After a fun Friday night dinner party at our place w/ a group of our Italian friends, we decided, on a whim, on Saturday morning, to take advantage of the sunshine and head out on a drive to Civita. Civita is a small..I'm talking only 2 year round residents in the whole place small...midevil village located 3 hours from our apartment in the region of Umbria. Because Civita is located in a volcanic area, and because it has succumbed to a lot of erosion over the years, the only way to access Civita is via a pedestrian walkway/bridge that leads from it's neighboring village, Bagnoreggia, up to Civita. As we walked over the bridge, we were taken back by the awesome scenery....Civita perched up on a hill, surrounded by dusty canyons..really cool place!
Once in Civita, we took our time meandering the tiny cobblestone streets and alleyways, took in the sights--quaint restaurants, lots of pretty cats, old world charm, antique olive presses--complete with samplings of bruschetta made with 'first press' olive oil, and our very own mini-soccer player...Evan playing in the main piazza of Civita..so cute!
Civita is Rick Steve's favorite of the 5 mideveil walled cities that include: Sienna, Orvieto, San Gemiagno, and Assisi (all of which I've visited and written about in previous blog posts). Due to the tiny size of Civita, it can easily be combined w/ Orvieto if you want to stay overnight to enjoy some dinner in the piazza or just the ambiance while visiting. A great way to spend the day!
On Sunday we did some more local exploring in the historical center of Naples. We took the train and bus into Piazza Cavour where our friends own a shop. After saying hi to them, and as usual, sitting down for a cup of espresso and a quick visit in their shop, we headed over to Piazza Bellini--a cute, popular piazza known as a place where poets and artists gather while sipping cappucinos or sharing a caraffe of wine. A short walk after Piazza Bellini brings you to Via Tribulani--Naples' street that is famous for the best pizza in town...and seeing that pizza was 'invented' in Naples, it's a street not to be missed, and a pizza lovers dream! We stopped at a pizzeria I had eaten in once before with a friend, and enjoyed the fresh mozzarella, basil, eggplant and tomato pizza before heading back home. Buono!!
