Tuscan Hill Towns Day 11
Tuscan Hill Towns
DAY 11 - May 15, 2005 - Etruscan Tombs of Sovana
The early morning Tuscan sun was bright and hot today. Our wake up call was at 7 AM again this morning. This trip has been very easy with no early morning activities. I went to the ATM machine to get more Euros to last us the rest of the trip. Everyone was on time so we were able to leave right at 9 as scheduled.
As we drove away from Pienza we looked back to see the towns we had visited the past three days topping the horizon. Giulia gave us a little preview of our day ahead. We passed through more beautiful rolling hills, with very green fields of wheat, beans, corn, and hay. There are fruit and nut groves as well as elegantly restored villas with an occasional farm house in ruin that has not yet been reclaimed. We have noticed there are not many poor people in this area. There were a few beggars in the cities but most locals seem to be well off.
We traveled on SP 2, an ancient road that leads directly to Rome and then made the turn to S20 to go to Sorano. Although it is a secondary road, it is a very smooth surface and well marked as have been most of the roads we have traveled here in Italy. We saw quite a few flocks of sheep that Giulia said were managed by Sardinians. We even saw a beautiful ring necked pheasant in one of the green fields. We entered the Etruscan triangle, including the towns of Sorana, Sovana, and Pitigliano which were the capitals for culture and civilization in 400 BC.
Our first stop was for a photo opportunity overlooking the hillside village of Sorano, the historic Etruscan area, a well-preserved medieval town, where rows of stone houses cluster along the edge of a rocky cliff. We had about 30 minutes to walk around the town and explore the heights. Vic went out to the very top of the highest over-look and to the very end of the Tower to photograph the village below.
We left Sorano at 10:45, this time winding our way through very narrow and steep turns in the walled roadway. Dominico had to sound the horn warning the oncoming vehicles that we were trying to negotiate the blind curves. The landscape was dryer here with olive groves and vineyards, but they were much further along in their growing season. We stopped along the way to the small town to meet our guide Lara, who directed us to the archaeological site that is considered one of the most important of the Etruscan period. She told us of the geographic and historical history of the area and about the commerce of these ancient peoples. The necropolis of Sovana has well-preserved tombs cut into the limestone hills dating from the 3rd century B.C. Although not a lot is know of these pre-Roman people, we know from the ruins they were sailors, merchants, and farmers and built their homes in the hillsides, carving out caves in the porous rock.
We continue on to the small village of Sovana where we met Lara again. Our first stop in this small, small village was the information center where they had displays of Etruscan pottery and a model of the tombs we had seen earlier in the day. We thanked Lara and were told to meet the group at 2 PM at the information center. As it was Sunday, there were many local people having lunch in the main restaurant. Giulia offered to take about half of the group there for the special lasagna full dinner. We chose a lighter lunch and looked for pizza but could not find one in this small city. We settled for a small panini sandwich and calzone and then went for an ice cream for dessert. We continued to tour the village finding an interesting path to the Duomo which we explored. We discovered a cobblestone path back to the village center hurrying so we would return by 2. Once we arrived we found that Giulia and the group who had gone to lunch with her were not even started dessert and we had to wait for over 30 minutes until the group was ready to return to the bus.
As we passed the town Pitigliano we were able to stop and take pictures from a scenic overlook. Giulia told us this was a much bigger city with more options, perhaps a better choice for lunch opportunities on our own and it was only 8 minutes from Sovana. At 3 PM we started out for Orvieto, a drive of less than an hour. Most rested after their big lunch but we enjoyed the scenery as our bus passed through these picturesque areas. Just as we got our first glimpse of Orvieto we stopped at another overlook and were able to enjoy the view of the city on the tolfa volcanic hills.
We had to say goodbye to Dominico at the lower gate of the city as our big bus could not enter the city center. Our luggage was transferred to small pickup and Evelyn was able to ride to the hotel in comfort. The rest of us trekked ½ mile with our backpacks and carry-on luggage to the Hotel Duomo at the city center. We were given our rooms and had an hour and a half to freshen up.
At 6 PM we met the group at the patio just outside the hotel and had a little briefing from Giulia. She pointed out the restaurants that we might enjoy and asked if there was anyone that wanted to join her for dinner. We left the hotel and took a short (30 yards) walk to the Piazza del Duomo where a German band was going to perform for the Santa Palombina Celebration, a commemoration of the peace between Italy and Germany. We heard one piece and then continued with our brief exploration of the central area walking down the Via del Duomo seeing the natives doing their Sunday walk. Gennie and I went to a pizzeria and enjoyed an Italian pizza, green salad with tuna, Diet Coke and a ½ liter of white wine. It may have been one of the best pizzas we have had in Italy. About ten members did go with our guide for a more formal dinner. At 8 PM we returned to our room to finish our log and shower before bed.
Pic 1 - Map
Pic 2 - Etruscan
Pic 3 - Pitigliano
Pic 4 - Orvieto
Pic 5 - Polomba German
Accommodations: Hotel Duomo Meals: B
If you wish to travel with OAT Click Here.
To receive $50 per person off your first reservation with OAT, mention the following information when reserving your Overseas Adventure Travel Trip: Mr. Victor Garcia Customer #673062
Comments
Featured Journal
Day 13: Azores & Madeira: Portugal's Unspoiled Archipelagos
Day 13 - Saturday, April 22, 2022 - Depart for U.S.
The hotel prepared a box breakfast for us as we had to be in the lobby way before the breakfast room was open.
Last night we found out that our departure flight back to...
