Italy 2018: Spoleto - a convent in the mountains

starting the day with a great breakfast, best we had this holiday until now

Tuesday, 12 June 2018: around Spoleto.

Today we took it easy and visited by car the roman Chiesa di San Pietro dating back to the 5th century, although the present shape dates from the 12th - 13th centuries 

details of the facade

arghhh nowadays graffiti 

We continued our way to the convent of S. Francesco in the mountains where Francis of Assisi lived and died. Nowadays only a very old monk lives at the premises. The place is open for visitors till noon. One can admire the small sober cells where the monks use to live.

a cell in the convent

frescoes in the convent

After a short pleasant walk through the forest near the convent we found the grotto's where the famous monks San Francesco of Assisi and San Antonio da Padova used to retreat.

that's where we live now 

We had gotten thirsty and decided to visit the Giuliano restaurant on the top of Monteluco (the mountain of light) which has a super view over the city of Spoleto. 

coffee with a view

Next on our list is the San Gregorio Maggiore church in Spoleto, which was built atop the site of an earlier church during the end of the 11th - 12th century. Traces of the earlier building one can find in the crypt. 

the older church in the crypt

apparently breasts grew in armpits in the middle ages 

fresco on top of an older fresco

When driving through the narrow streets of Spoleto to our home, we passed a cute place where we had a glass of white wine and a small bite. Yeah it sure is a lazy day today. It's not so warm anymore, rain is predicted for this evening as well as tomorrow.  

In the evening we had dinner at another great restaurant; Il Tempio del Gusto in Spoleto (another tip of our hosts).

Our hosts informed us that even people from Rome come to Spoleto to have dinner here. 

The dishes:

1st courses: for Peter a crispy sesam seed roll with white cheese and a spelt timbale and for me a cappucino of cod and pumpkin

2nd courses: for Peter a risotto with truffle, scalops and a shrimp and for me stuffed guinea-fowl with truffle sauce

After dinner we had a nice chat in the living room of the Palazzo with two other guests and our host Lorry, while enjoying a cup of tea, in which we solved all the problems of the world 😏.

Italy 2018: Spoleto - living in a Palazzo

Palazzo Sant'Angelo our home for the coming 2 nights

Monday, 11 June 2018: moving on to our next stop, Spoleto, and saying goodbye to the friendly people of La Stanze del Giglio, where we had stayed for several days. 

We decided to go directly to our new home in Spoleto; the boutique hotel Palazzo Sant'Angelo, which is situated in the old town in a splendid refurnished/refurbished palazzo (large house).

After a friendly welcome by our hosts Lorry and Justin, we explored our room with private garden, with a great view on the mountain with the holy trees. This truly is a gorgeous place.

Let me show some photos:

our private garden

Exploring Spoleto was not easy coz of the temperature of over 30 degrees. We started with the Duomo di St. Maria Assunta where it was pleasantly cool. We opted for the audio tour and loved especially the frescoes of Lippi, which are the jewels of this cathedral for sure. Lippi is burried in the church.

Of course we made too many photos of all the great frescoes:

detail of the front of the Duomo 

with frescoes of Lippi about the story of the holy virgin

Lippi 'The Annunciation'

another detail: the death of the Virgin 

original tiles on the floor

awesome frescoes in this Duomo

After visiting the Duomo we walked the streets (and many stairs) of Spoleto to the terrace near the Aquaduct, with a view over the surroundings, where we enjoyed a cool beer

due to the latest earthquake the path over the Aquaduct is closed

finally a NastroAzzurro

loud neighbours

Spoleto corners

Vicolo

Dinner at ristorante Apollinare, which was one of several places advised by our hosts. We had an excellent dinner accompanied by a lovely Trebbiano wine. Super.

amuse

first courses: salad with fruit for me and octopus on a bed of pumpkin for Peter

main courses: duck breast with some liquorice dust for me and fresh pasta with tartufo for Peter.

Dolce only for me, coz I couldn't resist: 

meringue with marinated oranges and chocolate sauce poured over

Peter made this photo of me drooling over my dolce

Duomo by nite

According to Monique we had to walk to the Aquaduct in the evening coz it's enchanting. We followed her advise 

When arriving home we had a lovely chat, while enjoying a cup of tea, with our hosts Lorry and Justin. We feel very much at home here.
Still one day to go here in Spoleto and then we will have to leave again.