Canale Monterano

Last Sunday an outing with the SYA host families to La Riserva Naturale di Canale Monterano, about 40 km south from Viterbo. This is a nice large park around the ruins of the ancient Roman town of Monterano.



Sulfur springs, bronze-age caves (on the background):



"La tagliata" -- a narrow Etruscan road cut [the same root as in taglia -- waist size] through the tuffa rock (to control the traffic):



The ruins of the palazzo and the San Bonaventure convent and church designed by Bernini for the Pope Clement X in the second half of the 17th century.



The place was used in the 1981 popular movie Il Marchese del Grillo with Alberto Sordi, which by a coincidence, was on TV the previous night.

The day, which started at 8 am, ended with an 8 pm catered supper. It took place at a pavilion by a rugby field...



Our guide, Massimo, (next to me) is a history prof at a school in Viterbo and also a rugby coach.

The menu: papardelle (wide noodles) al sugo di cinghiale (wild boar), a stew of cinghiale, a "surprise" stew with beans (pictured above - email for details), ice cream pie, and coffee. Back home at 11 pm. Non è possibile per me così! (We have been using this phrase often! It is the first thing you learn in the Michel Thomas' Italian CD course.)

La rosa dei venti

My four-week sailing course is over. What did I get out of it? Lots of food and wine consumed on a boat, many hours of barely comprehensible Italian chat, and, of course, a pretty certificate, signed by the seven skippers and il presidente.



Also learned la rosa dei venti - the Italian names of the eight Mediterranean winds:



I later recycled la rosa for la presentazione orale in my Italian class:

...Di tutti i venti mediterannei, il più pericoloso è il ponentino. Ma non per i marinaii. A Roma è il vento di pomeriggio che viene dal mare e rinfresca la città dopo una giornata calda dell’estate. E’ il vento leggero e dolce; non il ponente ma il ponentino. Si dice che apporta l’amore. Dunque, bisogna fare attenzione!

A hike to Monte Cimino

On Saturday morning we took a train to Soriano and went on a hike to the top of Monte Cimino (1053 meters, about 12 km round trip). We went with the American colleagues, husband and wife, from school.



A very nice day for a hike, around 20 degrees C, lots of blackberries and chestnuts on the way. Near the top, the "famous" faggeta, what remains of the old beech tree forest (beech in Italian is faggio). Most of the forests in Italy are gone, so the Italians are proud of what remains. Some of these trees are 300 years old.



The tower at the top of the mountain has a Madonna in a niche and a solar panel on top.



Back to Soriano by 5 pm.

A "miracle of nature"

Near the summit, the so-called il Sasso Naticarello, a boulder balanced on a narrow base and presumably movable with a slight touch. Pliny the Elder called it a "miracle of nature."



But since then, either the boulder lost its balance or I haven't gone to the gym for too long...

Soriano: "medieval" artisans

La Fiesta delle Castagne in Soriano. A "medieval" artisans' exhibit in a little courtyard is part of the festivities:

Chestnuts

Chestnuts everywhere -- they are a big deal here this time of year. Several towns organize La Fiesta delle Castagne over two or three weekends. We've run into one in Soriano nel Cimino. Here they are, quite ripe:



The nature park at the top of Monte Cimino seems somehow a little naive, probably due to the fairly recent arrival of the idea. There are fancy geological maps and posters about plants and birds.



But not a single marked hiking trail, direction sign, or a "you-are-here" map.

Back in town, decorations, flags, parades, battle reenactments, and competitions among the four "rioni" (districts) of the little town. Each has its own colors, of course.

And chestnuts.



We came just in time as the "big guy" finished roasting a batch, skillfully flipped the grill dropping the hot chestnuts onto a canvas, and was about to distribute them to eager takers, all equipped with white paper bags --like little chicks opening their beaks.



Back on our way to the main square:

Vetralla

While I was sailing last Sunday, M visited with the host family of one of her students.

M narrates: ‘They live in Vetralla, a small town not far from Viterbo. We went on a 3-hour walk in the Marturanum Regional Park in Barbarano Romano, mainly to see the ancient Etruscan tombs (6th through 3rd century BC), right along the path.’



‘The tombs are like real houses, with “beds” and carved decorations.’



‘In one place we saw a centuries-old carving on the outside wall.’



‘After a pleasant lunch (two hours) we toured Vetralla ’s streets and churches. My hosts live in a palazzo built in 1670 (the one with the merlons).’