We took an autumn trip to Rome and drove north to stay at a house on Lake Bolsena. The house had gardens with olive trees, kiwi vines, pomegranate trees, cachi trees, pear, etc. In other words, we wouldn’t go hungry.
The house was near the village of Montefiascone – a very pretty town high on a hill with a giant domed church from the 1500s.
Also nearby was the town of Civita di Bagnoregio – a medeival town barely hanging on to the edge of a cliff. Gorgeous!
We also visited another very interesting place in the area of Bomarzo called The Park of the Monsters (Il Parco dei Mostri). These strange sculptures in the forest were created in the 1600s. It’s an amazing place!
And of course we finally got to visit Terme di Saturnia, the natural hot sulphur springs in Tuscany. The waterfalls can be traced back to the Etruscans, during the Bronze Age.
One of the old stories is that the falls and pools were created when Saturn threw down a burning lightning bolt that tore open the earth exposing the hot waters, which is where I assume the name comes from.
Anyway, they’ve formed naturally over thousands of years. It’s just out in nature and anyone can use it. The building you see in the picture is just an abandoned old mill. The temperature is a constant 37.5 all year long.
The last day of our trip was spent in Rome. Our friends Licia and Iocopo (with their daughter Emma) took us around the city and then invited us for a wonderful dinner at their house. We also got caught in a very bad storm during the afternoon and Licia and Iocopo lent us extra shoes so we wouldn’t have to wear our soaking wet ones on the plane home. Now that’s the definition of good friends – they give you the shoes off their feet! (or extra ones in their closet).
And now, just a few photos:
The house we rented near Montefiascone
The view from the house over Lake Bolsena
Leo in an olive tree
Civita di Bagnoregio
Just before crossing the bridge over to Civita di Bagnoregio
The view from Bagnoregio
Inside the city of Bagnoregio
Måns at lunch in Viterbo
Il parco dei Mostri (The park of Monsters)
Leo and Max
Måns in the Park of Monsters
Another odd sculpture in the Park of Monsters
Heather
Montefiascone - the square where we ate twice
The whole family at the top of Montefiascone
Evening activity - lighting and managing the fireplace
In the beautiful town of Pitigliano
This boy likes prosciutto and sausage.
Terme di Saturnia - natural hot springs
Max, Heather and Leo
Leo and Max in the waterfalls
We could have stayed all day.
This is why Italy is so great - Pizza vending machine!
A boy and his pasta.
The whole family at the Colosseum in Rome!
Our friends Iocopo, Licia and Emma at the Roman Forum
The Pantheon in Rome - completed in 125 AD
Front view of the Pantheon
Trevi Fountain
Ciao!