Monte Catria

So with the internet, it's a bit tricky here...sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But I'll take the opportunity and hope that the next report gets done. I have to write about a really beautiful tour from Arcevia to Sassoferrato and then to a small village called Gaville. There should be a very nice bathing spot on a river there. Not that we necessarily wanted to swim...but you can take a look, right? :-)

So we set off in the middle of nowhere, stopping every now and then to see if there was a way down through the thickets. The river gurgled invitingly, but it was clearly deep down in the valley...and unfortunately we didn't have any mountaineering equipment with us. After several failed attempts, we finally found a promising spot on the way back, there was even a gravel footpath...so we went downhill to take a look.

And sure enough, a short time later, we were standing at a wider part of the river, where large flat stones invited us to sunbathe and climb:

The place was simply wonderful, just the gurgling of the little river and nothing else but nature. After a short break, we headed back to Sassoferrato for lunch:

Very quaint and delicious. And here we got a really strange served tiramisu:

The tiramisu in the glass was about 3 x 3 cm...drenched in coffee and lots of yellow cream on top. We were surprised, but we take it as it comes.

Afterwards, we continued into nature through a scenic route to Monte Catria. Passing the Fonte Avellana Monastery, where we got a very small private tour. Photography was not allowed in the monastery, but the impressions are still fresh in our minds. Eight monks still live there.

In the Scriptorium there were 14 windows that functioned as sundials. 6 windows facing east, 1 facing south and 7 facing west show the time of day and solstices. The rising sun falls on June 21st through the 1st east window and the last ray of sun on that day falls through the last west window. You could see a small part of the books in the library, most of them are in the Vatican Library or in the monastic area that we were not allowed to enter. In the old Farmacia, you could buy homemade products from the monks, including a lot of natural remedies.

A day with pure nature, and there is a lot of it here in the Marche region.

Today we're off to the truffle market in Pergola, the report will follow.