Who would have thought Foligno was so much fun

Friday 10 – Sunday 12 April 2026 |

Arrival in Foligno

Only 60km north of Terni, we alighted the train at Foligno.  This small town of perhaps 50,000 people is known for first publishing ‘The Divine Comedie’, the infamous work of the Italian writer, thinker and general genius, Dante Alighieri, in 1472.

We had reserved a double room with shared bathroom just outside the old city walls.  It was within easy walking distance from all the ‘attractions’ and was light and airy. 

The room had no kettle, a common feature of Italian rooms, and no common kitchen.  This is where Dad’s travel water heater finally came into its own.  I sorely regretted not taking it to Morroco in 2025, and wasn’t going to make the same mistake again.

Is that tango music I hear?

Eating our lunch in the Park dei Canape, just near our apartment, I heard tango music – stopping and starting – like happens when someone is teaching a tango lesson.

Inspired, I searched to see if tango was alive and well in this remote Itaian village. The answer was YES.  A lesson and Milonga the very next night! I arranged to go.

The Modern Art

The Calamita Cosmica (The Cosmic Magnet, 1988) by Gino de Dominicus is a 24-meter human inspired skeletal sculpture that represents the connection of humans, the cosmos and God.

The ticket included entry to the Museum of Contemporary Art, which we visited the next day.

Wandering around the Old City

The old city was easy to navigate. Actually it was very hard to get lost as the old city walls kept you inside like a pinball machine.

The streets had a familar feel, with paved walkways and three storey houses packed in on either-side.

Finding Pizza

Vegetarian food is mostly easy to find in Italy, but vegan, without cheese, much, much harder. Determined to eat some pizza we wandered back and forth past very expensive eateriers, until we finally found a cafe filled with locals. Two large slices of pizza and two drinks all for E10.  The best value we had seen all night.

Tango and strange footwear

Olivia and I set off at 7pm to walk to the tango venue in the newer part of town. There was a lesson at 8pm and Milonga at 9:15pm which actually started at 10pm (The Italians and Argentinians have somethings in common.)

I had only brought two pairs of shoes on this trip. My rubber croc slides and a pair of Merrell hiking shoes.  Neither are suitable for dancing, so I had to make do with socks with the inner soles of my hiking shoes stuffed inside to provide some protection.

The evening was great fun, and enough dancers spoke some English for me to get by.  The socks were clearly an unusual choice for a formal evening and gained some attention. At one point, Marco, who I had previously danced the fast milonga with, invited me to a tango by taking off his shoes and dancing in his socks. Solidarity.

Evie, another dancer who I spent some time talking to took pity on my poor, tired feet. As the hour started to approach midnight she insisted that we swap footwear. 

I was a little concerned that anyone would wish to slide their nice clean toes into my skanky makeshift footwear – but decided that life is short and offers are genuine.  We swapped shoes for the next three tandas. Bliss.

Orthodox Easter

I walked back from tango at 12:30am, sticking to the main roads for safety, but I didn’t need to.

The town was hopping!  People everywhere, carrying candles, talking, yound adults spilling out of bars.

My inquiries revealed that this was the Orthodox Easter Saturday and midnight heralded the day of the resurrection. 

I clearly I had a late night, so the only thing that happened the next morning was us boarding the 11:08 am train, headed to Pergugia.