Discovering some of the most beautiful spots in Umbria continued on day 2 of my weekend in the Terni province of Umbria. Before heading to the ‘Cascate delle Marmore’, the famous waterfalls, on the way there was a planned stop in the town of Arrone. Despite being named as “uno dei borghi più belli d'Italia“ or “one of the most beautiful villages in Italy”, like much of the surrounding area, it is relatively unknown, yet as I discovered by just exploring a couple of the 20 borghi in the Terni area, there are a plethora of hidden gems steeped in history, breath taking scenery and cultural heritage.
Arrone was certainly one of these, situated on the ‘Black River’ it was built around an ancient fortress founded by the Arroni in the ninth century. Arriving in the town, I felt as if I had stepped back in time to the middle ages. The town has preserved its picturesque medieval structure, its narrow streets winding their way through stone houses, old portals, picturesque alleys and beautiful flower filled gardens, all enclosed within ancient walls.
The positioning of the town, as common with most towns in this part of Italy, is preciously perched on the side of the mountain, which will mean that with every corner you turn, you will find yourself stopping often to catch both your breath and to appreciate the breathtaking view of the surrounding mountains from the ‘Castello di Arrone’ or the ‘Castle of Arrone’. Talking of castles, don't expect to find a real castle, In many towns in Umbria the word 'castle' means simply the old part of town, one that rose higher and higher.
Among the things to see in Arrone is the Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta, the elegant church is adorned with frescoes of the fifteenth century.
Another church of even greater interest to me was the Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista. A stunning gothic church, again decorated with wonderful colourful frescoes. The focus of the church was a pentagonal apse surmounted by vivid frescoes.
The best secret of the church however, lies above, going up a few rickety stairs and taking a left before reaching the wooden ceiling you can find the bell tower. It was there, equipped with earplugs we watched a live performance of the bell ringers group, a group who energetically push forward and backwards the church bells producing the famous sound that characterises all Italian cities. Being inside a bell tower while they are being rung can firmly be ticked off the bucket list, check!
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Many things surprised me on this trip, the first thing was the discovery of the ‘mummy museum’ which you can read about here, and then on day 2 of my Terni trip, I was surprised to learn that the region boasts the spectacular Cascata delle Marmore, or Marmore Falls, one of the tallest waterfalls in Italy and the tallest man-made waterfall in Europe. It stands at a colossal 165 metres or 541 feet in height with 3 massive drops making it the protagonist of the surrounding landscape.
The waterfalls are not in fact natural, and are the handy work of who else but the Romans, who created it over 2000 years ago in the third century BC. The water flow is controlled and switched on and off at set times.
It was also put forward for recognition by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
Not to be missed off the itinerary on a trip to these parts, the waterfalls, are immersed in a natural scenery of incomparable beauty, the sparkling yet powerful waters cascade fiercely down the lush vegetation, making it quite the spectacle. I discovered there a few ways to see the falls, There are different types of paths, some more difficult than others to observe the waterfall from different angles.
You can marvel the waters by taking a stroll on one of the paths at the medium section, close to the waters. Don't bother doing your hair ladies, you will get suitable soaked by spray due to the sheer power of the water. (Not that I was complaining about my soaking, it was a welcome relief from a hot humid day). Me being me however, I wanted to climb right to the very top, to get a birds eye view of the waterfall. Not recommended for the faint hearted, after a tricky climb on sparse vertical paths for about 20 minutes, I was rewarded with this breathtaking view.
There is something mesmerising about flowing water, especially in a naturally evocative setting such as this one, I could have literally stood in the same spot and gazed, immersed by the thundering waters all day. It was unsurprising therefore that the falls have enchanted painters and poets, Dante Alighieri, poet and father of the Italian language, also wrote about the falls - “I seemed to hear the murmuring of a river – that goes clear down stone – showing the affluence of its mountain.” Lord Byron described the waterfall as "horribly beautiful".
Although I didn’t, its easy to see how you could spend a whole day. Bringing a picnic or snacks and taking a pitstop to enjoy the view would be an idea. The unusually gloomy September day that I visited on enhanced the romantic moodiness of the falls, however I imagine visiting on a crisp spring or autumn day would be perfect.
Advice - Wear sturdy shoes, some parts are slippery and if you want to climb to the highest viewpoint like I did, you’re going to need them.
Some people brought rain jackets or ponchos to stop themselves getting wet, I personally didn’t and was fine.
Check the opening times and the water flow times to avoid disappointment. (listed here)
After all the hiking, lunch was on my mind, fortunately the next stop on the list was lunch and a tour around the Cantina Zanchi The vineyard, nestled in the green rolling hills is dominated by the main farmhouse which proudly stands over 30 hectares of sprawling vines below.
