SOLO EURO II: DAYS 13-15 [TIVOLI, ORVIETO, & BRACCIANO]
for three of the days i stayed in rome, i spent the mornings/afternoons in surrounding cities: tivoli, orvieto, & bracciano. if you would like to see what i after returning to rome, check out my last post. all 3 cities were much less busy & touristy, which was a nice change of pace. for the first day, i went to tivoli, a little town known for the villas of rome's past elite. since ancient times, tivoli was a popular place for ancient romans to reside in the summer months as it was cooler. the most famous villas here are hadrian's villa & villa d'este. i chose to visit the latter because of the gardens & it is more accessible to public transportation.
the train trip is not very long, less than an hour, but i did almost miss my train. i learned that there is a subsection of trains away from the main platforms & it took me quite a while to find as the signs were not very straight forward & i could not find any info online. to be specific, the platform was 3est. to my understanding, the 1est to 3est platforms are used for more local & slower trains. i ended up using this platform again to go to bracciano. when i got to the train, i was a sweaty heavy breathing mess. other than that, the train ride was beautiful as you wind through the green lush hills to reach tivoli.
from the train station to the villa, you have to walk over a pretty bridge.
after stopping for a cappuccino & croissant, i made my way to the villa. fortunately, the villa had an audioguide, which was really nice. there were so many intricate details regarding the people who lived here & the architecture. it was cool to see frescoes painted of hercules, including him saving megara from the centaur (and a fountain of pegasus in the garden!). it may be lame, but disney's hercules was one of my favorite movies when i was a kid, so the inner child in me was pleased. a lot of the paintings celebrated pagan gods & roman mythology, which is something i am more interested in than the common catholic iconography all over italy. there was also an interesting temporary exhibit, but i do not remember what it was called. it showed paintings & other media of female myths including sirens, medusa, venus, & mermaids.
villa d'este, a UNESCO world heritage site, is from the 16th century known for its italian renaissance garden. the villa was created by a cardinal from a well known italian family. the villa returned to the family off & on, became a convent, and eventually came to the italian state's possession after wwii. the villa did sustain damage from bombs during the war.
the villa courtyard with the fountain of venus.
the view from the villa's roof balcony.
a grotto. there are quite a few of these in several rooms.
oh so many balconies
fontana dell'ovato (the oval fountain)
a fancy water fountain (as yes it is meant for your to drink - i am not the weirdo tourist).
the fountain of the organ. this is an actual functioning water organ (at the center temple). it is from the 16th century & first of its kind.
fruit, fish ponds, and the water organ in the distance.
wild daffodils?
the rometta fountain
taken while i was waiting for my train back to rome.
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the next day i went to orvieto. out all 3 towns, orvieto was my favorite. even though all 3 are beautiful little towns & much quieter than the other italian cities i visited during my trip, orvieto had an itinerary full of interesting historical sites & is extremely walkable. to get to the historical area, you have to take a funicular, a train car that takes you up and down the hill. there is a reason why the word "fun" is in funicular. as someone who LOVES embracing public transportation, it was cool to go up the hill through the treetops. other than angel's flight in los angeles, this is the only funicular i have had the pleasure to ride.
the funicular station. originally opened in 1888 (which was open until the 1970s!), but this electric version is from the 1990s.
once arriving to the top, the first stop was rocca albornoziana, a ruined fortress & public garden. it is not much, but it was cool to see the old brick walls and the pretty views.
my attempt at a selfie. babushka girl made an appearance as it was quite a chilly morning.
the first admission site of the day was pozzo di san patrizio, st. patrick's well. the well was named st. patrick because of the legends of purgatory, which has been referred as a well. admission allows you to walk 248 steps down the spiral staircase to the base 174 feet underground. of course that means you have to walk 248 steps back up to exit.
the entrance to st. patrick's well (c. 1537)
a view looking down st. patrick's well.
after losing my breath walking back up the stairs. i strolled through town. it was still quite early & therefore empty. out of all 3 towns, orvieto was also my favorite when it came to charm. the town had many old details, but still felt very lived in with everyday life. for example, when i went to sienna, it was hard to imagine somebody growing up there. in orvieto, there were very little tourists. the only other time i clearly saw tourists, was at the duomo.
