Homer 2022 :Central Italy

Thursday 23 June to Thursday 30 June 2022

Leaving the South coast and heading inland we stopped in quaint Ascoli Piceno for lunch at the historic Caffee Meletti

Italy has hundreds of historic towns and its great to explore some of the lesser known places. 

We headed up into the Appenine Mountains and the Sibillini National Park.

In 2016 there was a terrible earthquake in the area and the destruction is still very evident.The  poppy fields in the valley are an Instagram hit. Neither Vivienne nor my attempts at striking the right pose will go viral so here are uncurated pics of the flowers.

Our best campsite of the trip was Camping Il Collaccio with mountain views, an infinity pool and a good restaurant.

Spoleto is an amazing hilltop town in Umbria. Public transport includes a series of very long covered escalators taking you all the way up to the castle at the top. Then you can wander back down through the town stopping for coffee and lunch along the way.

We arrived at the campsite at Bevagna, an Umbrian wine region on Friday afternoon. Homer wouldn't start and we were stuck in the reception parking with a diesel pump issue. ADAC sent a mechanic and a flatbed trailer.

No luck, so we had to stay in camp the whole weekend. Stephen and Vivienne headed on and we turned the terrace into our living room.

Actually, we enjoyed the chill out time. And the local wine. The owners were so friendly and helpful. On Monday Homer was taken to get fixed and we checked into Portica 10 in Assisi. An aircon, en suite and breakfast is a real treat after 7 weeks of camping. 10/10 for the best BnB I've stayed at for years.

Assisi is beautiful. Popular with day trippers and Catholic pilgrims but wonderfully quiet and peaceful in the evenings. There are many churches in Assisi. This one has interesting portico frescoes.

 And this one has a Roman temple as a facade.

On Tuesday Homer was ready to go again and we caught up with Stephen and Vivienne in Modena. Drinks, a stroll and a good dinner at the famous old Resorante Danilo. 

On Wednesday it was off to the Ferrari Museum in Maranello.

But more importantly, I got us a table at Ristorante Cavallino. Part of the Ferrari story since 1950, it reopened in 2021 - Massimo Bottura's latest project. Oh, the food and such impeccable service! And award winning decor with pixelated prancing horse wallpaper and shiny engines as art.

In Bologna, I planned a day tour with lots of foodie bits, starting with coffees at Forno Brisa. Their slogan is "fanculo la dieta."😉

We came across a tiny shop where these ladies were making fresh pasta.

Later we popped back to buy ravioli for dinner back at the campsite. 

We went to Mercato Della Erbe to grab the famous Tagliatella al Ragu ( the real Spaghetti Bolognaise ) for lunch.

Then to the historic Cafe Gamberini for expresso and cake, standing at the counter, Italian style.

Piazza del Nettuno.

Basilica San Petronio.

The University of Bologna is the oldest in Europe, founded in 1088.

The 16th century Anatomical Theatre. 

Le Stanze -  a great cocktail bar in an old repurposed church and a great place for evening cocktails.