Tom`s travels: Alviano, Lugnano in Teverina, Porchiano del Monte & Giove (15/02/2020)

This time I headed for a day trip alone, deciding to visit a few small towns in Umbria, close to the border with Lazio. After taking the train from Rome I reached the station of Alviano, where I got off and started my hike. The station is located down the valley right by the Tiber river, so that meant walking uphill from there. After a few kilometers in the countryside, I reached the first town: Alviano. This small town sits on top of a hill and is dominated by its impressive castle. Built during the 16th century in full Renaissance period, it substituted an older medieval structure and its name was connected to the famous condottiere Bartolomeo d'Alviano, as his family possessed its fiefdom. During the 17th century, it passed on to the Doria Pamphilj family that then gave its name to the castle, one which it holds to this day. Nowadays the fortress holds the seat of the municipality so I was able to see the inner courtyard and first floor featuring nice arches. After the visit to the castle, I then strolled around the two streets of the small town, ending then back where I entered the town and where a nice market was set up. Here I decided to buy a carrot and an apple to snack on, and the man at the stand said I could have it for free to which I thanked him very much. From the castle, I then took a street heading out in the countryside which I followed for a while heading further uphill and among olive groves. The view from up there was spectacular with the sight of the old town and castle and the Tiber river valley below. Continuing onwards for a while I then reached the next town: Lugnano in Teverina. Another town built on a hilltop, it is part of the club the most beautiful villages in Italy and is surrounded by beautiful olive groves. I headed in the old town through the northern city gate, as the town is surrounded by medieval walls, and reached the central square where the beautiful Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta is located. Built in the Romanesque style between the 11th and 12th centuries it features an elegant portico on the front with a rich iconography including the Four Evangelists. The interior features columns with an even more interesting iconography and the floor is covered in a beautiful Cosmatesque mosaic. A nice iconostasis separates the rest of the church from the presbyterium which holds an ancient ciborium. After visiting the church I then continued to explore the rest of the old town with its pretty streets and the great view of the surroundings. Afterward, I then continued on through more countryside and through a nice Etruscan via cava, until I reached a hilltop covered in forest which I proceeded to hike up. Here I found the Monastery of the Santissima Trinità a nice 12th-century monastery featuring a church and tower in a peaceful setting. From the monastery, I then followed a trail which in a short time took me to the town of Porchiano del Monte. Smaller than the previous, this town featured a beautifully preserved medieval wall dotted by fortified towers and a nice quaint old town. From the top of the walls, I admired an amazing view that spanned all the way to the snow-capped Terminillo mountain to the north. After walking through the city center I then headed out of one of the city gates and southwards, downhill, walking further through the countryside. The olive groves gave way to untilled fields until I reached the last town: Giove. Here I first visited the church of Santa Maria Assunta built during the 18th century in a nice baroque fashion with two flanking bell towers. Right in front of it was the old town and the main monument, the castle. Originally dating to the 12th century it was fully rebuilt in the 17th century with the new tastes of that period, to look more like a palace than a cold dark defensive structure. Unfortunately, the building was mostly covered in scaffolding due to its current refurbishment so I wasn't able to admire it fully. I decided then to walk through the old town streets and admire the rest of the center which also held some nice view over the Tiber valley below. Once I thought I had seen enough, I then exited the town and walked past the castle once more where a nice park with different kinds of trees was set right below the medieval walls. Then following the road downhill I finally reached the train station of Attigliano, from where I took my train back to Rome.