It's been a tumultuous weekend.....
Our neighbor, Claudio, died on Friday of an unexpected and brief illness.
Claudio was a robust, full-hearted Marchegiano--(of our region, Le Marche)--and he was the heart of our little burg.
He always greeted us with a full-throttled, "Buon Giorno," and he loved to talk---drifting in the window, his conversations were a comforting backdrop to summer breezes and daily life. These last few days I've missed his voice---and what a voice! A distinctive, thin, high-pitched, nasal voice--full of life and vigor and energy, uniquely his.
He was curious...about our visitors and flying in an airplane and what it was like driving in London and what Paris was like in spring and what we eat when we're in California. He wasn't sophisticated or well-travelled, but he was a good businessman, a good man.
Claudio was emotional: he still teared up when he talked about his wife who died 20 years ago and was speechless when he saw his great-grandchildren. He was proud of his son, Silvano, and daughter-in-law, Laura, the new house they've built from scratch, and of the successful business he conceived and grew to support his family.
But mostly, Claudio was kind. He was unassuming and grounded and quirky and full of life. We will miss him.
The funeral service was on Saturday at our local church, L'Abbadia di San Ruffino; it was a full-on Catholic mass and the church was packed, which made my heart happy. (I guess living in one place for 80 years you get to know a lot of people!)
Trying to follow the liturgy (it was all in Italian), my mind drifted off--watching the other mourners, looking at the church (in existence since Roman times), and feeling the calm of the service and the people. Not being of any particular religious persuasion, I am fascinated, curious and moved by the comfort ritual brings to those in pain. Ritual provides calm in the midst of chaos; it brings the known to the unknown; it provides the strength, compassion and will to move ahead; Rituals offer solace and succor.
I believe we all need to believe in something greater than ourselves; but I also believe that something is different for everyone and we are responsible for finding that something for ourselves.
All this before noon on Saturday.....
then we had a meeting scheduled with the plumber and the builder for the bathroom renovation project @ 12:30....they were late, it was lunchtime...so, I walked around the garden and saw our family snake...yep, you read that correctly. I've been talking to everyone about this friggin' snake and told them it was a meter long and looked exactly like a viper (me and Google are very good friends on the VIPER SNAKE SEARCH) and EVERYONE, to a person, pats me (figuratively or literally) on the head and tells me to stai tranquilla, stay calm, we don't have meter-long snakes in Italy. And, vipers don't get that big....don't get hysterical you American woman who knows nothing about snakes.
So there was my snake--I got my camera and took the picture below....
I took my trusty camera to dinner with me that evening and showed my snake around...Luciana, the chef at the restaurant, called in a local snake expert. Our snake, I think I'll call him Creepy, is a water snake. They're not dangerous, but will bite if provoked---I'm not getting that close. But I will check daily to see if Creepy is still sunning himself so I can sto tranquilla.
Sunday Morning:
Think of it as a Rose Parade Float on the ground...Servigliano, a medieval walled town close by, celebrates The Feast of Corpus Christi by laying out flowers on the streets around the main piazza. When the mass is over, the celebrants walk out of the church, in a procession, and through the flowers. We went early and caught the residents mid-decorating, a communal labor of love. A beautiful counterpoint to a tumultuous few days.
Our neighbor, Claudio, died on Friday of an unexpected and brief illness.
Claudio was a robust, full-hearted Marchegiano--(of our region, Le Marche)--and he was the heart of our little burg.
He always greeted us with a full-throttled, "Buon Giorno," and he loved to talk---drifting in the window, his conversations were a comforting backdrop to summer breezes and daily life. These last few days I've missed his voice---and what a voice! A distinctive, thin, high-pitched, nasal voice--full of life and vigor and energy, uniquely his.
He was curious...about our visitors and flying in an airplane and what it was like driving in London and what Paris was like in spring and what we eat when we're in California. He wasn't sophisticated or well-travelled, but he was a good businessman, a good man.
Claudio was emotional: he still teared up when he talked about his wife who died 20 years ago and was speechless when he saw his great-grandchildren. He was proud of his son, Silvano, and daughter-in-law, Laura, the new house they've built from scratch, and of the successful business he conceived and grew to support his family.
But mostly, Claudio was kind. He was unassuming and grounded and quirky and full of life. We will miss him.
_________________________________________________
The funeral service was on Saturday at our local church, L'Abbadia di San Ruffino; it was a full-on Catholic mass and the church was packed, which made my heart happy. (I guess living in one place for 80 years you get to know a lot of people!)
Trying to follow the liturgy (it was all in Italian), my mind drifted off--watching the other mourners, looking at the church (in existence since Roman times), and feeling the calm of the service and the people. Not being of any particular religious persuasion, I am fascinated, curious and moved by the comfort ritual brings to those in pain. Ritual provides calm in the midst of chaos; it brings the known to the unknown; it provides the strength, compassion and will to move ahead; Rituals offer solace and succor.
I believe we all need to believe in something greater than ourselves; but I also believe that something is different for everyone and we are responsible for finding that something for ourselves.
____________________________________________________
All this before noon on Saturday.....
then we had a meeting scheduled with the plumber and the builder for the bathroom renovation project @ 12:30....they were late, it was lunchtime...so, I walked around the garden and saw our family snake...yep, you read that correctly. I've been talking to everyone about this friggin' snake and told them it was a meter long and looked exactly like a viper (me and Google are very good friends on the VIPER SNAKE SEARCH) and EVERYONE, to a person, pats me (figuratively or literally) on the head and tells me to stai tranquilla, stay calm, we don't have meter-long snakes in Italy. And, vipers don't get that big....don't get hysterical you American woman who knows nothing about snakes.
So there was my snake--I got my camera and took the picture below....
 |
| Creepy, huh? and at least a meter long! |
I took my trusty camera to dinner with me that evening and showed my snake around...Luciana, the chef at the restaurant, called in a local snake expert. Our snake, I think I'll call him Creepy, is a water snake. They're not dangerous, but will bite if provoked---I'm not getting that close. But I will check daily to see if Creepy is still sunning himself so I can sto tranquilla.
_______________________________________________________
Sunday Morning:
Think of it as a Rose Parade Float on the ground...Servigliano, a medieval walled town close by, celebrates The Feast of Corpus Christi by laying out flowers on the streets around the main piazza. When the mass is over, the celebrants walk out of the church, in a procession, and through the flowers. We went early and caught the residents mid-decorating, a communal labor of love. A beautiful counterpoint to a tumultuous few days.
 |
| People are responsible for decorating the street in front of their homes. |
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People ask me all the time, what do you do while you're in Italy? We live. We go to the grocery store and the gym, cook, have guests over, go to our book club, take walks, go to the beach, make paper....This last weekend has plunged us into Italian life fully, encompassing the joys and the sorrows. We live. We grab every minute and squeeze tight. We live.
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Eat Well, Travel Often
