Monday, July 31, 2023

Civitavecchia, Heading for the hills! Again.

 It was going to be another really hot day in Italy today, but it is all of Europe that seems to be experiencing this current heatwave.

It was a lovely drive through picturesque Tuscany as we drove to our first village for the day Sovana.



A simple one-street town, but with a lot of character.  Once around the block and you have seen the whole village.  Starting in the main square, every doorway is picture-perfect.

Considering the weather has been so hot.. the flowers were lovely




Buying my favorite picci pasta...

Walk up one side of the block and it will lead you to the Sovana Cathedral.





Follow the path back and take in the beautiful vistas of the countryside.

Back in the square we visited the smaller, simpler Church of Santa Maria filled with lovely frescos.





Moving on from Sovana we visited the walled city of Pitigliano, a larger but still curious hilltop village.  After entering the gates we explored this lovely town of crumbling buildings, lovely small shops, and interesting medieval laneways.

Entrance into Pitigliano

Had to buy more pasta at this store as it was so cheap....

Amazing aquaduct as you walk into town

  If we weren’t photographing these alleys, we were photographing many more interesting doors.








more lovely churches at this village






After exploring and helping the economy in Pitigliano, our driver took us to a lovely family restaurant for lunch.  The food was delicious and plentiful and a great representation of the produce all sourced from the area. 






Capped off with a tasting of their delicious liqueurs, including Limoncello.

Full and content it was time for that quiet drive back to the ship, ZZzzzzzzzz.

Update... I was asked by someone for the details of this tour...  here is a link

Pitigliano and Maremma - Excursion from Civitavecchia | DGT (discoveryguidedtours.com)