IN 1220, FRANCIS OF ASSISI WAS LIVING IN GUBBIO, WHEN A WOLF TERRORIZED THE TOWN, ATTACKING LIVESTOCK, THEN PEOPLE. NO ONE COULD KILL HIM (HER?). THE GUBBIANS FEARED TO EVEN VENTURE OUTSIDE THE CITY WALLS. EXCEPT FRANCIS, WHO’D SPENT SOME TIME IN THE WOODS, CHATTING WITH SQUIRRELS, BIRDS, BOARS AND BADGERS. FRANCIS CUT A DEAL WITH THE WOLF: IF YOU STOP EATING LAMBS, PIGS AND PEOPLE, WE WILL FEED YOU.
TODAY, THERE ARE 3,309 APPENINE WOLVES IN ITALY. UMBRIA IS IN THE FOOTHILLS OF THE APPENINES. THERE HAVE BEEN NO REPORTED WOLF ATTACKS, BUT UNLIKE TUSCANY, LAZIO OR LOMBARDY, UMBRIA IS WILD, UNTAMED AND SAVAGELY BEAUTIFUL.
FROM MID-APRIL TO MID-MAY, WE RENTED A 14TH CENTURY STONE VILLA ATOP A HILL WITH SPECTACULAR VIEWS OF THE VINEYARDS, OLIVE GROVES AND FARMLAND BELOW. THE ESTATE, COMPRISING FOUR STRUCTURES, WAS METICULOUSLY RESTORED OVER A SIX-YEAR PERIOD STARTING IN 2006 USING THE SAME MATERIALS AND BUILDING TECHNIQUES THAT WERE EMPLOYED IN ITS ORIGINAL CONSTRUCTION. OUR FRIEND SANDY, A HIGH-END RESIDENTIAL CONTRACTOR, DESCRIBED IT AS "THE EMBRACE OF IMPERFECTION."
WE RENTED THE LARGEST HOUSE WHICH SLEPT EIGHT COMFORTABLY, SO WE INVITED FAMILY AND FRIENDS. LYNN’S DAUGHTER ALBYN, THEN SANDY, RUTH AND ESTHER. THE FINAL TWO WEEKS, ALONE, PROVED A KIND OF SECOND HONEYMOON.
THE CLOSEST TOWN OF ANY CONSEQUENCE IS UMBERTIDE, WHICH IS AN HOUR OR LESS OR MORE FROM ASSISI, AREZZO, SAN SEPULCRO, PERUGIA, MONTONE, SPOLETO, ORVIETO, AND, OF COURSE, GUBBIO. MOST ARE HILL TOWNS. EACH IS UNIQUE. AND QUITE A FEW ARE HOME TO SOME OF THE GREATEST ART WORK AND ARCHITECTURE IN THE WORLD.
WHEN THE ROMAN LEGIONS MARCHED INTO UMBRIA AROUND 300 B.C., THEY RAN INTO THE ETRUSCANS, WHO'D BUILT WELL-FORTIFIED CITIES LIKE PERUGIA AND CORTONE. THE ETRUSCANS HAD THEIR OWN WRITTEN LANGUAGE, ADVANCED ARCHITECTURE AND ENGINEERING, RELIGIOUS BELIEFS, ART, MUSIC, AND GREAT-LOOKING JEWELRY. SO, ALTHOUGH THE ROMANS HAD "CONQUERED" UMBRIA BY 295 B.C., IT WAS ACTUALLY A MERGING OF TWO ADVANCED CULTURES. THE ROMANS GAVE THEM AQUADUCTS, COLISEUMS AND ROADS. THE ETRUSCANS GAVE THE ROMANS THE ARCH AND THE ORIGINAL RECIPE FOR TIRAMISU. AFTER SEVERAL CENTURIES OF STRUGGLES BETWEEN THE ROMANS AND THE BARBARIANS, THE GUELPHS AND THE GHIBELLINES, THE PAPACY AND THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, THINGS SETTLED DOWN INTO THE APTLY-NAMED DARK AGES. BY THE 14TH, ITALY WAS DIVIDED INTO PRINCIPALITIES, RULED BY POWERFUL FAMILIES SUCH AS THE MEDICIS (FLORENCE), THE VISCONTIS AND THE SFORZAS (MILAN), AND THE PAMPHILIJS (ROME). THE POPE, OF COURSE, WAS ALWAYS IN THE MIX. (HE HAD FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES.)
AFTER A WHIRLWIND THREE DAYS IN LONDON, WE FLEW TO ROME WITH ALBYN IN TOW. THE DRIVE TO UMBERTIDE TOOK TWO AND A HALF HOURS, AMPLE TIME TO RE-ACCLIMATE MYSELF TO DRIVING IN ITALY. ON THE AUTOSTRADA, IT'S USUALLY TWO LANES IN EACH DIRECTION. THE LEFT LANE IS RESERVED FOR THE FASTEST DRIVERS. SO EVEN IF YOU'RE DOING 180KM/HR IN YOUR LAMBORGHINI VENERO, SOME OLD LADY IN A FIAT WILL TAILGATE YOU TILL YOU MOVE OVER.
WE RENDEZVOUSED WITH DEBORAH D'EMILIO AT THE COOP IN UMBERTIDE. DEBORAH IS A CHARMING, LIVELY ENGLISH-SPEAKING WOMAN, WHO SUGGESTED WE SHOP BEFORE HEADING TO VILLA CASTELLARO.
I'D HAD VISIONS OF SHOPPING AT FARMERS MARKETS, BUT THE COOP WAS A REVELATION--HIGH-QUALITY PRODUCE, FISH, MEAT, WINE, AND A DELI SECTION RUNNING THE WIDTH OF THE STORE WITH FIVE KINDS OF PROSCUITTO, SALUMI, CHEESES, OLIVES, PEPPERS, BABY ARTICHOKES, AND BREAD. (HISTORICAL NOTE: WHEN PERUGIA CHALLENGED THE POPE'S PRIMACY, THE PONTIFF IMPOSED A SALT TAX ON THE REGION. THE UMBRIANS RESPONDED BY ELIMINATING SALT FROM THEIR BREAD. TO THIS DAY, WHEN YOU ORDER BREAD, YOU MUST SPECIFY "CON SALE" BECAUSE THEY STILL MAKE BOTH (BADLY).)
VILLA CASTELLARO IS STRICTLY IN NICCONE, SOME 15 MINUTES FROM UMBERTIDE. WE TAILED DEBORAH FROM THE TWO-LANE HIGHWAY ONTO A DIRT ROAD UP AND UP, PAST VINEYARDS, FARMLAND, STANDS OF CYPRESS, A HERD OF WHITE CATTLE..AND UP AND UP, FOR FOUR KILOMETERS WHICH SEEMED LIKE FORTY. BUT THE PAYOFF WAS THIS INCREDIBLE HOUSE, GROUNDS (35 ACRES) AND THE VIEW!
WE HAD A DINNER RESERVATION AT CALAGRANA, AN AGRITURISMO B&B, WHERE YOU CAN TAKE COOKING LESSONS AS WELL AS EAT. AND, THANK GOD, IT WAS ON OUR ROAD! A PRETTY DINING ROOM WITH WHITE TABLECLOTHS, BEAMED CEILING, TERRA COTTA TILES, TWO DOGS AND A CAT.
CHEF ALBERTO (MILANESE) AND ELI (BRITISH) CHIAPPA MET IN LONDON WHERE ALBERTO OPENED TIRAMISU, THEN BLACKPEPPER IN 1998. EVENTUALLY, THEY TIRED OF CITY LIFE AND MOVED TO UMBRIA.
