3144 Eastern Umbria-Castelluccio & Piano Grande

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]If you take the scenic road from Norcia up to [I]Forca Canapine[/I] you will eventually reach the [I]Piano Grande, [/I]a huge karstic basin that was once a glacial lake. It is completely surrounded by the dark, craggy peaks and the barren slopes of the Sibilline Mountains, but the scenery here is spectacular.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]It is virtually inaccessible during winter, but is positively breathtaking in late spring and early summer when the entire plain is transformed into a technicoloured sea of wild flowers. But you have to be quick because this spectacle of nature doesn’t last long. [/SIZE][/FONT]
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[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Pics to follow...[/FONT][/SIZE]
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Category
Do & See

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 04/04/2006 - 08:54

......wow! I'd forgotten about Norcia; we were dead impressed by the town as it contained all the wonderful nooks & crannies that one expects in a medieval town & had a really wonderful buzz about it (we were there March/April time when Spring had sprung & all the new life was coming to bud.

........it was a long way from anywhere though; how I rember the drive (phew!)

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 04/04/2006 - 09:16

Have great memories of Norcia. I think the best one is when exploring the inner streets looking for the Tempietto I came across a 90-year-old lady cleaning the street outside her house. I asked if I could take a picture of her as she very much reminded me of my grandmother. She agreed, and when I returned a few weeks later with her photograph, she was so pleased that she started to tell me all about Norcia's inner secrets. Don't find these gems in the guidebooks!:)

Norcino is of course the name given to butchers who specialise in the making of pork products...apparently it is a fast disappearing trade.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 04/04/2006 - 09:52

[QUOTE=Charles Joseph]Another view of Norcia:D[/QUOTE]

Methinks this is a place I should really be visiting very soon...

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 04/04/2006 - 10:05

[QUOTE=Charles Joseph]....... she started to tell me all about Norcia's inner secrets. Don't find these gems in the guidebooks!:) .......[/QUOTE]

Come on then, 'fess up! You [b]can't[/b] leave us in the lurch like that!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 04/04/2006 - 11:30

[quote=tuscanhills]Come on then, 'fess up! You [B]can't[/B] leave us in the lurch like that![/quote]

[LEFT]I did touch on some aspects in an article that Italy published back in October 2004...;) [/LEFT]

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 04/04/2006 - 13:21

[QUOTE=Charles Joseph]Another view of Norcia:D[/QUOTE]
Charles..

Great photos, but I could't quite make out what the sign in the middle said.. can you translate? :D

I wonder if you would also post the photo of la vecchia signora.. and tell Forum about a few of the gems she passed on to you? I'd certainly like to read all about it.

:) :)

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 04/05/2006 - 05:16

One little snippet about Norcia - you might notice that there are no tall buildings, if fact I think there is nothing remotely old higher than two storeys.
This is because for a very long time (many centuries) the Comune banned anything taller because of the seismic nature of the location. Sensible Comune!