Chieti, Beach, Ortono August 11, 2016

It did not look like a beach day so we set our for Chieti with the idea that if the weather improved we would be near the beach anyway. Chieti is a large city and is the provincial capital of the Chieti region of Abruzzo. It is right next to Pescara which is the capital of the Pescara region. (Chieti-Pescara is also home to IKEA!) The first year we were here we tried to take a way home from the beach other than the Autostrade. We were terrified by the big tunnels in Chieti and never went back. Now those tunnels don’t seem so big, although they are each about 1800 meters long, and Jim is much more used to driving in Italy. There are several museums in Chieti. We went to two of them. The way this summer has gone we got a parking place right in front of the Museo Archeologico Nazionale D’Abruzzo La Civitella. There was a beautiful promenade across the street from where we parked and we decided to take a look whether this was the Museum or not. 

We had no idea where we were going and we didn’t know the name of the Museum. In fact, when we saw it, we thought it was a soccer stadium. This is because it has outdoor seating built around a Roman amphitheater.  We opened the door and it was totally dark. As our eyes adjusted we saw a set of stairs leading down and a sign that said, “tickets”. Through no fault or intelligence of our own we had arrived. The admission was 4E each. The biggest problem with this museum was that it was so crowded. Honestly there were only three other people there. It was crazy and they did not even have a museum store with magnets or pencils.  It was such a beautiful place and the displays were so artistic and an amazing blend of ancient and modern. Why are people going to Rome? This is our constant question.

Reconstruction

beautiful

Fragments with drawing

hoards of people

so crowded!

Many of the artifacts were in fragments. The museum has done an amazing job of creating restorations based on those fragments. Another thing I really like was the way they had fragments mounted to wood with the drawing of what the rest would look like.

The fans were a special exhibit. They were in a room where they have theater productions. At first I thought all the blue tape was for the actor’s marks, but they were just little squares on the floor to add interest. I loved the way these were displayed, although it is not that interesting to me. 

fan club

This spear tip or hand tool, I do not know, is reputed to have been made 450,000 years ago. 

old

There was a small “cemetery” of slave headstones. I was surprised that slaves even got headstones, but they were nice. This one was of a child. Of course that appealed to me. 

One of my favorite things was a floor made of tile that had floor designs were projected on. At first I thought it actually was a mosaic floor, but then it changed. I thought it was brilliant and an excellent decorating tip. 

I took another panorama of the same view as from where we parked our car from the top of the amphitheater. It is easy to see why Chieti could control the coast. There would be no sneaking up on this city. 

Next we followed the ticket sellers directions to the Museo Archeologico Nazionale D’Abruzzo Villa Frigrtj. We went down a sketchy trash strewn staircase past graffitied buildings. So far so good, but then we couldn’t find it. Best idea ever is to ask an older person. They are so excited to help and don’t mind taking the time to do so. There is no point in asking someone young. Luckily I had a book to show him a picture of what we were looking for. He gave us directions and off we went. Almost instantly confusion set in. What exactly had he said, before the school? right after the school. Luckily he was still watching us and shouted and pointed the right way. 

cool stuff

We got into the second museum for only 2E because we went on the same day. (travel tip) The second museum actually had people in it, because it is home to the Capistrano Warrior. Seriously, these people think this is a man. There was also a display of all the artifacts that the sculpture is carrying. That was cool.  

Capistrano warrior and friend

This was a beautiful museum and contained artifacts from many of the towns in our valley, however it was not as cooly displayed as the first museum. 

Evidence of aliens

We managed to drive out of Chieti with no help from a map or anyone else and drove to the coast just to be sure it was really not a beach day. It was not. The wind was blowing on shore at about 80 mph. We could hardly stand up. Waves were flying over the breakwater and the beach was deserted. It was so wild that we sat in our car to eat our picnic. 

In our continued effort to broaden our horizons we headed south to Ortona. Ortona sits on a hill high over the Adriatico. It boasts a great castel and a big church. It was heavily destroyed during WW2, but still has a nice old part of town. They apparently have a feeding frenzy festa which started tonight and goes on for the next few days. It looked like it would be so much fun, if the wind stops howling. The street were lined with tables and the castel boasted combat and theater performances. It was market day, but only a few vendors were left cleaning up. What a giant mess of trash they leave behind. 

castle

blown away bride

old street

more old street

Outdoor eating

Is this only art or do you think they really use it over the stone sidewalk?

Why does a sneeze go with the name Jimmy?

View of Pelgini Valle from scenic overlook.

On the way home we stopped for Gelato and it was too warm to sit out in the sun. By the time we had taken a nap the howling winds had reached our valley and we had to wear our jackets to go downtown and get on the internet. There were so many people huddled inside the bar that we had to sit outside by the collapsed umbrella. Music tonight was cancelled and so Jim made a delicious dinner, one of the few left at our home, and I finished a pastel of someone’s father’s home in CVS. Now it is time for bed. Only five days left in Italy this summer.