Viterbo

for our travel weekend in January, we chose an easy day trip to the medieval city of Viterbo, about fifty miles north of Rome. that Saturday morning, we hopped on the regional train at San Pietro station (a twenty minute walk from our house) and enjoyed the meandering journey north through the outskirts of Rome and eventually past tiny rural towns. i'm continually amazed at how easy it is to travel by train in general, and especially with the girls. they're much more content than they would typically be on a long car ride since they can get up and switch seats if they want, plus there's a bathroom on board. on this particular trip, they entertained themselves so well just coloring in their notebooks or playing with their Little People princesses that i was actually able to read my book for a solid part of the ride!

her crossed leg just kills me

the train dropped us off about a ten minute walk from the main gate into the walled city of Viterbo. the longer we live in Rome, the more fascinated i am by the differences between Italian towns. so much of the medieval architecture here is preserved! in the San Pellegrino neighborhood in particular, you see many buildings with an external staircase leading from the street up to the second floor (called a profferlo).

that's quite the wall

i appreciate the careful paint job that helps that crazy bundle of wires blend in with the medieval street! 

Palazzo Gatti - built by the influential Gatti family in 1266

another view of the Palazzo Gatti - the Gatti family crest is visible above the middle set of windows

the girls were quite enamored with the fish swimming in this somewhat scuzzy fountain

i couldn't get enough of these little hidden corners!

super narrow streets in the medieval San Pellegrino district

the Palazzo Farnese is a thirteenth-century palace, which acquired its name from the influential Farnese family who lived here in the 1500s (Alexander Farnese became Pope Paul III in the 1534). the building is now used
as the public health center for vaccinations, etc.

the large rectangular blocks that form the foundation of this house were originally part of the wall of an Etruscan town

our first order of business was to explore the San Lorenzo Cathedral, which dominates the Piazza San Lorenzo along with the Palace of the Popes. our admission tickets included entrance to the cathedral, sacristy, museum, and papal place and came with an audioguide -- not a bad deal for €9. the Cathedral was built in the twelfth century on the foundation of an ancient church dating back to the year 850 A.D. its importance grew in the thirteenth century as the papal palace was built adjacent to it, and at least seven popes have been crowned in the cathedral.

the Cathedral of San Lorenzo with its thirteenth-century bell tower

the Palace of the Popes with its striking loggia on the other size of the piazza

 we started our visit in the sacristy.

Cardinal Gallo was bishop of Viterbo from 1785-1801 (note the Gallo family symbol, a rooster)

a seventeenth-century wooden crucifix

the pendulum clock is still functional

the ceiling (can you spot another rooster?)

the suggested itinerary took us next to the museum. it's small, but it houses a wide variety of artifacts, which thankfully captured the girls' interest.

the outdoor walkway to the museum

an Etruscan-era sarcophagus

the peacock was an ancient Christian symbol of the Resurrection

Etruscan pottery. the large urn on the top shelf dates to the 9th century B.C.

Greta was completely intrigued by this walkway over the original excavation sites. for the past few years, she has asked lots of questions about cemeteries and what the bodies actually look like when they are underground. i wasn't sure how she'd react to such a point-blank demonstration, but she didn't seem disturbed by it -- just satisfied to know how it actually works. 

a huge reliquary containing relics of St. Helena, Empress of Rome

now that's what i call a candlestick

papal treasures

by this point, we were ready for some lunch! so we set off to grab a bite before finishing our visit to the cathedral.

just frolicking in front of the papal palace, as you do

i'd earmarked a few recommended spots, but they all turned out to be closed since late January is most definitely the off-season for tourists. we spotted a little cafe called Buongusto Piadineria and as we were standing outside discussing if we should go in, two people eating outside said, "it's very good food!" that was good enough for us, and lo and behold, they were right! their specialty is piadinas, which are essentially the Italian version of burritos, stuffed with all different varieties of meat, cheese, and vegetables. i choose sausage, kale and blue cheese, Nick had their special of the day (two kinds of sausage, roasted pumpkin, and potato), and the girls had ham and cheese. they also have local beer on draft. it was a great casual meal!

