Friday, 23 November 2012

It was a dimly lit, grey foggy morning.  The air wrapped itself onto your shoulders like a heavy blanket……..

OK.  Enough of that.  We awoke and gazed out the door onto a scene which resembled flying just above the cloud tops.  The valley bottom to the west of the apartment was totally obscured in a thick fog, above which, a few of the closer hill tops appeared.  Sight seeing might be a bit dicey on this day.  Based on the recommendation of Laura’s Italian teacher we decided to roll the dice and drive over to the town of Cortona which was about 30 miles to the northeast.  The entire drive consisted of more turns through 75 yard visibility than I want to do again any time soon.  Things were still not looking good.  Following the “blue dot” on our iPhone map app we eventually made our way to the foot of the town.  At least according to the map.  We continued up the switchbacks until just below the base of the town walls we broke out into sunshine and blue skies. It seemed as if Cortona were floating along on an ocean of white foam.  It just might be a good day after all.

For some reason I had the idea that we had visited this town on our first trip to Italy over 25 years ago.  I thought I had recalled reading an entry in our journal from that trip that referenced the town.  But, as we walked around there was nothing that looked familiar or jogged my memory.   I will have to pull that journal out when we return and take another look at it.

We hit most of the highlights in the tour books which entailed church peeping and a fine little art museum along with an Etruscan civilization museum.  While this may not be the most picturesque town in all of Italy it most certainly has a bustling center  and a nice mix of local reality with just a “touch of tourist” to make it less challenging.   Laura was thrilled that a soggy, bad hair day was dodged and we eventually made it home in the dark and in the fog.

Things are looking a bit dicey out the door at Montepulciano.

Here it is. Photographic proof that we do not have our heads in the clouds all the time. The town was literally 100 feet above the top of the fog.

You had better know exactly where you want this chair once you place it. It is made of room radiators!! I am sure it is REAL comfy!

Life goes on in Italy.

Bronze detail on a statue base.

No statue looks this good!!

Interior of the main cathedral.

Altar detail.

Looking back toward the light.

I remember seeing a photo of this painting while in high school and was amazed by it. After all this time it is quite fulfilling to see it in person.  Thank you Mr Kavesky.   Fra Angelica. 1428

Wing detail.

This is San Francesco, the second Franciscan church ever built. It dates to 1245 but has undergone numerous renovations which have covered over much of the early frescoes. The first altar on the left has now been “opened” to show what may lay behind the balance of the interior.

The exposed frescoes.

I had just a moment to grab this shot of this gentleman and his aged tools being loaded into the back of a car after a day of work. The focus is off a bit but I think it captures the years of work of this man and his implements.

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It never cleared all day. This is a view looking down onto a cemetery outside of town.

The interior of Santa Margherita. No, not the frozen type in a salt rimmed glass. A wonderfully decorated church situated high above the town and dating to the mid 1800’s.

Ceiling detail.

Found this on a little street in the back corner of town.

Etruscan funerary urns.

Much of the artifacts in the Etruscan museum came from a series of large domed burial structures located on the lowlands below the city. Portions of the historical city fortification walls are built atop Etruscan aged walls. People have been on this hill top for a long time.

Another wonderful sunset as we head back to the car.