Although the final decision to begin our year in Italy last March was made very quickly, it was the result of many years of wishful planning. During those years, we connected via internet with Americans who live in Italy. They were always amazingly kind and generous with their insights and advice about living here. Two internet sites were also invaluable. Expats-in-Italy (www.expatsinitaly.com) is a place where non-Italians living in Italy have established a community of support, advice and resources for making the move. SlowTravel (www.slowtravel.com) is a virtual network of travelers who share their experiences about taking the road less traveled.So in January 2010, I zeroed in on Viterbo, a city of about 60,000 people in Alto (northern) Lazio, bordering Tuscany and Umbria. It is just about dead-center on the "boot", making travel north and south equally accessible. According to TrenItalia, the state-run rail system, Viterbo has train service to all the places we might want to go...Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, with connecting commuter service to smaller towns. We were considering the possibility of city living without a car.
I posted a query on the Expats and SlowTravel forums, asking if anyone lived in Viterbo
Larry and his wife, Heather, lived in the Centro Storico (historic center) of Viterbo. They rented a small furnished apartment and managed quite well without a car. Larry even mailed me a map of the city to help me get familiar with the neighborhoods.
(Oh, did I mention that Larry and Heather are serious cyclists who walked or rode everywhere? (www.cycleitalia.com))
. We have discovered Vino Nobile in Montepulciano, Brunello in Montalcino and visited private cellars and olive mills, where lunch was prepared and served in the exquisite outdoor setting. We've heard Gregorian Chants at an Abbey once visited by Charlemagne and seen the Basilica of St. Frances of Assisi. We've decended deep underground into one of the oldest wine cellars and climbed a 300 meter land bridge to the Dying City of Civita' di Bagnoregio.......exactly why we came here in the first place.
And THAT is why we chose to live in Soriano! I mean, how lucky can you get?
