Foligno

may I introduce to you the flattest town in all of Umbria.....

I was completely amazed to see people on bicycles here!! I mean a woman riding through the piazza on a bicycle!! and an old man even!! eh, wait that doesn't sound right....the old man was riding a bicycle I meant....

see how flat??!?!? ok, well maybe not from that shot, but I swear, it really is FLAT....but this is a nice segue into the gratuitous church photos (of which there seem to be many)

here's the outside (from street level)...

and the inside.....

I wish I had a baldacchino like this in MY house!

never missing an opportunity to showcase everybody's favorite virgin.....

I especially love the moon and snake at her feet.....robbing the pagans again I see?
There is also a military base here (which thankfully I didn't have an opportunity to photograph) and this was a relatively short trip....next stop: Spello!!

Spello

So as I blog on, I realize that I pretty much take pictures of all the same things in different cities......
there are however slight variations....for instance, I was running like a MADWOMAN to catch the train back to Perugia (in spite of the fact that a very scary bald man with an earring offered to drive me back and if not all the way to Perugia as he originally suggested, then at least to the train station......I politely declined in an attempt to avoid all the potentially horrendous endings that the situation could have....my being dead was the number one thing on that list of accidents to avoid).....so I didn't take a picture of the sign in the train station at Spello as I have done in almost every other city I've visited.....I'm weird like that....I start doing a random thing at some point along the way and then it becomes a sort of ritual....
but I digress (as I do in every post) on to the images!!
Spello is on a really steep hill....

But the security is tight.....the people in the middle ages were apprently very wary of unwanted intruders

unfortunately, the signage can sometimes be a little bit confusing...

the requisite church......this one is obviously not as decadent as some others that we've seen...



and what would a medieval town be without the delightful strade strette???

And then of course, like every town on top of a huge hill, Spello has some amazing panoramic views......there's a little park that's way up on top of the hill (in fact the whole city is built on a damn steep hill....didn't I tell you Foligno was the only flat city in all of Umbria??) and from this overlook a whole lot of land is visible:

oh wait, isn't that my house in the distance over there???!?!?

and no kidding, it really is that close to Perugia.....

Le Marche

So far, this trip I've been in four regions....Campagna, Lazio, and the two new ones (Umbria and....Le Marche!!)
Here are some images of Urbino, a lovely renaissance town just south and east of the province of San Marino....P.S. I almost made it to Rimini, but alas, ran out of time....no matter.....Urbino was amazing
Who could lament with scenes such as these??

What would an Italian city be without a Duomo??

please ignore the scaffolding while we restore this beautiful edifice...thank you for your patience

apparently, no one here likes him either......don't blame me, I voted green party!!

the rock and roll scene is alive and well........

as are the gratutituos arty photos....

Urbino.......in all her glory......oh, that facciata!!!

Le Marche definitely deserves more exploration someday.....