Calcata-not to be confused with Calcutta

On one of the first nights here in Italy, Fred and Deb were telling me of some of the interesting villages and towns they have stumbled across in their explorations. Fred told me of a town perched on a cliff that when it first appeared around a bend on a winding mountain road, he had almost driven off the edge at the sight. They showed me a lovely painting they had of this village; and I thought they were calling it Calcutta. I thought this was strange; a city named Calcutta in Italy? Who would name a city after Calcutta?

Given my confusion over the similarity in names, I found it amusing to read in Wikipedia under the heading “Calcata, Italy”: Not to be confused with Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), a city in West Bengal, India.

We went to this village perched on a cliff. It does appear suddenly as you round a bend, like a mirage rising above the valley of the Treja river.

Calcata appears like a mirage floating above the trees.

A closer view.

The city has an interesting history. The ancient city was built on volcanic cliffs. In the 1930s the government condemned the city, fearing that the cliffs would collapse. Most of the residents moved to a nearby town, Calcata Nuova. In the 1960s, a few artists and hippies moved into the empty residences; eventually the squatters bought their places, the government rescinded their condemnation order  and a thriving arts town was born.

The front of the city. The entrance is the arch to the right.

The entrance--why cars can't go in. (Though
Alberto could fit!)

The narrow road going into the city.
  

These house entrances reminded me a little of the Flintstones.

There are no vehicles allowed in the narrow, twisting streets; narrow and twisting even by Italian standards. There is of course, a piazza and a chiesa; no city in Italy could be without these. Many of the houses are subterranean. There is a street called “cave street” (via Grotta) because it is an underground passage! The houses on the outside edge of the city have stunning views of the valley below.  All in all, a very unusual, unique place.

Unusual street icon. It is either Noah or St. Francis.

City Chiesa.

An artist made these "thrones" out of tufa. They are in the central piazza.

Exploring random staircases.

Doorways and balconies tucked away everywhere.

Someone's breakfast spot overlooking
 the valley.

Staircases everywhere-not a place for
the acrophobic.

Cool underground street.

We met a few artists—I bought a couple of necklaces and a small bowl  from M. Petroni, an artist who moved to Calcata from Rome. Deb took me to a place where a young woman made picture frames and baskets from tightly rolled pages of Italian magazines!  We also met Marijcke van der Maden, a dutch puppeteer and head of the art association in the city. Her puppets were amazing! She had created a nativity scene made with the images of people in the city--every year she would make a new one, keeping it a secret until Christmas eve when the city gathers to see it unveiled and who has joined the scene, and as what character.

Looking at M. Petroni's necklaces, made from handmade clay beads.

Her studio.

M. Petroni

Marijcke van der Maden and mi

She molds the heads and feet and hands out of wood paste.

Some of the manger scene--all the puppets are modeled after a real person living in Calcata.

Angels

Marijcke showing Deb how she sews each costume.

Two of Marijcke's puppets.

We found a little place for lunch, tucked in a tiny courtyard in front of the museum. The menu was all in Italian (surprise, surprise) so we ordered some fagioli for an appetizer—we knew it was some type of beans, but were thinking it was the big fava beans. We got little white beans in olive oil and rosemary and they tasted so good! We ate them with the bread you always get. Then we had spazziollo pomodoro—a local homemade noodle, sort of like spaghetti but thicker, similar to the Lunghi noodles I had the first day, with a fresh pomodoro tomato sauce. So good. The food in Italy—mamma mia! It is SO fantastic! Btw-people really DO say mamma mia here!

Our lunch spot.

Spaghetti--just like mamma made it!

And of course, the requisite restaurant kitty; a particularly cute one.