Surprising Sights in Small Places

We were impressed with the unique sightseeing opportunities we encountered in the various hill towns of Lazio. While we love to visit a well-designed museum, this was not a museum trip, which was a nice change. This trip gave us the chance to see art and history in a different light, and we really enjoyed these quirky places that were off the beaten path.

At the Sacro Bosco, aka the Park of Monsters, located on the outskirts of Bomarzo, we stepped into a 16th century forest hideaway for those looking to escape the mundane and retreat into a world of fantasy strolling through 40 stone creations.

The park was commissioned by Vicino Orsini after his wife died to cope with his grief. Based on the fantastical creatures included, his anguish was deep.

Not every statue was a monstrosity. Some were abstract, including this leaning house:

Others seemed to borrow from myths and foreign cultures:

Even today, Orsini’s goal was achieved: it was easy to imagine you were in another world as you ambled through the park.

Just as fascinating were the murals in Sant’Angelo di Roccalvecce, a hamlet of 100 residents who live in a fairy tale world – literally. In an effort to save their dying town, a group commissioned female street artists to paint murals based on fairy tales and stories.

The project, conceived in 2016 and started in 2017 with Alice in Wonderland themed works, now includes 36 murals strewn throughout the little village’s alleys and lanes. The endeavor was entirely self-funded and put the village back on the map.

It was highly entertaining to wander through the empty streets, looking around corners for the next mural. But we’re not sure if the project really “saved” the town from the fate many of these lowly populated hill towns face.

Finally, we stopped at one of Italy’s Big Benches – a community project designed to evoke a childlike feeling of wonder in public places.

Placed in spaces with panoramic views, the benches are simple and fun. When we pulled up, a local family was having lunch on the bench, but they kindly let us snap our photos. There are over 450 benches, mostly in Italy.

More hill town adventures to come soon,

Shana & Jeff

Bracciano: Loads of Airplanes & a Castle with a View

One of the towns we visited was Bracciano, which is on the shores of beautiful Lake Bracciano. However, before heading to the city to tour its famous castle, we stopped at the Italian Air Force Museum, which is located nearby at the birthplace of Italian aviation. 

The museum was very interesting and we learned a lot about the history of Italian aviation, which started shortly after aviation in the US when one of the Wright brothers, on a tour of Europe, taught the first Italians to fly. There were several WWI (and earlier) era planes on display.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the museum was the period between the "great" wars when Italy was a world leader in long-range and high-speed aviation. These planes were predominantly sea planes, as there was not a lot of infrastructure for landing planes on land. As a result, some of the earliest trans-atlantic flights were done in planes than could land on water. The planes in the photo below were specifically built to enter in annual speed trials that took place for years, and which Italy won many times.

At the beginning of WWII, Italy was still a leader in aviation, and there were a number of WWII-era prop planes in the museum. However, Italy did not effectively make the transition to jet engines, and its dominance faded before the war ended.

Note the smaller plane under the wing of the larger plane in the photo on the left, above. Clearly, aircraft were fulfilling many roles for Italy (and other countries) in WWII.

The plane below was highly innovative. Notice the large windows, which made it useful as a spy plane. In addition, the plane was capable of landing and taking off in very short distances, making it useful for rescue attempts (including a successful one of Mussolini during the war), while its foldable wings meant it could be transported by train.

Overall, we very much enjoyed the  museum, which reminded us of our visits to the Omaka Aviation Heritage Museum in the Marlbourough region of New Zealand in 2022 and 2023. But, because every plane Italy has ever used was present, this museum was in many ways superior, while the Omaka museum's presentation and docents were more entertaining.

We had lunch at a Apulian restaurant in Bracciano, before heading up to the Castle of Bracciano. The castle was built around 1475 by the Orsini family, one of the more powerful families in this area of Italy starting in the middle ages. The castle is large and well-preserved.

Walking on the ramparts provided great views of Lake Bracciano, the city, and the surrounding area.

The interior of the Castle is well maintained, and we were able to visit many rooms that had been set up as they appeared during the Rennaisance period, when the Orsini family was at the height of its power.

One of the most interesting stories we learned is that the Orsinis were the basis for much of the fiction written about the Italian Rennaisance. This includes the character of Orsino, the protagonist of Shakespeare's The Twelfth Night, who was inspired by the Second Duke of Bracciano, Virsinio Orsini, after he visited the court of Elizabeth I.

Later, we went to a small, local gelato shop and had some of the best gelato we have ever tasted.

Ah, Italy.

More soon.

Jeff and Shana

Exploring Lazio’s Hill Towns

We spent the week of November 9 in Italy exploring various hill towns in the Viterbo province of the Lazio region, about an hour and a half north of Rome. This trip came about through the generosity of my brother, who had expiring timeshare points to use up. He kindly let us use some to stay in Soriano nel Cimino, a hill town with a population of less than 8,000. These are the day and nighttime views from the converted palazzo where we stayed to Orsini Castle, the main sight in town.

As you can see, it is picturesque and imposing. The autumn colors were in full view during our visit, and we were super lucky with the crisp fall weather.

