It’s been a quiet week for me. I find I am getting a bit housebound so I’ve reserved a car rental for next week and I must go to Arezzo to pick up the car on Monday. I’ve decided to head north to Cinque Terre and, perhaps, to see the Matterhorn from the Italian side. While in Arezzo I will visit a clothing store which I believe is for larger women, but I will studiously avoid the 4 nuns in their bookshop!
Today I visited the Etruscan museum, which was very nice and quite interesting. There were a few examples of their gold jewelry, including some with the decoration attributed to the Etruscans known as granulation. There was a beautiful diadem made of gold in a leaf pattern, so finely made it looked as though it would disintegrate should one pick it up. I wonder what beautiful woman (or man?)wore such a delicate golden headpiece. There were even such Egyptian mummies on display and a pair of globes, one of the world and one representing constellations and astrological signs which must have been 4 feet in diameter. Really incredible! There was a balcony on the outside of the museum which overlooks my apartment and the works-in-progress on the cathedral across the street. I took a picture of both to share with you.
I have been looking for Bramasole, the home of Frances Mayes, with no luck so far. There is a vague reference to it on a sign near Piazza Garibaldi, so I wandered off in that general direction. I caught a glimpse of what could have been it on a terrace above my head as I walked down a rocky path somewhere near Cortona, but I could not get a good look at it and there wasn’t a helpful “Bramasole” sign in a stone wall like in the movie!
I have amended my travel plans a bit. I will only go to Cinque Terre, not to the Matterhorn, and return on Friday as Maria has invited me to the house for pizza with another guest, a man she used to teach Italian to. I appreciate her offer to include me so I will plan my travel around that evening. She would have loved to come to Cinque Terre with me, my simply cannot afford to do so. Her daughter, Laura, is coming to visit the end of May and Maria is very excited about the visit. I am looking forward to meeting Laura as well, as she is the one with whom I made the rental arrangements.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
.JPG)
.JPG)
4 comments:
\I did a little on line research and came up with this bit of info:
www.tuscantreasures.net
Many visitors also want to see Bramasole, the house in Under the Tuscan Sun. To get to the house, walk all the way through the Giardino Pubblico, go past the Tennis Club, and continue on viale Passerini uphill for ~ 1km. Bramasole is on your left (picture at left). You can also drive past Bramasole: take the road on the west side of Cortona to Torreone; turn right at Torreone towards the Church of S. Margherita and, where that road splits into three at a small Bar, take the road to the left downhill; Bramasole will be on your right in ~0.5km. Note: Bramasole is a private residence and there are no tours. The Mayes' purchased (and remodelled extensively - including landscaping and a pool of "notable dimensions" - since at least Spring 2001) a rustic farmhouse NW of Cortona on the downhill slope of Mt. San Egidio (in loc. S. Egidio); take a left turn across the road from Castelgirardi (dir. Cantalena) and go past Villa Gugliemesca to where the road forks into a tarmac one which heads up to the top of Mt. San Egidio and a steep (and rough) strada bianca which descends and bisects the "strada basolata." The left-hand fork leads to the new house; however, there is a good view of the house and grounds from a turnout on the tarmac road. The new house "Fonte delle Foglie" (picture below) was featured, with pictures and a story of how they found the house and survived another restoration, in Francis' latest book "Bringing Tuscany Home". An email received from the Mayes' in November 2003 states that they do not plan to move from Bramasole and that they did not purchase the second house because of tourist traffic past Bramasole. In fact, according to correspondence from Frances Mayes to a writer of the NJ Star Ledger (article published September 18, 2003), the Mayes' find the vast majority of tourists who come by Bramasole to be interesting and friendly; the Mayes' sometimes invite them into the gated property to view the garden. [Note: Notwithstanding that, it appears that the Mayes' spend most of their time at Fonte delle Foglie when they are in Cortona; Bramasole rarely appears to have anyone there with the exception of the caretaker/landscaper.]
Enjoy reading about your world, take care!!!
Laura
OMG that must be quit the read! does she name, names of the men she has dated? what is the date of her published work??? You have a lot to offer to a man when the time is right! You are a wonderful soul. Have fun on your excursion! Chris
Amy....if the author has time to write a book, she clearly does not have 3-5 dates a day! :-) And $21 for a paperback? Yikes! I will remember that next time I'm at Bean Tree reading a hardback! Barb
Amy....if the author has time to write a book, she clearly does not have 3-5 dates a day! :-) And $21 for a paperback? Yikes! I will remember that next time I'm at Bean Tree reading a hardback! Barb
Post a Comment