Wednesday October 5th
The agri where we ended up staying was way down a forest lined dirt road, but then it finally opened to a nice little pasture with a large house and swimming pool. There was a beautiful sitting room that was frescoed to represent the unification of Italy. We saw pictures of what the house looked like before the restoration, and this family deserves a big pat on the back for how well they did. It is called Tenute Collesi www.tenutecollesi.it and it is the one where we had dinner, so I’d definitely recommend eating in if you come for a visit. The agri where we were supposed to stay Val d’Arrechia www.valdarecchia.com had a little snafu and couldn’t host us, but Donatella and Fausto were very helpful in fniding and even leading us up to Collesi. We took a tour of their agri this morning, and though we didn’t sleep there, just from the looks of it, it is right on par with the rest of the places we have stayed, and very much worth the price.
We headed back to Urbania before continuing southward on our journey. There isn’t much to see in Urbania, except for the Chiesa dei Morti, which is one of only 3 places in Italy that display Mummies. These 16 corpses were apparently eaten by some sort of a mold that basically completely dehydrated them so that they didn’t decompose. The guide speaks only Italian, but he was very informative, and even without understandiing the story, the images are worth the stop.
Gubbio was recommended to us by our friends in Milan, so of course we had to swing in for a look. Gubbio is famous for it’s ceramics, and of all things, reproduction crossbows. That is due to the yearly crossbow competition that has been held without interruption since the 12th century. The Piazza Grande is said to be the world’s largest hanging square. I think I know what this means, but I am hesitant to put it in writing lest I look like a total fool. Anyway, I believe this to mean that the support from underneath is man-made. When the Consul Palace was built, the ruling was that it had to be on a site that touched all 4 quarters of town. Gubbio being set on a fairly steep hillside, they had to construct large vaults to support the palace and the square. In the middle of our tour of Gubbio the sky opened up. I am convinced that God himself is against this project. We were talking with tonight’s agriturismo owner and he told us that the rain has pretty much followed our path.
The good news is the next destination was underground, so the rain didn’t matter. The bad news is that after we paid the admission fee, rode the bus to the place, and punched the tickets we found out that you can’t film inside. Which is too bad because it was amazing inside. The first cavern you come to is the Grotta Grande Del Vento, which is big enough to fit the entire Cathedral of Milano inside. The stalactites and stalagmites are enormous, and some have taken on names. There is one that is a perfect Santa, and one that really and truly does look just like a shepherd and a sheep. The formations grow at a rate of 1mm a year, so it would fry your brain to try to figure out how old some of them are. I wish I could share a picture with you but alas...
When we resurfaced from the caves it was dark out, so we headed for the Agriturismo Alla Vecchia Quercia www.vecchiaquercia.it which finds itself at the end of a very long dirt road, which is becoming a trend, at least in this part of Italy. We ate dinner at their restaurant, and every single thing that they prepare is grown or raised on their farm. The rooms were very nicely appointed, and the bathrooms were spacious. In the morning we will get a tour of the grounds.