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| City Government Building, Norcia |
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| A Piazza in Norcia |
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| These bins next to the church were used to measure product |
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| What Faith wants to be when she grows up |
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| Loved this knocker! |
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| View from the parking lot |
Yesterday, Jeremy and I went with Lucia (a Korean lady we met at Pianegiani knitting...we were instant friends) to the Cascata delle Marmore (the Falls of the Marmore). These are the largest man-made falls in the world, created by the Romans in around 270 BC in an attempt to cure illness (possibly malaria) in nearby Rieti. Of course, obeying the human law of unintended consequences, the resulting reservoir resulted in flooding in Terni periodically. You can bet the folks of Terni didn't like that and would have been just as happy for the Rieti population to have malaria, thank you very much.
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| It's a multi-level construction |
Anyway, it was centuries before that particular conflict was resolved, and even then, it was in no particularly satisfactory manner.
Today, though, the falls are managed in such a way as to (we hope) enjoy the best of both worlds. The falls are opened twice or three times a day to release the water buildup, and to promote flow through the river beds. Incidentally, those of us who show up at the park can enjoy the falls and the subsequent flow changes.
After a glorious drive through the countryside (we were blessed with perfect weather, unlike in Todi, where it was pouring), sunroof open, we arrived. Tickets bought, we ambled along the walk towards the main entrance to the park.
The falls are amazing. Really beautiful. We arrived at the bottom of the path leading to the top and were told that it would take about 50 minutes to the top. Yikes! The falls were due to be turned off at 1, and it was then about 12:15. We started off right away, having been warned that it was a tough walk. Up and up and up we went, on a gorgeous woodland path with irregular steps...here wood retaining pieces, there stone, and here again terra cotta tiles.  |
| Still from the bottom |
We made it to the intermediate lookout, at about 12:40 (after Todi, it wasn't too horrible a walk, and the cool woods were a delight after the warm day), and then continued on to see how far it was to the upper lookout. If we would make it in time, we wanted to hang out there to see the falls stop running.
About 2 minutes later, there we were at the upper ... well ... station. The entrance to the park and public bathrooms. No view of the falls to speak of. So obviously the first lookout we'd seen (and presumably the upper lookout) was the place to be. We sat down and munched on crackers and a new fish paste I was trying (sealed, squeeze tube! Nothing to go bad before opening!) which was delicious, and enjoyed the sound and the cool breeze from the water.
I didn't know what to expect when the water was switched off, so I set up the camera to video what might have been an abrupt change. After a minute, I turned off the camera. A few minutes later I tried again. No dice. Okay, so it may take a little longer. Time to turn on the camera and let it run for a bit.
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| Jeremy in the lookout |
We would have been better off taking photos every 5 minutes. After 28 minutes, it had gone down to its lowest flow, and the camera had died. It was obviously time to head back down.
Tripping gaily (as opposed to somersaulting) down the steps, we had the opportunity to explore all the nooks and crannies that we'd had to bypass on the way up. Jeremy got delightfully dirty, so he must have had fun!
There was a really interesting subterranean gallery that one of the popes had had carved through the tufa under the waterfall sometime in the 1500s. The fascinating part was how very much the texture of tufa dampened the sound in there...it makes sense, because of the porous, hole-y texture of the stone, but it was fascinating to observe in practice.
Another field trip enjoyed, and time to head home.
Love,
Alexandra
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