Asciano. This scenery is one of the reasons people love Tuscany.
Assisi hidden in the clouds. I took this photo from our B&B.
One of the many towers of San Gimagnano. Families built their own towers, each trying to build higher than the others.
Cartona. Simple setting; great food.
Palermo. Doesn't matter what city, but we always seem to end up in the market
Palermo. We loved Palermo and its interesting history. I felt sorry for this poor lion that had to put up with the pigeons.
Palermo. After this wedding, I'd loved to be at the party that probably followed.
Capri. View from the funicular railway. Maybe you know the song.
Amalfi. I was the driver on our way to Amalfi and missed photographing the hairpin curves on the mountain roads. At least we didn't crash into the sea.
Buonconvento. I was watching this woman polish her vases. She smiled at me so I took the photo.
Florence. The Arno River flows though the city. The people here use to pee in the river knowing that their rivals in Pisa lived downstream.
Florence. Becky Jones, an elementary school teacher, had to inspect this Italian school.
Naples. Becky Jones, our fellow traveler, lived in Naples for awhile when she was young. This photo of Naples and Vesuvius was taken from the neighborhood near where Becky's family lived.
Naples. These lovers have found a place away from the crowds. Is this Ciro and Rosa?
We were leaving Montalcino and while driving in the countryside happened to discover the Abbey of Sant' Antimo, which was built by Charlemagne about 800 AD. Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, a Frank king, had conquered part of Italy. He and his army had stopped here because many of his soldiers had become ill. An angel is supposed to have appeared to Charlemagne, telling him to make his men drink a potion made from a local herb. The cure worked and the king decided to build a church in gratitude.
We entered the church just as a group of monks in white robes entered at the front of the church and began Gregorian chants. We were almost alone in the church and felt like the monks were speaking directly to us. It was a mystical and unforgettable experience.
The church was bare of any religious decorations except for a beautifully carved wooden crucifix at the front of the church. It didn't seem like much had changed here since medieval times.
Rome. The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina is an old Roman temple in the Roman Forum. The Catholics decided it made a better church.
Agrigento is on the southwest side of Sicily and home to the Valley of the Temples. Both the Greeks and later the Romans built a number of temples here. This ruin was a Roman temple for Juno.
Pienza. This cat was watching us approach and then scurried away. If you're a cat lover you'll love Italy.
Pompeii. This Roman waited too long to escape the fury of Vesuvius.
Pompeii. This was the entrance to what was once a beautiful villa.
Pompeii. Remains of a bakery. Wonder if the bakers were able to escape.
Pompeii. Many of the streets had these ruts worn into the stone. These stepping stones kept Roman shoes dry since the streets were also used to drain water runoff.
