Calcata floating in the valley of the Treja River

…is the medieval hill town we have traveled an hour north of Rome to visit this morning – having been on the top of my list of obscure places to visit in Italy for years – which was the supposed home of the Holy Prepuce (foreskin of Jesus) and later condemned and vacated in the 1930’s for fear it would collapse (the original inhabitants relocated to a neighboring modern town built for them) then gradually settled by hippy new-agey artists in the 1970’s – one of whom we were lucky enough to meet on the streets who invited us into the cavernous series spaces that comprise his studio and home – the lowest level going down to the original raw Etruscan stone floors – with occasional tiny windows framing views out to the Treja River Vally that the town seems to float above. (more from the New York Times and Wikipedia)