Archeological Museum and Roman Theatre

Spoleto has no shortage of museums and this week we added the Teatro Romano and the Museo Archeologico Statale to our conquests.  The Roman Theatre from the 1st Century AD is now within the museum complex and is overlooked by the Canasta Ristorante where we have eaten a few times.  The theatre is still used for shows and events although the stone seats may be a bit uncomfortable.  The stage area is paved in marble of various colours - red, green, black, white, orange - and some green marble can still be seen on the stage surrounds.  Just off the main theatre are a number of rooms which were used by performers and dignitaries.  There is also a fountain fed by a spring which has been running since the theatre was built nearly 2000 years ago.

The museum has a good display of Roman artefacts including pillars, marble statues and funerary and household goods.  Spoleto has been an important town since pre-Roman times as it's located right in the centre of Italy.

There are also several marble tablets dating from Roman times and the original tablets proclaiming the protection of the Sacred Wood  (these are mentioned in our previous blog "A Walk in the Woods").  Monteluco (the name means Sacred Wood) is a town a few kilometres away in the Umbrian countryside.

One room has a reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper" which takes up the whole wall.  The original is in Milan and I'm sure we wouldn't be able to get as close to the original as we could get to this version.

No outing is complete without food so we stopped off for a lunch of antipasto washed down with a glass of wine at Nove Cento (900). This is fast becoming one of our favourite restaurants.  The owner Andrea has a delicious menu and he's very friendly - Nove Cento is highly recommended to anyone visiting Spoleto.

Never a Dull Moment in Spoleto

There's never a dull moment in this delightful town.  There seems to be something happening nearly every day.  The second Sunday of the month sees the Corso Garibaldi filled with stalls and people when the Bria-A-Brac Market comes to town.  We wandered along the stalls looking at the books and old wares people had come to sell.

We've found our favourite cafe at the top of the hill near the Rocca.  It's easy to get to from here with about 10 minutes of walking followed by 10 minutes on the escalator to the top of the hill and a few minutes of flat walking on the path around the base of the Rocca to La Portella.  This cafe manages to combine the best coffee in Spoleto with a magnificent view - and all for 1.50 euros each.  Our daily morningl walk takes us on this route so we are able to combine delicious coffee with exercise.

We've done some more bus travel this week on one of the circular bus routes around Spoleto.  We just happened to be walking past a bus stop when a  "Circulare B" bus was there so we got on to see where it would take us.  This is an excellent way to see the area - and at 1euro each for 70 minutes of riding is very cheap sight seeing.  This time we went past the station and out to the Passoparenzi residential area.  Near the station we spied a travel agent so decided to call in to investigate our travel to Dresden in early July.  The staff at "Il Postiglione Viaggi Spoleto" spoke a little bit of English and were very helpful (the travel agent in town spoke no English and were unhelpful).  We were able to book some flights for much cheaper prices than we had been able to find on the internet.  After our successful morning we stopped off at a local cafe for ham croissants for lunch before walking back to our apartment.

Life in the Fast Lane

A couple of days ago we moved from Il Parco, at the top of the hill just outside the old city wall, to Bella Due.  We are now in the "CBD" of Spoleto and we have a great array of shops, cafes and restaurants right outside our door.  There is much more activity here at the top end of Corso Garibaldi and we are now at the bottom of the hill.  We have a lovely roomy apartment with great views from the terraces.  We now walk up the hill to get to our old haunts, and the homeward trip is down hill.

Food Glorious Food

We are certainly not starving while we are in Spoleto.  There is no shortage of good restaurants here and all are good value (we usually pay around 30 euros for dinner including wine for both of us).  The food is fresh, plentiful and above all - DELICIOUS.  We've tried out several restaurants and cafes and will certainly try many more over the next few weeks.


