After a fair amount of checking both the online weather forecasts and the skies, and weighing weather possibilities (how much rain and where) against possible destinations for today, we decided to start the day with a bit of exploring of Perugia's centro storico.
Since everything is uphill from our apartment, we drove a few minutes to a parking lot at the base of the old town, then took a series of escalators up to the center. The escalators were installed less than 45 years ago in an effort to ease access to the old (and still vibrant) quarter and to reduce automobile traffic in the city. I'm not sure we would have made it up, had we arrived before then!
As the escalator made its way up, it passed through the remains of the medieval city -- a maze of tunnels, arches, and streets, now all underground. We stopped to wander a bit, and were amazed to see shops and gallery exhibition space now occupying some of the subterranean spaces!
Once up in the old city, we stopped in the gardens that overlook the lower town and the Umbrian countryside, and then walked along the pedestrianized Corso Vannucci, the spine of the old town. Though the street is not very long, it was lined with lovely shops, restaurants, and museums, all leading to a large piazza. There, in the city's central gathering place, were the cathedral, the massive Palazzo dei Priori, and the multi-sided and sculpted Fontana Maggiore. The work crews setting up a stage and sound system for upcoming events this weekend didn't do much for photo possibilities, but at least the buildings weren't shrouded in scaffolding, as they often are.
The cathedral has a chapel devoted to a reliquary containing what is supposedly the Blessed Mother's wedding ring. It's locked in a series of 15 nesting boxes (think Russian dolls), each of which is locked, with each key in the possession of a different individual. According to the information in our guidebook, the ring has a two-inch stone which changes color in reaction to the character of the wearer -- a mood ring, who knew!!
We moved off the main drag and in short order found ourselves in a warren of narrow medieval lanes, many with multiple arches overhead. We were heading downhill as we strolled, past many churches, and the University for Foreigners, which attracts students from around the world. Eventually we had to pay the piper and, as we passed through the Etruscan gate, we began to climb back up to the old town and back down Corso Vannucci.
We were just a few minutes from our apartment, and we'd forgotten a couple of things there, so we decided to drive back and have lunch there. While en route, the skies opened up and it rained heavily, but so briefly that it had stopped by the time we parked the car; timing is everything!
This afternoon, we drove to Lake Trasimeno, mainland Italy's largest lake, which was quiet today (and didn't hold a candle to Piseco, IMHO!) As we were riding around, we decided to just see what we could see, and before long, we spotted a road sign for Paciano, proclaiming it "One of the Most Beautiful Villages in Italy," which is actually an official designation. We parked outside the town walls, and took off on foot through the truly lovely little town, and can verify that it merits inclusion in the elite (?) group.
We had visited Chiusi on a previous trip and decided to go again, as we were nearby. We stopped in the duomo and walked around the hilltop town a bit for some good views of the very green countryside below
Chiusi is in Tuscany, just over the border from Umbria, and the two regions are very similar. Despite the fact that Umbria has some big draws, like Assisi and Orvieto, the region is sometimes referred to as Tuscany without tourists.
One more brief stop, in Citta della Pieve (no official designation, but lovely, just the same), and it was time to call it a day. A good one, at that -- weather forecasts to the contrary!
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