Thursday Doors, 23/1/20: Santa Maria della Quercia

• Manja Maksimovič

Sunday was one of those perfect days when you take 170 door photos, and I’m glad I spent it with Flavia in Viterbo and surroundings.

.

D

o

o

o

o

r

s

.

We met in Viterbo, which is about half way between us and is not in Tuscany any more but rather in Lazio.

When we reached the bar where her family friend, who lives in Viterbo and was showing us around for the next five hours, was waiting for us to have coffee, I spotted a dog party in front of the church next door.

Then I noticed more animals on a truck – a little lamb, a little goat, a little calf. Yes, it was the day when animals are blessed in Basilica Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Quercia. Whereas in the past this meant farm animals, today dogs and cats steal the show.

After coffee and cornetto (which is not ice-cream but croissant) we entered the church and could see some dogs inside with their owners, even though the majority of the animals had left. I could just imagine what ruckus my bestia would be making. He doesn’t play all that well with other males and I was glad I left him at home with amore.

The Church of the Oak has a beautiful cloister and several interesting doors and other features. Have a look at one of Flavia’s posts for some church history and more non-door photos (and a wonderful photo of the main entrance).

After that we continued to Villa Lanto in Bagnaia with the special garden and fountains, and to the town Vitorchiano with a million doors – which wasn’t even on my list of towns to visit – and you’ve got the perfect day. But more on that in the coming posts.

I’m sure there will be more days like this one because Flavia is another person who, like me, likes to concentrate on the positive, beautiful, calm and worthwhile. Well met.

  • I was too taken aback and doing ohhh and aaaaah to take many photos.
  • At first I just thought it was a dog-happy town.
  • But they kept coming. My first time.
  • Opposite bar Marini.
  • Some were still hanging around when we entered a bit later.
  • The right entrance.
  • Church meeting.
  • Doors and glass.
  • The sun was playing tricks.
  • The cloister is beautiful.
  • Favourite photo.
  • See? They made some pretty doors too.
  • Here as well.
  • Both together.
  • Another pretty one.
  • Intricate.
  • A similar one.
  • Close up.
  • Leaving the Church of the Oak.
  • Door detail.
  • Look up.
  • Underneath blue sky.

For Norm Frampton’s Thursday Doors challenge.

36 thoughts on “Thursday Doors, 23/1/20: Santa Maria della Quercia”

  5. Beautiful screen, and court yard! Never thought of church as a meeting place for dogs – but this curiousity is evident from your images, so I have happily changed my mind:)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  12. My family and I just returned from a vacation in Italy. The scenery and people are extraordinary, and I want to go back! Also, I noticed that it is a very dog friendly place, which is incredibly nice as I’m a dog lover. Loved your collection of doors, especially the ironwork, and the figurines. =)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you, Brenda. Ooo, great to hear that you loved Italy. 🙂 Where did you go to? The classic Venice-Firenze-Rome route or some other towns included? Maybe Siena or Pisa, Lucca? I’m curious! And which place or location did you love the most?

      Like

      Reply

      1. We visited Firence and Venice. I enjoyed early morning strolls in Florence and of course all the artwork and architecture. But, my favorite was Venice because I do love narrow side streets with interesting shops and such, along with the canals. Several years ago, we visited Rome too. =) We have recently moved to France. My husband’s grandmother was full Italian (born on the boat on her family’s way to Ellis Island the gateway to the US way back then). She raised my husband, and he feels so at home in Italy. I’m sure we will go back again and again. Do you recommend Siena, Pisa, and Lucca? Any other recommendations. =)

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Italy is wonderful all over. 🙂 I recommend renting a car and doing it at your own pace, including little towns with no public transport. I haven’t been south of Rome at all yet, neither to Sicily, Sardinia or Cinque Terre, but around me – I’m half way between Siena and Rome – I recommend most of all Pitigliano, Terme di Saturnia, Orvieto, Massa Marittima, to name but a few places. And Siena and Lucca, of course! (Pisa has the tower but not so much beside it.) How was the sea in Venice now? I heard that after really high levels it went down considerably and the gondollas were stuck in the mud! 😮

        Like

      3. All of the places you mentioned sound (and look as I looked them up) wonderful. I think this Spring, we’ll take a trip to Sardinia as we might look at a French language school in Corsica. Renting a car is a good idea. We traveled by bus for this trip. It was a 12 hour ride from Perpignan to Florence.

        For Venice, we read about the flooding and the opposite, but arrived just after the gondollas were stranded. The water levels seemed to be normal. Thank you so much for your suggestions!!

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Haha, you would now, Joey. That day was about 10 degrees C, and my friend who lives by the sea (whereas this was inland that we met) complained of the cold. I’ve been wearing my winter cold now, but this winter I had to wait till January to need it. Before it was much too hot for it.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  15. Pingback: Thursday Doors, 6/2/20: Bagnaia, part 1 – Manja Mexi Mexcessive
  16. Pingback: Pic and a Word #298: Divine – An Embarrassment of Riches

Happy to learn the first thing on your mind.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.