After a great visit to Campania, I wanted to squeeze in a couple of 2-3 day visits in other regions- Siena, Assisi and Orvieto before heading home.
I had visited Siena and Orvieto once before, many moons ago, so they made list. I had seen Assisi during a bike race on TV and thought “I’d like to go there sometime”!
Siena has a series of 7 or 8 high escalators that will take you up the hill from the bus station to city centre. Very cool. A very old medieval town with a very dramatic piazza – the Piazza del Campo. It is so big that it is still home to a twice yearly horse race within the piazza, called the Palio di Siena. When not filled with horses, it is a central spot to chill, read, have a coffee or beverage. Some just lie back and take a snooze in the sun. Luckily, my accommodations were a stones throw from the piazza!
As in all of these cities, the roads are steep, narrow and for whatever reason they will put a step up/down where you least expect it, making an embarrassing tumble quite easy. Whether in city centre enjoying the architecture or venturing further to take in the views of the vineyards and Tuscan hills, Siena is a winner.
Next I moved onto the hilltop city of Assisi in the Umbria region, a city dedicated of course to St Francis (aka San Francesco) locally. I took the bus from Siena and you get dropped off in the lower town next to the train station. A line/city bus brings you up the hill to the city centre and again my accommodations were perfect, across the street from that bus station. Yet, this was still the base of city central, so you will constantly be climbing hills, no matter where you venture.
The Basilica dedicated to Francis is massive complex with not one but multiple levels of churches, museums, gardens, squares, etc (he was important!).
Many visitors were there on religious pilgrimages and there were many nuns, priests and other holy folks walking around. Nonetheless, it is picturesque and a wonderful city to explore on foot. My hotel is below, just to the right of that arch, a great location. Piazza del Comune has a nice fountain and many restaurants and bars – all roads seem to lead there. I had a roast turkey panini and glass of red wine for €5 from a lunch counter that seemed to be run by a religious organization.
One thing I found intriguing were the announcement boards highlighting city notices, events and … obituaries. Yep. If you look at the postings on this board on the far right panels – those are obits!
Lastly, my last stop was another hilltop city in Umbria – Orvieto (famous for their wines).The Duomo is situated right in the centre of town, everything radiates out from it. Whereas Siena has escalators, Orvieto has a funicular to take you from the station up to city centre.
The vibe is relaxed, a few tourists around but mostly locals doing their thing. As it was the tail end of my trip, I just chilled out, walked around, enjoyed the fortresses and city streets of Orvieto.
Italy is beautiful, people are nice, coffee and wine are fantastic. Not thrilled about the constant barking dogs though! I used buses, trains, ferries, taxis, funiculars and rarely did they fail me from reaching my destinations – quite remarkable really. The food is to die for and a nice bottle of wine in the supermarket is €3 or €4. What’s not to like! So many different regions to explore – I only did three on this visit. I guess I’ll just have to come back again.
Feel free to leave a comment below. If you wish to contact me, my email is blaisemcneil@gmail.com. Thanks for visiting my site and I hope you’ll return soon for my next adventure…. Blaise