Viterbo: Some Interesting Details; Quirky.

To mark the cross walks, they used White Marble. Italy has a lot of it. Lasts longer than paint.

Solution for a tricky little "corner problem on a slope.

I love the tiny "cat flap" looking doors on the window shutters.   Italy is full of stuff like this. Books could be written with photos on every page. 

It's been a while

Another vacation has interrupted the narration of the previous one.  Trying to figure out how to meld the two.

Trasporto della Macchina di Santa Rosa in Viterbo, Italy. With the help of a You Tube link.

Festival of Santa Rosa, Procession 2019

Of course, our visit to Viterbo was in May, 2019. We did not witness the current year's festival.

The carrying of this the monumental structure--almost pagan, if not to styled in a Christian manner--seemed timeless. Could be last week (it was) or could be the Middle Ages. Or, in spirit and style, we could be seeing a version of a Roman Triumph parade?

The Doorways of Viterbo

These are just a few of the unique, stately doorways (entrances to private homes, courts, etc?) that were easy to find when walking in Viterbo. The Middle Ages is still on show. See the worn doorstep on the example below. (Multi-thousand feet entering and leaving over the centuries.)

Currently, I'm interested in Boro stitched mending effects on antique Japanese Kimonos; the appearance of the  doorway above provides a similar idea with the various wood and irregular patterns.

This one is a favorite. A little photo editing, polishing, printing and I have a pretty illustration for a card to send to someone, someday.

The streets feel haunted. "Is it so hard to believe that souls might also travel those paths?" wonders Anthony Doerr near the final pages of his wonderful novel "All the Light We Cannot See". He did not write about Rome or Viterbo for this novel, but what matter? The ancient setting evokes the same feeling. Am I wrong?

Viterbo: What a Joy to See this Town!

Viterbo is about an hour from Rome--a train ride from Vatican area station.  The guide book said Viterbo is the best example of a walled, medieval city left in Italy (for it's size). Looks like the Land of Romeo and Juliet, doesn't it?  It was magical; clean, very little trash and graffiti; not very crowded on this cool May Friday.

They produce wonderful ceramics here in Viterbo. A local friend from our home town spent 2 years learning and teaching mosaics here. Beautiful stuff.

The city sponsors a major religious event in September (next week, actually) Feast of Santa Rosa. Crowds will arrive for that! The men of the town carry a huge towering structure through the streets, in honor of the sweet Saint of Medieval times, whose shrine is in the town.  Sometimes, there are accidents while the structure is being transported. People have died!

But not today.  We strolled away the day. Every alley and court yard contained an architectural wonder, great and small.

Not much graffiti but evocative walks, courts and passages all over town. Many Italian and international films are made here.

Charm abounds. Look at that sweet bell tower. And my favorite everywhere: hearing the genuine, old fashion or ancient church bells tolling the hours. Loved that so much.

 Dripping with antique wonder. The people we see here today are tourists, mostly. Or locals like the nun? Who would we have seen 500 years ago? What would they have done? Worked hard, probably.

The next couple of posts will show more of this wonderful town. So glad we could visit!

The Day of the Long March..about 17 miles.

We started very early this clear, cool May day; walked and walked.  Our son was involved with a service project at the American Academy in Rome (our daughter-in-law was a Fellow). We could have joined the project, but didn't want to somehow exceed our welcome.  More about this in a later post; it was a "missed opportunity" to meet and work along side a famous author.  But it was OK as it was.

Lots of interesting little alleys and lanes on the way to the Vatican. We didn't linger, since the plan for the day was a long walk through the streets of Rome to the Forum, etc.

The usual view of Vatican Square.  It was about 7:00 AM by this time.  Looking for the usual too: coffee and a bathroom.

Lovely fountain with it's share of the usual litter that is everywhere in a city this big with so many mindless tourists.  Sad for the Roman people.

Vatican workers on their way to work. Just another workplace?

This style cute little trucks were everywhere.

We walked so long that day--perhaps 17 miles in all--I made it, just barely. Stopped taking photos, but it was a good day. Tired at the end. Had gelato for dinner and fell into bed.

One thing that helps with walking in Rome: if possible, with a decent map, follow back streets and quieter lanes rather than the main, clogged streets.  Far less congestion and more scenic vista.

I loved scenes like this; even in harsher light like this.  A cloudy day produces better photos, certainly.

The Kids of Rome

With all the photos I took, I actually made a point not to include too many "child photos" ("out in the wild", as everyone is suddenly saying). But here and there, some spunky, exuberant or stylish little kid would appear....

From reading, I understood there is a scarcity of kids in Italy, but I saw kids everywhere; facilities for children, too. Schools, toys stores, kids clothes and furnishings, etc. Parents out strolling with little kid and a toddler in arms as well as baby in stroller.

 
If you can't find real kids, your can find them as statues in museums. The baby above is strangling the bird, not cuddling with it!

This young family enjoyed the rose garden we saw  on one of our first long walks.

At Ostia, I think it was a school field trip day; the place was (almost) crowded with school classes visiting the ruins. The kids were well behaved (of course) but loud and boisterous, talkative, energetic and interactive with there teachers and each other; definitely not bored with their magnificent heritage.

At Piazzo San Cosimato playground, near our B&B, there were always so many brave, thrill-seeking toddlers on the (dangerous looking? old style?) equipment. Rocking back and forth as hard as possible.