Umbria Holiday Rentals www.THISOLDCONVENT.com: April 2010

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Our Road Home Through the Val Racciusole, Umbertide Umbria Italy

This is the route that we take home from Umbertide.

We usually pass a car or two, but sometimes we hit some “heavy" traffic.

FIC

Once again the road is clear as we pump up some lame Rock ‘n’ Roll CD that I bought on my third trip to Pompeii.

Continue to the right towards Preggio.

Then you will see the Old Mincione Road going off the main road to the right.

Il Convento Mincione appears on 14th c. Gregorian Maps. Mincione is that square circled in red.

You will come to an open field on the right. Be careful as you drive because and you may have to break for a deer. This doesn’t happen often (this is our first deer in seven years), but there is always something to break for; i.e. hare, porcupines, frogs after a rain, pheasants, etc.

I had to paint these triangles on the tree in the bend in the road, because my “Mincione” sign, painted on a piece of old wood, was removed when I nailed it to this very same tree. Maybe someone wanted the sign or didn’t like the fact that I nailed it on the tree.

Make the very sharp hair-pin turn up to the right and here we are almost home.
Mincione peeps through the trees.

You thought there was no more adventure on our road home, but that is not the case.
On the left you see an antique well. It is totally covered over with brambles in the summer time.

Antique roadside well close up.

Home Sweet Home!

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Ascagnano Thoroughbred Race Horses

These fabulous Ascagnano Thoroughbreds are being raised on a farm nearby, in the sleepy township of La Bruna (pop. 400 pax), which is located just outside of Umbertide. You can see the horses from the road that leads from Pier Antonio (Rock of Antonio) exit of the E45 to La Bruna (the “Brunette”; see pics.). This country road has been dubbed “La Strada di Vino e Olivi”, because you will see kilometers of meticulously maintained vineyards and graceful olive groves as you travel along its path between Gubbio, in the north of the Upper Tiber Valley, and to Lago Trasimeno in the south.

Our new friend from South Africa (you’ll hear outside Umbertide more about her in another blog post) lives on the inner road that goes right past their corrals and stables and that is how I was able to get so up close and personal (I’ll take you there too, when you visit.) with these marvelous beasts of burden.