Calcata

Calcata is not a town in India, but rather about 40 minutes north of Rome, and is a sort of revived, hippy-town, with an artsy vibe. The historical town is built upon tufa rock -- like a miniature version of Pitigliano -- and was condemned by the Italian government in the 1930's for fear that the volcanic cliffs would collapse. But, by the 1960's, it's medieval structures were re-populated by artist and hippy squatters. Eventually the government reversed its condemnation order and these squatters were able to purchase their homes, and restore the ancient town. According to Wikipedia, The New York Times described the artistic community of Calcata as "what may be the grooviest village in Italy, home to a wacky community of about 100 artists, bohemians, aging hippies and New Age types."

Check out the photo here: http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/living/articles/living-in-the-italian-hill-town-calcata.shtml

Calcata is also located in the middle of the Treja valley, and has many incredible views overlooking the forest and the Treja river. We arrived in Calcata in time to mosey around, and check the place out before lunch. Then we chose a restaurant called Il Gato Nero (The Black Cat) which was "wacky" and had all types of cat paraphernalia displayed everywhere. The kids loved it.

After lunch, we descended (by car) from the historical center of Calcata, and took one of the many, well-marked trail heads for a "nature walk" along the river. The girls picked wild flowers, and Avery collected sticks. That is, after he announced that he needed to poop, and squatted in the forest. The fig leaves came in handy.

The valley is really beautiful, and we are determined to return just to do another hike there. Today, we had good timing as the weather began to change towards the end of our walk. It had been a beautiful morning, but by the time we were driving home around 4pm, it began to drizzle. In fact, once at home we began watching the finals of the men's tennis championship at the Rome Open -- they were playing in the drizzle -- which was subsequently delayed due to rain. Josh had the idea that maybe we would be able to get tickets to watch the final live if they continue the match tomorrow (on the presumption that Sunday fans may not be able to make the game on a Monday?).

I helped Olivia pack for her trip to Abruzzo. She made a list of all the items we put in her suitcase so she could check them off on the other end when she packed herself for the returns. I can't wait to see what goes missing. Olivia is really excited about going on this trip; to think that a few months ago, she adamantly stated that she would not participate. Her self-confidence has really risen this year.

We had a relaxed evening. Dinner consisted of part left-over curry, and part pizza.