CFFC: 20 days of arches

This week’s Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge came just in time for me: I’ve got arches, oh yes, I do.

The last twenty days have been a bit busier than usual around here. First I had my parents over, another visiting couple came for a day, and then we went to Rome where as if I asked nicely there was a national ADSI open-door day with plenty of Roman courtyards, usually closed, free to visit for only this day in the year. I visited ten of them and will eventually make up a post will more precise locations, today just some photos.

But that was not all. This weekend there was another national open door day. This time several more or less hidden gardens opened their doors. I visited one in Pescia Fiorentina. I don’t admit this lightly but that garden with the pool surrounding the private villa whose owner greeted me (“You are from Rome, correct? No?? Slovenia???”) almost made me see the appeal of capitalism.

And as the last activity, this Sunday I visited the museum and ruins of the Roman settlement Cosa at the end of our beach where it was free entry too. I had luck to enjoy the company of not one but too private guides: American archaeologists have been excavating there every summer since 2013 and two of them were kind enough to show me around.

And there were arches everywhere as they tend to be around here. But it all, as it does, started with a rainbow which is conveniently also an arch and which messed up my driving to Orvieto to pick up my parents since I had to stop all the time to take photos. They didn’t mind waiting a bit.

I hope you enjoy my arch gallery. More info in the captions.

Oh, and yes, that is the surprising Norwegian flag with the rainbow in the middle of Umbria that I promised to Marina.

Hello, Norwegians in Umbria. You’ve been rainbowed.

Number 10: The loveliest entrance on the whole Via Slovenia in Grosseto.

This and the next five arches are from Tatti, the town of 100 doors.

More from Tatti on several following Thursdays. Because doors.

This is Massa Marittima. It is arched and well-doored as well.

Capalbio on the hill with double visitors.

And now to Rome and its courtyard mysteries.

This was the most surprising view.

The same garden from the second floor.

An arched fountain in another hidden courtyard.

A multi-arched Roman courtyard.

Our courtyarding concluded on Via Giulia. Especially convenient since my companion for the day was Giulia too. 🙂

This Pescia Fiorentina villa has its own garden chapel.

Opposite the chapel.

The natural arch of the villa garden.

The museum at the Roman settlement of Cosa in Ansedonia.

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