Road Trip to Anghairi - 4/16/13

Today’s adventure took Angie and I on a 90min road trip to the walled, hilltop medieval town of Anghairi (ang-YAR-e).

It was a planned overnight trip but we got off to a late start due to other commitments and didn’t get to  Hotel Albergo la Meridiana until almost 6:00pm. 

That gave us plenty of time to walk around the town and decide which restaurant to eat at when they all started reopening at 7:30pm.  While doing so, Angie spied a gated estate, struck up a conversation with the wife of the owner who then opened the gate and invited us in.  It turned out that the main villa on the property was very old and had been turned into a large antiques shop filled with old furniture, clocks, paintings, fireplace mantles, you name it.  Although we were not in the market to buy, the gentleman (who spoke practically no English) was very friendly and very accommodating.

Anghairi is distinguished from other walled, hilltop medieval towns by having been caught literally in the middle of a bloody battle fought in June 1440 between the warring Italian cities of Florence and Milan. The battle was fought outside the city walls, and Anghairi foot solders went out and supported the Florence forces, who eventually prevailed forcing the Milan army to withdraw.  The battle was so violent and so strategic it inspired a fresco painted by none other than Leonardo di Vinci inside the Palazzo Vecchio (in Florence).  The di Vinci fresco disappeared under mysterious circumstances, but Rubin’s sketch of the fresco is seen below

It wasn’t only the Florentines and Milanese who left their mark on Anghairi – long before medieval times the arrow straight road now called Strada Provinciale della Libbia was built by the Romans.  It starts at the top of town and runs unerringly straight towards the mountains, one of countless examples of Roman engineering that is obviously still in use today, 2000 years later.

The next day our travels around town focused on exploring the Wednesday open air market and walking the many back alleyways that often give you the most interesting perspectives about old towns.

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The series of concentric rings of walls (and houses build into the walls) shows just how heavily fortified medieval cities needed to be to defend themselves.  Walls were often connected overhead to provide additional support and permit movement of solders from place to place as needed.

 Like all the best medieval towns in Italy, Anghairi is well lived in.  Today you find reasonably modern apartments inside 800 year old buildings, with the laundry hung out to dry like, well, just like it was 800 years ago. 

History snobs may grumble about alterations and additions to medieval structures, but the simple truth is that without the accommodations of modern facilities there would be no medieval hill towns left in Italy.  Keeping vibrant communities living inside these historical sites is paramount to their ongoing preservation, as each generation does its part as caretaker for the town and its ancient buildings.  

The Badia of St. Bartolomeo is Anghairi’s earliest church, originally founded in 1105.  Its scerene, peaceful chapel affirmes the the vibe of the town. 

And speaking of road trips…. Do you want to guess what kind of looks I get while driving around Italy in a “well used” 1998 Saturn with New Jersey license plates on it?  When diving in for my place in the rotary (traffic circle) other cars do tend to stay out of my way (Audi’s fear me.…)