Italian Slow Walks

The Stupendous, but Empty Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

Santatatiana — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 08:13:19 +0000

The mausoleum of the Roman Empress Galla Placidia in Ravenna dates from around 430 AD, making it one of the oldest monuments in Ravenna. Most probably, its very modest external appearance won’t strike your imagination. The mausoleum is a rather squat building made of red brick. Because of subsidence, it sank 4.5 feet into the ground over the centuries. The building is built according to a simple Greek cross plan (40 feet by 30 feet) and is decorated only by blind semi-arches. The mausoleum was initially attached to the church of Saint Cross that was also built by Galla Placidia and can be seen in the background. Now it stands in the backyard of the Basilica San Vitale under branchy pines.

When I entered the building, I lost my breath for a long moment. So glorious and entirely unexpected were Byzantine mosaics covering nearly all its surface. The dominant color was deep azure and gleaming gold. After initial stupefaction, I was caught by a feeling of profound peace and harmony. I could not tear myself away from the ceiling I gazed and gazed till my head began swimming. Concentric circles of golden stars against a background of dark blue sky hypnotized me. In fact, there are 800 big and small stars! A whole Universe! It seemed that the stars were slowly gyrating around the golden celestial cross that was situated in the dead centre of the vault. In each corner of the ceiling, there were ancient symbols of four Evangelists: a winged human for Matthew, a winged lion for Mark, a winged ox – for Luke and an eagle for John. These figures seemed to be floating in the infinite Heaven.

Recollecting the Record Snow of 1956 in Abruzzo

Santatatiana — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:34:29 +0000

I hope, this is my last post about the record snow in Abruzzo. Today, we are expecting a warm spell which will kill the snow. But who knows! Today I went across the snow field to visit my new friends. The snow is almost knee-deep and is rather solid. So I managed to move not sinking in below its surface.

Signor Albano is a Montesilvano native. He has been living here all his life, except 9 years of emigration in Germany. In 1956, he was fourteen and remembers that time very well. He said that in 1956, there was far more snow and the temperature was lower. There were hard times because they had to survive on their own.

Here I give word-for-word his eyewitness account.
The snow began on February 2 and lasted till March 20. In Montesilvano, the snow was 1.5 meters high. In those days, there were only three houses in the neighborhood. All the territory was occupied by fields and olive plantations.

Their family had a small plot of land where they cultivated olives, grain and vegetables. They also raised chickens, some pigs, cows and sheep. They lived on what the land brought them. They were relatively better-off because they were small land owners and didn’t work under the mezzadria (métayage) system. That means that a family rented a plot from a big landowner and gave him half of the harvest.

That winter, they had enough grain, flour and oil, so the big family which consisted of 14 mouths didn’t starve. They used to barter their prods for manufactured goods or meat. There was neither electricity nor gas, so they heated the house with a firewood stove. They also had to keep their animals and poultry in the house. They hadn’t got a car or a tractor, and actually there weren’t asphalt roads, only one earth road. Of course, nobody cleaned the road. If they needed to go somewhere, they harnessed a cow to a cart to pull them through the snowy road. They didn’t keep a horse because it was very expensive. That year, nearly all the plants were perished from the frost, and that is why the next autumn the crops were poor.

Signor Albano also told me some interesting facts about the history of Montesilvano and his family story. At the beginning of the 20th century, this area was entirely agricultural. There were some fishermen huts on the seaside but all the inland was occupied by fields. Actually, there were only two big landlords who owned the land in Montesilvano and Cappelle sul Tavo. His grandfather was “nobody’s son”, that means that he was a natural child of a landlord and a peasant girl. When he was 18 years old, he immigrated to America. He stayed there many years and managed to save up a certain sum of money. When he returned home in 1903, he bought two plots of land. Now, his 57 descendants still own these plots. Signor Albano owns a small olive plantation.

Though Sg. Albano worked all his life as a motor mechanic, he has built two houses all by himself. In fact, the houses of his family make a whole lane. His father’s house built of sand and terra still stands in the corner of the street but nobody lives there.

