Tag: bruschetta

The city that time forgot

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We took advantage of a recent sunny Saturday to visit Civita di Bagnoregio (which I will now refer to as CdB for the remainder of the post).  CdB was a little over an hour from Rome.  You have to drive straight through the town of Bagnoregio to get there.

Check this out.

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I know.  It’s pretty ridiculous, right?  CdB used to be bigger, but pieces have been falling off the cliffs for centuries.  It is known as il paese che muore or “the town that is dying.”  Now you can only reach the town by bridge.  This means by foot, motorcycle, or Ape are your only choices up.  There is ramp all the way so you could take a stroller or wheelchair if you wanted.  I did not, but we saw people that did.  I can report that an ambitious toddler can walk or run almost all the way up on his own.

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Before we set off up the bridge, we did a little parking shuffle.  The first pay lot we hit is close to Caffe Belvedere.  (Belvedere seemed to have some nice outdoor seating with a tiny playground nearby.)  But we weren’t there for the food.  We were there for this:

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And then we realized that we would have to hike down before hiking up again.  We saw some perilous looking stairs.  This was not what the guidebook told us.  James noticed another lot down under the bridge.  We had been directed into the upper lot, but maybe we could try again?  At least we got some great views.

I think they are trying to limit the lower lot to people with mobility issues or bambini, but you could probably just do it.  For this lot, take a right immediately before the parking lot.  It turns out, most people in the upper lot walk on the road to access the city.  I’m not sure if people actually use the stairs.

We parked again (pay lot) and bought tickets for CdB.  Tickets were 1.50 euro for adults.

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The walk up wasn’t too bad, even while wearing a baby.  The town itself was incredible to see.  Even though it is probably about as old as Volterra and San Gimignano, it felt older.  Stately, but a little crumbly.  The town was also full of cats, an unexpected bonus for Henry.

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Note the daylight behind those windows. A palace used to be there until it fell off in an earthquake.

Note the daylight behind those windows. A palace used to be there until it fell off in an earthquake.

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This is the main piazza with the church.  The town has a live Nativity scene during the holidays, but it was not happening when we were there.  We did see a large rabbit and chickens in a cage that may or may not have been a part of the scene.

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We ate at L’Antico Frantoio Bruschetteria, famous for its 1500 year old olive press, which we sat right beside.  The restaurant seemed practically hewn out of the rock.  Seriously, it felt like you were entering a cave.  All in all, it was a decent meal.  We had a prosciutto plate and bruschetta.  It was just cold.  So very cold.  Not the food, the restaurant. The unremarkable quarter liter of red wine we got was colder than most white wines you find.  I only realized on the way out that they were cooking everything on a very small open fire at the front.

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When we emerged, the sky was grayer and moodier.  We poked around a little more and then started the trek back to the car.  We blew up nap time, which the kids made us pay for over the next few days.  But I would definitely call this a town that was worth it.

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Happy weekend everyone!

Apples and Oranges: San Gimignano and Volterra

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Two hill towns, both alike in dignity, in fair Tuscany where we lay our scene.  I hoped to have “hard hitting” analysis on the “better” hill town from our recent trip to Tuscany, but our experiences were really apples and oranges.  I liked both San Gimignano and Volterra.  If I could only recommend one, it might be San Gimignano.  No, Volterra.  But probably San Gimignano?  See, what I mean?  I just don’t know.  I want to say Volterra, but I feel like it didn’t get a fair shake.  Lemme ‘splain.

If you look at the guidebook (Rick Steves’ is our go to), it talks about both towns being nice but Volterra being more untouched by time and San Gimignano being super touristy.  San Gimignano is easier to get to from the highway, which likely factors in.

We did San Gimignano in a morning, the morning of the day with the gorgeous weather.  We had a nice walk through town.  In a way the hill towns are great for kids.  Because only local residents can drive, traffic is limited.  Definite elevation changes, but almost everything was stroller friendly.

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Henry became obsessed with this olive tree

Henry became obsessed with this olive tree

San Gimignano is famous for its surviving towers.  There used to be more (70something?).  These were a defense mechanism.  If you were getting sacked, you climbed up your tower and burnt the stairs.

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Tower selfie

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The town absolutely was touristy.  The tiny town has not one, but two torture museums.  Buses of tourists pulled up.  We passed through many groups visiting from all over the world.  I’m not sure we actually saw any locals.  It was not uncomfortably crowded, but we weren’t there during peak season.  In a way, the touristyness helped us out because things were actually open on a Sunday morning.

Streets off the beaten path were much quieter

Streets off the main drag were much quieter

After our stroll around town, we had a lovely al fresco lunch at Locanda di Sant’Agostino.  It was adjacent to a square and Henry ran around with Alessio, a similarly aged boy who happened to be eating with his parents one table over.  Even though we didn’t get to see inside the church or museums, we had a really nice time just experiencing the city.  One of those dolce vita moments.

Bruschetta

Bruschetta

 

Drinking local wine Vernaccia

Drinking local wine Vernaccia

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Henry’s new thing is climbing ALL THE THINGS

Contrast this to Volterra.  We went inside the city three times, but never in the daylight.  All three times were chilly.  Once it was raining.  I hoped to spend a morning in Volterra, but that was the day of ALL THE RAIN so we just kept going post afternoon nap.

Ancient Etruscan arch. In WWII, the town convinced the Nazis not to destroy it by literally digging up the streets to plug the gate.

Ancient Etruscan arch. In WWII, the town convinced the Nazis not to destroy it by literally digging up the streets to plug the gate.

Volterra definitely felt less touristy.  You didn’t see as many tchotchke shops although there were some.  You did feel like you were surrounded by Italians.  Real live Italians that actually lived here.  But I can’t definitively say that Volterra is less touristy; only that the town is less touristy in the evening, which is what you’d probably expect many places.

Well preserved ancient theater

Well preserved ancient Roman theater

Palazzo dei Priori

Palazzo dei Priori

We did enjoy some nice food, like our magical night at Enoteca Del Duca.  Trattoria da Bado outside of town was amazing.  We also had a tasty meal at Don Beta, which was conveniently open closer to when we like to eat.  We had a miss on Sunday night where we scrounged for takeout pizza after nothing was open, even things that said they’d be open.  *Cough* La Vena di Vino *Cough*

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Volterra had sort of a creepy vibe.  This could have been heightened by the dark.  It felt stark.  Craggy.  A little desolate.  This is where Twilight’s Volturi live.  Meyer picked it based on the name, but you could totally see a vampire strolling around the corner at night.

Local cookie, Ossi di Morta, "bones of the dead" (It tastes almondy and crunches. You know, like bones.)

Local cookie, Ossi di Morta, “bones of the dead” (It tastes almondy and crunches. You know, like bones.)

I’m glad we saw both.  Volterra was a very intriguing city, but our overall experience in San Gimignano was probably more pleasant for factors outside of Volterra’s control.

So after that imperfect and highly unscientific comparison, if you could visit only one, which one are you leaning toward?