New Year's Day, and Janet and I decided to drive over the hills towards Paciano (and not at all, I would like to say, because Ed Sheeran has been reported to have bought nearby and has been lunching in the town). It is a truly charming small borgo, and as it is just a short hop from the Tuscan border, it's very much the place that in the 90s and early 00s, was touted as 'where to buy if Tuscany is too pricey'. Now prices have risen, and you have to go deeper into Le Marche to get the value! We notice that the voices are more English, the restaurants more expensive, and everything more geared to the tourist dollar. Which is fine, it is simply quite a noticeable difference from our part of Umbria, even though it is only 30 minutes away.
After a short, chilly walk up in to the hills, we decided to drive on to the neighbouring town of Panicale - larger and more foreboding, though with the treat of a 'Sala di Thé' at the back of the cafe, quite a surprise. On our way back to the car we thought 'I wonder if, finally, we can visit the church just outside the walls with the famous fresco?'
For years this has eluded us, as the opening hours and ticketing system makes UK rail pricing look simple. After a 5 minute walk, alas the door was locked, and so we turned away, saying 'not today either then'..when, lo and behold, Janet spotted a man with a badge on his jacket and a very large key, heading to the church. And yes, he confirmed, the church is open - he had just gone for his break! Give me 5 minutes, he said..and finally, for the first time, the door is open!
And inside - a modest €4 a head - there are two treats. One is a mezzalune (a semicircular painting) by Raphael, which would be a big sight anywhere else, so you try to study it - but you are drawn to the Big Event - this fabulous, over-500-year-old Perugino, as crisp as the day it was painted. As with so many of his frescos, the backdrop is clearly Lake Trasimeno. It really is a masterpiece - and to think that it was painted during 1503-1505, a time of civil war, in the chapel of what was at the time a leper hospital - and hence outside the city walls.
History bit - San Sebastian was a Roman soldier who converted to Christianity in 305 and was martyred by having arrows thrown at him. He survived..and was then flogged to death (nice..!). He was invoked during the Black Death in 1348, and thus Sebastiano is something of a saint for raging incurable diseases. Also, in the Middle Ages, three arrows in the hands of Christ meant the scourges of plague, hunger and war, and so that further linked in Sebastian(o) with plague.
Amazing! For more photos try The Places of Silence - Chiesa di san sebastiano panicale
After a short, chilly walk up in to the hills, we decided to drive on to the neighbouring town of Panicale - larger and more foreboding, though with the treat of a 'Sala di Thé' at the back of the cafe, quite a surprise. On our way back to the car we thought 'I wonder if, finally, we can visit the church just outside the walls with the famous fresco?'
For years this has eluded us, as the opening hours and ticketing system makes UK rail pricing look simple. After a 5 minute walk, alas the door was locked, and so we turned away, saying 'not today either then'..when, lo and behold, Janet spotted a man with a badge on his jacket and a very large key, heading to the church. And yes, he confirmed, the church is open - he had just gone for his break! Give me 5 minutes, he said..and finally, for the first time, the door is open!
And inside - a modest €4 a head - there are two treats. One is a mezzalune (a semicircular painting) by Raphael, which would be a big sight anywhere else, so you try to study it - but you are drawn to the Big Event - this fabulous, over-500-year-old Perugino, as crisp as the day it was painted. As with so many of his frescos, the backdrop is clearly Lake Trasimeno. It really is a masterpiece - and to think that it was painted during 1503-1505, a time of civil war, in the chapel of what was at the time a leper hospital - and hence outside the city walls.
History bit - San Sebastian was a Roman soldier who converted to Christianity in 305 and was martyred by having arrows thrown at him. He survived..and was then flogged to death (nice..!). He was invoked during the Black Death in 1348, and thus Sebastiano is something of a saint for raging incurable diseases. Also, in the Middle Ages, three arrows in the hands of Christ meant the scourges of plague, hunger and war, and so that further linked in Sebastian(o) with plague.
Amazing! For more photos try The Places of Silence - Chiesa di san sebastiano panicale
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