It's getting chilly

Got back from Milan on Monday evening, and it had turned cold in Rome. This will be the first week that I haven't worn sandals every day since we arrived in June.

It's not freezing or anything. Supposedly it's 61 degrees Farenheit (16 C) now and will go down to 44 (6.7 C) tonight. It's cold enough in the office to require wearing a jacket. See, one cannot turn on the heat in Italy until the government says so. In Rome, that date is November 1, and the heat can only remain on for 12 hours per day. Even in your own private home.

An Italian told me that they have to conserve energy because they import so much oil and gas from Russia (rather than produce their own energy supply, I guess).

Good thing we brought sweaters and mittens!

Sutri

About an hour from Rome is a town called Sutri, which is chock full o' Etruscan archaeological sites. There are also some Roman ones about, such as this amphitheater, which dates from 53 BC.



The Etruscans, as you might already know, predated the Romans. They built a Necropolis (cemetery) in Sutri. Sarcophagi and urn niches are carved into tufa rock.



Horses grazed in the field we passed by. That's the modern (medieval) town in the background.



Inside a cave is a church called Madonna del Parto. Some believe it was originally an Etruscan tomb, then converted into a mithraeum, a temple to the Persian god Mithras (commonly worshipped in Roman times).



One of the town squares features a fountain and a clock tower.