We are having a marvellous Italian adventure and, as always, we are meeting the most wonderful people because of our shared interest in the labyrinth. I will write about Alatri and its labyrinth on my Ariadne’s Thread site once we are home and can access all our photos….. But for now, let me just share a bit about our walk up and around the Acropolis. We started, of course with coffee:

We then set out through a flurry of snowflakes mixed with hail to visit the immense and ancient Acropolis. Crowning the top of the hill, it offers fabulous views in every direction, and is an ancient engineering marvel with megalithic stones layered on top of each other to provide a flat surface which has been holy ground for more than 2500 years. Our walk took us around its perimeter where we could see just how tightly the huge stones fit together, even forming recognisable geometrical designs. We then walked up into the grounds now occupied by the Alatri Cathedral, which itself was built on the site of an older temple. Holy ground, indeed! Perhaps this photo of me on the stairs will give some sense of scale. Even wrapped in my layers of snow clothes, I look tiny in comparison with the giant stones:

Awed by the marvels of the construction and the timelessness of the site, we paused to appreciate the view: