Saturday, October 4, 2014

Casentino nel autunno: bellissima!



We removed the plastic from the hideabed mattress and welcomed our first overnight guests  Friends from. our Dante Alighieri classes who now live in Foligno paid us a visit and we had a great time showing them around Arezzo and hearing about their Foligno adventures and what it is like to sell your house,  move to Italy, and start new jobs.  An advantage of working is the chance to meet a lot of people (not that I am complaining about not working!).  We also invited new friends whom we met here to dinner--Tom grilled salmon to perfection.  This weekend we were Mario's guests, again, as he invited us to go to Casentino in the northern part of the province of Arezzo.


Castello Poppi



Dante's bust in front of the castello.  Dante stayed in the castle during the
 Arezzo-Florence was
Tom and Mario at the castle entrance
This is one of the best castles we have ever visited.  It is in great shape and you can climb all the way up to the bell tower for great views (although it was a bit loud when the bells started ringing--we were glad it was only 4 pm, 12  rings might have caused some hearing damage.  Dante stayed in this castle and its tower  is reputed to be the inspiration for the 9 circles of hell in the Inferno.

Current castle residents



Nancy, Mario & friend at castle







The shield or scudo above the window at the castle
is the same as the one above our fireplace!





 Our next stop was another castello which unfortunately wasn't open, but had a beautiful exterior, with a lot of vines turning color.




From there it was a short trip to a 12th century pieve romao--an old roman church on top of a hill in a lovely, tranquil setting.,



Detail from church column left, St Francis
of Assisi with a pig, right

Life imitates art
St. Tom of Arezzo and a cat
On the way back to Arezzo we stopped to take in a panoramic view in Verna and tried, not too successfully, to take un photo di tramonto (sunset pix).



Thanks to our fabulous guide Supermario for another perfect day in Tuscany!