Italy 2012: The Gardens of Lazio

This final blog post of my Italian adventures focuses on three gardens in Lazio: Villa Lante in Bagnaia (just outside Viterbo), Villa Farnese in Caprarola, and Villa d'Este in Tivoli.  All three gardens are formal Renaissance gardens, and all three were commissioned by Cardinals. 

Of the three gardens, I would have to say that Villa Lante was my favorite.  I found it  peaceful, beautiful and awe-inspiring.

Villa Farnese, on the other hand, was more villa than garden.  The architecture of the central building was impressive though.

Villa d'Este is built upon a series of descending terraces.  There are many levels of stairs to walk until you reach the bottom.  An elevator has been installed for those with mobility issues, but it was not working the day we visited.

These statues represent the mythological story of the founding of Rome.  Even though I took a class on Roman Civilization in my university days, I had to look this up to remember more about it.  It involves two brothers, Romulus and Remus, who were suckled by a she-wolf after being abandoned at birth.  They went on to found the city of Rome, but Romulus murdered Remus, and thus the founding of Rome was based on a fratricide.  I am not too sure who the female figure is, but I believe she represents Rome.

The gardens contain grand statues and even grander fountains.

Complex hydraulics keep the fountains running.  It can get quite noisy with all that water splashing.  I didn't find it to be a very peaceful garden.

This concludes my 2012 tour of Italy.  I have a show to hang in a few days ... more information on that tomorrow.  I just learned today that a fourth class at the Abruzzo School of Creative Art is running this year, so that sounds promising.  I'm scheduled to teach there again next year.  With luck, maybe my class will fill, and I'll get to visit Italy again and see a new region.  That sure would be grand!  In the mean time, back to reality!

If you are interested in photos of last year's trip to Tuscany, here are links to the posts I made at that time.

http://www.elainequehl.blogspot.ca/2011/09/killer-photo.html

http://www.elainequehl.blogspot.ca/2011/09/sunflowers-cats-and-other-memories.html

http://www.elainequehl.blogspot.ca/2011/09/views-windows-doors-walls-and-arches.html

http://www.elainequehl.blogspot.ca/2011/08/week-in-paradise.html

http://www.elainequehl.blogspot.ca/2011/08/tuscany-florence.html

Italy 2012: The Cats of Umbria and Lazio (and one or two other species)

You knew there would be a post on the Cats of Italy, didnt you?  These cats are not the kind of spoiled cats that yours and mine are.  They are actually quite scrappy, but appear to have lots of character. While some have homes, I think many of them are street cats.  I have occasionally noticed kind ladies bringing food for them.  One day at the Villa Lante I saw a lady drop a bag of sausages on the ground for a group of homeless cats.  Be sure to scroll to the end because we have also allowed a couple of other species into this post.

Meet Horatio.  I think he is a baby Boston Terrier.  We met him one night in a restaurant.  In Italy, and many other European countries, dogs are allowed in restaurants, and all of them seem very well behaved.  The young couple next to us spoke only Italian and we speak only English, but they managed to communicate that this cutie is named Horatio.  To which I replied, like Shakespeare?  The woman nodded affirmatively.

Finally, my husband managed to catch this photo of a pair of pigeons.  I think the colours are stunning.

Tomorrow will conclude my blog tour of Umbria and Lazio.  I have sifted through thousands of photographs this week, and it is time to get back to reality.

Italy 2012: Views and More

Today's post includes views and vistas and a few odds and ends that don't quite fit elsewhere. 

In this photo you can see the beautiful olive groves stretching along the hills below Trevi, Umbria.  Trevi is considered the olive oil capital of Italy.

You will recall this gorgeous poppy photo, taken along the winding roads to Trevi.  I just had to include it again for emphasis!

Spoleto is also an interesting town, although IMHO not as beautiful as some others.  The most interesting landmark is this bridge, the Ponte della Torre, that spans a gorge outside the old town.  It is believed to have been built in the 1300's over an ancient Roman aquaduct.

The bridge leads from a castle to a fortification post.  Once you are on the bridge you can look over one side, but the wall on the other is far too high to see over.

The other attraction in Spoleto is the Duomo (cathedral).  It has a commanding presence and dominates the old town.

That's me in the orange robes walking toward the cathedral.  I almost feel like a Buddhist monk in that colour.  Strangely, on this rainy day I noticed my socks, moneybelt and underwear were turning orange.  Too much information?  It seems the dye in these new jeans, whose colour is actually this year's hot colour, "tangerine tango", was not colourfast.  After washing them when I returned to Ottawa, more than half the colour is gone.  I should have known better than to buy pants with the name Jessica Simpson on them, a woman famous only for being famous, not for any particular talent ;-)).