my measly american mind cannot imagine living in one of these buildings.
orvieto duomo (c. 14th century - italian gothic)
an angel, eagle, ox, & lion are along the exterior. the exterior is well known for depicting a relief of the redemption (not pictured, but it was pretty epic).
the duomo's nave. it was simple, but the light was so pretty.
definitely the highlight of the day was visiting pozzo della cava. i really had no expectations and thought it would be cool to see a cave without having the cave experience of going deep underground in small spaces. i am not scared of heights, but i am claustrophobic when it comes to being underground. luckily, the museum provides an english brochure to learn as you explore.
the estruscan cave was also used throughout the medieval & renaissance period, but was only recently discovered underneath a private residence & is now a museum. the caves have been used to make ceramics, produce wines, and store trash. the family still owns the cave & opened it up to the public.
funny story about this picture. the one worker was this old italian man dressed sharp in a full suit & bowtie. when i was looking in the gift shop at all the pottery made on site (i ended up buying an owl), the old man grabbed my hand and led me to the dining area of the restaurant next door that was closed (yes i know this sounds like 'some stranger danger'). he then pointed to the glass window on the floor & started jumping up and down on top of it. i joined him in jumping and then took a picture, not to remember what was through the glass, but the memory of an old man in a bow tie jumping up & down along with a twenty-something year old american tourist.
to add to the great pleasure of being at this site, there was an in-house cafe bar selling espresso drinks. i happily bought a cappuccino & took it outside to the patio where i could see the caves & a crazy fancy water fountain with turtles. there was also purple hydrangeas & what looked like christmas holly. like i said before, the combo of the caves, the hospitality, & the caffeine, this was the highlight of my day.
the lovely patio i had to myself (and my cappuchino).
i met a friendly stray dog at a water fountain
while walking back to the train station, i was looking for a place to find a snack. i really wanted to find a meat & cheese platter as i failed before in florence (it was strictly a meat platter & you can see it in a past post). luckily i found a place, but i had to go outside and take a picture of the sign to tell her what i wanted as she had no idea what i was trying to say.
i was pleased with my array of sliced meats & cheeses with an apricot preserve, but italian bologna is still as gross as american bologna.
after taking the train back, i picked up some ice cream (stracciatella) during my walk to the hostel.
after a nap, i went back to the station to pick up dinner. i had pasta, fried zucchini blossoms, peach ice tea, & a banana
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my last day in rome, i took the train to bracciano. out of all the 3 towns, this one is the closest to rome & requires a slower regional train. i started watching skam italia when i returned & learned that bracciano is the lake town that the boy group go to in season 2. anyhoo, the town is known for its castle & as a weekend spot for romans because of the lake. i decided to go because of the former.
castello orsini-odescalchi in the distance (c. 1485 - rennaisance).
i was the first person in the castle & actually got there so early, that i had to wait outside the gates until it opened. i went on a sunday & admission was only in the morning because of a wedding. fun fact, tom cruise & katie holmes got married here.
the renaissance castle was built in the 15th century as both a military defense & residence of the feudal lords (orsini & borgia). the castle is both a house & art museum. i enjoyed much more seeing the rooms furnished.
a wonderfully tacky chandelier
some of the rooms were filled with flowers for the wedding later in the day.
i met a roman boy :3
the courtyard
the view of the lake below the castle
other than the castle, there was not much to see. there was still quite some time until the next train so i looked in some of the shops & went to a local bakery.
at the bakery, i picked up this ooky spooky chocolate coffin cookie & brought it to the station. at the station, there was a little cafe bar, so i also got a shot of espresoo. this was the strangest bar during my trip as there were also slot machines inside.
now for a song. i am going to choose a song that i have been listening to recently. i have talked about them before, but i am still listening to the wailin' jennys & one of my recent faves is "old churchyard." it is an old spooky folk song that talks about the dead and more interestingly, the perspective of the narrator who is ready to go.
why weep for me, for i'm ready, anxious, to go
to that haven of rest where no tears flow
and i fear not to enter that dark lonely tomb...
i rest in the hope that one bright day
sunshine will burst to these prisons of clay
and old gabriel's trumpet & then voice of the lord
will wake up the dead in the old churchyard