I was amused to know that the whole micro-district of new houses (palazzi), including my own, occupies a former field. It belonged to the signora who grew vegetables and sold them on the local market. When she died ten years ago, her heirs sold the lot to developers.

Previous posts
Snow White Abruzzo
One More Snow Walk in Abruzzo
Snow Graphics in Abruzzo
Great Fun in Pescara after the Record Snowfall
Abruzzo Snow Hits in 1956 and 2012

Cioccolato + San Valentino = Cioccolentino

Santatatiana — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:23:25 +0000

What is the best place to celebrate the Day of St. Valentine in Italy?
Of course, the innamorati, those who love, dream to go to Terni, the city of Saint Valentine where he lived in 176-273. The beautiful basilica of St. Valentine holds his relics. On the eve of St. Valentine’s Day, the city hosts the chocolate festival “Cioccolentino”, dedicated to all chocolate lovers. Last year, 100,000 guests attended the festival, among them 1,500 loving couples who declared their love. The guests consumed 95 quintals of chocolate!

This year, the 9th edition of “Cioccolentino” takes place on February 10-14. The program includes many exciting events; first of all, tasting of handmade chocolates. Children and their parents can participate in workshops to learn all the secrets of making chocolate under the guidance of expert chocolatiers. Chocolate stands which represent Italian desserts produced by famous Italian confectioners are situated all over the historic center.

The main attractions are chocolate models of famous historic buildings of Terni, among them, the Basilica of St. Valentine, the Palace of Spada, the Arc of Carsulae and the Torrone di Colleluna. The latter will be offered to visitors (100 pounds of dark chocolate!) on February 14th, 2012. Schools of hoteliers take part in the international competition “Una torta per San Valentino”. A special competition for the bravest chocolate eater will be held. The winner, who will eat as much as possible chocolate in two minutes, will gain 10 kilograms of chocolate!

On Sunday 12, there was celebrated a very special “Festa della Promessa”. Betrothed couples who marry this year come from all over Italy to give a symbolic oath of love in front of the Bishop of Terni and the Mayor. Couples who are married for 25 or 50 years, take part in events “Festa delle Nozze d’Argento” and “Festa delle Nozze d’Oro”.

Photo credit: http://www.ricetteok.it/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/piazza_pan_spagna_cioccolentino.jpg

Abruzzo Snow Hits in 1956 and 2012

Santatatiana — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 15:50:48 +0000

Yesterday I read a very interesting article “The snowfall of winter 1956” by P.Badia. It struck me how this snowfall is similar to that of 1956. As in 1956, this winter was very mild and even on January 21st, it was +14. But there were severe storms with lightning and thunder all the January. An extremely strong wind howled ominously like a giant beast. I felt that those wild tempests boded something extraordinary. I was afraid of the earthquake. In fact, there were several earth tremors in the North of Italy on January 25. As in 1956, snowfalls started in the North and reached Abruzzo at the very beginning of February. Hope that the winter won’t last till the end of March, as in 1956!
Today, I ventured to go to a supermarket. When I opened our back door, I saw almost untouched snow with few deep footprints. A small car was left in the center of the yard. The snow was nearly 0.5 meters high. This morning Bodach of aboutabruzzo.com wrote me from Loreto Aprutino, situated 20 km inland from Montesilvano, that they were “enjoying” about a meter of snow fall. But even with half a meter, it was not so very comfortable to move about since the snow was very wet and friable. On the roads, there were already rather deep puddles.
There were very many broken pine trees since their umbrella crowns can’t hold heavy snow. I noticed a man standing perplexed near his car which was completely buried under broken branches. Fortunately, it wasn’t seriously hurt.
There were surprisingly many people in the streets. Usually, the streets are empty but the roads are full of cars. Today it was vice versa. I didn’t expect that so many people live in Montesilvano Marina in winter. Folks were very busy cleaning snow in front of their houses, digging out cars and trying to start an engine. Many families with kids went shopping. It was rather difficult to move in the main street because pavements here are very narrow and, of course, they were covered with deep snow.
Apart from temporary difficulties, there are certain pleasures as well.
Snow views are stunning. I can’t stop making photos of snow.
I noticed that these days nearly everybody, even complete strangers, greet me heartedly. It seems that the snow blockade has drawn people closer to each other.
I was happy to see that the little orange tree has survived the severe weather and kept its golden fruits on the branches.

