Deep in the heart of Etruscan Italy, lies this series of man-made valleys between carved volcanic boulders.
Ancient Etruscan roads: The Vie Cave are deep roads carved by the Etruscans. They are today part of the Tuff City Archaeological Park, a fascinating site between Sorano and Sovana in the southern area of Tuscany.
The Vie Cave of Sorano and Sovana are large roads carved into the tuff hills, with walls as high as more than 20 meters that lead visitors to discover Etruscan necropolis.
These roads are unique in all ancient civilizations. No one knows exactly what they were used for: were they just communication routes, or canals to collect rainwater, or roads used in some religious ceremony?
The mystery of these winding paths, carved into the tuffaceous rock, remains intact, and driving through them is a truly unique experience: they once connected the various Etruscan settlements, including necropolises.
At the end of our drive, we visited this small thermal springs park. We didn’t get into the water though, because for that we visited Saturnia thermal waters a bit later that day. I’ll be posting on that soon.
You say this artist’s name and I think of this church in Rome where 2 of his masterpieces live a very noble life! The church is the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo in the piazza of the same name in the Eternal City.
The Cerasi Chapel (aka as the Chapel of the Assumption) is located within the basilica and houses these 2 masterworks. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, one of the most important masters of Italian Baroque art, painted them in 1600-01.
In September of 1600 Monsignor Tiberio Cerasi contracted Caravaggio to paint two panels for the side walls of his newly purchased chapel; the contract with Annibale Carracci for the altarpiece has not been preserved. The commissions went to the leading artists in Rome at the time. Caracci painted The Assumption of Mary while Caravaggio depicted the Conversion of Saint Paul and the Crucifixion of Saint Peter on the lateral walls. Cerasi’s choice of the Assumption for the altar seems straightforward enough, while the other two paintings honoured the Apostles central to the foundation of the Catholic Church as well as popular Counter-Reformation themes of conversion and martyrdom. The precedent already existed for this juxtaposition in the Cappella Paolina at the Apostolic Palace by Michelangelo. Saint Peter and Paul were also the patrons of Rome and they had a strong connection with the papacy. Because Tiberio Cerasi did not belong to the ranks of the Roman aristocracy and he made his career and fortune in the Roman Curia, it was important to emphasize his proximity to papal power and the Church of Rome.
The first versions of the Caravaggio paintings were rejected by the patron and then Caravaggio painted two works on canvas instead of the cypress wooden panels as it had been formerly stipulated. The story of the rejection of the first versions was recorded by Giovanni Baglione in his 1642 Life of Caravaggio.
Tiberio Cerasi died on 3 May 1601 and was buried in the chapel. In his will he named the Hospital of the Madonna della Consolazione as his heir with the responsibility to complete the unfinished chapel. Annibale’s altarpiece was probably already complete at the time while Caravaggio was paid on 10 November 1601 for his work. The paintings were finally installed in the chapel by a woodworker named Bartolomeo in May 1605, and the chapel was consecrated on 11 November 1606.
The chapel was acquired by a descendant of the family, Antonio Cerasi, count of Monterado in 1853 who subsequently restored it.
I swoon with pleasure when I am in this chapel. Two see the 2 Caravaggio paintings in the places where they were intended to go gets me every time! This is why we study and travel!
I’ve spoken on this blog many times about how much it delights me to see modern machinery used to maintain Medieval and Renaissance buildings. I happened upon this scene today and had to take some footage of it.
These melagrana blossoms (pomegranate) defy a good photo! The color is so intense and the flowers are so tight, that I am drawn to take a picture, but they never turn out well.
And back at my apartment! My hollyhock is blooming! I grew if from a seed I planted 2 years ago. The original seeds came from Giverny, Monet’s Garden, planted and grown and harvested in my Denver garden, and now blooming in Florence! Well-traveled seeds!
Did you know that fencing is one of Rome’s most celebrated and accessible sports, ranging from Olympic-level foil and épée programs to historic sword-fighting? I did not know. Until recently when I witnessed this:
The spectacle of team foil fencing took over the Pincio Terrace on the second day of the Frecciarossa Roma 2026 Italian Absolute Championships: the women’s team from the Carabinieri Sports Center and the men’s team from Fiamme Oro Roma won the specialty titles. It was another evening of great fencing in the heart of the capital, where the finals were held in a double-header between the Carabinieri and the State Police.
Yes, that’s right, in Rome over 2 evenings, a fencing competition is being held out in the open, for all to see, at the Pincio Terrace on the Pincio Hill, right over Piazza del Popolo in Rome. Again, never have I ever seen such a scene!
Ah, the monumental Piazza del Popolo! There was a time in my early traveling life that just walking into this square filled me with exquisite excitement! At last! I was in Roma, or, even better, back in Roma!
