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Italian provincial blogging: exploring Viterbo

by eternalcityblues Sun Dec 3rd, 2006 at 05:33:15 AM EST

A cat....

... and its habitat...

Sunday morning cat in old city photo blogging...from the diaries - whataboutbob


Worth exploring?  On a lazy summer day...

... all kinds of interesting nooks and crannies to check out...

... shops...

... just round the corner there's a tiny pulpit -
the sign says "Thomas of Aquinas preached here"...

The houses certainly look lived-in - not surprisingly as people have been living in them for at least 700  years?

... and every now and then more bits get added on...

Those veggie-gardens inside the ramparts look well looked-after - just in case it gets beseiged?

' Course Viterbo also has its noble side - Palace of the Popes...

... with stone lace and felines rampant:

.. other rampant felines grace the fountains...

... and the walls!  Full circle.

..........

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Great pictures! I have a friend who is from Viterbo.

You have a normal feeling for a moment, then it passes. --More--
by tzt (tzt) on Sat Dec 2nd, 2006 at 09:52:38 PM EST
Yes!! Great photos...thank you, I really enjoy your photo-journalism!

And where is Viterbo...it definitely looks like a fun place to explore?

"Once in awhile we get shown the light, in the strangest of places, if we look at it right" - Hunter/Garcia

by whataboutbob on Sun Dec 3rd, 2006 at 04:02:42 AM EST
gorgeous, ecb...

it's quite amazing how aesthetic and atmospheric the historical centre of almost any italian city or town is.

you reallycaptured viterbo well.

viterbo is near lake bolsena, in lazio, half an hour north of rome.

it's a magical area where i have gone camping quite often.

have you found the hot springs at marta yet?

apart from being the hottest i found in italy, the pools are deep and wide enough for swimming, which is very unusual.

the other good thing is they're out in the middle of a field, without any of the luxy or commercialised infrastructure that has desouled other hot springs.

it's about 2 1)2 hrs south of where i live, beatig down the 4-laned but badly surfaced E45.

you know a hot springs is good when you put 5 hrs there and back drive to enjoy them.!

saturnia on monte amiata is very special too, where the whole river is hot, giving you a constant rolling massage of hot sulphury water.

great pix, thanks!

 

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Sun Dec 3rd, 2006 at 06:35:24 AM EST
Thanks to all for the appreciation! :-)

I've never been to Marta, never been to Saturnia either - but they're both on my list of places to visit, sound fascinating. I'm also interested in Monte Amiata because of its tragic religious history - the crushing of Davide Lazzaretti's Giusdavidic movement in the 19th century - so sooner or later I'll make my way there.

"Ignoring moralities is always undesirable, but doing so systematically is really worrisome." Mohammed Khatami

by eternalcityblues (parvati_roma aaaat libero.it) on Sun Dec 3rd, 2006 at 09:12:25 AM EST
[ Parent ]
i didn't know that about amiata. sounds interesting - diary perhaps?

i have skiid up there and it has a ppwerful vibe, stunning countryside around saturnia too, especially with the flame-yellow scotch broom -ginestra - perfuming and lighting up the hillsides in spring.

there is a big airbase near viterbo, i heard quite a lot of traffic in the sky at night there.

Marta is only a few clicks from viterbo, on the road to montefiascone.

very pretty lake village, with white swans i wanted to kidnap and take to trasimeno!

jes' kidding...

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Sun Dec 3rd, 2006 at 07:58:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]
There's a good Italian wiki link about Davide Lazzaretti -

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Lazzaretti

Fascinating story - a 19th century religious visionary along the lines of Gioacchino da Fiore, with a mystical utopian-socialist agenda complete with red banner bearing the words "The Republic is the Kingdom of Heaven" and a liking for the Paris Comune.  Not surprisingly, he got excommunicated by the Pope then shot down by the Carabinieri.

"Ignoring moralities is always undesirable, but doing so systematically is really worrisome." Mohammed Khatami

by eternalcityblues (parvati_roma aaaat libero.it) on Sun Dec 3rd, 2006 at 08:19:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]
poor sod, i feel for him..

running head on into reality at warp speed...

if the christians don't get you, the cops will...

sound slike he made it to the kingdom of heaven a little earlier than he anticipated!

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Sun Dec 3rd, 2006 at 09:02:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Ah these photos are gorgeous. I love Italy and these photos are Italian through and through!
by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Sun Dec 3rd, 2006 at 06:59:40 AM EST
Eternal places, eternal pictures.

A pleasure

I therefore claim to show, not how men think in myths, but how myths operate in men's minds without their being aware of the fact. Levi-Strauss, Claude

by kcurie on Sun Dec 3rd, 2006 at 08:31:39 AM EST
What a beautiful little town/village!

British Neo-Liberal
by Illustrious10 on Sun Dec 3rd, 2006 at 09:04:28 AM EST
Viterbo has around 100,000 inhabitants altogether, it's a provincial capital - SO by size I'd say it's either a large town or a smallish city? It also has a modern part with all the usual trimmings: apartment blocks, office blocks, department stores, buses and bustle... plus a very interesting Etruscan museum. These pics show the old part - the "historical centre".  And as melo says:

it's quite amazing how aesthetic and atmospheric the historical centre of almost any italian city or town is

;-).. not only a delight to explore but an endless source of material for photo-diaries.

"Ignoring moralities is always undesirable, but doing so systematically is really worrisome." Mohammed Khatami

by eternalcityblues (parvati_roma aaaat libero.it) on Sun Dec 3rd, 2006 at 09:30:36 AM EST
[ Parent ]
and you are doing a stellar job!

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty
by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Wed Dec 6th, 2006 at 06:41:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]
It looks wonderful. When I buy a summer cottage I'll buy it in Italy. Or maybe Croatia.

(No, no, no, just like almost all Swedes own stocks half of all Swedes own summer houses so there is no need to attack.)



Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.

by Starvid on Mon Dec 4th, 2006 at 01:38:07 PM EST


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