Left Gubbio and headed to Spoleto that would be our home for the next 2 nights. Spoleto is the hometown of our tour director and Amber Roads Tours owners, and the sister city of Charleston, SC.

On the way to Spoleto we stopped at the olive oil museum in Torgiano, the small medieval town of Deruta famous for its ceramics, and the Teatro Della Concordia in Monte Castello di Vibio ( the smallest theater in the world).

Deruta ceramics- all hand made by families across the generations. Extraordinary… well, we did help the Deruta economy a bit by purchasing beautiful oil and vinegar cruets…

99 seats in the Teatro Della Concordia in Monte Castello di Vibio- box seats and all! The details were phenomenal! Kathy and Kevin — our traveling companion and enthusiastic photographer!

Beautiful Monte Castello di Vibio — and we had the streets all to ourselves!

Arrived in Spoleto via the remarkable system of escalators (didn’t count the flights of escalators but it was approximately 8 flights!) which were installed to connect the modern city to the historic medieval city up the hill when they banned cars from the old city.

A few of our first views as we exited the escalators — spectacular!

Group dinner with the wonderful owners of Amber Road Tours — Jonathan and Sonya (at distant table)! Chris and Yvonne from New Zealand on the left, and Tina and Ed from Virginia on the right… and Tom and Mary in the back from Indiana… great traveling companions!

Day 10 — Had a tour of Spoleto by local guide Marco, who had been such a terrific guide in Assisi.

Marco and our tour manger Tiziana… such wonderful people!

Roman theater next to our hotel…

In addition to the escalator system, a new underground moving sidewalk system opened recently after being constructed over 20 years. Elevators take you to the sidewalk and help you move around the hill town…  Quite a remarkable engineering feat!

The Roman aqueduct… this was actually the only evidence we saw of the recent earthquake in Umbria. We would have entered the city yesterday walking over this aqueduct — but alas– it was closed while the engineers inspected it for earthquake damage. Impressive, nevertheless!

Around Spoleto… I loved the light and shadows…

Approaching the Cathedral di S. Maria Assunta…

Another wedding… what fun… and we entered the back of the church and listened to the marvelous music for a bit!

Special treat for a private tour of the 17th century Teatro Caio Melissa which has hosted many celebrities… Frederico Fellini, Isa bella Rossellini, and many more… and it continues to host Spoleto events!

Group lunch… just in case you have missed it… good food was certainly an important part of our adventure!

In the afternoon, Keith and I explored Spoleto on our own…

Lots of cats in Italy…

Ciao! It has been good to work on the blog as we prepare for Matthew… headed to pick up Mom so she we will be with us for the storm. One more entry to go…