Italy - Castiglion Fiiorentino, Tuscany

08/07/15  - 11/07/15, Eastern Tuscany, Italy

Back in New Zealand some time before our adventure began, there was an excited realization that I could possibly overlap a small part of our trip with that of friends travelling from NZ too.    

With a bit of pushing and shoving itineraries around we managed to coordinate a small cross-over in beautiful eastern Tuscany. Such a great opportunity to share something wonderful together.

    

Kay, Grahame and Connor had already spent two nights at Casa Usignoli, before we joined them. Casa Usignoli was a restored old manor house dating back to 1759, located a short distance from the medieval town of Castiglion Fiorentino.    

We had agreed to meet outside the supermarket Coop in Castiglion Fiorentino, so that we could get some supplies and then be led by Kay and Grahame to the somewhat hard to locate accommodation completely enclosed down a private road, 4km from the town.    

Easily spotted in their clean white and sensibly packed car, we pulled up beside them in our large dirty and overly full land rover.  It was a strange experience coming across familiar Kiwi friends in such an unfamiliar environment.    

By now we had been alone in our adventures for quite some time. There were lots of hugs and kisses in the scorching hot carpark before we made a dash to arm ourselves with plenty of goodies, anticipating the next few days of joint indulgence under the Tuscan sun.    

Castiglion Fiorentino

    

We then drove on through the beautiful Tuscan landscape of sunflower fields, vineyards, olive groves and Cyprus trees to arrive at the very secluded villa, Casa Usignoli.    

We took in the beautiful views over the Val di Chio as we walked to the front door, up the outside terraces past the hillside pool and pergolas.    

Inside the 300m stone villa (we weren’t used to such space) were huge chestnut wooden beams, an ancient fireplace, 5 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. I suspect the style was Tuscan, slightly old-fashioned country-style interior, but fabulous.   

Casa Usignoli

    

Most noticeable of all was the heat, boy it was hot, a little cooler than outside but still overwhelming! The upstairs windows that opened through shutters onto the most beautiful Tuscan views had to remain closed to keep out the heat.    

Kay had excitedly opened them up, as we all would to be mesmerised by the views, to then be advised by the manager not to. You must keep them closed to keep the heat out.    

We hadn’t checked for air-conditioning in the villas description, not something too important in NZ, but very important here in the peak of summer, 40+ Celsius.    

The boys found fun and relief by plunging straight into the large pool which sat on the outside terrace alongside the hill. Jarvis and Connor picked up where they had left off some 7 months ago as did we with Kay and Grahame.    

There was a lot to catch up on along with some humorous tales from Kay and Grahame of their escapades at Casa Usignoli so far.    

Strangely in one of the loveliest rooms we stayed in during our trip we had one of our most uncomfortable nights, sweating it out under one mosquito protective sheet in the extreme still heat.    

    

The following morning, we all made our way to Cortona, a popular hilltop town located in the eastern part of Tuscany near the border with Umbria. We travelled in two cars both of which we were unable to park on arrival.    

We shouldn’t have expected anything else, it was peak season in one of the most visited towns in Tuscany, well known for the setting in the movie Under the Tuscan Sun.    

Sacrificially, Grahame and Chris made a drop-off and we agreed to meet later, with the aid of mobile phones.    

With no idea where to start, Kay and I lead the boys further up the hill then through a walled entrance into the small town. We wandered through its popular medieval streets in search of the best gelato stop to appease the boys.    

Sugar fuelled and now altogether, we climbed, cameras clicking, almost to the top. Enclosed by stone walls dating back to Etruscan and Roman times, Cortona’s dominant position offered spectacular views over the Chiana Valley.    

Cortona

Chris took the underwhelmed boys back to the villa while Kay, Grahame and I stayed on for a little more meandering. Various small shops on the main streets of Cortona offered local handmade items and gastronomical products.    

I bought some brass animal stud earrings and a ring made by a brass artist. I would have loved to buy the full scaled items, but small was necessary in our yearlong adventure.    

Kay and I spent a disproportionately large amount of time looking at ceramic painted bottle stoppers and fridge magnets. We even surprised ourselves at our indecision.    

