One of our last walks was to Monte Luce; and, coming back towards Perugia, we stopped and watched the sun set; as it sank behind the purple, bleak hills the sky above them was blood-red; higher up, stretched in long broad lines, was a mass of greenish slate-coloured clouds. On the right these were reft, and showed a sea of golden glory; while, still higher, clouds of paler grey sailed over a rosy veil that stretched itself across a sky of luminous green. As we went on, the blood-red tint paled and faded; the clouds above took a darker hue, and loomed, with storm-laden, broken edges, over the deep valley that lay between where we stood and the projecting bastion, a view crowned by the weird tower of San Domenico. This stood up in startling vividness against the almost appalling gloom that had so quickly gathered.
Around us the view opened widely, the triple range of hills showed a sullen grey of differing tints; on some of them, where the light was lurid with a tawny tinge, it was plainly raining; yet, although thunder seemed imminent in the humid clouds that hung lower and lower over the valley, we were told that probably there would not be a storm at Perugia. Certainly, we had perfect atmosphere and perfect weather. The hill-city seemed to us in all ways very healthy--a place where winter and spring, summer and autumn, might alike be spent with charm and profit by those travellers who love the nature and art of Italy.
The most interesting part of the journey to Cortona is the view of Lake Thrasymene, with its reedy shores and islands, near the picturesque little town of Passignano.
As one leaves the station below Cortona, and mounts the hill to the grandly placed town, Thrasymene comes in sight again, and adds much to the beauty of the landscape. It is almost worth while to go to Cortona for the sake of the drive up from the station, and the exquisite view from the city walls, ponderous marvels of stone-work. But Cortona is not a desirable place to sleep in. The inn, when we stayed there, was not at all comfortable, and although the town is placed at such a height, the moss growing outside the houses tells how damp is the atmosphere.
If Perugia had seemed ancient, Cortona appeared antediluvian. According to the old historians, Perugia sent soldiers to fight against Troy, but Cortona boasts of having given birth to Dardanus, the founder of Assisi.