Previous posts
Snow White Abruzzo
One More Snow Walk in Abruzzo
Snow Graphics in Abruzzo
Great Fun in Pescara after the Record Snowfall

Great Fun in Pescara after the Record Snowfall

Santatatiana — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 16:22:05 +0000

Yesterday Abruzzo region was strongly hit by snowfall. In fact, it was snowing all day long. Old-timers say, it was the record snowstorm since 1956.

This morning was sunny and bright, so I decided to go to nearby Pescara to make historic shots. It was very strange to see Pescara covered by snow. There was a lot of people in Corso Umberto, as if it was a big holiday. When I came to the lungomare, seafront, I was astonished to see crowds of people in the beach. They enjoyed the snow and the bright weather. Especially, children were happy to play with snow. Adults and kids played at snowballs, made fancy snowmen, took pictures.

Previous posts
Snow White Abruzzo
One More Snow Walk in Abruzzo
Snow Graphics in Abruzzo

Snow Graphics in Abruzzo

Santatatiana — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:33:47 +0000

Yesterday, there was a bright sunny day. Streets were almost dry and only small heaps of grey snow and big piles of broken pine branches reminded of recent snow storms. I hoped strongly that the snow was over.

When I woke up today and looked out of the window, I could see nothing. Everything was cloaked by thick white veil. It is still heavy snowing. Big fluffy snowflakes are falling at my balcony which is already half covered by snow. Our courtyard and the field under my balcony are buried under thick snow. Olive trees are heavy loaded by snow caps.

Life and even death are blocked by snow in Abruzzo. A week ago, my neighbor’s mother passed away. Her relatives from Foggia couldn’t come to attend the funeral. The worse thing is that the late is not still buried because of the state of emergency. The coffin is kept in the cemetery office.I am really sorry for that.

As for me, I take advantage of my temporary isolation. I make curious shots from my balcony and do a lot of blogging since nothing distracts me from writing. Fortunately, the Internet, mobile communication, electricity and gas supply function without failure. I am happy that I live in an apartment in the condominium in a seaside city, but not in a cottage in the mountains!

Previous posts
Snow White Abruzzo
One More Snow Walk in Abruzzo

One More Snow Walk in Abruzzo

Santatatiana — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:47:26 +0000

This morning, I suddenly saw that water was dripping down from the roof. So I decided to go to the beach. Surprisingly enough, my bus arrived very quickly. On my way to the beach, I saw two youngsters who were cleaning the snow! At least, they were holding spades. They appeared to be volunteers at the Protezione Civile.

The sea was stormy. I admired the scenery of heavy waves breaking against big stones. The snow near the water has already melted. I made my usual stroll along the beach. Fishing boats were laid up. The coast was empty, except one brave cyclist and his dog. I was very sorry to see several dead seagulls.

I reached the big pier at the end of the beach. Though it was rather misty, I managed to make some shots of surrounding hills. It is possible to recognize distant silhouettes of hilltowns – Citta Sant’Angello and Silvi Paese.

Today it is already +7. I hope that the snow is melting away. Roads are almost dry. What we need, is a good rain which will thaw the snow.

Previous post
Snow White Abruzzo

Snow White Abruzzo

Santatatiana — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:05:34 +0000

It is the fourth day of heavy snow fall in Abruzzo. When I look out of my window, it seems to me that I am in Russia. To be more precise, I feel as if I am in Russian village because you can’t see such dazzling white snow in Moscow. It is very light in my room, in spite of cloudy weather.

When I woke up on Friday morning, I understood that the snow had arrived in Abruzzo. Though it was rather early, my room was white-lit. The light was coming not from the sky but from the ground. I wasn’t happy at all because I remembered last snowfall in December 2010. Then, I had certain difficulties with moving in the city, shopping and so on. So I rushed to the nearby supermarket to buy special shoes and food. Luckily, I could buy all that in one shopping centre. I bought “dopo sci” boots, or “after skiing”. When I was leaving the shop, all the party of boots was already sold. They proved to be very useful since they are warm, waterproof and antislip.