We were disappointed on our descent to note several outdoor escalators so people could avoid walking upwards. Well, this is what I assumed they were for.    

    

Grahame drove us a little further downwards and outwards to a church we had spied from above, the Church of Santa Maria Nuova. Built in the 16th century following the project of Cristofanello, Vasari later modified it.    

We poised outside one of the three identical facades of this Greek cross plan church. Above was a beautiful baroque dome. From the outside plateau, we looked down upon a remarkable cemetery, the Cimitero della Misericordia.    

Santa Maria Nuova

Cimitero della Misericordia

Kay, Grahame and I also managed a trip to a recommended local potter, Edi Magi, in Castiglion Fiorentino. Purchases were made with considerable difficulty.    

    

The next day Grahame and Kay headed off to explore, ending up in Montone, a municipality in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region.    

Montone wasn’t their originally intended destination, but they came back with rave reviews and suggested we visit also. 
To ease some pressure on our car space, Chris and I visited Arezzo to post some excess luggage home.    

After a huge effort locating the post shop it was disappointing to find that the Italian postal system wouldn’t allow us to post personnel effects to New Zealand.    

We sent some things on to our friends in the UK who were thankfully storing boxes for us until our eventual return to NZ. On the upside, we got a short explore around Arezzo.    

Arezzo wasn’t particularly touristy, which was good, but despite its medieval centre being destroyed during WWII it still had many monuments and churches remaining.    

The city’s beautiful central square had appeared in the film La vita bella (Life is Beautiful). We did a quick climb from the bottom to the top where we stopped to admire the dominant Cathedral.    

Arezzo

Dinner was enjoyed in one of the small cobbled lanes - fried vegetables with tonino cheese in the centre, vegetables included fried radicchio and other lettuces ...    

A gorgeous deli caught our eye where we purchased a selection of Italian desserts to take back and share over a drink with Kay and Grahame on our final night.    

    

The next morning Kay, Grahame and Connor made a slightly panicked departure. They were to drive to Rome for a flight to London, timing was crucial.    

I missed chasing them as they left to hand them a parcel they had left, fortunately they realised and returned making for an even more panicked second departure.    

A bit of additional panic was Ollies morning encounter with a scorpion. While carrying his swimming togs from the villa to the pool a black scorpion crawled from them up his arm, then dropped onto the outside stairs and fled.    

This story could have ended more spectacularly if Ollie had managed to put the togs on. Some say a holiday in Tuscany isn’t complete without meeting some of the residents. 

    

Marie and Bob were to arrive later that day. With a bit of time on our hands till their arrival we decided to visit the local town of Castiglion Fiorentino.    

Scholars believe that this small walled town was founded around the 4th century BC. It was all surprising quiet here on a Thursday morning in July.    

We located the Piazza del Comune where we paused to admire views over the valley while under the nine-arch loggia (Logge del Vasari), constructed by Vasari in 1513.    

Logge del Vasari, Castiglion Fiorentino.

We headed to the Castiglion Fiorentino train station becoming a little panicked when we failed to correctly locate it. Soon we were back on track making a dash for the station to ensure we got there on time to greet Bob and Marie as they arrived from Florence.    

We started off a little baffled by the lack of their arrival, there weren’t any signs of any trains arriving or leaving, no assistant was on hand to ask. We made our first mobile text to Marie to say “We are here”. “So are we” she responded.    

Oops, the penny dropped, we weren’t at the same station. ‘Can you spell where you are?’ I texted back. CastelFiorention Marie replied. A quick google maps located CastelFiorention a 2-hour drive from Castiglion Fiorentino.    

Bob and Marie had been incorrectly advised, an easy mistake. When we returned a few hours later to meet them it was all smiles and big hugs, life in the Tuscan countryside was hardly conducive to stress . Besides cold prosecco and a coldish pool were awaiting back at the Tuscan villa, life was very sweet.    

Hummingbird Moth, Casa Usignoli

Having previously visited the tourist attractions of nearby San Gimignano, Montepulciano and Siena we decided to follow Kay and Grahame’s path and head off early to Montone.    