We were informed that Azienda Agricola Zanchi was started in 1970, when Licurgo Zanchi purchased an old farmhouse in the Amelia hills, in Umbria and acquired only a few rows of untended ancient vines, with great patience he has brought them back into production. Over the years, his son Leonardo and wife Annamarie transformed Licurgo's sentimental project into a modern wine operation, the winegrowers in the hills of Amelia, have now reached the third generation, with daughters Flores and Flaviana and son-in-law Mario, a real family affair.
Walking through the vineyard, Mario explained to us that the vineyards, with excellent exposure to the sun, are implanted in sandy and clay soils are particularly suitable for grape growing and grown with integrated production methods that drastically limit the use of chemicals. The grapes are harvested by hand, they are processed immediately to ensure the freshness and fragrance of the wine.
Mario then stood amongst these vines, lined like obedient soldiers rolling down the hills into the distance of the idyllic surroundings, and explained about the varieties of grapes they grow and told us about the different varieties growing there, all representative of the local area such as Ciliegiolo, Grechetto, Aleatico, Malvasia, Trebbiano and Sangiovese.
We were also informed that in 2008, in collaboration with the University of Perugia, an experimental vineyard was planted in order to recover the lesser-known grape varieties in the Amelia area.
We had an explore around the cantina, modern and functional they are home to all processing stages, from the collection of the grapes to bottling of it.
An underground tunnel is reserved for ageing in oak barrels and ageing in bottles. The nature of the building underground, the special material used and a natural ventilation system, microclimatic conditions make this environment optimal for the conservation of the wines. The impressive space which houses aged wines, ancient rocks, barrels and historical objects make it seem like a small wine museum.
Invited to have lunch, we were met with a spectacular spread of all locally produced delights. There was even a ‘supply station’ with a lady frying up some fresh crispy supplì, Delicious. Of course, it goes without saying that lunch was perfectly paired with specifically chosen wines produced on site. The whole family were on hand to explain the pairings and any questions we had about the wines they produced.
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| The Supplì station |
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| Lunch with a view |
There was just enough time to pick up a souvenir of a couple of bottles of red and we were off on our merry way, suitably stuffed and Zanchi wine giddy.
Too cute not to add... some gorgeous deer that lived on the Zanchi farm
Next stop was the town of Amelia, lying on the hills of the South western part of Umbria, some say Amelia is the oldest city in the region. Despite its small size, don’t be fooled, it is rich in interesting history and tradition. The town is surrounded by the impressive Cyclopean walls, this type of construction is ingenious work of compacting overlapping stones, without the use of cement and mortar.
The walls run about 720 meters and are about 3.5 meters thick. The wall has four main gates one of which is the very imposing Porta Romana to the South, which is where most people enter the town of Amelia.
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| Porta Romana |
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| The lovely town of Amelia |
Literal translation, I'll come back 'nearly straight away'. Living the slow paced life in Amelia.
The Roman influence on the town, which is said to have started from the third century BC is obvious, wandering through the old town you can see snatches of Roman roads within the city, some of them only recently uncovered.
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| Original Roman roads |
The Romans left other traces of their occupation, including a complex of ten underground 'cisterns', built in the 1st Century AD, they collected thermal waters for a Roman Bath.
Hard hat firmly on I descended below ground to explore the caves.
We also stopped by the Archaeological Museum of Amelia, spread across three floors, it fills in the gaps of Amelia's complicated history. The highlight of the museum was the statue of the large bronze statue of the warrior, Germanico, (see below), which has now returned to the collection after having spent many years in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Perugia.
An impromptu stop at the theatre was next, Teatro Sociale, is unassuming from the outside, inside however I was left enchanted by its impressive ornate interior. Built at the end of the 17th century, it retains the original curtain. Admiring the intricately decorated ceiling with beautiful angels, I wasn't surprised to hear the theatre had been the set of many films. We unfortunately couldn't stay to watch a whole performance, but after a kind invitation extended by the owner, we actually came back after dinner to catch a part of a performance. I would definitely like to go back one day to see a whole performance.
Dinner was enjoyed at La Locanda Del Conte Nitto, in the heart of the town Amelia. An abundant antipasto of various cured pork meats, local cheese and lentils (do we see a theme forming here) was followed by a delicious plate of fresh pasta. The main course was an interesting dish of radicchio with black truffle shavings. I was defeated, no room for desert this time.
Useful links -
Stay tuned for my next blog - my third and final day in Terni, Umbria
Ciao for now,
Zoe
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