Age Is Relative

Here's my advice if you are past middle age and feeling a bit old-- go visit ancient ruins and medieval villages.  I had this opportunity for my birthday in August, and honestly I felt better about my age. Of course, human beings can't live for 2000 years, but it gets you thinking about a bigger picture. 

For my birthday weekend, good friends invited me to join them on a visit to villages north of Rome, then on to  Rome.  By coincidence (or not, depending on your point of view), the first stop on our tour was a place that the waiter in my favorite restaurant had recommended only a few weeks before.  He said that "Civita di Bagnoregio" was his favorite city in all of Italy.  Wow!  I thought that was quite a claim. 

Civita di Bagnoregio is a "suburb" of Bagnoregio that can only be reached by a pedestrian bridge from the main city.  It was founded by the Etruscans more than 2500 years ago.  One of the gates remains and it is the entrance to the old city.  The "Civita" gets many visitors, so it has restaurants and shops for tourists, but only 11 inhabitants and many cats.  Both Bagnoregio and Civita were crammed with visitors, so we did not stay for lunch.  Instead, we stopped at a wonderful place in the countryside before our next stop.

After lunch, we visited Vitorchiano, which can be found on the list of "beautiful villages in Italy." This village has several thousand inhabitants, and a handful of tourists.  It felt more authentic, since people actually live here.  There were quite a few restaurants and shops, though some were closed either because of the pandemic or due to vacation.  

Our hotel for two nights was the lavish inn "La Canonica dei Fiori- Anna Fendi".  It's a country house in the town of Ronciglione, restored by Anna Fendi, and located in the middle of the towns on our itinerary.

The following day, my actual birthday, began with breakfast, a gift and a dessert plate with a candle!  Then, on to more exploring! Our first village was Calcata, which my friends described as the old, hippie village, like Woodstock in New York.  It still had that vibe with incense shops, beaded jewelry, small cafes, and people who seemed to be from that earlier era.  

After lunch, we headed for a bit of nature at Cascate di Monte Gelato-- no gelato, but a wooded park with many "cascate" or waterfalls.

The next stop before aperitivo and dinner  was to The Ancient City of Sutri Regional National Park. This archaeological park contains tombs inside a tuffa ridge dating from probably the first century, as well as a Roman amphitheater dating back to the first century BC.  Clearly, much older than me! 

And, the next day, all roads lead to Rome!  Tutte le strade portano a Roma! I did throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain- facing backwards and over my left shoulder- to insure a return to the Eternal City.

This trip was a great start to my personal new year.  I wish everyone many more years of good health and happiness.  

Salute!