Now I’m a bit jaded, I suppose. I still thrill to the sight of this great square, but it feels smaller to me now. On this day in May, 2026, there were championship tennis games being staged on a raised court on the right side of the piazza! That was the first time I had seen such a thing in Rome. Francesco said it had been going on annually for about 3 years now. It seems like a great use of public space!
I tried to take a couple of videos, but didn’t capture anything worth showing to you.
As a part of my goal for better living in 2026, I resolved to begin reading in Italian. I’ve made some progress, but not as many books read as I would like.
The first accomplishment was reading this children’s book. I would say it is written for early teens and my Italian teacher recommended it to me as a good place to start. It’s pretty simple and straightforward, which is not to say reading it was easy. It took perseverance and dedication, but eventually I finished it. And it was SO worth the trouble. It is a many-layered story, filled with suffering and beauty and, like all the good books, it is so much better than the film that was later made from it.
I went back to my teacher for another recommendation and she suggested Novecento. She was correct. Another excellent read and not at all conventional.
Since those two early 2026 succsses, I am attempting to read this Agatha Christie style novel written by an Italian author. It is so complicated with so many characters who often have multiple names (Julian Lenox is also Lord Worthmore, etc.) that it has been slow going.
But I am resolved to continue my reading in Italian!
Reminds me a bit of the blooming chestnut trees lining the streets of Paris in April/May. To be honest, the Parisian scene is more beautiful, but this is Rome, this is now, and the oleanders are quite amazing!
Pip: Rome in late spring, where even a nondescript building hides a courtyard full of sarcophagi, and the gelato is technically a health food.
Mara: blogger Lauretta Dimmick, who writes the blog Get Back Lauretta, has been moving through Rome at full tilt — palaces, piazzas, baroque staircases, fresh tuna, and a new pope making headlines. Let’s start with the streets and landmarks that frame the whole visit.
Rome Landmarks And Streets
Pip: Rome rewards the wanderer — the post “Rome! Endless variety” is essentially a love letter to the city’s capacity to surprise, block by block.
Mara: The line that stays with me: “Almost every day I see something that makes me say: I have never seen that before!”
Pip: That’s the whole premise, isn’t it — Rome as a place that keeps outpacing expectation, no matter how many times you’ve been.
Mara: Concretely, that means jasmine trained up the side of a villa, acanthus plants blooming just outside the Roman Forum — plants whose leaves appear on every Corinthian capital in the ancient city. The fit is almost too perfect.
Pip: And then a stop at Neve di Latte for natural gelato, though Francesco remained unconvinced it was worth the calories.
Mara: The Piazza di Spagna post rounds out the street-level picture with a video tour of one of Rome’s most iconic squares. From the piazza, we move indoors — deep indoors.
Palazzo Barberini And Baroque Splendor
Pip: Palazzo Barberini is the kind of place where even the staircase gets a superlative — and the post on part two makes the case directly.
Mara: The title itself is the argument: “The most lovely marble stairway ever? I think YES!” And embedded in those Doric columns are the Barberini bees, the family’s symbol, carved right into the stone.
Pip: The bee motif runs through everything — ceiling frescoes, ironwork, the whole building is essentially branded.
Mara: Part one slows down for the paintings, and the writing is genuinely attentive. On Fra Filippo Lippi’s Annunciation, it notes the transparent scarf wrapping Mary’s wrist: “to use it as a compositional element” leading the eye between Gabriel’s lily and the top of the canvas.
Pip: Noticing the servants on the hidden staircase rather than the kneeling donors — that’s a particular way of looking at art.
Mara: Part three closes the visit with Corradini’s famous statue and one last reminder: the bees appear “throughout the building — and indeed the city.” From baroque splendor to something more immediate — what’s on the table.
Food Coffee And Daily Pleasures
Pip: Two very different pleasures anchor this stretch — one philosophical, one extremely fresh.
Mara: The coffee post is almost aphoristic: “Coffee is the balm of the soul” — attributed to Giuseppe Verdi, found on the back of an espresso machine in Montecatini. That’s the whole post, and it lands.
Pip: Short, correct, no notes.
Mara: The tuna post is the opposite — vivid and specific. A fishmonger in Rome who “begged” them to buy an outstanding tuna, two enormous steaks, red shrimp, squid for calamari. The calamari, reportedly, was “quasi sweet” and unlike anything before. The only regret: no photos of the finished dishes. From the table, to something more public.
Papal Respect And Public Witness
Mara: Pope Leo XIV appears in the title of a post here — “Pope Leo XIV again shows what respect looks like” — framing a moment of public witness worth marking.
Pip: The word “again” is doing real work in that title. It implies a pattern, a posture, not just a single gesture.
Mara: And that consistency — the idea that respect is demonstrated repeatedly, not announced once — is what the post points toward.
Pip: Streets, staircases, espresso philosophy, and a pope setting a standard — Rome contains multitudes.
Mara: More of it next time, apparently. The sign-off is always “alla prossima” — until next time.
get back, lauretta! 
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