Splendid Scheggino and Fabulous Ferentillo

Today I decided to see some more of Umbria and I still wanted to see Monteleone di Spoleto, but right after the tunnel there was a sign to the Truffle museum in Scheggino with a punta vendita, which seemed very attractive so I ended up in Scheggino instead.

Wrong decision, because it only opens on saturdays and sundays. But as Scheggino was very lovely  and I certainly will come back, it didn´t matter too much. Scheggino, situated on the Nera banks – if you like rafting, go there – offered the usual steep alleys, very well kept, a nice church (closed) and a medieval wall. In the centre of the village was a small canal and in it was a man with a scythe, cutting the weeds. I took a picture but it seemed a little impertinent to approach him while he was working so hard in this wretched heat, so the picture is not very good.

After Scheggino the road went to Ferentillo, and since I have always wanted to see the Abbazzia San Pietro in Valle, I decided to skip Monteleone definitely (this time). It takes some patience to get there, for the road up is steep, narrow and you can make sure there will be a farmer driving 30 kmph in front of you, and it ends in an unpaved road, but when you have endured all that, you sure know why you did it.

The Abbazzia is wonderful, it has fresco´s on both sides, on the right all scenes from the New Testament, an altar on the left with two very small, low and narrow entrances, a Lo Spagna fresco and several tombs that are well kept and beautifully decorated.

The entranceticket was also valid for `The Mummies` at Ferentillo. It sounds like a movietitle, but in fact the museum was very nice. It is situated in a former church that also contained the graveyard, but after a law prescribed that all graveyards ha to be moved outside the citywalls, they dug up the bodies and they appeared to be mummified, because of a micro-organism that withdraws the liquids from a body and keeps the rest intact. This mummifying process only takes about a year.

Each mummy had its own story or legend, mighty interesting...though I hope I can still sleep at night...

And no pics allowed, so go there and have a bad dream too..

After that I had a great lunch at Trattoria di Marilu in Piediluco, with a view of the lake. Fish, of course, so I got company. Too bad for him I had just finished it all. 

Narni, beautiful both above and underground

Though my love for Todi and its amazing surroundings will be obvious, it is not as if I ignore the rest of Umbria. To be honest, I am a country girl and even when I have enjoyed beautiful and impressive buildings, churches and squares in one of Umbria´s lovely cities I am always relieved to return to my country house in the rolling green hills.

Yet it is impossible not to love the cities. They all have special spots and a cultural heritage that is best described as overwhelming. For example, I don´t remember one church, even small and insignificant as it may seem compared to the famous cathedrals, that has no fresco or statue to warm your heart and mind.

It is simply great to discover a small piazza somewhere outside the city center and discover that it has a cute Romain fountain too, or find a centuries old vine in a tiny alley. And it is even more satisfactory to meet a resident who has live there his whole life and is willing to tell you all the stories and where to go to get the best pictures.

Having written about NarniUnderground it feels incomplete not to write about the parts in broad daylight. Narni is literally the center of the Universe...I mean of Italy. It is situated above the clough of the Nera river that made it a strategic spot in ancient times. You get a good idea of this looking down from the Giardini di San Bernardo. By the way, the entrance to Narni Sotterranea is located there too.

Narni has an impressive Cathedral from the 12^th century, as imposing at the outside facing the Piazza Garibaldi, as on the inside, containing various masterpieces divided over several beautiful chapels.

The Piazza Garibaldi itself is a bit irregular and crowdy, but it´s really fun to have a coffee on one of its terraces and watch the people come and go. And if not, there´s always the Roman cistern to admire.

Walking on you will witness the beauty of a well kept Medieval city. 

Narni has the typical picturesque angles that seem to be untouched for ages. 

ThePalazzo dei Priori on the square by the same name, was constructed in 1273. The square itself is said to have been the Forum in the Roman epoque.

Narni, of course, has several beautiful churches, of which I will mention The Santa Maria Impensole. The name means `hanging church` but no adequate explanation has been given yet, though multiple speculations can be found. The church dates from 1000 and is constructed on the remains of an earlier one (8-9^th century) that now forms the crypt.

At this point, my Narni visit continued with the Sotterranea adventure. So let me end this blog by an anecdote from my first time in Narni. I visited the Santa Maria Impensole and left my youngest son (7 then) outside for he had been working on my nerves all morning by `hating churches, walking, heat, old paintings and everything else.` He sat on the Lion at the churches facade and I told him not to move or else.

After ten minutes I thought it had become too crowded at the church door so suspiciously I went to check... and there was my son, standing on the lion, roaring an aria from `Figaro,` not restricted by any textual knowledge, collecting coins and sweets from the more than amused spectators.

Since then, The Santa Maria Impensole goes by the name of Figaro Church in our family.  

NARNI - view (c) Monteolivo