Richard And Jo Demeester's photos

San Marino has three towers on its ridge. This is Guaita, the oldest, with the main construction occurring in the 11th century.

And this did work. Despite looking the better part of 40 years old, we unhooked it and it started blowing warm air.

The hotel we stayed in was, well, dated. But not in an awful way. Still, more nostalgic than quaint.

As some know, we have been sleeping in the cellar, but until recently, we had no direct access from our house. The trip from the kitchen to the bedroom involved going out to the street, and down to the next entrance, which led to the cellar. More significantly, in the middle of the night, the trip obviously also involved heading outside and via the street. It took some time, but eventually our custom stairs arrived.

The remains of a small theatre, at a very local archaeological site, Iuvanum.

Nearby Pennadomo.

Somebody patriotic has had a go at turning the zebra crossing in to an Italian tricolour.

Beautifully maintained and manicured, wonderfully situated, and thoughtfully laid out. The war graves, primarily British, but also other Commonwealth countries in representation, are near the Sangro River. This was a front late in the war, when the Germans were retreating.

A very old passage, leading from the street level entrance to the sanctuary down to the actual grotto.

Castel del Monte is a 13th century castle, built by Emperor Frederick II. A beautiful octagonal structure, perfect for period settings, because of its magnificent proportions and its remoteness from all things modern. Other than the ticketing system - you can't even go on line, you can only reserve using an App - in Italian. I wonder what Frederick might have thought about groups of confused visitors crowded around tiny screens trying to work out how-the-hell they might be able to get inside!

Had a great day in Bari. Last time we were in this part of the world, 20 something years ago, we by-passed Bari. Overall, we had a fantastic stop here.

In medieval times, debtors who defaulted on their financial obligations, were flogged at this point in Piazza Mercantile. A juxtaposition of something so horrible and a beautiful setting.

This church has the largest amount of relics of Saint Nicholas, after they were stolen from Turkey about 1000 years ago. From here, bones and bone fragments have been distributed to all corners of the globe.