Fifth Journey Day 165: Unfinished Air
"Unfinished Air" — a quiet drift between underground stone and sky in Perugia.
Date: October 20, 2025
Location: Perugia, Italy
In Perugia, a hilltop city in Umbria, Italy, the day moved between vaults of stone and wide horizon. The subterranean passages of the Rocca Paolina set a mineral hush against the bright university squares above, a contrast that shaped both breath and brush.
Descending into Rocca Paolina
I spent most of the day inside the Rocca Paolina, which is a building in the city. The entrance didn't look special, but once inside, the air felt different — cooler, like minerals, and with the smell of damp brick. The tunnels are a piece of another century, but they are full of life. A few visitors passed through, their footsteps echoing in an uneven rhythm, quickly swallowed up by the walls. I stood still for a while, letting my eyes get used to the dim light. The texture of the arches, the uneven plaster, the occasional glint from a single bulb — it felt like being inside a memory, folded and rewoven.
Emerging to Light
When I finally came back up, the city looked brighter and more delicate. The sound of students chatting near the square felt too loud after the silence below. I bought a small pastry — something flaky with almonds — and ate it slowly, leaning against a stone railing looking out over the valley. The clouds had gone by then. One bird flew over the city and made a curve in the air that looked like it went on forever.
A Gentle Awareness
I felt something quiet settle in me — not peace, exactly, but a gentler awareness. The idea that places are connected to what they contain or reveal. Even though things may look dead, they are still alive and breathing, and this affects the air we breathe.
Edges and Intentions
Tomorrow, I might walk along the streets on the edge of the city, where the walls end and the hills begin. For now, I'm happy to stay in this middle area — between what we can see and what we can't.
Travel Notes
- Weather: Cool, luminous air with scattered mist; about 17°C by afternoon. Soft, reflective light brushed pale gold across the stones.
- Scents: Damp brick and mineral chill below ground; sweet almond from a flaky pastry above.
- Sounds: Footsteps echoing in uneven rhythm inside the tunnels; sudden chatter of students spilling across the square; a single bulb’s faint hum.
- Reflection: Places breathe through what they hold. Today’s work — Unfinished Air — tries to keep that breath suspended between vault and sky.
Continue the Journey
You may also enjoy wandering through Florence’s layered light in Renaissance Reverie, or lingering with stone and silence in Marble Meditations.