Sunday, November 3, 2013

Day 6 ~ Corciano and Perugia


Today we got an early start and headed out to the little hill town of Corciano. We visited Villa Pieve where Ian stayed six years ago when studying photography with MSU.  It was all pretty quiet being a Sunday and very peaceful in the hills.


Hilltop town of Corciano


Villa Pieve

After a couple of hours we returned to Perugia to wander the city for the rest of the day. We started our accent up into the city center from our hotel, which is just inside the old city walls. The city center was filled with people and the stores were all just starting to open up. We found out later that we were experiencing the Festival of the Dead (Fiera dei Morti) and the market was full of life! Some impressive street performers were also entertaining the crowds with a variety of exotic instruments.


Fiera dei Morti festival market in Perugia


Garlic at the market


Rugs at the market

We spent some time walking to the edges of the city walls to see the spectacular views and some time underground in Rocca Paolina (Pope Paul III Farnese paved over an entire district of the city during the Salt Wars to build a fort) exploring the ancient “historically uneven” walkways. We made a few small purchases from some local venders in the market - including a new leather belt fitted specifically for Ian. We spent some time in the Cathedral of Saint Lorenzo after the Mass and then returned to take in the Fontana Maggiore with the night-lights. Tomorrow we take off to visit the city of Orvieto and then south to Sorrento. Night!


Basilica di San Pietro, Perugia


City light on the old walls

No comments: