Tolfa and its ancient castle

Central Italy witnessed in medieval time the growth of a number of castles, abbeys, and small inhabitated villages. That territory offers the opportunity to find medieval villages and areas of historical interest, like Tolfa and its castle.

Tolfa's ancient castle, which is located 80 kn North from Rome, had a defensive function.

Wooden doors in Italy

It's time to enjoy the springtime beauty of our countries. The picture above shows the running path I like the most, which is located 80 Km North from Rome. Following the mostly flat coast, the path leads to two archeological sites. The first one dating back to the fourth century b.c. is visible in the middle of the picture, close to the sea. 

The following pictures shows some eavy wooden doors I saw while I was walking through the oldest neighborhood of the town. 

As I mentioned in my previous post, walking through the old part of the town gives me the opportunity to see many stones that tells us a fascinating past.

The Italian government is still imposing a nationwide corfew from 10:00 pm until 05:00 am except for work or health reasons.

Happy Internatinal workers' day (1st May), and stay safe!

An ancient Romanesque church

Most of the surviving medieval architecture is to be seen in churches and castles.  An excellent example is the ancient Romanesque church named Santa Maria Maggiore, and located in Tuscania (Central Italy), 90 Km North from Rome. The church was built in 1206, and it was reconstructed many times over the centuries. The interior has columns and pillars with romanesque capitals also carved with plants and zoomorphic motifs.

I don't want to get off track, but I sometimes go running past old buildings located in the urban environment. Many of those stones have a story to tell. 

Purple blooming trees

On Easter Monday I enjoyed a walk through the town that reminded me the importance of trees along pedestrian areas and urban environment. Those trees give the opportunity  to enjoy  the blooming season despite the lockdown measures 😷

On the Covid-19 front, I am sorry to see many people who don't take social distancing rules seriously. 

Respecting social distancing rules, wearing a mask and washing our hands help prevent us from getting infected. 

Spring

Spring is coming while people are still locked down in Italy.

 ... They have no choice but to watch blossoming trees from their windows. 

... cruise ships are still there, close to the shore, "unemployed".

Yellow umbrellas along that Italian street are related to violence against women. According to the World Bank, at least 155 countries have passed laws on domestic violence and sexual harassement in the workplace.

Foggy days

Last week, while I was walking next to the port of Civitavecchia, 60 kilometres North from Rome, I noticed that since March 2020 (one year ago) many cruise ships haven't been sailing. I thought  most of  the crew members are still unemployed.  🚢

Foggy weather last week in Central Italy, typical of Winter. The pictures below , which I took in the early morning on Saturday 27th, February, show some nuances of Winter atmosphere.

(Many trees are still without leaves)

                                                       (Spider web on a foggy morning 🕸)

Fiat "Topolino"

A man who live in my neighbor has been looking for old abandoned car since he got retired two years ago. In January 2020 he found a very old car, which didn't work. That old car,  that was built in the late 1940s, was a Fiat 500 "Topolino". That's its name. 

I recently noticed that the metal scrap, he had found eleven months before, changed from this ...

                                                                     to this ...

Two days ago I rescued a young woman who got trapped into her car. She wasn't able to get out after she had lost the control of her car. At 10:00 p.m., while I was driving back home, I saw a black car upside down along the street. After I had quickly walked next to the car, I heard a woman's voice. So I realised a young woman was into the car. Therefore, I helped the young woman to get out and gave her same water. She said she felt good and didn't need a doctor. But I didn't think so. Although she had said she felt good, I decided to call the ambulance. 

She was a 30 years woman, who didn't remember how she had lost the control of her car. The young woman's boyfriend joined us in less than twenty minutes. Everything went well for her, thank goodness.

Nice weekend to all the members of this blogging community!