Our Hike begins - Spoleto, Italy

---

Hike - Day one - May 25, Monday; Spoleto, Hotel Clitunno

Today's daily itinerary states:

We recommend you arrive in Spoleto by train. After your arrival, you have time to explore the town, one of Umbria's finest hilltop towns. The focal point is the fan-shaped Piazza del Duomo, site of the magnificent 12th century cathedral, with a superlative fresco cycle by Fra Fillipo Lipi. Other important monuments that you should not miss include the Roman theatre, the 14th century aqueduct and the Romanesque church of Saint Eufemia.

We arrived at our next hotel, Hotel Clitunno, in Spoleto and checked into our rooms. After freshening up we all met outside on the terrace. We went to discover Spoleto. We found an old castle - the majestic Rocca Albornoziana, built in 1359-1370 and after much conversation with the poor ticket person decided to visit it that day instead of the next day, after or before our hike. The Rocca was used as a jail in 1800 which is unimaginable due to it’s immeasurable beauty. There were thick iron bars still installed over the windows which looked down to the valley below. It was certainly one of the most beautiful jails I’ve ever visited. However did they preserve all of the beautiful frescoes during this time I wonder? After that we walked to the Duomo of Spoleto and viewed it’s interior. The Duomo was quite large inside and had many separate rooms and chambers that were all ornately decorated. It was always nice to visit a church for it’s coolness after being in the scorching sunshine outside. The Duomo was quite spectacular and a surprise to me considering how small it appeared from the outside. The inside was far more immense with intricate frescoes and carvings throughout. Upon leaving the Duomo we found stairs that lead down to the town. There were a lot of stairs, down and down they lead. It was time to make our daily purchase of wine to take to our hotel to enjoy pre-dinner. Carla, Don, Jeff and I found a small grocery store which sold wine and cheese and the Proprietor spoke a smattering on English, but not very much. He also had a great sense of humor and we had a delightful time with him trying to purchase cheese and wine. When we left he said good-bye as if to say Good Riddance. It was quite funny. We returned to our hotel and asked if we could sit at the tables outside. We loaded up the tables with our bounty and enjoyed a relaxing repast before dinner. Tonight’s dinner was to be purchased on our own and since they asked if we’d vacate our table so they could set it for dinner, we left in search of dinner around 7:00. We found an area that offered many options, a couple of Trattorias but I saw a smaller place that was off the beaten track and suggested we check that out. It was an Osteria and they had a fixed price menu for a good price and so we took the last table outside which was exactly set for six people. It was set alongside a very small road that was closed to traffic making it even better. The owner came out and he began to talk to us and make jokes non-stop. Each time he’d come outside he’d bring a plate of food, all of which was so, so delicious. I do remember thinking I need to remember this dish as it’d be so simple to make at home and yet, I don’t remember. Must’ve been all that wine we consumed. I did go inside his restaurant to view his Pinnochio’s which he talked about. He had a Pinnochio which stood about four feet tall hanging on the wall that was unlike any Pinnochio I’ve ever seen. It was almost midnight before we finally finished our dinner. As we were to begin our first hike the next day, it was imperative to get some sleep. It was a challenge as our air conditioning did not work and it was still so very hot in our room. I did not sleep one wink that night. I was awake all night long thinking how am I ever going to hike tomorrow? Jeff slept peacefully in the bed next to mine, lucky him.

Day two - May 26, Tuesday; Spoleto, Hotel Clitunno

Today you'll enjoy some of the best walking in the Spoleto area with a ring walk in the hills above Spoleto. You begin by passing over the impressive Roman Ponte delle Torri (Bridge of the Towers), spanning 240 meters across 10 arches, with a drop of 80 meters into the valley below. After a climb through the woods of Monteluco, you arrive at one of the most important monasteries founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. During your walk, you'll also enjoy the beaurigul vistas across the Val di Spoleto, with viwes on a clear day as far as Assisi. (10 km.)

The next morning, after no sleep on my part, I went downstairs for breakfast. It was a very hefty buffet and I loaded up on as much food as I could hoping to at least counter my lack of sleep with plenty of food. Let’s hope, at least. We loaded our daypacks and set off to begin our hike.

The hike itinerary was only five days, shorter than the more days we had hiked in Tuscany in 2007 through the same Tour Company, Girosole. Whereas hiking in Tuscany was rolling green hills, hiking in Umbria was going up these huge mountains, straight up most times and then hiking straight back down again. All in all it was 74 kms. The other interesting part was that each days hike was different from the last.

The first day of hiking, the very first thing we did was to walk back up the hill towards the Castle we’d seen the day before and then we walked across the Roman Ponte delle Torri bridge outside Spoleto. The bridge spans 240 meters going across 10 gigantic arches. The bridge is 80 meters from the valley floor. There is a wide sidewalk of sorts on the left side of the bridge. It was filled with loose gravel making it like hiking in sand. After crossing the bridge we then hiked up through the trees which was good as it was in the mid-80's that day. The trail switched back and forth and crossed the highway a few times. When we got to the top, we were walking under these very cool Holm Oak trees that were very interesting in shapes with no vegetation underneath them. Lovely walking. Apparently there were also some caves of great interest up there that we missed and heard later they were the best part of the hike. Dang it! There was a beautifully serene monastery at the top of the hill which was founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. There were very small rooms that the monks lived in that were very sparse. You had to duck down to get inside the doorways. From there we walked back down the mountain going in a roundabout fashion to where we began. At one point the trail was very steep and it was tough going downhill for a very long ways. We all found large sticks to help us stay upright. The boys were much faster than us gals, as usual, and they sprinted ahead. Once we got out of the trees the views became very beautiful. We visted another quite lovely church before crossing the bridge once again. At the top of the hill we found an outside bar and I enjoyed the coolest, limonade that tasted perfect after such a hike.

That night we enjoyed a delicious dinner at our hotel, Hotel Clitunno, Spoleto. As we sat outside on the terrace the chimney sweeps were flying all around overhead. The air was still quite warm and much rosso was consumed.

---

Photos

Inside Rocca
Nice jail, eh?

Comments

[Love Umbria]

La Rocca
I am glad you enjoyed Spoleto and discovered the Osteria del Matto. The frescoes in La Rocca were actually whitewashed over when it was a prison and have only recently been restored.

[robinlnu]

Osteria del Matto/ La Rocca
Obviously you've been to the Osteria del Matto in Spoleto. Did you too enjoy a meal there and how was your time spent with the owner? Thanks for the information about the frescos only just being restored at La Rocca. That makes a lot of sense.