As you wander the labyrinthine medieval backstreets of Spoleto, you’ll pass many an imposing noble palazzo. And certainly the elegant seventeenth-century Palazzo Mauri should be a stop for bird-lovers and ornithologists. The building was completely renovated in 2009 and is now the public library. As I dropped in there recently, flowers were being unloaded in front of…
Rising behind the 12th-century Church of San Pietro extra moenia (outside the walls) is Monteluco, the sacred woods of the Romans, protected by the 3rd-2nd-century B.C. law, Lex Luci Spoletina which forbade the cutting of its trees. Still respected, this law is considered Italy’s first forestry law. And what a backdrop for one of the most stunning Romanesque churches in…
Like squatting stern guards, massive medieval fortresses dominate many an Umbrian hilltown, including Narni …. …and Assisi: Spoleto as well. Each rocca (fortress) was meant to be an evident sign of Papal sovereignty for all were commissioned in the mid-14th-century by Spanish cardinal and trusted Papal legate, Gil Alvarez Albornoz, as points of Papal dominion in…
I remembering seeing as a child, the televised operetta, “Amahl and the Night Visitors” by Giancarlo Menotti Many years later, all in our family were enthralled by a New York City Ballet performance in Spoleto’s 1st c- A.D. Roman amphitheater, thanks to Menotti: the ballet was one of many performances that year in Spoleto’s Festival dei…
North of Rome and not far south of Lake Bolsena, Tuscania’s origins are unknown though archaeological testimonials trace the town at least back to the Bronze Age. Already in the 6th-century B.C. the town was a thriving Etruscan town, prosperous and powerful tide to its advantageous geographical position, at the centre of an important road…
Lake Bolsena – the largest volcanic lake in Europe – is encircled by an array of charming medieval towns of Etruscan origin. For me, one of the most charming is Marta. Nestled between the lake shore and farmland, Marta’s small piazzas and labyrinthine medieval alleyways wind down from the late 13th-century Torre dell’Orologio (clock tower) – all that…
One of Latium’s most stunning Romanesque churches the Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore in Tuscania was first documented in the mid-9th-century in a Papal bull mandated by Pope Leo IV. Consecrated in 1206, the church was built in lavic stone, tufo, as Tuscania is not far from Lake Bolsena, largest lake in Europe of volcanic origin. The church has…
Certainly as of the 6th-century B.C., an Etruscan town flourished on the shores of Lake Bolsena (Latium) – the largest volcanic lake in Europe – in the area of present-day Montefiascone. Many archaeologists even indicate the Montefiascone area as site of the most important Etruscan sanctuary, Fanum Voltumna (“shrine of Voltumna”). The Etruscan dodecapoli (league of twelve…
Roman remnants near the Cathedral of San Rufino greet you even steps away from the church: a paved Roman road was unearthed during restoration projects following the 1997 earthquake. This section of Roman road, probably lead from one of the Roman city gates, enclosed now in a private home just below Assisi’s main piazza….. …up…
As of 1826, Assisi’s cultural association, l’Academia Properziana del Subasio, decided to gather together the ancient inscriptions and Roman remnants of the territory. The first nucleus of findings was kept in front of the entrance to the 16th Church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva desired by Pope Paul III, wishing to transform the Roman Temple to Minerva…