Tuesday 26th April

Ann has been suffering with a toothache for a day or two and Peter, our host, rang his dentist for her. But he was not able to respond to the call until 2.00 pm ( still not back from Easter) so we went out locally to be on hand if we got a call to present at the dentist.
We drove through a delightful little village called Secchiano on the way to Pianello - who could resist not going to a place with a name like that?
Pianello is about 13 kms from Cagli and is a mix of old town and new town with the old town above the new as always. We had capuccino in a very smart new bar/cafe/gelateria at which the town folk gather for morning coffee or sparkling white vino. The travelling olive oil, olives, salami, pickle, cheese and jam seller was in town with his truck for the morning before moving onto another town. We have seen these sellers in other towns too small to have their own deli's or fruit and vegetable or jocks and socks shops. So they come to the towns.
We walked the town a little and were quite the curio for the town folk. Window shutters opened as we walked past and people stopped and looked. A friendly buongiorno always received aknowledgement and a smile. Perched on the hills and cliff faces above the valley in which Pianello sits are several other smaller inviting villages that you can see but driving the "one horse wide road" leading to them put me off a bit. I don't like reversing down steep inclines from the wrong side of the car to avoid oncoming traffic.
I don't think Pianello is on too many tourist maps and in one way that's a shame but in another it leaves these little places for the adventurous like us and the people who live there.
We drove onto another small village, over the regional border of Umbria/Le Marche, of  Pietralunga. Like Pianello the town's people were removing the barricades and notices put up to manage the traffic and restrict parking in the town squares over the Easter celebrations, so parking was difficult but the town was beautiful from the car.
We were back at San Christoforo before the expected 2pm call from the dentist and it came but he cannot see Ann till 1pm tomorrow.

Street Scene in "old" Pianello

Old Town of Pianello perched above the new

Another Street Scene in Pianello

The Travelling Delicatessan in Pianello's Piazza

"Unknown" River running through Pianello