ARMCHAIR TRAVELS – MONTE SANTA MARIA TIBERINA

The House of Bourbon in Italy started out French, but through an alliance with Spain, became Spanish in what is today Southern Italy, culminating in the Kingdoms of Naples and the Two Sicilies.  Wading through the Britannica entry  on the House of Bourbon alone makes it crystal clear why there have been so many wars in Europe, why democratic elections are more secure than monarchical successions, and—in short—why Europeans fight so hard to keep the EU in one piece. The history of the House of Bourbon, one of the most illustrious and important dynasties of Europe, is as tortuous as the roads leading to Monte Santa Maria Tiberina, a former Bourbon outpost and our destination in this armchair travel.

The patron saint of Monte Santa Maria Tiberina, as you may have guessed, is the Virgin Mary, and August 15, Assumption Day, is the town’s festival day.   

Thanks to Peter Paul Rubens for this lovely depiction of the ascension of the Virgin.

The town, as the “Monte” in its name suggests and these photos illustrate, is built on an outcropping of rock.  To be more specific for you budding geologists out there:  “The Monte Santa Maria Tiberina ridge consists of a stack of Late Oligocene-Middle Miocene siliciclastic turbidite successions belonging to the Tuscan and Umbria domains," according to Umbrian Preapennines.  (Whew!  Maybe my brother-in-law can translate that for me.)  In any event, the mountain has been incorporated into the town, or vice versa, depending on your point of view. 

Monte Santa Maria Tiberina sits on the border between the provinces of Arezzo (in Tuscany) and Perugia (in Umbria), overlooking the Tiber Valley.  The town now lies squarely (actually, its shape is more oval than square, as this town plan reveals) in Umbria.   

Commanding pride of place, not to mention defensive advantage, is the Bourbon Palace, built in the 1500’s and now home to the municipal museum.

The views from the palace summit are commanding too.  We’ve visited Monte Santa Maria Tiberina several times over the years, but never on a day as clear as this one.  You felt as if you could reach out and touch the distant mountain tops and run your fingers through the sun-drenched fields of grain.

Strolling through Monte Santa Maria Tiberina (estimated travel time, about 10 minutes), we noted Venetian Gothic doorways like this one,

a stunningly shaded private garden,

three brightly painted taverna chairs serving as planters (thanks to my husband for this wide-angle photo), 

the town hall with its red Coronavirus notice,

and a street where the houses’ utility service doors were whimsically decorated.

Summer in Italy extols the charms of Monte Santa Maria Tiberina and claims it’s close to the motorway, but—trust me—it’s not.  You will drive up, up, up and still further up before you reach the town walls and the main gate,

but it will be well worth your while to make the ascent.   Fortunately, we’ve done the driving for you, so sit back, dream of toasting your fur in the heat of the afternoon sun like this cat, and relax!

Keep it real!  And wear your damn mask!

Marilyn