AFTER A GRUELING DAY, IT WAS A JOY TO BE SIPPING TREBBIANO AND SANGIOVESE WITH OUR ANTIPASTI (CHICKEN LIVER BRUSCHETTA, ASPARAGUS AND A POACHED EGG SMOTHERED IN SHAVED TRUFFLES), FRESH TAGLIATELLE WITH MORE TRUFFLES, A PERFECT LITTLE ROASTED CHICKEN, AND MOLTEN CHOCOLATE CAKE.
SATED AND HAPPY, WE HEADED HOME. BUT I TOOK A WRONG TURN AND WE WOUND UP ON A STEEP PEBBLED ROAD FACING A LOCKED GATE. DOGS BARKING. TOTAL DARKNESS. COULDN'T TURN AROUND. BURNED UP THE CLUTCH TRYING TO BACK OUT. IT WAS AFTER MIDNIGHT WHEN LYNN RANG THE BELL. LOVELY WOMAN. CALLED KATYA, WHO LIVES NEARBY AND CLEANS OUR HOUSE, TO COME PICK US UP.
BUT THE NEXT DAY WAS SUNDAY AND WE HAD NO CAR. DEBORAH, WHO LIVES IN ASSISI, OFFERED TO PICK US UP AND TAKE US TO HER HOME TOWN FOR THE DAY. I SUGGESTED WE TREAT HER, HER HUSBAND LUCA, DIEGO (6), AND STELLA (2) TO LUNCH.
"PRANZO DOMENICO" (SUNDAY LUNCH) IS A WEEKLY RITUAL, OBSERVED ALL OVER ITALY. IT COMMENCES AT ONE AND FINISHES MANY, MANY COURSES LATER, AROUND FOUR. (SEE FRANK BRUNI'S RECENT ARTICLE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES.).
RISTORANTE DI TRE ARCHE WAS A DINING HALL WITH LONG TALBES CROWDED WITH LARGE ITALIAN FAMILIES (TWO BIRTHDAYS). THERE WERE CARAFES OF HOUSE WINES, BOTTLED WATER, AND A SEEMINGLY ENDLESS PARADE OF DISHES: ANTIPASTI, TWO PASTAS, GNOCCHI, SALAD, GRILLED MEATS, CHEESES, TWO DESSERTS, ESPRESSO, GRAPPA... 25 EUROS/PERSON AND LUCA INSISTED ON PAYING.
BY THAT TIME IT WAS CLOSE TO FIVE AND MOST OF THE TOURISTS WERE LEAVING ASSISI. WE FILED INTO THE BASILICA DI SAN FRANCESCO TO VIEW GIOTTO'S ANIMATED FRESCOES ILLUSTRATING THE LIFE OF THE SAINT, WHO, BRIEFLY, TRANSFORMED THE CHURCH BY TURNING HIS BACK ON A LIFE OF LUXURY. HE TOOK TO THE WILDERNESS, THEN TO THE TOWNS, PREACHING POVERTY AND HUMILITY. THE CHURCH, BLOATED WITH OSTENTATIOUS WEALTH, WAS SMART ENOUGH TO EMBRACE FRANCESCO, WHO WAS CANONIZED JUST TWO YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH. TOWARDS THE END OF OUR TRIP, WE VISITED CONVENTO LE CELLE, THE MONASTERY FRANCIS ESTABLISHED IN CORTONA, LIVING AND PRAYING IN A WINDOWLESS ROOM ABOUT THE SIZE OF MY SHOWER.
GIOTTO DI BONDONE, ONE OF THE TRANSITIONAL PAINTERS AND ARCHITECTS OF THE LATE MIDDLE AGES, EXECUTED THE ASSISI FRESCOES BETWEEN 1290-95). LIKE HIS CONTEMPORARIES MASSACCIO AND CIMABUE, GIOTTO NEVER QUITE MASTERED PERSPECTIVE. BUT HE TRIED. SO DESPITE THEIR RELATIVE FLATNESS, THE SCENES ARE DRAMATIC, TOUCHING AND FULL OF LIFE. I PARTICULARLY LOVED ST. FRANCIS PREACHING TO THE BIRDS.
