Day Trips

On April 2 George, Christine, Diane and myself did a day trip.  We first went to Atri.  It is a pretty small hill-town in Abruzzo.  The highlight aside from the alleys and streets was the 13th century Duomo which occupies the site of a Roman bath; the crypt was once a swimming pool, and fragments of the original mosaic floor are visible in the apse.  The Duomo also housed many fresco on the walls.

One of the many fresco's

Wandering through Atri

Driving towards L'Aquila

From there we drove through beautiful countryside and went up to L’Aquila, Abruzzo’s capital.  As you may recall L’Aquila had a devastating earthquake two years ago on April 6th where just over 300 people died.  Many of the buildings in the old town are reinforced with exterior braces and scaffolding.  Along some of the fences were keys to doors of empty homes and businesses.  On one fence were ribbons in L’Aquila’s colours of all the people who lost their lives.

In L'Aquila

People who lost their lives

Walking down one of the main streets

This past Friday we went on a day trip with the school to Urbino which is famous as the hometown of the artist Rapheal and architect Donata Bramante. Yet the town owes much of its fame to the Duke of Montefeltro who became a duke by killing his half brother and the rightful heir.  The Duke of Montefeltro was a mercenary general turned Urbino into a Renaissance centre, attracting artists such as Piero della Francesca, Paolo Uccello and Giovanni Santi.  

Urbino is a small university town. The streets are full of students and little cafes.  We did a self guided tour of Ducal Palace, the home of the Duke.

Entering the Palace

Frescos on the walls in the one of the rooms

The view

Enjoying the sunshine and having our bag lunches

Following Urbino we were off to the beach as Italy has been basking in temperatures around 27 degrees.  

A glorious day

Upon arrival back in Lanciano, Diane’s boyfriend Kory arrived to visit for a few days.

Today, Saturday, George and Kory took off early in the morning to the one golf course nearby in Pescara.  Christine, Diane and myself thought we would attempt taking the bus to the Mall in Chieti.  After about three hours of travelling and taking the wrong bus at times and still had a way to go, we decided to pay 25 euros and take a cab back to Pescara to do some shopping.  We then wandered down to the beach and then to a local cafe for lunch and then took the train back to Lanciano.