Umbria

As I download my photos and reflect on the past 2 days and the last 2 days of my retreat here in Umbria, I hope that I will be able to capture the essence of my experience effectively enough for you all to feel and experience what I have experienced.


I decided I needed to explore a bit of Umbria and because I don't have a car   looked on line and was guided to a Umbrian Tour Guide - Daniela Paci - and contacted her about taking me around Umbria to see and experience some of the countryside.  Meeting Daniela has been an absolute delight   We have spend the most magical, synchronositc 2 days together exploring and getting to know eachother and each conversation and experience we have shared has been inspiring.

umbriatourguide.com

On Tuesday (17 April) we visited 2 towns - Montefalco and Bavangna and had lunch in between at Wine Cellar - Colle Del Saraceno run by Myla and Francesco Botti.  I think that instead of giving you the history and information of these towns - information you can always get on line - and I would not like to bore you in anyway, what I would like to share is the wonderful experiences we had exploring these towns and the wonderful, gentle Umbrian countryside.

The art, the churches, the squares, the views and wondering through the streets of these walled towns that are from another era was absolutely wonderful.  They feel like they have always felt and without the autobanks and the motor cars and buses, time stands absolutely still and you can almost feel life in medieval times.  What is amazing with the restoration of these towns and the fact that most are built from and show signs of Roman ruins, old pagan temples and relics from long time past, the philosophy has been to re-use everything and that is what has been done and is evident - melting the past with the present - acknowledging the ancestors and bringing the old ways, the methods and the history into and making it part of everything that is done today.  

www.cantinabotti.com




And there is the Olive Oil, the Sagrantino Wine, Spelt, Honey, Lentils, Pork all products from the area, rich and fertile.  The countryside is full of farms and  small holdings growing olive trees and grape vines, dating back to the beginning of the 1900's. And the olive oil is absolutely delicious.  


Bevanga, I found an intriguing town and the energy was very old and still feels like the Medieval Ages - each of the medieval towns although similar have their own very unique energy.   Wandering around the narrow streets experiencing life here is magical and Daniela arranged for us to visit a Historical Palace L'Orto degli Angeli, an absolute delight.  Its an ancient house dating back to 1788 and has been owned and preserved by the same family since then. In between 2 buildings there is a garden - The Garden of the Angels - filled with Wisteria and over 150 rose bushes, which I can just imagine when blooming must take one on a journey - so beautiful, peaceful and surrounded by ancient buildings.  In Bevanga, part of the town has be built using an original Roman amphitheatre, filling in walls and spaces.  Absolutely amazing and the restaurant in L'Orto degli Angeli is under the street level using the curve and part of the original amphitheatre.  

www.ortoangeli.com

On Wednesday, we completed our journey visiting the medieval town of Spello and the city of Perugia.  Another day of magic, beauty, and very special moments.  In Spello, visiting Santa Maria Maggiore and the absolutely breathtaking frescoes by the Pinturicchio, we had the absolute honour of meeting a friar from the Francescian order, Friar Paulo who is an artist and creates the most amazing pieces each year for the Infiorata feast of Corpus Domini.  This very special man goes into the fields around Spello each Spring in June, and collects various flowers, dries them very well, crushes them in an old little bowl, keeps each colour in its container, and then mixes them with glue to create these pieces that have the messages representative of his faith and his complete love and devotion to God.  He told us that he is not the artist, God is.  This man embraces Silence and it was the most unbelievable honour to meet him and share his gift and faith with him.

And then there is Perugia,the capital city of Umbria, and very much a coming together of the modern and the ancient.  The city has a mini-metro, which takes one from a central parking area into the old, centre of the city.  A very innovative and clever way to keep cars out and make it easy.  What a funky system - transport system in Italy is wonderful and everything actually comes on time and is really efficient.  Within Perugia while wondering around looking at the various sites, Daniela showed me a complete underground town that was discovered and is being restored and untilised - again bringing in and resuing the old and making it work.  We had lunch at a restaurant completely organic and only using locally produced produce.  Al Mangiar bene - www.almangiarbene.com

And then its time for me to leave the retreat and head out into the world once again - I have absolutely loved staying in the country, connecting with nature and I have met some really lovely people. I have a very full month left in Italy with much moving around, sight seeing, connecting with friends and soaking up spring.  And I am sure lots of writing and sharing.


Until next time be blessed - I will post photos on my facebook page - Adventure with Nidhi - enjoy.


xxxxx