Ancient Hilltops and City Streets

May 26, 2007

Our second day trip, this time on the way to Anghiari and Arezzo, two Tuscan towns/small cities that are the quintessential Italian beauties. Anghiari, a medieval town perched precariously on the hills surrounding the valley of Sansepolcro, is picture perfect with its towers and turrets standing proudly behind ancient stone walls. The streets feel almost vertical at times, and if I don't have great legs by the end of this trip, somebody's going to be hearing from me.

We visited two churches and a museum while at Anghiari, the Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie and another church, and the Casa Palazzo Taglieschi Museo Statale museum. The first church housed the body of St. Hippolitus in a glass coffin, and he was decked out in simple regalia. However, the coffin was awfully short, and I'm guessing that they split him in half to get him in there--his hands were HUGE!!! The museum mixed modern and ancient works throughout the first several rooms, and it wound its way through an ancient nobleman's house that took up several floors. It housed several beautiful statues of the Madonna, and paintings and della Robias filled every room. I highly recommend it!

Bekah, Hillary, and I ended up wandering through the winding streets in search of adventure, and we certainly found it. As usual, I had to find a little lady's room, and the town map pointed at one not thirty feet away. However, that map and I disagreed over what exactly constituted a "bathroom." While the map had "WC" emblazoned across it, accompanied by a miniature picture of the traditional Toilet Man and Toilet Woman, the actual bathroom was hidden behind dumpsters in a dirty parking lot with only three fly-ridden urinals to its measly title. I screeched and ran, eventually finding solace in a gelatteria that kindly let me use its toilet. Adventure? I think so!

The bus took us next to Arezzo, a major cultural and artistic center during the Renaissance. Francesco Petrarch was born here in 1304, and the city was controlled by the Medici until the eighteenth century. We had lunch in a beautiful little pizzeria, and halfway through a gypsy walked in and asked the customers for mony, shaking her little plastic cup for coins. She was ill-kempt and ragged in her dirty clothes and unwashed hair, and many customers turned away from her in disgust. Travelers are taught to be on guard for these gypsies because of their overwhelming reputation as thieves, which can be a true statement. However, what most people don't realize is that the treatment of gypsies is one of the biggest civil rights violations in the world. This entire race is segregated and discriminated against, many of the children being barred from their school cafeterias and gymnasiums just because they are different. Most don't have any education past the age of fifteen, and even then they are only given janitorial jobs--if they're lucky. Their society is fiercely patriarchal, and many of the women cannot even keep the money they earn. Don't let your guard down and keep your purse close, but remember that compassion can go a long way.

We saw the piazza where part of Life is Beautiful is filmed, and Bekah and I hiked to the Cathedral and park on top of the hill. We then saw Piero's The Legend of the True Cross, which I highly recommend you look up--the legend behind the painting is as interesting as the work itself. We also saw the museum, and within it was Piero's famous Duke and Duchess of Urbino, which you'll recognize on sight if you took World Civ in tenth grade.

It was a ridiculously tiring day, but it was absolutely worth it. Visit those two towns if you ever get the chance, because you'll NEVER regret it.