Tom`s travels: Spoleto (18/04/2019)

On this day I decided to take a train and head to Spoleto, located in the central region of Umbria. After reaching the station, I decided to visit the Chiesa di San Salvatore first, located outside the city center on a hill next to the local cemetery. Built prior to the 9th century in a Romanesque style, it features repurposed ancient roman columns thus making it part of the Longobard Unesco world heritage site scattered around Italy. The church was unfortunately closed due to the earthquake which had hit the region three years prior. Thanks to a glass window though I was able to peer through the main door and admire the spoil nave with the roman columns at the end of the apse. After that, I then walked further and headed to the nearby Monastero di San Ponziano, also standing isolated on a hill outside the city center. As I reached the place three Spanish tourists had arrived by car and were standing in front of the complex which was closed. At one point though a car arrived and an old man descended and asked us if we were hoping to visit the church. After a positive answer, he opened the doors and let us in. while starting to explain the complex´s history. The church, featuring a romanesque exterior was refurbished at the end of the 18th century and features now a neoclassical interior. A crypt, which survives from the earlier times of the church, was located below the main nave and the old man showed us its magnificent medieval frescoes and roman repurposed columns. After thanking the man I headed into town by crossing a small bridge over the dry bed of a small river and then happily took advantage of the public escalators used by the inhabitants to move between the upper and lower parts of town. After getting off the escalator I reached the central Piazza del Duomo with lovely buildings surround it. At its eastern end, stands imposing the beautiful Duomo built between 1151 and 1227 in the Romanesque style with Renaissance and Baroque additions in its interior. The facade presented a beautiful front with gothic rose windows and a 13th-century mosaic representing the blessing of Christ. Once inside I then admired the baroque refurbishing which luckily left the beautiful Cosmatesque floor typical of early Christian churches of the area. Of particular note were the renaissance frescoes decorating the cathedral´s apse completed in 1469 by the painter Filippo Lippi. I then exited the church and walked across the square up the staircase and through the old town looking for a place to eat lunch. I ended up choosing a place called La Taverna dei Duchi where I had a tasty pasta with guanciale and a glass of red wine. After a nice meal, I then continued on foot and walked through the Piazza del Mercato, once the central area of the Roman city. The square is crowned to the north by an elegant fountain with a clock from the 18th century. A little further I then passed under a roman arch called Arco di Druso and dating to the 1st century A.D. Continuing along pretty streets lined by typical stone buildings I then reached the highest point in town characterized by the Rocca Albornoziana, the town fortress. Built at the end of the 14th century it was requested by the then Pope Innocent VI who wanted to fortify the Church´s presence in these areas. The view from there was great, with the old town to the north and west and the hills with the medieval bridge, Ponte Delle Torri, to the south. I then entered the fortress and visited its interior which features the National Museum of the Duchy of Spoleto. The collection presented objects and artifacts from the Roman times to the 15th century, and despite the fortress having served as a prison from 1817 to 1982, its rooms still featured some interesting medieval frescoes. After seeing the place I then headed back into town and decided to visit the diocesan museum. Hosted inside the Bishop´s Palace it presented a series of religious paintings ranging from the medieval to the early modern era. Included in the ticket was the visit to the 11th-century church of Sant´Eufemia with nice repurposed ancient capitals. After the museum, I went to visit yet another museum, the National Archaeological Museum located in the western part of town. Hosted inside what was once the monastery of Sant´Agata, it featured artifacts and objects of archaeological sites from the surrounding area dating mostly to the Roman times. A great feature was the well-preserved Roman Theatre standing right next to the main loggia. As I then left the museum I headed south and out of the old town, reached the church of San Pietro located out of the center and on a low hill. Even though the interior was refurbished during the Baroque period I was still glad to be able to admire the beautiful facade decorated with 12th-century reliefs. As I then followed the road I reached the beautiful Ponte Delle Torri, a 13th-century medieval aqueduct/bridge which crossed over the Tessino river at a narrow point of the gorge. Due to security reasons after the earthquake, the access to the bridge was closed so in order for me to head back to town I had to take the longer panoramic route. I passed by the Fortilizio Dei Mulini, a medieval structure with a tower that once served as a watermill and followed a path called Giro dei Condotti which wound around the valley between trees granting beautiful views of the old town. After the whole round, I then reached the town once more and took once again the escalators to reach the Cathedral and take some pictures at sunset. I walked further into town and visited the church of San Filippo, dating to the 17th century in a nice Baroque style. Descending down I then passed through some narrow pretty streets and by the impressive Torre dell´ olio with its 45m of height making it the tallest in town. I then finally reached the lower part of town where the Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi is located and tried to visit the Basilica di San Gregorio Maggiore which was unfortunately closed. From there it was then time to head to the train station and get a ride back to Rome.