Views of a Villa

an example of the small gardens you see here in Italy.

Today I went to lunch with my new friend "D" and the Moms to Moms group. I think this is what the group is called. We went to small restaurant in a villa. When we arrived though, we still had 30 minutes before they opened for lunch. So we started walking around the small village. The images today are of some the beautiful places we saw on our walk. The one with the rock behind it is actually built into the mountain side and is part of a system of caves. From what I understood they found numerous articles from the Bronze Age in the caves surrounding the area. Very beautiful - I love seeing the old architecture. The sights are amazing.










The picture above is the view from our table at lunch. My lunch today was part of the menu prezzo fisso (fixed price menu). There were 6 items to choose from and you were able to choose 2 of those items. I choose Gnocchi con Porcini e sfogliata gelato. The gnocchi is potato dumplings and it was with mushrooms and the sfogliata gelato (which is not the full name - I can't remember it) was a baked ice cream. The bottom was a crust that was a shortbread type flaky pastry. This was covered with ice cream and the top was finished like a creme' brulee. This was very tasty. The flat price was 10 Euros for the meal. Normally the menu prezzo frisso also comes with drinks also. Today for some reason it did not. Nevertheless, it was a delicious meal and I enjoyed visiting with new friends. Oh, and the following pictures are of the interior of the restaurant. There was the wall where the wine is stored, then a room across from that went down into a cellar which was actually a cave that ran under the surrounding mountains. There is a wind that comes in from the mountain that keeps the cellar very cool. The wind was very strong and felt so nice. Though I know if I had stayed there any longer it would have started feeling cold. And one of the ladies there said that this cave under the restaurant was where Galileo hid when he was in trouble for his scientific views. Isn't history cool? Sadly, I didn't get the name of the restaurant. I will try to get that information and either edit this post or add another.
this is how the ceiling of the room above the cellar cave was painted.
this is the wall across from the cave cellar.

13th Century Villa - across the street from the villa built into the cave.

Anyway, these are a few of the photos that I took today. I hope you enjoy them.

Ciao for now. A piu tardi.

Angy