Buongiorno !!

12 miles of Catacombs lie below this spring field along the Appian Way

top of St. Peter's looking getting the birds eye view

Nun in Assisi with full attire

·         Rome, Assisi, Lucca, Pisa, Cinque Terra, Pietra Ligure, Damanhur (Vidracco) and Sienna. Our two weeks in Italy were action packed and full, long days. We started in Rome.  All of a sudden I said, "WOW", I'm in Rome!  History and art becomes alive and your history lessons of the past become something of value, rather than just something from a book. In Rome, we went to the Vatican and climbed the hundreds of stairs to get to the top of St. Peter's Dome for a bird's eye view of the city. We walked across, around and through Rome until midnight. We took a bus out to the Appian Way to walk the ancient cobblestone road and to visit the extensive underground catacombs. In the evening, we worked our way back across Rome  to see the fountains lit, and the piazzas full of people and activity. The Trevi fountain was a highlight of our night stroll.  As beautiful as Rome is, we were anxious to get out of the big city and into the smaller villages and towns of Italy. Our next train ride was to Assisi. We were met by our couchsurfing hosts at the train station and enjoyed our connection with them. Staying with local people gives us a sense of what it is like to live full time in these amazing places. We were extremely lucky to be there on the Monday before Easter week, and had the walled city almost to ourselves. Assisi has a very special feel to it, and today still reflects the life of St. Francis. One feels as if they have gone through a time warp in the narrow cobbled streets with Franciscan monks, friars and the poor Clare nuns in full attire going about their daily tasks and activities. We especially enjoyed a hike that was just outside the walled city, high into the hills, to walk in the footsteps of St. Francis to the caves where he would meditate. You would either curse your way up this long, steep rocky hillside, or have to be a saint saying your prayers on the way up.  I can tell you, I was glad we hitched a ride back down to the walled city when we were done seeing the cave and tiny monastery on the hill. Stepping back into 15th century Assisi was truly a highlight of our time in Italy.  

·             Early the next morning, we were on the train again heading north to another walled city, Lucca. We couchsurfed our way through Italy and had wonderful hosts, but the one we had in Lucca was a gem. She made us the best vegan Italian meal we had. We also accompanied her and a Brazilian couchsurfer, Flavio, to Pisa in the evening to watch her friend, who is a popular blues singer, and her great band. Around 2:00 am, we saw the leaning tower of Pisa on our way back to Lucca. We did not have to fight the crowds at that time of the morning.  Rick and I did not drink at the pub, so Rick ended up driving us in Flavio’s Fiat sports car back to Lucca on the winding back roads, while I held my breath in the back seat.  He had way too much fun driving that sports car!  Actually, Rick did drink at the pub, though his was a non-alcoholic drink called ‘Io Guido’ meaning ‘I drive’.

It's 2:00 in the afternoon Where is everyone???

Hiking between villages in Cinque Terra

Overlooking  Final  Ligure 

One of the beautiful villages along Cinque Terra

·         Heading north, our next destination was the beautiful Mediterranean coastline, walking from village to village in the area known as Cinque Terra. These quaint villages are connected by sweet trails that the locals and tourists have travelled for centuries to get from one place to another. The scenery, and small family owned fruit orchards and gardens along the way, overlooking the sea, is breathtaking scenery.  We worked our way past Genoa to another coastal town, Pietra Ligure. In nearby Final Ligure, we discovered another ancient walled city with a long trail starting in the village and winding up into the mountains. We explored a deserted castle high on the hill, and followed a cobblestone road almost to the neighboring valley. 

clay pottery around Damanhur

outdoor temple where we went to full moon oracle

·         In Italy, many of the businesses close between 1 and 4pm for siesta time, so when you are in one of these villages they are like a ghost town.  All of a sudden, around 4:30, there are people everywhere in the piazzas (town centers or squares) sweeping outside their shops. There is a hustle and bustle that just appears. It is an odd phenomenon to witness, especially in the smaller villages. Again, we couchsurfed with a lovely couple who made our time in this area wonderful.  Our next train ride was a long six hour stint with a couple of transfers to different trains, which was not easy to figure out, but we managed it. We arrived in a town called Ivrea, which is about 20 miles away from the eco-community of Damanhur. We spent a couple of days being a part of this community.  Our first night, there was a folk dance which was a fun surprise, and allowed us to dance and observe the Damahurians as a group. The minute the music started everyone in the room was engaged in dancing. There were no wallflowers on this night. They are a fun-loving, happy bunch of people.  Rick and I enjoy dancing and were happy to participate. The community runs a very well supplied health food store, with a great selection, which was exciting for me to see this far north in Italy, in a rural area. We toured the art centers, the bookstore and the community as a whole. The big excitement at for us was visiting the underground spiritual temples. I highly recommend the virtual tour of the temples, which can be viewed online at http://www.damanhur.org/ They were carved by hand, underground, in the 1980’s, by the Damanhur community members.

art everywhere at Damanhur

folk dance at Damanhur

Damahurian artist at work

·       We happened to be at Damanhur during the full moon, and were invited to the Full Moon Oracle, which is a Druid type ceremony that hundreds of the community members participate in. There was drumming and dancing, and ancient rituals with fires and candles.  The setting was an outdoor temple, and the full moon was located center stage above us in the sky. It was quite the experience!  

overlooking Lucca ( a tree growing ontop of the clock tower)

street in Assisi

overlooking Assisi from the Wall of city

overlooking Lucca

Lucca rooftops

·         We walked around the community to view the sculptures, labyrinths and the art that permeates this eco- settlement. The Damahurians are truly progressive thinkers and doers, as well as a very loving, and accepting, international community. We were impressed, learned a lot, and feel grateful for our time there. We took the early morning bus with the high school students from the the community and surrounding towns back to Ivrea and the train station. By this time we were pretty tired, as we had stayed up way past our bedtime all through Italy. We took naps on the long train ride to Sienna. We only had the evening and a half a day to explore Sienna, so we pushed our way around the city. The weather was beautiful, and Sienna was larger and different than any of the cities we had been to previously. The piazzas were bustling with activity from locals and tourists. It is now Easter week, and many related church activities are in full swing. By nightfall, we are back in Rome for our last evening in this country. We covered a lot of territory, and feel we got a really good taste of Italy, the people and their culture. Our next experience will take us to England and beyond.