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SPELLO IN THE UMBRIAN COUNTRYSIDE: (At the beginning of the IX century, Constantino the Great gave Spello it’s name, separate from Perusia and gave permission for Umbrians and Estruscans to celebrate their annual feasts in the city. Spello flourished and during the Roman period there was intense activity in art and literature)

This morning quite early we boarded train 9824 in Roma and ended up in Foligno, Umbria. We lugged our bags up gigantic stairs and came out to a line of Taxi’s.We were driven up, up, up, to the the Medevil town  of Spello. Spello hugs the hillside and the hills are the whole town.  Skip and I walked up to the top winding through lanes with cars making you splay your body up against the building lest you get smashed by a speeding oncoming car. My idea of a quaint little town is Spello minus the cars. One has to realize that cars are the 21st century and Spello once ancient and still maintains ancient buildings is now part of the 21st century. Our first walk took us to the top where we overlooked the beautiful countryside. I would like to enclose some photos of the beautiful recesses viewed on our walk. I dropped my jaws around each bend with the new view.

After a lovely siesta, we were awakened by the church bells right outside of our bedroom window. I assume they turn them off at night and hopefully do not start them too early.

Our second walk took us down out of  ancient Spello and into the newer part of town.(by the way it is all up hill coming back)  We decided to buy our dinner in the market because this is the winter season and most of the restaurants are not open. I mention this because when you are in a market in a new country, especially way out in the countryside, things are different.  We did get the hang of slicing and buying meat and cheese. The bread was as hard as a rock, no flavor, yucky, only you do not know it until you try to eat it. Italy is known for it’s exquisite bread, not in Spello. We also bought an apple, a banana, six tangerines and when we brought them up to pay, we were supposed to have weighed them.  Try standing there, smiling, saying you are sorry, no one understands one word you are saying and feeling silly while the checker goes and weighs each piece of fruit.  In the US, people would have been grumbling.  Here, well we did not know what they were saying, but they had smiling faces and seemed kind.

I think this is the time to show you some of Spello’s treasures rather that tell you. Remember a photo is worth a thousand words, well, only one of these makes that mark. This photo is out of our hotel room window.