Bine ați venit în România!
Piero: we land in Bucharest early in the morning. As soon as we leave the airport, we are greeted by that Balkan wind that smells of the East, but also of spring welcoming us: have you noticed how similar the language is to Italian?
Angela: we pick up the van — clean, shiny, ready — and immediately head north. We’re skipping Bucharest on this trip; it will deserve a dedicated visit. Sinaia awaits us, a small and charming village where we booked our base.
Piero: we arrive in the afternoon, after crossing rolling hills and villages where time seems to have stopped in the '60s. Horses pulling carts, women with headscarves, pastel-colored little houses.
Angela: Sinaia is small and adorable. Elegant and the ideal destination for a tourism made of relaxation, walks, and fresh air. And behind, the snowy silhouette of the Carpathians. There’s a peace that relaxes your bones.
Piero: we settle into the van, take a short walk, and are already immersed in another world.
Angela: since our transfer took almost two hours, today we only have time for a first stop here.
Piero: exactly, we are headed to the Sinaia Monastery, founded in 1695 by Mihail Cantacuzino, a Wallachian nobleman, after a pilgrimage to Mount Sinai. Hence the town’s name.
Angela: at first it was just a small monastic settlement, but it quickly became important: the first monastery in Wallachia to be built entirely of stone. And above all, it became a spiritual beacon along the road that connected the south to the heart of Transylvania.
Piero: we enter through the monumental gate. Before us opens a quiet, well-kept courtyard, with gardens and cypress trees. In the center stands the Old Church, small and austere, with a carved stone portal. Inside, delicate 18th-century frescoes, still visible, and an icon of the Madonna venerated for centuries.
Angela: at first it was just a small monastic settlement, but it quickly became important: the first monastery in Wallachia to be built entirely of stone. And above all, it became a spiritual beacon along the road that connected the south to the heart of Transylvania.
Piero: we enter through the monumental gate. Before us opens a quiet, well-kept courtyard, with gardens and cypress trees. In the center stands the Old Church, small and austere, with a carved stone portal. Inside, delicate 18th-century frescoes, still visible, and an icon of the Madonna venerated for centuries.
Angela: on the walls there are biblical scenes, Orthodox saints, and figures of Romanian kings. It’s a church of representation, almost imperial. It is said that King Carol I also visited it, as he had his residence not far away, at Peleș Castle, which we will see on our last day.
Piero: in the adjacent museum, we discover a splendid collection of ancient books, carved crosses, liturgical textiles, and a Bucharest Bible from 1688: the first sacred text printed in Romanian.
Angela: leaving, we walk slowly under the linden trees. Time here seems to stand still. Every stone has a story, every fresco a prayer.
Piero: the feeling is that we have touched a deep, spiritual Romania that does not reveal itself to those who are in a hurry.
Angela: and so ends our first day in this land.
Piero: let’s enjoy our first evening in our little house, with the air, flavors, and scents typical of the mountains.