MONDAY, DEBORAH DROVE US TO PERUGIA TO PICK UP A NEW RENTAL, A WHITE, 4-DOOR HYUNDAI. WE PARKED AT THE STADIO, THEN HOPPED ON THE MINIMETRO, THE SINGLE-CAR FUNICULAR WHICH TAKES YOU TO THE ESCALATORS, WHICH BRING YOU WITHIN SPITTING DISTANCE OF THE PIAZZA IV NOVEMBRE. THIS ASYMMETRICAL SQUARE, ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL IN ITALY, IS DEFINED BY MEDIEVAL STONE BUILDINGS CROWNED WITH BRONZE LIONS AND GRIFFINS, PERUGIA'S MASCOT. THE FONTANA DI MAGGIORE WAS BUILT BETWEEN 1275 AND 1277 TO COMMEMORATE A NEW AQUADUCT WHICH BROUGHT WATER TO THE CITY. THE STUNNING STONE CARVINGS BY NICOLA PISANO AND HIS SON GIOVANI DEPICT DAILY LIFE -- FARMERS PLANT AND HARVEST; WINEMAKERS CRUSH THEIR GRAPES TO MAKE WINE; PIGS ARE SLAUGHTERED AND TRANSFORMED INTO PORCHETTA.
THE MUSEO NAZIONALE WAS CHUISO (MONDAY!), BUT OSTERIA A PRIORI, ONE OF NANCY SILVERTON'S RECOMMENDATIONS, WAS ONLY A STEEP FIVE-MINUTE WALK FROM THE PIAZZA. THE RESTAURANT/WINE STORE IS CASUAL AND HIP; THE DISHES, LIGHT AND INNOVATIVE TURNS ON TRADITIONAL UMBRIAN FARE. BABY POACHED ARTICHOKES CAME DRESSED IN A PEPPERY OLIVE OIL WITH A DOLLOP OF CHÉVRE. TWO EXCELLENT PASTAS -- ONE WITH ZUCCHINI; THE OTHER, WITH TRUFFLES. I HAD BUNNY, WHICH WAS MOIST AND SCENTED WITH ROSEMARY. WE KNOCKED OFF A BOTTLE OF ORVIETO BIANCO, THEN DESCENDED BY ESCALATOR AND MINIMETRO TO THE CAR.
WITH ALBYN NAVIGATING ON GOOGLE MAPS, WE HEADED FOR HOME. BUT SOMEWHERE WE MISSED A TURN AND THE CHEERFUL AND CONFIDENT GOOGLE GIRL, RECALIBRATING, SOON DIRECTED US INTO THE SURROUNDING MOUNTAINS. GOOGLE FINDS THE SHORTEST ROUTE TIME-WISE TO ONE'S DESTINATION. YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED GOOGLE CARS WITH CAMERAS ON THE ROOF PHOTOGRAPHING EVERY STREET AND STOREFRONT IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT I SERIOUSLY DOUBT THAT GOOGLE HAD EVER PHOTOGRAPHED THE ONE-TRACK OBSTACLE COURSE THEY SENT US DOWN. DEEP, WATER-FILLED RUTS. BOULDERS WHICH BATTERED THE BOTTOM OF THE CARE. NO PLACE TO TURN AROUND NOR GO BACK. A GENUINELY TERRIFYING ROUTE, WHICH SOMEHOW, MIRACULOUSLY, DUMPED US ONTO THE VERY DIRT ROAD WHICH LED TO OUR HOUSE. THAT NIGHT I SLEPT AN HOUR. WERE WE CURSED?
THROWING CAUTION TO THE WINDS, HOWEVER, WE SET OFF TUESDAY ON "THE PIERO TRAIL" -- AREZZO, MONTERCHI, AND SAN SEPULCRO.
