We left sunny Andria behind, visiting its famous Castel Del Monte, a castle built in the year 1140, and still in superb condition. While it is quite interesting to visit inside, we limited ourselves to seeing it from the outside, as we had a considerable drive ahead of us. The castle sits high on a hill and dominates the surrounding landscape.
Love plays an important part in the Italian lifestyle.
Castel Del Monte has an octagonal shape. There are eight rooms; four on each floor. Each room has eight sides.
Very ancient trulli.
After crossing the thinnest part of the region of Molise, we ultimately arrived in Abruzzo.
Low lying Abruzzo farmland.
Picking up altitude.
As we started to ascend toward the Majella National Park, the weather changed dramatically. A very thick fog kept us from seeing further than a few yards. This was quite unfortunate, because the scenery at Majella is amazing, but the weather was quite stubborn and just did not cooperate.
Occasionally, the fog would lift, allowing us to see a bit further, or the sun would peek out teasingly, but neither lasted long longer than a couple of minutes.
As we climbed further, to over 6,000 feet, the snow on the ground became measurable in feet. The road was cleared, but only to a certain elevation, then the road was blocked and we could not proceed further. Little lost though, as visibility was close to nil.
On one particular instant, perhaps feeling sorry for us who traveled so long to get here, the clouds lifted only long enough for us to get a glimpse of Gran Sasso d’Italia, Italy’s tallest mountain not in the Alps. The mountains that form the backbone of the Italian peninsula are called the Appennines.
We lodged at a noisy but pleasant inn halfway up the mountain. This morning the weather was no better, and the fog accompanied us all the way to the outskirts of Rome, to a town called Genzano.
Genzano is in the region of Lazio; we have now reached Central Italy. We came to this place where tomorrow we will visit with an old friend I had known while living in Chicago. We were college mates. He has since moved back to Italy and has resided in this area for the past several years.
We are now housed in lovely place, which we have all to ourselves. We have a nice view of the little lake (lake Nemi) from here.
The entrance to our abode.
Mimosa
The town of Genzano overlooking Lake Nemi.
Possibly the best rose bush I ever saw.
All around us are nice hillside villages, including the town of Genzano, but my camera really had to struggle to get any worthwhile shot due to the thick mist. Hopefully it will lift by tomorrow.
Ahh roses and mimosas....