Truffles are a specialty here and our first meal included bruschetta with truffles.  As expected the pasta is to die for.  We usually order "uno per due" and share the courses.  So far we've been to L'Angolo Antico which is popular with the locals and serves Umbrian cuisine.  At Canasta we shared a 3 course seafood menu and returned a few days later to sample more of their menu.  Both of these restaurants are near Piazza Liberta.  Now that we have moved apartments, we're trying out restaurants close to our new home.  Nove Cento has served us a delicious lunch and dinner.  Gnocchi with deer was outstanding as was the beef with rosemary and roasted mixed vegetables.  The antipasto "900" plate provided a mix of all antipasti and was enough for 4 persons.  Snacks and lunches are provided by the Porchetta Man (the one at Piazza Mercato is the best we've found so far) where we order yummy panini with roast pork and the local pizza cafes.  There's also no shortage of gelateria which keep us supplied with ice-cream.


A highlight of our stay here so far was dinner on Friday night at the home of Luciano and Daniella.  We joined some of Norma and Laurie's other guests and 8 of us were driven to Luciano and Daniella's home just outside Spoleto where we watched the sun set over the olive trees and had a magnificent feast washed down with copious amounts of local wine.  A big thank you to Norma and Laurie for organising a fantastic evening.






We're looking forward to experiencing more of Spoleto's culinary treats.


When we choose to eat at home we indulge in the delights of the supermarkets and local markets, delis and fresh pasta shops.  It would take months to sample all of the hams, cheeses and salamis that are available - we're doing our best to get through them.  As we are moving into warmer weather we are seeing summer fruits and vegetables appearing at the fruit stalls - tasty tomatoes and deliciously sweet strawberries are regularly on our menu.

A Walk in the Woods

Robert had a flashback to his younger days and went for a walk in the nearby woods. The guidebook said that this would be an easy 3 hour walk.  Five hours after setting out, Robert returned.  The walk was far from easy with some parts being very steep.  The walk began at our apartment up to the path around the base of the Rocca and across the Ponte delle Torri (the aqueduct bridge).  Once across the bridge the path zig-zagged past small shrines through holy oak groves to the nearby town of Monteluca.

From there he walked to the village of Le Aie passing the ancient pagan monument to the holy woods.  The plaque has the oldest known environmental protection inscription, dating to the 3rd century BC.  The inscription reads "No one is to profane these woods, nor transport or take away what is found within, nor cut and if the day comes that they do, they must sacrifice...... If someone knowingly or maliciously profanes the woods they are to offer an explanatory sacrifice to Jupiter of an ox and there will be a fine of 300 assi for the sacrifice... " - pretty serious stuff!

After passing through Le Aie  Robert crossed a muddy creek and met a farmer, his wife and his 5 cows.  The track was overgrown at this point and followed the top of a stone wall before passing through a perforated rock tunnel which was the old watercourse to the aqueduct providing water to Spoleto.

From here it was downhill passing the Sant Giuliano monastery.  Then a steep descent back to   Spoleto.

The poppies and other wildflowers were spectacular.  There was plenty of wildlife to be seen including deer, wild boar and many lizards.

Billy Cart Derby .... Spoleto Style

This weekend we have been treated to one of Spoleto's many festivals, the Spoleto Vaporetti.  The streets of Spoleto became the Corsa Dei Vaporetti as these wheeled bobs raced from the top of the city to the Piazza Garibaldi.  We joined the throng on Saturday evening to watch the initial "practice runs" and then we were back again on Sunday to check out some of the race.  The vaporetti are  streamlined 2 man wheeled bobs with a driver/steersman who sits in the front and a "pusher" who rides on the back.  This is the 48th festival, the last one was held in 2006.  This race is certainly not for the faint-hearted and there are plenty of ambulances and officials around the course.  It's a good thing the riders are all wearing helmets!  Check out the video at http://www.spoletocity.com/2012/02/riparte-la-corsa-dei-vaporetti/ to see some past action.  The event is sponsored by Peugeot who took the opportunity to show off of some of their latest model cars.  The competitors are racing for the Avis Trophy.


Oh for the good old days of the Annual Billy Cart Derby down Warragamba Avenue in Duffy ACT, before the nanny state and fun police took over.