After Rome, we went north to Perugia, the little Umbrian city that Christine had fond and formative experiences in before we met; it was quite touching to walk down the winding memory lanes in this medieval town with her, and since I had no points of reference or narratives of my own for this place, I found myself drawn to the Escher-like tangle of the urban fabric itself.
There was something oddly satisfying about the way the layers of history here fit together all higgledy-piggledy like a complex contraption of stone and light. Walking around these narrow streets, I wondered if there was some etymological connection between “ombra” (shadow, shade, ghost) and “Umbria,” but no – it comes from the Umbri, an ancient tribe of people who settled in the area around the 6th century BC. Their name, it was claimed, derived from the Greek ὄμβρος (ombros, “a shower”), which was perfect for us, regardless of ‘what shadow of historical foundation there is to the story,’ as it actually rained while we were here. A very welcome respite from the infernal heat that first greeted us. x
And with this mega-mix, I wrap up my posts from Rome. We will definitely be back: that’s a Trevi-certified promise. x
I really enjoyed our time in Perugia. Later on in our trip, a younger Italian couple on a train asked us why we chose to visit it, with a touch of surprise in their voices, and seemed to be satisfied when Christine said that she studied here, as if to say that studying here is the only reason one would visit. But I found the place very pleasant in and of itself. And it felt like the city was trying to present itself that way too, with the outdoor festivities that seemed to be happening every night. But regardless of activity or diversion, there’s something calming to my brain about the terrain here. I don’t know if my photos from this place make sense to anyone else, but I see it in the frames I ended up with. Something about them tickles my neurological fancy. x