The cathedral gave me refuge from the rain.  I decided it was too much to carry an umbrella, a cane, a camera, a purse, and a bottle of water, so I sent my husband to scout out the town for "must see" places and I sat down and sketched for a while until the rain stopped.

Todi is another beautiful Umbrian hill-top village, with great views over the Umbrian countryside.

I guess you could say we love hill-top villages, which Italy is full of.  In Corciano I enjoyed this bench, and met up with a group of Americans painting plein air at the edge of the village.

The clouds and rainbow provided a little drama over Corciano.  If you click on the photo you will be able to see the rainbow easier.

The view over Caprarola, where we visited the Villa Farnese, was also a beautiful one.  More on the Villa Farnese and other gardens of Lazio tomorrow.

And finally, here is the view from our hotel room during the second week of our trip.  We stayed just outside Viterbo so we could have access to many gardens in the Lazio region.  A former convent, the Hotel Ora Domus La Quericia, has a beautiful courtyard.  It also offers rooms at reasonable prices.  They are basic, but include a generous breakfast. 

Speaking of prices, I am always amazed at how inexpensive coffee is in Italy.  Forget about Starbucks, there are none, but the coffee is far better.  I paid as little as 1 Euro for an espresso, and mostly about $1.50 for a cappucino.  I was told by a waitress that some North Americans complain about how strong the coffee is.  Well not me, I drank it happily and frequently, and prefer it to the coloured water we often drink here in North America.  Not to mention that you can get fantastic coffee (and food) in the tiniest of villages in Italy, and it is not unusual to have the coffee beans ground fresh just before your coffee is made.

 

Finally, I include this photo, taken in Orvieto.  You must understand that I am facinated by people who join religious orders.  My university studies were in Anthropology and Religion.

Italy 2012: The Otherworldly Village of Civita di Bagnoregio

When I heard that the village of Civita di Bagnoregio was accessible by suspension bridge (on foot) only, I was leery.  Did I want to be walking across a bridge that was swinging freely?  Not really! But when we arrived, I saw that there were stationary posts holding the bridge up, and I saw a charming and fairy-tale like village on the other side of the bridge, and knew I had to get there!! 

I found this village so facinating that I purchased a book about it and its history from a small shop in the village.  A good thing I didn't read it until I was on the plane home because I learned that the bridge has fallen down several times over the years, and that this region of Lazio has been plagued by earthquakes numerous times!  The terrain in this area is precarious because of clay in the valley, and two streams that often wash away and erode the clay.  It is believed that an Etruscan city stood here in the 8th century BC, but the current structures date to the medieval period.  Little of the original village remains due to landslides that result from seismic activity.  There is now a conservation project underway to research ways to preserve the village.

You can see below how steep the ascent was.  I'm the lone figure near the bottom hobbling with my cane.  The truth is that the way up was a lot easier than coming down.  Climbing involves the quad muscles, but the decsent really hurt my knee-caps, and it was a long slow climb back.  A couple of people have written to ask how my knees fared on the trip.  Thankfully there was no swelling or inflammation as a result of increased activity on steep streets. I did take one ankle weight with me and used it every 2-3 days, and was also careful to stretch every day.  I used a cane at all times as terrain was uneven, and the streets cobbled. I've tossed the cane since coming home. The photo below was taken by my husband with a different camera and explains why the sky is a different blue in this photo, but yes the sky was really as blue as it appears.  Our last week was filled with perfect weather.

The final ascent to the top really works the heart muscles.

Once you step through the arch, you are inside this beautiful square. 

This is the view on the other side of the square.

There are differing reports on how many residents live in the village, but all of the numbers I've seen are lower than 100.  I got the impression that this was now a hip place to purchase a property, but what a risk when parts of the village slide down the hill regularly?  We found the buildings in the village beautifully preserved and decorated liberally with potted flowers.  Check out these beautiful hydrangea.

To give you a sense of how big the plants are, I am posing next to them in this photo.

Around every corner was another WOW moment.  Isn't this a beautiful garden gate?

Roses climbing an old wall:

Beautifully decorated residences!

I think this photo of the climb back to the parking lot gives a better idea of how high and steep the walkway is.  Along the sides, you can see Yellow Broomflowers.

Once you've made it back down the hill, this beautiful bench awaits you if you need a rest.