Amsterdam to Tuscany

Mon 10/17

Today we planned to drive north to a couple of small rural towns in the hills of Tuscany. The dogs were at our door to tell us good bye. (They don't pose very well.)

Fall has arrived and the colors just get better every day! Our first stop was Bibbiena, a medieval town that has some renown because it does NOT have a castle which makes it less of a tourist mecca. We had read of a church that had some works by della Robbia and we started at San Lorenzo church where there are two really beautiful large della Robbia tableaus. The church and the tableaus date to the 16th century.

Next we were peering through the glass doors of a small church dedicated to St. Francis when a local man came up to us and explained that he was a volunteer from some society (lost in translation)and that the doors and church were alarmed but that he could let us in. (He later explained that the key was the key to everything in Bibbiena.) As we entered through a side door we saw some tourists that were just behind us and Dick beckoned them to follow us in. Now began our very own, personalized tour of Bibbiena. The man was incredibly knowledgeable of the history of every building in Bibbiena and every art work in every building. There was beautiful art featuring St. Francis in multiple scenes, a relic of cloth of St. Francis clothes and a gold covered small bed that is used in a procession at Christmas for the baby Jesus.

Baby Jesus bed

Relic of cloth fragment

Altar

There was also a rather creepy coffin with the entire skeleton of some random priest (as far as we understood.) Next we went outside and as we were thanking him and saying goodbye, he pointed out another medieval church and he ended up taking us there and telling us about all the art in that church which included a really lovely fresco by someone from the school of Giotto and an altar piece that was truly spectacular that dated to the 15th century.

Gothic altarpiece

By now, we were best friends with the German family (husband who spoke perfect English, a wife and a son of about 10 years old) that had followed us into the first church. Our guide was describing other things for us to see including a theater from the 1800's, places to eat, views to see and then had us follow him to the theater where he took us through a side entrance (using the all purpose Bibbiena key) into the theater. The theater seats 130 and is used by the community for all sorts of theater…opera, music, plays, etc. It is entirely of wood and is constructed with a sloping floor so that the orchestra level seats afford a good view from every seat. The upper levels are boxes arranged in a horseshoe.

Our guide and our new friends

As we left, he opened another attractive door, told us he was at his home and said good bye. All in all he had spent 45 minutes or more giving us a great tour! What luck for us!!

We left Bibbiena and headed for Poppi where there was reputed to be a terrific castle. First on the agenda was lunch, however, and we found a tiny 8 table restaurant where we had a very good pasta and an immense salad. I had gnocchi with a pumpkin sauce that was delicious and Dick had meat filled ravioli with a meat ragu', also delicious. I didn't take photos because it was so small I would have felt conspicuous.

After lunch we visited the castle, a 12th century marvel that was owned by successive members of the Guidi family. It is famed for its extensive library and its copies of Dante's Inferno. There is a prominent bust of Dante in front of the castle to honor a very famous battle in which Dante fought alongside the Guelphs, the political group that the Guidi family supported.