Avoiding toll roads (slabs) as much as possible I headed south toward Siena. If Frienze is the heart of Tuscany, Siena is its soul. Anyone who has ever read Herman Wouk's 'Winds of War' (1971) fell in love with Siena without ever being there. ('Winds of War' is the best synopsis of the causes and events leading up to WWII I have ever read.)
Some of the Tuscan countryside on the way to Siena.
This is a shot of the type roads I'm on during this stage of the journey to Siena.
This is just good, relaxing stuff.
I am in love with this place!
I pull into Siena about 11:30am after a wonderful trip along winding roads from Firenze. A short break at a café for some refreshment and a few notes for the blog and I'm off southward.
Siena is a beautiful, old Tuscan town famous for its food, culture, and the Palio, a medieval horserace ran twice annually around the old Piazzo Del Campo. The horse race is a toot! Teams are sponsored by each section of the town and they take their competition serious. In fact, the second race of the year is scheduled in a few days, but, as much as I'd like to stay for it I can't. I can't see myself putting up with that many people for that amount of time. But, if I won that lottery this place would get some serious consideration.
Out of Siena I connected to the A1 (slab) the primary route to Roma. About 30 miles out of Roma, I swing left, around the city and move further south. My goal Monte Cassino, the lynch pin of the Allied attack up the center of Italy after the Salerno landings in September 1943 below Naples.
But, about 50-60 kilometers out of Roma, I'm motoring happily along and I look up and see this old town perched on top of this large hill. It is just jampacked with small houses and buildings, many precariously sitting at the very precipice of the cliff that marks the town's border. Having to see if I could get a decent picture, I pulled off the toll road, and headed back toward the area of the village of Orte.
It was an amazing sight. Some of those buildings look as if they are going to fall at any moment.
The ride up and around, trying to find a vantage point from which I could take a good picture safely (this wasn't easy), yielded some other, equally beautiful places and scenery.
Arriving near Monte Cassino about 4:30pm I elected to try to find a hotel at the larger community of Pontecorvo than in Cassino itself. This turned out to be fortuitous because I stumbled on one of the nicest hotels I've had during my trip, and at an extremely attractive price.
After yet another great road shower, I change and head toward Monte Cassino.
At this site, four separate major battles were fought against one of the best of the German commanders, Albert Kesselring. And Kesselring had the high ground, and experienced troops. It proved an extremely tough target.
A major casualty of the fighting, bad intelligence, and bad generalship on the part of the Allies, was the ancient Abby of Monte Cassino, the Abby where St. Benedict first established monasticism in the west about 600A.D. Convinced the Germans were using the Abby as an artillery observation site, the ancient Abby was destroyed by Allied bombers Feb. 15, 1944. Subsequent investigation yielded that this was not the case and there was no military reason for its destruction. It's regrettable as hell, but having been up there, I'd have used it as an artillery observation post, and I'm not military expert. There is always collateral damage in war.
My first glimpse of the Abbey, about 6-7 miles away...and up.
Bet we had artillery and observators on those hills.
The ride up was spectacular.
The rebuilt Abbey
Some pictures from the grounds, though access was very limited.
The ride down was as much fun as the one up. I didn't take any further pictures because, when one stops and takes the picture it looks the same as the ones taken when one stopped on the way up. And, believe me, you weren't going to get any one-handed, from the bike shots on this part of the ride.
Back to the hotel for a wonderful night in a great room and nice place. I sort of harp on this place because 1) the people were very friendly and the service superb, and 2) it is such a good buy compared to the other places I've stayed and paid so much more.
The hotel is the Hotel Liolá in Pontecorvo, Italy.
This gentleman provided great service. He was extremely helpful.
Lobby
My room, though already messy from all the stuff I haul with me.
Sight of another of those great road showers.
Anyway, it was a great hotel very reasonably priced.
Tomorrow, the battle that broke the stalemate at Monte Cassino. Anzio.
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