Schwartz's on Sabbatical...the usual havoc ensues: Perugia

Of course, in between all of our partying and meeting up with friends (more on that later) I was very eager to take Brad and the kids into Perugia to show them all of my old haunts. Our assent into town ( Perugia is a classic medieval town built on a hill) was quite different from mine twenty-two years ago.

Perugia now has a "Mini Metro" that takes you from a parking area near the train station up to the center of town.

The little enclosures that bring you up are self-manned and run along a track. There are about 7 stops. I guess this project was pretty controversial because the tracks are noisy for the neighboring communities so the metro has to shut down at 8 every night. This was not really the idea behind providing public transport into the center. And with the Crisi Economici - Italians are in no mood for failed expensive projects.

The Metro spits you out into a side road. We headed right for the park at the end of Corso Vanucci for a view of the Valley below.

Lucas took this panorama shot.

The kids were very patient with all of my reminiscing and actually quite curious. They endured stories like,"There is the pay phone I called my parents on the first day I arrived in Perugia telling them I had made a horrible mistake and would be back in a few days." Of course I ended up staying for 3 years (I was a little jet lagged).

Above is a picture of the hotel I first stayed in. I had no idea if it would still be there. The Crisi has hit Italy hard and it is one of the first topics Italians talk about. It was quite evident throughout Perugia. Many of the independent stores are gone - replaced by franchises. The demand for lower priced goods has forced the closure of many independent food merchants (like fruit and veggie vendors) and have been replaced by large super markets. In fact I first noticed the super market trend in Sardegna and was quite bewildered.

I took kids up and down some of my favorite streets and showed them all of my old short cuts.

Above is Perugia's Duomo and the famous Fontana Maggiore - a fountain that was once a large Etruscan well (folks we are in Etruscan country now).

Corso Vanucci always takes my breath away. I guess by night things now become a bit sketchy on the Corso. Perugia has its share of drug problems as it is missing about a third of its central inhabitants from about 20 years ago.

While Italian towns are notoriously empty in August (many businesses close and people go on holiday), Perugia felt especially vacant. I guess the relocation of the hospital to the outskirts, along with the Med school, has impacted the town quite a bit.

We made our way down to the Etruscan Arch and to my old university and apartment.

The Arch is hard to see but it is of mythic proportions. It is now covered up with scaffolding for some conservation work. A wealthy local cashmere merchant is actually privately financing the project. Wow.

Through the arch and there it is - The University for Foreigners - the school I attended for two years.

I should dig up how long this school has been here but the answer is - a very long time. It is a State run institution and operated very much like an Italian University. I had courses in Italian in Literature, History, Opera, and of course grammar. All of my exams were oral.

My classmates were from all over the world but there were only a few from the US (unlike Florence which I consider to be America's 51st State!).

We ducked into some of my old classrooms and I showed the kids where I used to sit.

Such an elegant old building. It smelled exactly how I remember it. With the Crisi, the student population is mainly Chinese since the university has a partnership with a school in China.

I can actually see my old friends in these seats. Oh goodness, I must be torturing you.

After the University we headed towards Via Bulagaio where I used to live. It was conveniently located across from the school.

Number 7. I was later able to visit my old apartment which Emanuele still owns.

We then made our way up Corso Garibaldi and visited one of my favorite spots in Perugia - the Tempio di Saint Angelo - dated from the 5th century AD - one of the oldest of its kind. It was originally built on sacred Etruscan land and then Romans claimed it with a temple. It was further constructed when Paganism was in decline.

It has a wonderful green lawn in front of it and a stripped down interior. It is beautifully simple and has some interesting ancient symbols inside. It was great to see that nothing had changed here.

On the way back, I tried to find my dear friend's apartment off of Via Della Rondine. Did I get it right Erin? Number 20? Thanks to Perugia I have Erin in my life!