have certainly changed in the past half
century, for now the coast and hinterland are sought after holiday destinations, blessed with pristine beaches, nature reserves, hill towns
and genuine food and wine.
bruschette to begin a feast in Maremma
Maremma wines
Along their
route the horsemen will visit archeological sites such as Norchia in the town of Vetralla, Tuscania, Vulci and Pitigliano and live as travelers
did in the past centuries.
Pauline
Stiles was a rare American visitor to Viterbo
a century ago who penned anuncomplimentary description of theSan Pellegrino medieval quarter of
Viterboin her book “New Footsteps in
Old Places” (1917).
lilies leading to the Duomo
She described the quarteras a dark, mysterious
and smelly place with ."....an odor that disgusts one’s olfactory sense so completely
that the others hardly survive!”*
crowds at the Duomo and Papal Palace
Times have
changed over the century and the droves of visitors to the San Pellegrino flower festival (May 1-4) were thrilled with the
colors and perfumes that wafted through
the narrow medieval streets and piazzas decked with flowers.
a beautiful piazza and B&B
Surely there were many American and other foreign visitors in Viterbo from May 1st to 4th who enjoyed the highlights and novelties of this year's San Pellegrino's festival.
medieval shards at the tiny St. Rosa Venerini museum
I noticed a definite improvement on the past editions of the festival, with dozens of new stands and activities that the thousands of visitors much appreciated.
new bookshop near Duomo
orchids decorate Piazza della Morte
Piazza San Carluccio should be like this all year round
There were concerts, encounters with artisans, treasure hunts for children, minting of coins, wine and food tastings held in the church of San Salvatore organized by the Chamnber of Commerce and Archeoares.
with Irene, head of Viterbo's Pro Loco, Davide and Franco
a gurgling fountain
sleepy cat ignores tourists
medieval arches and colorful flowers
with sculptor Morucci
sculptor Ivano learns the drums
Click on the highlighted link to discover other interesting festivals that are coming up in the month of May including the Wedding of the Trees on May 8th in Vetralla and La Barabbata in Marta on May 14 .
corks with cacti
dining amid the flowers
colorful palette
Please share with friends, leave a comment and mark your calendar for next year.
The regular schedule of blog posts was interrupted this week due to some unusual
events.
In Rome pageantry, pilgrim crowds and piles of garbage were generated by the canonization of two former popes presided over by two living ones.
It was a scenario that no novelist could have invented and yet it was just another chapter in the long, amazing history of
Italy.
Backed by Renaissance fireplace: Hugo, MJ and Giorgia
Here in
Tuscia/Etruria, far from the confusion of the Roman canonization, history
came alive when English biographer Hugo Vickers told the story of Gladys Deacon and her mother
Florence Baldwin to a spellbound audience in one of the magnificent frescoed rooms of Palazzo Farnese in Caprarola
.
the spiral staircase of Palazzo Farnese
Hugo signs a book he wrote, in my library
discovering Vetralla's English connections
Henry VIII's monument in Vetralla (foto G. Zelli )
Hugo
flew in from London to share his research with us and to delve deeper
into the lifestyle of the eccentric
expats who inhabited the palazzo in the
last century.
at Villa Lante
Our morning visit to Villa Lante in nearby Bagnaia wasintriguingfor its fountains and palazzinewere a modelfor those of Caprarola.
Luciano, Hugo, MJ and Giorgia (foto Sig.ra DiFusco)
At
Caprarola we were escorted to see some of the secret corners of the palazzo by Luciano Passini our host and head of the
Caprarola Research and History Society.
presentation with a figure from the palazzo's past
bathroom ceiling at Palazzo Farnese
In a tiny anteroom which once served as
bathroom to the Baldwin-Deacon women, we discovered the phrase “Forse che si, forse che no” which
Gabriele D’Annunzio used as title for his novel published in 1910. D'Annunzio "borrowed" the phrase from a ceiling he saw in Mantova's Palazzo Ducale.
ceiling of Mantova's Palazzo Ducale
original bathroom fixtures dating from 1920s
During the
presentationwe even had a surprise
visit from “Gladys” herself, impersonated by Finnish soprano Susanna Ohtonen
dressed in perfect1920s style.
Gladys interpreted by soprano Susanna Ohtonen
Sheinvited the audience to the opera LaTraviata which is being held on Wednesday April 30th inTuscania’s Rivellino theatre.
Susanna Ohtonen and Giulia admiring the frescoed ceiling (foto Chiara Porcari)
Opera Extravaganza's opera evenings are another aspect of the living history of Italy which should not be missed.
Info Teatro Il Rivellino P.zza Basile tel. 0761.4454250 0761-4454217
LA
TRAVIATA
Opera lirica in tre atti di GIUSEPPE VERDI
TEATRO “IL RIVELLINO” – TUSCANIA
Mercoledì 30 APRILE 2014 ORE 21.00
Biglietti prezzo
unico 15 euro
Coming up next Saturday, Soriano nel Cimino
For another special evening in one of Etruria's wonderful historic palazzi, you are cordially invited to my next illustrated presentation on May 3rd in Soriano nel Cimino.
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Your feedback, questions are very welcome. See you in Soriano!
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