Monday 10th October

Today we had a mission to go to Penne, Loreto Aspurtino and Citta San Angelo, in that order. We arrived at Penne around midday and most places had closed so we walked up the steep, narrow streets to the Duomo and then wandered down through the small streets, eventually finding the car which we had been lucky to park in a covered car park. Penne is a nice city although not as spectacular as some. Many of the buildings are made of brick and it is known as the ‘City of Brick’

The sidewalks and streets are also of brick. Just outside the city gate, we found a small café where we had an espresso and a pastry and chatted briefly with the proprietor. This café also offered to rent electric bikes.

The charming city of Penne where bricks 'rule'

A surprising sight in the Duomo carpark!!

Then it was on to Loreto Aspurtino which was also quiet and deserted as so many places are in the afternoons. We walked up to the imposing 9^th century castle, now a hotel and along some very charming streets which all seemed to end with a gorgeous view of the valley and the rest of the town which, like many others, is perched on the side of a hill. 

Some views of Loreto Aspurtino

There being not much more of the old city to see we moved on the city of Sant Angelo which was certainly the most attractive of the three. Here we stopped by the war memorial where there was a visitor center and two young people from the center came out to tell us about the town and where we should go and see. They were very informative and helpful and we set off on the Main Street of the old part of town. We soon stopped by the first church on our route where a funeral was just ending. The mourners walked behind the hearse down the street for a short distance before the hearse tailgate was opened up for one last time for the mourners to say one last farewell before the hearse left for the cemetery. We noted that the hearse was a Maserati. It was a dignified and respectful farewell to someone we did not know.

This church which was one of the largest, had a bell tower which had some special ‘banding’ around it to prevent damage in earthquakes.

Some views of the beautiful town of San Angelo

This is 'cat street' where all the houses have a painting of a cat at the doorway.

The strengthening of the church tower to prevent damage in earthquakes.

Then we walked on along the guided route, entering the churches which were open. The place was very quietly as it was mid afternoon. But as 4 p.m. approached the place gradually came alive again and shops and cafes opened and the school let out and the streets started to buzz. We stopped for a color drink and a mini pizza as we had had no lunch and then went back to the car. MAC decided that the staff in the visitor center were so nice, she wanted to make a donation. This proved to be far more difficult than she imagined and involved summoning the boss to see how this could be done. Eventually, it was decided that donations were not permitted and so she had to buy a few items and then there was a kerfuffle as they could not make change!! No good deed goes unpunished!! After some time, the transaction was completed and we set off on the local roads to Cugnoli.

Dinner was at 7.30 p.m. and was pasta with shrimp as bacala in a tomato sauce. Stefania was in good form and told stories about Naples and her mother in law.