Getting High In Spoleto

  Each year we come to Umbria and stay for two months, more or less. This is our fifth time, and we feel pretty damn lucky to be here.

  Well, it isn't really luck, is it? It's a lot of hard work, planning, and prioritizing. 

  Anyway, we try and find some new places to visit each time, which is a fun chore for me. I am always searching out new blogs, as well as checking into my favorites. This is a great way to find places to eat, things to do, art to see, etc.

  It's fun to drive to new areas around Umbria, at least for me…Johnny, the actual driver may have a different view on this…but he's usually game to go just about anywhere.

  Our latest little adventure was a drive down south to Spoleto. I have been wanting to see the beautiful aqueduct there, "Il Ponte Delle Torri", the bridge of two towers. There is some very fine art to see here, too. So we picked a day that looked like sun, and went for it.

  Parking was not too bad…there are three main parking lots, all are pay-to-park. Once we had that settled, we headed into town. 

  It's a beautiful place...

It's a bit of a slog, all uphill, but we were ready for it...

A lovely little corner in Spoleto...

  We headed up into the main part of town, and sat down with a map and espressos to plan our attack.

  We decided to visit the Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna first. We'd read that it had a great collection, including Sol LeWitt, Alexander Calder, David Smith, Henry Moore and modern Italian Masters from the 60's & 70's.

  There was also an exhibition of contemporary murals featured..I think it was called "On The Wall". I wasn't able to take any photos inside the gallery, but I did get a few shots of the murals outside...

Stairs leading into the upper galleries..

I loved the colors here.

There were several places with these wonderful murals.
I wish I could have taken more photos inside..

  I would recommend this Museum for anyone who is interested in Modern Art..there is so much to view here. The Sol LeWitt rooms are fabulous, and there is some really interesting ceramic work, too.

  We were the only visitors there, I'm pretty sure. We spent a good hour and a half. 

  

  Afterwards, we stopped right across the piazza for a glass of proseco, and to just enjoy the warm weather.

Happy art lovers.

  We stopped and had a very nice lunch, too. I'll do a post later on this. It featured some unusual vegetarian and vegan options, and leaned towards Indian flavors. A nice change.

  After lunch, Johnny wanted to stop into the Cathedral of Santa Maria dell'Asunta. The Romanesque  facade features a wonderful mosaic and there are important frescoes by Filippo Lippi and his pupils. These were on Johnny's list of "must see", after talking to other artist pals who stay in Panicale, James and Elizabeth.

  I sat back, enjoying the sounds of the bells, and the coolness of the interior. 

  It's a special place, really.

The Cathedral, and it's grand entrance..

A happy Artist, content with seeing Art...

I just love this view of the Cathedral from the back side.

  Next, we strolled around the back side of the Cathedral, and around the bottom of the very impressive Rocca. 

  No Rocca climbing this time, though…I was hell bent on walking across the Ponte dell Torri…So we headed that way.

  It's so wild just outside the town.

Little did I know I would be way over there, on the path
above this very old ruin…Wheeeee!

  Wow, this was so spectacular…a road as well as an aqueduct, probably built in the thirteenth century, and built over the remains of an older Roman structure.

  I just think it's pretty.

And yes, I did walk it.

  Though really high up, it wasn't scary. The walking area is wide and very safe, but looking over the edge, well, that was a little stomach-turning. So I stopped doing that.

A nice stroll, actually.

I think this light fixture would be so gorgeous in my garden.

  When we got to the opposite side, I continued up, up, up…while Mr. J sat on a bench in the shade. Bless his overheated heart….

See? Those little people way down there, crossing the bridge?
Aren't I brave?

I just really wanted to get this shot.
We started way over on the path across the canyon…
Totally worth the effort, which was not bad at all.

As always, my reward. A nice aperitivo.
With a view.

  What a nice day….all around fab day trip. We only got lost once, and even made it home just at sunset. Walking back down, down, down…to the car park, we felt very fine, indeed.

  In fact, I felt just like this bit of street art I saw along the way…..

  Thanks, Spoleto! It was fun!!