After a direct flight from Bilbao to Rome, we rented a car and drove north. Rome is Lazio’s biggest city with 3 million people; Viterbo, the second biggest, only has about 66,000. You quickly get the picture that we would be in a much less visited area of Italy. Still, there was plenty to see within an hour radius from our base in Soriano.

Driving in the region turned out to be one of the biggest parts of the adventure as most of our time was spent on two lane roads that twisted and turned through elevated areas, with the Italian drivers constantly exceeding the speed limit and tailgating. We enjoy living without a car, so driving for about 2 hours a day is not our preferred way to travel, but it is the best way to efficiently see a pastoral area like Lazio. Jeff did an amazing job getting us from place to place.

When we visited Viterbo, we tried something new – a self-guided “quest” tour through the medieval center of the city. It was entertaining and we learned some of the city’s history while wandering through narrow lanes looking for the next spot. Highlights included the town’s many towers, still standing after centuries, and the view from behind the Piazza del Plebiscito:

For an extended period in the 13th century, the popes lived in Viterbo to avoid Rome’s violence. The city hosted the longest conclave in history, which lasted 3 years before Gregory X was elected in 1271. Here is the Palazzo dei Papi and cathedral, where it all happened:

Given Viterbo's history, it was quite appropriate to find ourselves following two priests or monks as we roamed the streets looking for the city’s Fontana Grande.

Part of the quest was finding various symbols on fountains, demonstrating the power of competing families. Our journey took us to several historical towns, each with a long history of who gained and lost power through the years. More on that to come soon.

Ciao,

Shana & Jeff

La Rochelle & the Ile de Ré

After our stay with Maje in Moliets-et-Maa, our journey in France continued. We rented a car in Dax and drove north to visit a bit of the Charente-Maritime region. We initially thought we’d stay in La Rochelle and spend a day on the Ile de Ré, but the more I researched the area, the more attractive the island became as a base. And what a gem it was.

Now accessible by a bridge, the island used to be accessible by ferry only. There are 10 small villages on the long, skinny island. We stayed at a family-run hotel in Le Bois-Plage-en-Ré, which put us near the center. The first thing we noticed was the infrastructure – the roads and segregated bike lanes were well-maintained and well-marked. The second was the persistent breeze / wind, which certainly made sense due to the island’s shape and Atlantic exposure.

Although we arrived in the off-season, most things were still open. But we were disappointed that the local ice cream chain had shut down shortly after we arrived. Reservations were smart for dinner each night at the most popular places, even though the crowds had thinned.

We spent our first day full day in La Rochelle. As we left the island, we noticed a lot of traffic coming over the bridge. As it was Saturday, there were a lot of weekend sports enthusiasts (bikers, surfers, etc.) coming to enjoy the island. Our first stop was the city’s Marche Central. These markets are the best! At this one you could get 6 oysters and a glass of wine for about 5€ and eat them standing up at a small table. Having already eaten breakfast, Jeff took a pass, knowing that there would be many more opportunities to eat oysters. The pastries and fresh produce did not disappoint. It’s fun to wander through these markets even if you don’t buy anything.

As a coastal maritime community, La Rochelle has quite a history. Highlights include (1) its role as a Huguenot power center until 1628, (2) as a base for trade and immigration to the French New World (Quebec), and (3) as a WWII U-boat headquarters. We focused on the third.

At the Bunker Museum, situated in a building used by the Nazis to house their submarine officers with an underground shelter, we learned about La Rochelle’s Nazi built U-boat base that was impenetrable to Allied attacks and the impact this had on the city, one of the last to be liberated during the war. The fully preserved underground bar with sea themed ceilings was fun to see.

We walked around the old town of La Rochelle, which is well preserved as the Allie’s focused their bombing on the submarine base in the port. Since the base turned out to be indestructible, parts of several movies, including Das Boot and the original Indiana Jones movie, were filmed there. Unfortunately, however, you can no longer visit the U-Boat base as it is now on private industrial property.

We spent a full day biking around the Ile de Ré on a route that took us to La Flotte, Saint-Martin-de-Ré, Loix and La Couarde-sur-Mer. We were glad we had e-bikes as the winds were strong along the coastal trails.

It was a sunny, yet cool day. Each stone village was charming and unique with a church and main square. We had breakfast in one village, lunch in another, and enjoyed seeing the extensive salt flats and marshes, and biking through the scenic vineyards.

The next day we explored the rest of the island by car, allowing us to get to both ends in one day. On the west end, we saw the Phare des Baleines (Lighthouse of the Whales) inaugurated in 1849. On the east end the L’Abbaye des Chatelier (Abbey of Chateliers) built in 1556 by Cisterian monks, who settled on the island and developed its salt and wine trade, which exist to this day.

Of course, we stopped at the wine cooperative to get some wine to bring home. The local sparkling was impressive. And each night, we debated whether French food is better than Italian food. While there we settled on French food, but as we’re going to Italy next week, the debate will be reopened.

The trip to France was a great respite. But we were happy to get home so that we could watch the remainder of the MLB playoffs on a bigger screen than my laptop. We look forward to getting back to France soon.

Adieu,

Shana & Jeff