Spoleto

Spoleto is probably a place you've never heard of and won't really be in your history books. I think the people there sort of prefer it that way.  However, if you're in Italy and you have time, you should really check this place out.  This is a picture of Spoleto as you walk from the train station up into town. Our hotel was on the right, the white building "Dui Porte."

Up on the hill you can see the old fortress turned prison the Albornozian Castle and that church there, well, we'll be getting to that soon. 

Spoleto is a very beautiful little town in the Umbria region of Italy, in between Assisi and Rome. Like most places is Umbria it has a rustic...did I just say "rustic?" Give me a do over.  It's quiet, out of the way, simple but loaded with tons of very interesting things you'll never find on some guided tour of Italy.  This is the heart of Italy, away from the tourists but still surrounded by its past and its art. 
                            Here's an idea of what its ancient, and I man ancient, streets look like.

Spoleto was around before the Romans and when the Romans forcibly moved in like awful relatives, they named it "Spoletium." Roman Ruins can still be see all over the little town.
Here's a Roman arch and the original street down below.  

And here's a Roman theater. 

Oh, that aint all.  Beneath the town's government building there's an old Roman house! When I visited it they had two cute Italian college girls working on restoring the floor mosaics.

Here's a mosaic in the old house.  Each one of those little tiles had to be placed back where it was supposed to be.

Then, after the Western Roman Empire fell, the Lombards moved in and took the joint over.  Eventually the Lombard Countess Matilda of Tuscany who inherited the Duchy of Spoleto, gave it as a gift to the Pope.  Now, she was a very interesting woman and you can learn more about her HERE.
But now, Spoleto is a sleepy little town except when they have their annual festival every year in late June-early July. 
I walked up to the huge aquaduct that spans a narrow valley.  Its not a Roman one (well, maybe there was a Roman one there once) but a 13th century one.  Still, it's mighty impressive.  And you get to walk out on it!

Now let's walk back down the hill to the Cathedral of Santa Maria Dell' Asunta.  (Didn't we just see an Asunta in Torcello?)  This isn't the biggest church in Italy, but it's very interesting.  It has frescos done by Filppo Lippi, a famous monk/artist.  He was a great artist but a lousy monk because he supposedly seduced the mayor's daughter and they killed him for it. They then brought in his son, Filippino Lippi to finish the frescos. 
Here's the church!  The bell tower is made out of Roman ruins and you can see parts of inscriptions and carved figures.

Since its not crowded with tourists this church is actually a very nice place to think, as is the piazza outside.
Now you can't go to Spoleto, let alone Umbria without gorging yourself on the food because it might possibly have the best food in Italy and that's saying a lot!  With only a few exceptions, all my best meals were in Umbria.  Let's start with the "porquetta." This I found at a small stand near the train station.  This guy sold pork sandwiches which consisted of sliced pork, bread....and that's it.  That's all it needed!  It was one of the most amazing sandwiches of my life. It redefined what a truly great sandwich was.  The next meal you must try is the Wild Boar Sausage.  I've never had sausage this good in my life and sometimes I even consider the most delicious thing I've ever eaten.  The trick is to sprinkle a little lime on it.  Wow!  I'm drooling just thinking about it.  And the next thing you must try is the gnochi.   It comes in different varieties but it's all good.  It looks kinda like shell pasta but its potato dumplings in sauce.   The desert was strawberries and cream which needs no explanation but I will say that fresh strawberries from the local farmers kick supermarket strawberries in the junk. This is another pasta dish that was wonderful.  Seriously, just go order everything on the menu.