Liberation Day!

Today is a day of celebration in Italy...a festa, in other words.  I had thought somewhat ambitiously of getting up for the walk around the town (the ring road at the bottom) this morning, but lack of sleep and my recently overcome virus forestalled me.  Instead, I was woken by the sound of trumpets and other brass instruments coming from underneath my pillow, or so it seemed to me from my new vantage point of the ceiling.

It turned out to be a division of the army which is specifically for martial music.  They wear uniforms, sing, and play band music, and march!  They have very exact height requirements for their candidates.  And they get to wear fun hats with large feathers.

There's also a craft display going on in Todi for the next week.  It closes May 1, unfortunately.  It's held in one of the palazzi in the piazza, and so I took a few pictures of the spaces...absolutely luscious!

Doesn't everyone need a prosciutto keeper in their home?
And don't you love the hand-carved model of a prosciutto?

Chain mail is such a normal craft item in the US...
it's labeled as weighing in at 40 kg.

This tapestry is huge; it covers the entire wall of the room.

This is an adjoining space

Love,

Alexandra

Feeling the wind in our hair...

Yesterday the weather was just too, too nice to waste.  So after Florence's dental visit (and before her swim practice), we went for a ride!

Saw some lovely scenery, had a grand time chatting, and came across a few mysteries as well.  Rode on several of Italy's so-called "white roads" -- they are so misnamed, it's not even funny.  After all, we connect white with purity, angels, and whatnot.  These roads are the work of the devil.  Pitted, rutted, and low on contrast, you don't see the bumps until you're up to your eyebrows in a rut.  "But enough of that," you cry!  "Give us pictures!"  And here they are...

The green is so bright it hurts your eyes!

The grapes are coming in!

 First mystery: Petroro.  It's a tiny town/castle (listed as a castle, but with the descriptor that it is like a village with walls).  Recently redone for reasons unknown, it's completely vacant.  Very odd!

 Outside San Damiano:

Look who we found!  Aren't they sweet?

Look at this tiny one!

 At Castelvecchio:
This was fun...we wanted to see inside the church.  The photo is essentially all there is in this particular borgo, but there was a small restaurant behind the car.  I looked to see whether they were open to ask about looking in the church, but there was no one there.  From behind, I heard a youthful voice telling me that it was closed.  When I explained that I was really there to look at the church, he bellowed for Mamma, who came out of the house on the right (while talking on the phone) and then told me that her husband had left with the key, so I was out of luck.

The church is quite sweet from the outside, though: it uses the same rosy and white stone that we see a lot in this part of the world.

We couldn't resist a sign that pointed to a 13th-century castle.  Maybe we should have: miles (it seemed like, but wasn't really) of "white road" later, we came across this:

Stables, perhaps?

It's in a funny location, like the Duke of York: halfway up/down the hill.  Upon further research, I found out that it was built in the 13th century, possibly related to the cultivation of grain (it's called "Speltara" -- see the word "spelt" in it?).  In 1857, it was still inhabited (based on a document which lists 69 people), and it was later used to film Magnificat by Pupi Avati.  Guess what?  It's listed as being in "poor condition" by my source.  Hmm.  Do you think the house agents would term it "da ristrutturare"?

Speltara in the distance

Another lovely day!

Love,

Alexandra