St. Dennis Adventures

Driving back to our condo one evening, we rounded a corner on the highway and noticed Spoleto's impressive roman bridge that crossed the valley in front of us. We had visited Spoleto in the past, but on seeing it's bridge, we decided we had to make a return trip. Spoleto has many historical highlights as it was an important center in Roman and medieval times. The first historical mention of Spoletium was on its founding as a colony in 241 BC. We got parked and headed uphill to the Ponte delle Torri or the Bridge of Towers. The bridge is 750 feet long and 260 feet high.It used to have medieval defensive towers at each end of the bridge. The bridge has 10 arches and was built in the 13th century over the foundation of a Roman aqueduct.  When we visited last time, we were able to walk over it, however, it is now temporarily closed due to damage suffered in the 2016 earthquake.  While disappointed that we couldn’t walk across it, the views were still br...

When we learned that Terni was home to St. Valentine, we decided we had to visit.  The tomb of St. Valentine is in a 12th century church which was built over a smaller 4th century church. The history books tell us that when the Roman Empire was under the threat of invasion, the Roman emperor Claudius banned marriages.  This decree had the desired effect of providing more unmarried soldiers to fight in battle.  In response, St. Valentine, believing in love and marriage, began performing marriages in secret. As punishment for performing these ceremonies, St. Valentine was ultimately imprisoned, tortured and martyred on February 14, 1269. His body was returned to rest in Terni.  Over the centuries, St. Valentine's relics have been distributed throughout Europe. His skull is said to reside in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome. Many of his remains were sent to Madrid as a present from the Pope to King Carlos IV. And, Pope Gregory XVI gave so...

After leaving Milan, we spent a day touring Perugia. We learned about the city’s historical centre which seemed more intact and larger in scale than others we have visited. The old town is perched on a hilltop, surrounded by both Etruscan and, later, medieval walls. It’s believed the Etruscans founded Perugia in the 6th century B.C.  After getting the car parked we rode a series of escalators into the old town. Although we found ourselves heading uphill again, at least we some help doing it this time!  A fantastic part of the escalator ride was that it took us through the large scale foundations of the Rocca Paolina. In 1540, during the reign of Pope Paul III, Perugia was the last free city in Italy. On its defeat, and as a sign of papal dominion, the Pope commissioned the construction of the fortressed city of Perugia. To construct the Rocca Paolina, over a hundred houses, as well as churches and monasteries were destroyed and used as building material and substructure...

Milan was one of the more bustling cities we visited during our holiday. While it has the sidewalk cafes where tourists and locals alike are leisurely enjoying an espresso or some gelato, it is a thriving metropolitan area and is known as the fashion capital of Italy.  We did do some shopping while we were in the city, although most of our time was spent touring the Duomo of Milan. The Duomo is one of the largest and grandest Gothic cathedrals in the world. Its exterior is white marble, with spires and statues on its façade. Inside it can hold 40,000 people inside. Construction, which began in 1386,  took six centuries to complete due to funding delays, politics, and the seemingly insurmountable task of completing it. Napoleon made it a priority to get the final stages of construction completed so he could be crowned King of Italy in the Cathedral in 1805. The last door was inaugurated in 1965. With these tourists included in the p...

While we were in the area, we went to Lucerne. Lucerne is about 50 km south-west of Zurich on the flanks of Mount Pilatus.  Lori and I originally visited here in 1984 on our bus tour of Europe along with our friend Mary. It would be interesting to see how my memories matched up with reality. One of the most impressive sites we visited was the Lion of Lucerne.  This carved monument commemorates the Swiss Guards who lost their lives during the 1792 French Revolution, when revolutionaries stormed the Tuileries Palace in Paris. On seeing the sculpture, it is said that Mark Twain commented that it was ‘the most mournful and moving pieces of stone in the world’.  Standing in front of this massive sculpture, the Lion of Lucerne does convey the sadness and is a touching tribute to the lives lost. Lucerne is also home to the Chapel Bridge, the oldest known truss bridge still in use today, and the oldest surviving wooden covered bridge in Europe.  Walking along this 1...

We decided to spend the weekend in Switzerland, and headed to Zurich. I know what you’re thinking – how many countries can you visit in one trip?  Given the relative sizes of the countries, it was only ~750 KM (8 hours) to drive from Assisi to Zurich (which is a shorter drive than from Regina to Calgary). We learned a couple of things before we left. The Swiss – Italian border is not as open as other country borders in Europe (because Switzerland is not part of the European Union). We had our passports ready but never needed them – the border officer waved us in but only to get us to buy the required “Swiss motorway vignette". This pass is required to travel on the Swiss highway system and costs 40 Swiss Francs (CHF) -- equivalent to about 50 Canadian dollars. Once we had our pass, we were off.  As soon as we crossed the border, the landscape changed to the mountainous scenery of the Swiss Alps. It was a stunning drive. We were able to travel along some pretty stun...

We learned Carsulae was nearby and decided to spend the afternoon roaming around its archaeological ruins. From the Roman age of Augustus Caesar, you can see the remains of an amphitheater, a marble Arch, thermal baths, and temples. Carving a path through these ruins is the via Flaminia, once a main route through Italy’s heartland to Rome. There’s differing opinions as to why the city was abandoned but, what’s left of it, archaeologists have mapped out a church, a public forum surrounded by market stalls, a water cistern, temples, a theatre, and funerary monuments. We were able to roam throughout much of the town and actually watch some excavations going on. It is amazing that right under where we stood was once a thriving metropolis and that even now, we are finding evidence of their daily lives. One of the more impressive sights was the Arco di Traiano – “Arch of San Damiano”. Originally consisting of three marble- clad arches, only the center arch remains. It ...

Italy is not a very large country. It averages about 160 KM wide down the peninsula. What this means for tourists is that there are a lot of places to visit in a very small area. On this day, we visited three small hilltop towns. We started the day in Montefalco, lunched in Bevagna, and ended up meeting friends for supper in Spello. Looking out from our hilltop view in Montefalco we saw the entire valley unfold beneath us. Known for its wine and linens, we took the opportunity to do some shopping while we meandered along the town’s pebbled streets. Montefalco today has several churches, some in the Romanesque, some in the Gothic, and some in the Renaissance style. Historically, the most important is the church of San Francesco, which is now the town's museum, and, given its collection of art and artifacts, one of the most important museums in Umbria. The church is notable for its fresco cycle on the life of St. Francis, by the Florentine artist Benozzo Gozzoli (1450–1452)...