Fonti del Clitunno and Spello

The Fonti del Clitunno is a small lake that has been formed in the river Clitunno near Trevi in Umbria, at the spring source which empties water into the river. In antiquity it was a famous pagan worship area but an earthquake in 444 seems to have destroyed the path of the river and its popularity declined. The current gardens were built in 1860-1865.

Famous writers such as Virgil, Pliny the Younger and George Byron have sung the praises of Fonti del Clitunno.

It is a peaceful place now with incredibly clear water, especially considering the ducks and white swans that inhabit the river. We had a picnic lunch by the lake and took far too many photos of white swans.

Photos 2, 6 & 15 taken by Kelly on his tablet.

The Tempietto del Clitunno is one kilometre from the Fonti, along via Flaminia. It is thought to date from the 5th or 6th century but it is built on a base from a pagan temple. It is not really known why this temple was built in this location. In 2011 it became a UNESCO World Heritage site.

We decided to walk to the temple, forgetting that an Italian kilometre is much longer than an Australian one, especially if you have asked directions! This became the first of two occasions today when we asked a policeman for directions. We didn't go inside the building as the entry fee seemed disproportionate to the size of the temple.

We have previously visited all the major towns in this area - Assisi, Trevi, Bevagna, Foligno, Todi and Spoletto, but we didn't remember Spello. So that was our next destination.

Spello is a delightful little town with all the attributes of its neighbours - ancient walls and gates, Roman ruins, stunning views, picturesque streetscapes, famous art in very old churches and good shops, bars & restaurants. The thing that we noticed about Spello was the degree of personal pride in their village, especially in cleanliness and floral displays. The little streets and laneways were beautifully decorated with pots plants and flowers. We were also impressed to see a section of street being replaced with the same old style pattern used throughout the village. 

But this was not a show piece village with no inhabitants. There were dozens of senior primary age children running around the village with maps and clues. They were obviously on a treasure hunt (without Pokemon!)

In the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore there were three Il Perugino works, two pictured, and the Baglioni chapel completely frescoed by Pinturicchio in 1501.

In Sant Andrea church there are more works by Pinturicchio including a large painting, of which the photo below is a small part.

Spello is such a pretty place.

As we arrived home the sun was setting and the sunset was spectacularly unusual. I was only able to jump out of the car and run across the road to get this 'sunset peep.'