STANDING BEFORE THE FRESCOES OF PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA (1415-1492), YOU CAN SEE HOW MUCH THE EARLY RENAISSANCE PAINTERS HAD LEARNED ABOUT PERSPECTIVE. THE BIBLICAL SCENES ARE FORMAL AND PRESENTATIONAL, BUT THE FIGURES ARE SCULPTURAL; SOLID AS STONE, FORWARD-FACING, CONFRONTATIONAL. IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO LOOK AWAY.
THE SOURCE MATERIAL FOR THE FRESCOES IN THE BASILICA DI SAN FRANCESCO IN AREZZO, IS THE LEGEND OF THE TRUE CROSS, A WACKY, CONVOLUTED TALE WHICH CONNECTS THE WOOD FROM THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN TO JESUS'S CRUCIFIXION CROSS..DON'T ASK. THE CHURCH ITSELF IS MORE ROMANESQUE THAN GOTHIC WITH A MASSIVE CRUCIFIED CHRIST SUSPENDED JUST BEHIND THE ALTAR LIKE SOME GHASTLY SUPERHERO. PIERO'S FRESCOES COVER THE WALLS AND CEILING OF THE APSE. IN ADDITION TO ALL THE CROSS NONSENSE, HE PAINTED BATTLE SCENES AS COLORFUL AND CHAOTIC AS UCCELLOS.
ON OUR WAY BACK, WE STOPPED IN MONTERCHI TO SEE ONE FRESCO, PIERO'S PREGNANT MADONNA FLANKED BY TWO ANGELS. THEY CHARGED SO MUCH TO SEE THIS ONE PAINTING THAT LYNN STOLE A MAGNET FROM THE GIFT SHOP.
SEVERAL WEEKS LATER, WE TOOK TO THE PIERO TRAIL ONCE MORE TO SEE HIS RESURRECTION IN THE MUSEO CIVICO IN SANSEPOLCRO, WHICH ALDOUS HUXLEY CALLED IT "THE GREATEST PICTURE IN THE WORLD". THE GERMANS OCCUPIED THE TOWN IN WORLD WAR II AND IT WAS TARGETED FOR BOMBARDMENT. BUT TONY CLARKE, A BRITISH OFFICER, RECALLED HUXLEY'S WORDS AND CONVINCED THEM TO HOLD OFF. MAYBE THE GERMANS WOULD WITHDRAW. AND THEY DID.
THE JESUS WHO RISES FROM HIS TOMB IS NO LIMP AND PITIABLE VICTIM. HIS WOUND ARE MERE SHAVING CUTS. HE'S BUFF. HE'S TOUGH. MORE THAN LIKELY, HE SPENT THREE DAYS AT THE GYM AND NOT ON A CROSS. WITH ONE FOOT FIRMLY PLANTED ON THE EDGE OF HIS SARCOPHOGUS, HE STARES AT US WITH IMPLACABLE COMMAND. ONE PITIES THE FOUR ROMAN SOLDIERS ASLEEP AT HIS FEET. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THEY WAKE UP?!
ALBYN LEFT FAR TOO SOON THE MORNING OF MAY 6. WE'D HAD SUCH A GOOD TIME WITH HER, WE HATED TO SEE HER GO. BUT HOURS LATER, THE PILGRIMS, SANDY, RUTH AND ESTHER, ARRIVED, GREY WITH HUNGER AND EXHAUSTION. WE PLIED THEM LOCAL VICTUALS-- PROSCIUTTO, BUFALA MOZZARELLA, TOMATOES, BREAD, AND WINE. RESTORED AND REFRESHED, THEY REPAIRED TO THEIR CHAMBERS TO REST AND PUT AWAY THEIR MEAGER BELONGINGS.
SANDY HAD RENTED AN ENORMOUS, PUTTY GREY BMW STATION WAGON, WHICH I THOUGHT RIDICULOUS CONSIDERING THE NARROW STREETS AND TIGHT PARKING SPACES. BUT IT PROVED A GODSEND WITH ITS AMPLE BACK SEAT AND SANDY BEHIND THE WHEEL. I WAS TRULY GRATEFUL NOT TO BE DRIVING.
