Umbria: Town and Country
Sunday, June 24, 2018
As you might know, I have been traveling with a tour group since last Monday. This has kept me very busy, and I have fallen a bit behind on my updates. But today is Sunday, so we have some free time this afternoon. I will try to catch up some.
On Thursday morning, our tour bus departed from Rome and headed for the Italian region of Umbria. Umbria is located in central Italy, in the Apennine Mountains. (You can find it on the map!) Italy is a country of many hills, mountains, and even a few volcanoes. These have been formed by the many earthquakes Italy has had over millions of years.
The Apennines remind me a little of the Appalachian Mountains in our country, only they seem a bit taller. The mountains are rounded and green. In the Umbrian region of Italy, they grow corn and wheat. I felt right at home driving through the cornfields. But unlike Indiana, they also grow sunflowers there to make into sunflower oil. The sunflower fields are beautiful! The most important crop grown in Umbria is the olive. You will find olive trees everywhere--like you find maple trees in Indiana. These olives are then made into olive oil for cooking.
On Thursday morning, our tour bus departed from Rome and headed for the Italian region of Umbria. Umbria is located in central Italy, in the Apennine Mountains. (You can find it on the map!) Italy is a country of many hills, mountains, and even a few volcanoes. These have been formed by the many earthquakes Italy has had over millions of years.
The Apennines remind me a little of the Appalachian Mountains in our country, only they seem a bit taller. The mountains are rounded and green. In the Umbrian region of Italy, they grow corn and wheat. I felt right at home driving through the cornfields. But unlike Indiana, they also grow sunflowers there to make into sunflower oil. The sunflower fields are beautiful! The most important crop grown in Umbria is the olive. You will find olive trees everywhere--like you find maple trees in Indiana. These olives are then made into olive oil for cooking.
After the busy hustle and bustle of Rome, Umbria was a nice escape. This part of Italy is dotted with many small towns. These towns probably look like the picture you have in your mind of a small Italian town. Most of these towns were first built by the Etruscans over 2,000 years ago. They were later ruled by the Roman Empire. A lot of what you see today goes back to the Middle Ages (the 400's - 1400's). I had the pleasure of visiting Cascia (cash-uh), Assisi (ah-see-see), and Spello. Assisi is a bustling little town. Cascia and Spello are very quiet villages.
You will notice that these towns are built on top of hills. At the time they were built, there was always a fear of being invaded. So being on top of a hill would allow the residents to see invaders coming from far away. Because these towns are so old, no one was thinking about cars when they were first built. People walked everywhere That means the roads are very narrow, and there are no sidewalks. City streets are shared by cars and pedestrians (people walking). When a car comes along, you simply have to move out of the way until it passes.
You will notice that these towns are built on top of hills. At the time they were built, there was always a fear of being invaded. So being on top of a hill would allow the residents to see invaders coming from far away. Because these towns are so old, no one was thinking about cars when they were first built. People walked everywhere That means the roads are very narrow, and there are no sidewalks. City streets are shared by cars and pedestrians (people walking). When a car comes along, you simply have to move out of the way until it passes.
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