not that photogenic, but delicious!

standing outside the restaurant

no piadina left behind!

after lunch, we decided to explore this side of town before heading back to the cathedral. we realized that we had just eaten lunch on the ground floor of the thirteenth century previous Palace of the Priors. this is connected to another thirteenth century palace which now serves as the town hall.

we ate lunch in the little cafe on the left (with the white awning)

archway connecting the two palaces

the present day town hall

Nick spied a little flea market, so we meandered down the hill to check things out.

one downside to learning more Italian is that now i know
what the graffiti actually says (it's a pejorative term for male genitalia...)

then we spotted this huge flea market, but alas, it was closing up for the day

the papal palace seen from across the river

we went inside this small church that was undergoing restorations. of course, Greta wanted to light a candle and say a prayer.

finally, we retraced our steps towards the cathedral and the papal palace, passing by the Church of San Silvestro and this enormous fountain on the way.

here's a profferlo, the staircase leading from the street up to the second story

Chiesa di San Silvestro

i love the amalgamation of medieval and modern

now we were finally ready to complete our tour of the Cathedral of San Lorenzo.

the Chapel of St. Valentine and St. Hilary

the cathedral was significantly damaged during World War II -- you can still see the
pockmarks from exploding bombs on the columns

more bomb damage

fifth-century frescoes depicting St. Peter and St. Paul

by this point, Cecilia was not having the sightseeing anymore -- so we brought the girls outside and let them play in the piazza while Nick and i took turns going back into the church to make sure we didn't miss anything.

it's easy to play princesses when you have an actual palace!

poor Greta suddenly got very cold so i bundled her up in as many layers as possible

finally, we were ready to visit the papal palace (Palazzo dei Papi). the palace was completed in 1266, about ten years after the papal curia had been moved from Rome to Viterbo by Pope Alexander IV due to the constant threat of violence. bringing us full circle, the building was commissioned by Captain Raniero Gatti, whose family lived in the Palazzo Gatti we saw when we first entered the city. this palace has the dubious honor of being host to the longest papal election in history, which took almost three years due to political infighting. toward the end of the process, the cardinals were sequestered inside the hall with rations reduced to bread and water, and eventually the roof was removed!

the papal loggia, from which the new popes would greet the people

the hall

the hall is decorated with the coats of arms of the cardinals who participated in the papal election

the great hall leads to the smaller Gualterio Hall, which is decorated with the coat of arms of Pope Clement VII.

view from the palace

proclamation from the time of the conclave

coins minted for the papal election

finally, it was time to step outside again and soak up the last of the winter sun.

we had one last must-see church on our list -- the Church of Santa Maria Nuova, where Thomas Aquinas himself preached. the church was rebuilt over the site of a previous pagan temple, and the sculpted head of Jupiter still guards the door.

Thomas Aquinas preached from this external pulpit in 1267

a nativity scene (presepio) still set up inside

fifteenth-century painting of Mary nursing Jesus between St. Bartholomew and St. Lawrence

thirteenth century fresco of the crucifixion (unknown artist)

this unusual triptych was painted on leather in 1180!

we walked back towards the train station, stopping for a little treat at a bakery along the way.

the Fontana Grande, built from 1212-1279 and still running

everything is better with a cookie!

approaching the Porta Romana gate

there's no sidewalk or pedestrian path, so you just have to go for it

outside the walls. goodbye, Viterbo!

we arrived home late that evening, and the girls were tired. as we got off the train and began to walk towards our apartment, Greta was whimpering a bit and saying that she just wanted to be home. "you know how you can tell we're close to home?" i asked her. "just look up! what do you see?"

"St. Peter's!" she exclaimed.

yep, kiddo, it's home. in every sense of the word.