All schools, universities and public offices are closed till Wednesday. The President of the Abruzzo region Gianni Chiodi declared a state of emergency. He recommended prefects of 4 provinces of Abruzzo to turn to the Armed Forces “because of the continuing wave of violent storms and serious problems that are affecting all Abruzzo“. The Protezione Civile, civil defense, appealed to all citizens “to stay indoors and avoid dangerous situations”.

I believe that in the mountains the situation is really grave. I stay in Montesilvano Marina and the main problem here and in Pescara is that nobody cleans the streets and roads. I can roughly estimate that the snow cover near my house is already about 15-20 cm. They say that the administration of Pescara has in its disposal few snow ploughs, but doesn’t have money to pay workers. So people should “stay indoors” and take care of themselves. Another problem – local drivers aren’t accustomed to ride on ice and many of them haven’t got winter tyres. Drivers are recommended to use thermic tyres and chains. Snow tyres were forbidden in Italy 10 years ago. Yesterday, I saw in our courtyard a very cute gadget on the front wheel of an elegant VW. I asked my neighbor, “what is it?”. He said that it is a winter “sock”.

Today I went out to make shopping and take pictures. It was about +2, but the snow was hard and crackled under my boots. I saw a mimosa tree which just started to blossom but was broken by heavy snow cap. It was such a pity. I picked few branches from a broken tree and brought home.

In supermarket, customers made serious purchases and shelves were already half empty. Noteworthy, they were buying not only fresh meat and fruits but prods of long conservation, as well. Normally, Italians ignore bottled and frozen goods.

Since I live in Russia, I’m well accustomed to frost and snow. But here in Italy, it is rather difficult for me to cope with them. In Moscow, heavy snowfall can cause traffic jams but surely won’t be a disaster. Hundreds of snow ploughs and thousands of migrant street cleaners would work day and night cleaning streets, roads and yards. Of course, winter season in Russia continues nearly 5 months and in Italy sometimes winter doesn’t come. So there isn’t necessary to keep lots of snow ploughs and street cleaners, but it should be a certain financial reserve in case of emergency. Since Abruzzo is generally an agricultural region, there are many tractors which provided minor retooling can be used to clean snow. Besides, unemployment rate is very high and it is possible to organize public works to clean the snow.

Old-timers told me that in bygone days, there used to be more continental climate in Abruzzo. Winters were snowy and frosty, and summers more hot and dry. Now there are only three seasons – summer, autumn and spring. One of them recollected that in 1950s the snow cover was so high that he called a tractor in order to bring his wife to maternity hospital.

I like very much mild Mediterranean climate of Abruzzo. Winter is more warm and sunny here, than in the North of Italy. Summer is not so hot, as in the South and even in the North. I’d rather prefer a three-season year without winter!

Ravenna, the World Capital of Mosaics

Santatatiana — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:46:38 +0000

I have launched a new blog “Mediaeval Walks”! In my new blog, I want to write about stunning mediaeval places “beyond Abruzzo” in Italy, Russia and Europe. I will press here brief notices about new posts.

Ravenna was a thriving city in the Dark Ages. It is striking that Ravenna became several times a capital of Roman and Gothic states. In 402, Emperor Honorius transferred the capital of the Western Roman Empire from Milan to Ravenna. It remained the capital until the Western Empire collapsed in 476, leaving Constantinople the only capital of the Roman world.

Eight early Christian monuments of Ravenna are included in the World Heritage List.

Neonian Baptistery (c. 430);

Mausoleum of Galla Placidia (c. 430);

Arian Baptistry (c. 500);

Archiepiscopal Chapel (c. 500);

Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo (c. 500);

Mausoleum of Theodoric (520);

Basilica of San Vitale (548);

Basilica of Sant’Apollinare in Classe (549).

Procession of the Re Magi – The Three Wise Kings

Santatatiana — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 17:35:38 +0000

This charming guest post is contributed by Nora Smyth, who is passionate about Italy and writes about her Italian impressions in her beautiful blog “Enchanting Italy”. See more pictures in Nora’s blog.

