{"id":341,"date":"2007-05-14T10:39:05","date_gmt":"2007-05-14T10:39:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2007\/05\/14\/spoleto-in-early-morning\/"},"modified":"2008-09-01T20:01:42","modified_gmt":"2008-09-01T20:01:42","slug":"spoleto-in-early-morning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2007\/05\/14\/spoleto-in-early-morning\/","title":{"rendered":"Spoleto in Early Morning"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Don’t tell her what time we arrive<\/em>.” This was how a meeting between close friends was to begin, with a lie, with an evasion. <\/p>\n

But it was necessary. <\/p>\n

We decided to do our normal night train down south so that we could “earn” another day during our little vacation, one of the several long weekends in April. Unfortunately, the way the night train schedule worked out to this particular destination, we were arriving at 6am. We had planned on getting some breakfast and maybe walking around the city for a few hours, and meeting up with our host at a more suitable hour, like 10am. <\/p>\n

Unfortunately, she wasn’t letting us get away with that. When we arrived, early and maybe not so bright in the Italian city of Spoleto<\/a>, region of Umbria, we found a city that was still sleeping. But it was a peaceful and beautiful experience because the beauty of the city is mainly in the open so we didn’t need to wait for opening hours to enjoy most of it.<\/p>\n

I should have known what to expect<\/strong>. I mentioned to my friends and colleagues that I was going to Spoleto for the weekend and almost everyone said, “oh, che bello!<\/strong>” so that should have been an immediate indication.<\/p>\n

Spoleto is a great city that I can’t wait to be able to visit again – there is something of historical significance around every corner and its setting is so picturesque and there was green and trees everywhere we looked. Being in great company with friends didn’t hurt, either. The city itself is built on a hill with different paths going up and down its narrow streets, and we took several different ways and discovered something new each time. <\/p>\n

The pictures from early morning were wonderful and completely absent of tourists or even locals. Our early morning cappuccino and cornetto were hot from the oven.<\/p>\n

The Duomo di Spoleto<\/strong> (Cathedral of Santa Maria dell’Assunta<\/a>) is not as obvious as you’d think – it’s situated off a small street with a decline leading to the piazza del Duomo. It feels a bit like it’s sunken (and protected) because of the hills on one side, and the buildings on all other sides.<\/p>\n

\"Il<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

One of the most striking sights of Spoleto is the Ponte delle Torri<\/strong>, a 13th century aqueduct, which they claim to have some Roman origins as well. But it blows me away to think that this bridge is 700+ years old – it’s enormous. A circular walk which is a runner’s dream surrounds the Rocca Albornoziana, a castle-like building that sits at the highest point of the city, near the bridge.<\/p>\n

\n\"Il<\/a><\/p>\n

A medieval church, Santa Eufemia<\/strong>, a few steps away from the Duomo has very interesting windows, seemingly built more for protection than to let the light in. <\/p>\n

\n\"Dawn<\/a><\/p>\n

Via di Fontesecca<\/strong> is a street in the centro storico<\/em> that will later be overrun with tourists. The shops are quaint but most likely to be avoided unless you really need that salsa di tartufi or ceramic bowl.<\/p>\n

\n\"Spoleto\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Soon, the city will awake!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Don’t tell her what time we arrive.” This was how a meeting between close friends was to begin, with a lie, with an evasion. But it was necessary. We decided to do our normal night train down south so that we could “earn” another day during our little vacation, one of the several long weekends…<\/p>\n

Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[102,103,2,93],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-341","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-behind-the-scenes","7":"category-discovering-italy","8":"category-italy","9":"category-umbria","10":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4uB1-5v","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":332,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2007\/05\/02\/caption-me-rushing-through-spoleto\/","url_meta":{"origin":341,"position":0},"title":"Caption Me: Rushing Through Spoleto","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"May 2, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"I've just stepped off a train, back from the ponte, the long weekend. We were coming from Rome and I knew the craziness that surrounds the huge May 1 concert would make it hard for us to do a normal night train, so we got a cuccette. Ah, che bliss!\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Holiday"","block_context":{"text":"Holiday","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/italy\/holiday\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"In a Hurry","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm1.static.flickr.com\/229\/481004714_4a6df4a830.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":345,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2007\/05\/23\/spoleto-a-second-look\/","url_meta":{"origin":341,"position":1},"title":"Spoleto: A Second Look","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"May 23, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"I spoke about our weekend trip to Spoleto in Umbria and I just have so many nice pictures of the city that I have to share more! Our friends put us up in a local monastery, San Ponziano that was beautiful and set just beyond the city walls, here on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Discovering Italy"","block_context":{"text":"Discovering Italy","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/discovering-italy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A view of Spoleto - San Ponziano, la Rocca Albornoziana and the Duomo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm1.static.flickr.com\/189\/510494413_212bae3d01.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1237,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2009\/03\/24\/visit-trastevere-rome-in-early-morning\/","url_meta":{"origin":341,"position":2},"title":"Visit Trastevere, Rome in Early Morning","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"March 24, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Friday and Saturday nights in Roman neighborhood Trastevere are extremely busy. So much so that when I actually lived there I rarely was able to sleep in the summer\/fall months. Groups stay in Trastevere drinking and carousing until early hours below the windows of people who actually live there. For\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Discovering Italy"","block_context":{"text":"Discovering Italy","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/discovering-italy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Il Duomo di Spoleto","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm1.static.flickr.com\/205\/497573771_bca93f111d_m.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":367,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2007\/07\/18\/early-morning-in-venice\/","url_meta":{"origin":341,"position":3},"title":"Early Morning in Venice","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"July 18, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"I had some visitors in town recently, and though their trip was over by the time I posted How to Order an Italian Coffee and How to Avoid a Pickpocket and those posts were no help to them, I was lucky enough to be able to join them on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Discovering Italy"","block_context":{"text":"Discovering Italy","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/discovering-italy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"St. Mark's Square in Early Morning","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm2.static.flickr.com\/1284\/843888540_dabf7d0980.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3314,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2011\/07\/26\/ms-adventures-in-italy-in-7-links\/","url_meta":{"origin":341,"position":4},"title":"Ms. Adventures in Italy in 7 Links","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"July 26, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I always seem to miss my blogiversary (it's not now, my 6th one is in a few months) and I forget that in 6 years, a lot of content has come through this site. I also went through my \"meme\" phase a long time ago, but I welcomed the opportunity\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Event"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Event","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/blog-event\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Boat in Favignana Island, Sicily, Italy","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2424\/3697352500_85ced3e411.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":411,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2007\/11\/01\/caption-me-porchetta-maremmana-roasted-pig-with-head\/","url_meta":{"origin":341,"position":5},"title":"Caption Me: Porchetta Maremmana, Roasted Pig with Head","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"November 1, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"I read about an \"unsettling\" photo on YumSugar, the object of much discussion, consisting of a roasted pig's head being served at a buffet. That same weekend, I was snapping pics at my local market, of something I can see every Tuesday and Saturday. Porchetta Maremmana. 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