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| Capranica - i Noccioli di Monte Casiano Main house |
We traveled to Medieval Capranica, Italy from Cinque Terra and are staying at a very nice Agriturismo, i Noccioli di Monte Casiano an olive and hazel nut farm with villas and apartments. Each couple has there own apartment / villa. Gary, Mary and Sue fortunately have the main house. Perfect for a our get togethers in the evening for dinner and a little partying. We have a free roam of the farm. Walk through the orchards and pick nuts for snacking. A little to cool for the pool. A house warming gift of farm olive oil was given to us for cooking, salads, etc.. One of my highlights is going to the grocery or supermarketa store. Bottle of wine $2-$5 Euros = $2.50 - $6.50 in US $. The fun begins when no one speaks English and we don't speak Italian. But it always works out. We are located centrally between Florence and Rome. Perfect for our day trips.
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| Tom & Carolyn's apartment |
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| Old Capranica - view from farm |
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| Dick & Nina villa |
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Max & Debbie Villa   |
Deruta - 1st Stop
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| Nice dish or table top |
Day 1 We visited Bettini Germano in Deruta to do a little shopping of Terracotta products, beautiful looking pieces. Check it out at http://www.terrecottederuta.com/english/. You don't see this quality or style in the states. Carolyn had to keep me under control. It can get expensive.
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| Nice hanging lamp shades |
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| Carolyn and Nina on the hunt |
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| 980 Euros will get you one of these big urns...shipping to USA ? |
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| Be careful where you walk |
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| Carolyn's favorite |
Next Stop -We went to Ovieto where there is a magnificent church and an ancient Etruscan underground city. Quite impressive they could construct a church of this size in the year 1270 sponsored by the pope to honor a local miracle of bleeding bread.
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| Check out the size of these bronze / copper doors |
Next Stop:
Quite impressive what the Etruscans accomplished in 300 BC. We went on the walking tour through the underground city which is primarily carved out caves that includes tunnels, wells, galleries, cellars, hidden passageways with small niches, dating from Etruscan times till modern history. Most of the 1400 caves are private and are used by the homes on top for wine cellars...what a great idea. At times it is not easy to move through narrow stairs and passages especially if you are Max. Apparently, the Etruscans were much smaller than we are. What a great place for a Halloween party...ok maybe not !
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| Hotel across from underground city |
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| Olive wheel to squeeze out the oil |
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| Hand dug well in the dark,one man at a time , 250 feet deep |
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| Our lovely Italian tour guide |
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| Can you guess what the holes are for ? |
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| Etruscans created nests for pigeons with water....first bird agriculture. birds flew in and out of the caves. |
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| Inside of well. Climbing steps
We finished the day off with another a great Italian lunch in Todi city restaurant that came with a view of the entire country side.
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