Fortunately for us Montone was hosting the Umbrian Film Festival, held annually in July, initiated and supported by film director Terry Gilliam.    

So, as well as being voted one of the prettiest hamlets in Italy we got to see it all spruced up, immaculately clean with a large silver screen hung in its centre square where presumably films were watched during the warm summer evenings.    

Montone seemed the perfect size for us to wander through, enjoying the stunning views in all directions, surprisingly crowd free.    

We choose a spot for lunch, Tipico Osteria dei Sensi, which ended up being a wonderful meal of regional products with a full description given by our waiter.  They certainly lived up to their moto Eat and Live Consciously. http://www.tipicomontone.it/    

Montone, Umbria.

    

We spent our final sweaty sleep deprived night before heading to our next destination, North Florence. Logistically impossible to fit into the one car we had planned a split two team mission to reach this destination.

Italy - Capena

3Jul-5Jul15, Capena, Lazio  Region, Italy.

Our trip from Mykonos to Rome was awful. It began with a delayed ‘EasyJet’ flight from the tiny non-air conditioned airport in Mykonos, a hot and agitated scene to a confused arrival into Rome.

We couldn’t locate our car transfer, we were to be picked up and driven back to where we had left our car over the last three weeks. We were rescued by the hospitality of another transfer company who phoned, translated and organised another pickup for us.  

The 2hr flight itself was OK, Lachlan commented on the view out of the plane window - 'I can see the end of the world'.

We were pleased to see our car was still awaiting us. Back in the comfort of what had now become our little piece of familiarity, the Land Rover, we drove 1 hr NE to the town of Capena.

Located in the Lazio region (central Italy), Capena has been habituated since the 11^th century AD, when the Palazzo dei Monaci (Palace of Monks) was established on ‘La Rocca’(the rock).

Here we were to spend the next 2 nights, in what was a monastery until the end of the 19^th century, then became a school and was finally subdivided and sold to individuals.

Piazza del Popolo

Our arrival was quite bizarre. A winding trip into the historic centre bought us to the Piazza del Popolo, the largest public square in Capena, where we parked our car.

The main face of the Palazzo fronted this square. We had been given directions on how to navigate in and locate our accommodation.

As we started to unload, the skies opened and an astounding hail storm broke. I have never experienced such large hail stones, the size of ice cubes, yet the temperature was 36C.

We made a panicked dash for the entrance of the Palazzo as the hail pounded down with such force that it dented the car. The skies darkened, thunder and lightning struck and the animals went quite crazy.

As Ollie said 'It is like something out of a horror movie.' Howling animals raced through the long twisted passageway in which we now stood as we tried to get our bearings from within the former Monastery.

Hail on steps of  Casa Galilei

Entering Casa Galilei was yet another experience. The door opened to a stairwell descending into a cave dating back to Etruscan times. From this dramatic and unexpected entrance way a doorway lead through to the two storey apartment.

This character apartment which was formerly the monastery’s guest quarters, faced west over the wooded valley and was backed by cave rock.

It had been renovated with sympathetic hand-fired terracotta tiles and chestnut beams and openings cut into its metre thick walls.

It was most unusual having another two caves within the apartment too, they all showed workings that were probably thousands of years old. We never quite figured out where the one in the laundry lead to, we weren’t keen to explore.

Despite all this antiquity we had some well welcomed modern comforts. We even got to enjoy UK Sky TV and a good selection of English speaking DVDs – we had been deprived of this for some time now.

Caves in Casa Galilei.

Passageways outside Casa Galilei

The following day we explored, on foot, this “off-the-beaten-track” traditional town. We had coincidentally timed our stay to be at the same time as an historical festival. 

People were setting up re-enactment events right outside our door, centering at the Piazza del Popolo. It was wonderful to see, a traditional event but with very few tourists.

The boys purchased locally made swords which quickly got put into use. The evening was quite magical, all sorts of medieval re-enactments were performed, people of all ages were having fun.

Not too much was on our agenda during our stay in Capena, just a couple of nights to lose ourselves in tradition: local gelato and pizza, and the fortunes of a medieval festival.

Sword-fighting outside Casa Galilei