The traditional Christmas holiday season in Italy lasts from December 8th through to the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6th. Last January at this time of the year I was in Stresa, Lake Maggiore with my husband John and our daughter Amy. Each year Stresa performs a re-enactment of the arrival of the Three Wise Kings bearing gifts for the Baby Jesus – ‘The Annual Procession of the Re Magi’ and we wanted to be there to witness it. This day is a national holiday in Italy.
Amy, then aged 10, loved to dress up in costume and asked the owner of the hotel where we were staying if any of the spectators were going to be in costume. He said he was actually one of the organizers of the event and had a room full of costumes that she could try on and be one of the participants. She was delighted with this news. Then he asked if we too would like to take part in the actual procession – we were so honoured to get this chance.
At noon, as part of the festivities, food and drinks were provided in Piazza Cadorna in the centre of the town. Long tables were set up in the middle of the square and there was a fun atmosphere. It was nice to see the town when it was not full of tourists. The whole event is organized for the locals and the people of the surrounding area by Pro Loco Stresa with the cooperation of various associations in the town and about 50 costumed participants.
There was a choice of polenta with wild boar (cinghiale), gorgonzola cheese, tripe and ravioli, panini with grilled sausages (salamella) and apple fritters. We liked the polenta with a mushroom sauce (funghi). Many of the people from the town volunteered to help with the cooking and the serving of the food. It was a cold day but the vin brulé that was also served kept us feeling warm inside. There were also logs positioned around the piazza cut with beautiful star designs and a fire lit in the centre that warmed us also.
At 2pm a narrator accompanied the spectators to visit the various workshops of old crafts set up along the route. A flock of sheep and cute little goats also accompanied the procession along with two horses and the donkey which carried Mary. Amy especially loved seeing the animals. We arrived at the Palazzo dei Congressi to change into our costumes at 3pm. I was curious about the men with the black soot on their faces and when I asked our friend Giuseppe about them he said that they represented chimney sweeps. Since the early 1800s, many of the men from Valle Vigezzo to the north worked as chimney sweeps (spazzacamini). There is now a museum in Santa Maria Maggiore dedicated to their work and so they have a special role for the local people in this particular event.
At 3.30 the procession began. Before we left from the Palazzo dei Congressi, one of the organizers told the participants not to carry any bags, cameras or mobile phones in order to give the procession a more authentic look. I handed my camera to Giuseppe and he kindly took photos for us.
First to leave were Joseph with Mary on the donkey. Then the pipers, shepherds, chimney sweeps, and adorable angels headed towards the manger. We followed behind Gaspare (Gaspar) from the Palazzo dei Congressi and met up with Baldassarre (Balthazar) at Piazza San Michele. We had hot chocolate with Melchiorre (Melchior) on via Anna Maria Bolongaro. The thick velvety robes also helped keep us warm. It was funny going into the little coffee shop with everyone dressed up.
When everyone reunited at 4pm there was a meeting at the ‘Court of Herod’ represented by the staircase at Villa Ducale on the lungolago. The narrator told the story over the sound system. From here, the entire procession moved to the manger arranged in a cave in the park of the Villa Ducale. When the Kings bestowed their gifts upon the Bambino Gesù in the manger, we stood facing the scene and the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah played from the loudspeakers. The music and lighting was provided by a company from nearby Baveno (called Easy Way) which made everything look and sound very professional. It was an emotionally evocative experience to witness this.
The whole organization of this procession and the way everyone came together to make it happen, hit me at that moment. It really was an amazing spectacle, even better than I imagined. I was surprised that the Baby Jesus was actually a real baby, who slept peacefully throughout the proceedings. My eyes filled with tears as the music played and the illuminated scene shone before me and the realization struck me that I too was a part of it. I felt like a real Stresiana for that moment and it was a good feeling…
If you happen to be in Stresa on January 6th, be sure to join in with the festivities of the Festa dell’Epifania. If you are elsewhere in Italy on that date look out for similar pageants taking place. Many towns and villages have processions ending with a living nativity scene (presepe vivente). They are often presented from December 24-26th and then repeated for the Epiphany. It is an event not to be missed!