WE COULDN'T DESCRIBE EITHER THE FALCONS OR ESTHER AS "ART PEOPLE", SO THERE WAS NO POINT IN FORCING THEM TO TOUR CHURCHES AND MUSEUMS. WE DID FORCE THEM TO VISIT ASSISI. THEY WERE NOT IMPRESSED. SO WHEN WE RETURNED TO PERUGIA TO SEE THE COLLECTION IN THE GALLERIA NAZIONALE DELL'UMBRIA, WE LEFT THEM TO WANDER AND SHOP WHILE WE SEARCHED FOR THE POLYPTYCH OF ST. ANTHONY BY PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA. SANDY BOUGHT JACKET; RUTH, A DRESS. AND EVERYONE WAS HAPPY.
THEY WERE JUSTIFIABLY ENCHANTED BY MONTONE, OFTEN DESCRIBED AS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL HILL TOWN IN ITALY. WE'D BEEN THERE WITH ALBYN IN THE RAIN. RETURNING ON A CRYSTAL CLEAR DAY, WE SCALED THE COBBLED STREETS OF THIS PERFECTLY-PRESERVED MEDIEVAL TOWN AND MARVELED AT PANORAMIC VIEWS.
ONE DAY, WE HEADED SOUTH TO LAGO TRASIMENE, ONE OF ITALY'S LARGEST LAKES, WHERE ON JUNE 21, 217 B.C., HANNIBAL'S CARTHAGINIAN FORCES HAD SLAUGHTERED A ROMAN LEGION COMMANDED BY GAIUS FLAMINIUS. WE FOUND A PLEASANT OSTERIA NEAR THE WATER, WHERE THEY HAD FISH ON THE MENU, THE FIRST I'D FOUND IN AN UMBRIAN RESTAURANT. THE UMBRIANS DON'T SERVE FISH BECAUSE, THEY EXPLAIN, THEIR PROVENCE IS LAND-LOCKED. MY SAD LITTLE FILLET OF PERCH, SMOTHERED IN TOMATO SAUCE, CAME FROM LAKE TRASIMENE.
ON TO CUCINELLIVILLE, WHERE THE GIRLS WERE HOPING TO PURCHASE THEIR FALL WARDROBES AT THE CUCINELLI "OUTLET". SOLOMEO, THE-WHOLE-AND-OWNED-SUBSIDIARY OF BRUNELLO CUCINELLI, IS A PICTURE-PERFECTLY UNREAL HILL TOWN WITH ITS VERY OWN CHURCH; NOT ITS PRINCIPAL ATTRACTION. THIS WOULD BE THREE-LEVEL CUCCINELL OUTLET WHICH DOLES OUT A GENEROUS TEN PERCENT DISCOUNT FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T NEED ONE. I PRICED A LEATHER JACKET AT 4,600 EUROS WITH THE DISCOUNT. SOLOMEO DISAPPOINTED US BY BEING EXACTLY WHAT WE'D EXPECTED.
SANDY ARRANGED A PRIVATE TOUR OF "UNDERGROUND PERUGIA", WHICH BROUGHT US BACK TO THIS ANCIENT AND COSMOPOLITAN TOWN FOR THIRD TIME. WE RENDEZVOUSED IN THE PIAZZA D'ITALIA WITH MICHAELE, OUR HANDSOME AND CHARMING GUIDE, WHO DESCRIBED THE CITY'S MULTI-LAYERED HISTORY BEFORE DESCENDING BY ESCALATOR TO THE VAULTED CHAMBERS OF WHAT HAD ONCE BEEN A FORTRESS. PERUGIA WAS A POWERFUL MUNICIPALITY DURING THE MIDDLE AGES. IT RESISTED DOMINANCE BY THE POPE IN ROME, WHOSE ARMY FINALLY CONQUERED THE CITY AND BUILT ANOTHER CITY ON TOP OF THE FORTRESS.
