Discover Tuscia: A Journey Through Time and Culture

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Creepy Places to photograph in Tuscany: Castle Cahen, a Mock-Gothic Style Mansion of the Late Nineteenth Century in Italy.

Mock Gothic Horror: painted by Whistler, photographed by Cameron, the tragic story of Christine Spartali, Contessa Cahen. Near Orvieto on a ridge looking over a deep valley into Southern Tuscany stands a sinister looking castle in the mock-Gothic style of the late nineteenth century. It once belonged to the immensely rich Cahen family, still remembered in Orvieto where a square is named after...

Castelluccio Norcia: Photo Workshop Through Some of the Most Spectacular Scenery in Italy.

A photo workshop day trip from Orvieto to the Sibilline Mountains in July. Castelluccio di Norcia is well known the world over amongst photographers for its picturesque vales of wild flowers at all times of the year - except when it is under snow which at 1500m is for most of the winter. It is a bit of a trek to get there from Orvieto (around 2.5 hours) but we do pass through some of the most...

Grand Tour: Radicofani on the Cassia.

Following the ancient Via Cassia, our photography workshop follows the Grand Tour route. The Val d'Orcia, famous and beloved site of modern photographers and artists in Tuscany, to the traveller of yore it was just a desolate region to be got through. For nigh on a thousand years Rome had been the goal of pilgrims following the ancient Via Cassia known in the Middle Ages as the Via...

Corpus Domini Festival.

A photography workshop in Italy could not be based in a more appealing place than Orvieto, in Umbria, but on the borders of both Tuscany and Latium. Orvieto is girded by city walls, fortresses, towers and gatehouses. You can walk the entire circumference below the walls on an easy, well made path in a little over an hour – there are stunning views across the Umbrian countryside towards the...

Octagonal Church Ruin in Val di Lago, Bolsena

The ancient church occupies a site once sacred to the Etruscans. Lake Bolsena was the centre of their cult. The charm of the place lies in its desolate remoteness in the swamps near Lake Bolsena. Until the 1920s malaria was the scourge of the Italy. Often entire communities were decimated because the origins of the disease were unknown. The name Malaria comes from the belief that bad air (lit....

Stranglers Park in Pitigliano, Tuscany.

Just outside Pitigliano lies the Parco Orsini commonly known locally as Stranglers Park, and thereby hangs a tale............ Orso Orsini was a prince of wild ways. Wayward brother of the cultured condottiero Niccolò, he married the beautiful Eleanora degli Atti di Morlupo, whose name was long but her life short. He strangled her in a fit of unfounded jealousy in 1575 on the bridge outside...

Stranglers Park in Pitigliano, Tuscany.

by Rambling Patrick | Art & Culture, Tuscia Excursions

Poggio Conte – Part 2

by Rambling Patrick | Architecture, Art & Culture, Tuscia Excursions

There is an extraordinary atmosphere in the sacred glade so it is no surprise that this has been a sacred place for thousands of years. The Sacred Glade was Christianised, but something of the ancient magic remained: the frescoes that remain in the church are...

Poggio Conte – Part 1, The Sacred Glade

by Rambling Patrick | History & Heritage, Nature & Outdoors, Tuscia Excursions

"Sunrise glowed red as I climbed along the gorge; when I reached the grove, I saw the altar slab all scattered with brightness, like the harper's robe. I put down my load, and prayed to Apollo." Poggio Conte will appear immediately familiar to anyone who has read Mary...

The hermitage of Ripatonna, Tuscany.

by Rambling Patrick | Architecture, Art & Culture, Nature & Outdoors, Tuscia Excursions

One of the interesting lost sites within an hour of Orvieto we made a Camera Etrusca excursion to the hermitage of Ripatonna. Much of what is now known as northern Latium north of Rome on the borders of Tuscany was until the 1930s a veritable wilderness. Saracen...

Diana’s Baths in Castelgandolfo, Rome

by Rambling Patrick | LOST SITES, Orvieto Ramblings, Rome, Tuscia Excursions

I have no idea why, but it was my dream as a child to find underground Roman ruins at the bottom of the garden. This dream was to come true when my wife and I moved to Castel Gandolfo in 2002. We rented a flat in the grounds of a villa once owned by Visconti, bought...

Abandoned cemetery in Chianti

by Rambling Patrick | Art & Culture, History & Heritage, Tuscia Excursions

Beneath those rugged elms, that yew-tree's shade Where heaves the turf in many a mould'ring heap Each in his narrow cell for ever laid The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep Gray's Elegy in a Country Churchyard (written in Stoke Poges) The drift from the land from...

The Roman Tunnel, Lake Albano near Rome Italy

by Rambling Patrick | Art & Culture, ETRUSCAN PLACES, History & Heritage, LOST SITES, Orvieto Ramblings, Photography Spots, Rome, Tuscia Excursions

Rome is known as the Eternal City and no city on earth has a comparable wealth of ancient ruins. The tireless documentor of Roman ruins Piranesi (1720-78) made a good living selling his topographical images to visitors on the Grand Tour. But whereas Canaletto used...

The Temple of Diana in Nemi

by Rambling Patrick | Art & Culture, History & Heritage, Rome, Tuscia Excursions

Italy has an extraordinary amount of antiquities that are simply abandoned; no ticket office, no maintenance, no security, just overgrown. Sometimes I come across a place purely by chance, sometimes I have been tipped off by a local, sometimes because I have read...

St Patrick’s Well, Orvieto

by Rambling Patrick | Architecture, Art & Culture, Freud and Orvieto, History & Heritage

St Patrick's well is one of the sights of Orvieto. And one of the places we always visit. It's dark so a tripod is handy. The life of an Italian prince in Renaissance Italy was pretty dangerous and no less so for the clerical prince known as the pope. In 1527 after...

Barabbata Festival

by Rambling Patrick | Events & Festivals, Tuscia Excursions

The Barabbata Festival is held every year on 14 May on the shores of Lake Bolsena in the fishing village of Marta near Viterbo. The festival is a catholicised re-enaction of pagan rites of spring and consists of parading a portrait of the Virgin through the town and...

Pitigliano, The Little Jerusalem

by Rambling Patrick | Art & Culture, History & Heritage, Jewish Heritage, Tuscia Excursions

In an out of the way corner of southern Tuscany, about 45 minutes from Orvieto, is a town perched on a volcanic ridge - one of the most evocative sights of Italy - Pitigliano Little Jerusalem as it is popularly known. George Dennis, the noted Etruscologist, described...

Orvieto, Umbrian Jewel

by Rambling Patrick | Art & Culture, Freud and Orvieto, History & Heritage, Jewish Heritage

A photography workshop in Italy could not be based in a more appealing place than Ovieto, the most beautiful hill town in all Italy. It stands on its high rock plateau in Umbria, on the borders of both Tuscany and Latium. Orvieto is an ancient city going back to...

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Written By Patrick

Patrick Nicholas, a passionate chronicler of art and history, found his voice through the captivating landscapes and rich cultural tapestry of Italy, weaving his experiences into a narrative that celebrates the intricate stories of lesser-known places. With an insatiable curiosity, he ventured beyond the tourist trails, delving into the heart of towns like Orvieto, where ancient echoes mingle with vibrant modern life, inspiring a newfound appreciation for the hidden gems that lie just off the beaten path. Through his lens, he invites you to explore not just the sights, but the soul of the destinations he cherishes, making each journey a testament to the enduring allure of Italy’s heritage and the joy of discovery.

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