Spontaneous Gardens

spontaneous sidewalk gardens 

Along with  Northern Lazio ‘s   numerous  majestic, historic gardens with  pedigrees going back hundreds of years,  there are  humble sidewalk and piazza gardens which are the spontaneous labor of love of the  inhabitants.  

the giant jasmine climbs the wall  on Vicolo del Sole 

Here are a few examples  I noticed  this week, all within a few minutes  of my home.

Piazza S. Egidio (or Piazza Garibaldi ) 

jasmine  thrive on the sunny corner of the piazza 

Adriana  takes pride in her  corner of Piazza S. Egidio, caring for  plants such as this  azalea left behind by previous owners  who  returned to America.

Adrianna's  azaleas 

Marcella and  husband Spartaco are the self appointed guardian/gardeners of  Piazza del Sole.  A white azalea, once belonging to Marcella’s  mother, along with hundreds of roses and other plants  beautify the piazza thanks  to the personal care  of this couple in their 80s.

Franco's wall garden   

Marcella of Piazza  del Sole 

American visitors in Piazza del Sole  with Angelino and Spartaco (right)

Some towns  have flower festivals and  motivate  citizens, often with cash prizes,  to beautify  their  streets thus attracting tourists.  Spello in Umbria is an example along with  the mid-June  Festival of Fiori in Finestra e Cene in Cantina here in Vetralla. 

 Luckily  most citizens do not wait for official recognition nor annual festivals for they look after their spontaneous gardens all year round.

an abandoned corner  

Sometimes  a spontaneous garden  blooms not  with flowers. 

a bombed out building 

became  a  quirky  garden 

This half wrecked  building on a side street of the historic center,  has been left in ruins since  World War II  and was nothing more than an eyesore and dumping ground. 

a wall of memories 

That is until  a fireworks technician  with a well developed aesthetic sense  came to live  nearby.

  Lately  the area has been  transformed  by  the hard work of one   anonymous neighbor who cleaned up the rubble, transforming the  area into a quirky  garden. 

the  cantinas were cleared  of rubble 

found in the wreckage, 

Using  bits and pieces  found  on site, he created a wall of memories, setting  the stones  into  piles and inserting  objects found among the rubble   along the  walls.  

Monday:  stop  press!
Just met the "gardener"  on the street and he let me take this photo while he was eating a panino.  He told me a bit about  how he  worked for 8 months digging through  60 years of garbage and junk  to clean up and arrange the rocks and rubble into something more pleasant to look at. Bravo Emidio! 

Monday,  June  17th  
Happy to announce that Emidio Di Bonaventura  was just named  winner   for  this year's Cene in Cantine Fiori alle Finestre  competition.  All his hard work paid off! Congratulations!
The motivation reads: 
 1 Angoli    Vicolo della Cera    Emidio

 "Per aver recuperato un angolo  abbandonato e  dimenticato di Vetralla con un lavoro lungo e costante , riportando alla luce  oggetti, attrezzi e strumenti legati alla vita e  al lavoro del passato" (For having recuperated an abandoned , forgotten corner of Vetralla with a long and constant work, bringing back to the light objects, tools and  instruments connected with the life and work of the past" )

Emidio

 Now  if only  the  owners of the  building  will get their act together this section of town  will be a decent place to live.   

Keeping up with Happenings in Italy

Members of the   foreign  community  mix with locals 

In the good old days before the revolution in communications caused by internet and computer based publications, there were English language daily newspapers in  Italy dispensing  news, information,classified and listings of events and  happening.

The days of the Daily American and  Daily News  are  gone forever, replaced by dozens  of  Italian and English  online magazines and  newspapers. 

Professional journalists who have kept up with the  new media are competing with newly arrived bloggers for  readership. 

 The result is a plethora of on-line resources  readily available at the click of a mouse. Never before has there  been so much information available  for newly arrived expats, it is definitely easier to learn one's way around the maze of living in Italy. 

 Wanted in Rome  still prints  a paper edition on sale at various points in the city including the Anglo American bookshop on Via della Vite near the Spanish Steps.

 The Florentine  can be found throughout  Florence  in its paper format or on line. Is there an English language magazine published  in your area? 

TimeOut  magazine  has both online and print magazines  in major cities worldwide: besides Rome there is the original for New York plus Istanbul and London.  

The American magazine   has  great lists of events, happenings, and restaurant listings .  It is published by the dean of Rome's English journalists, Christopher Winner. 

For those living in or visiting the Northern Lazio, Viterbo, Tuscia, Etruria areas here are some other tips for keeping up with the local happenings. Drop us a line in the comments box with your  favorites:

·   In towns and villages throughout Italy the walls are plastered with locandine or wall posters announcing festivals, processions, celebrations and musical events which are abundant in the summer months.

·  Get  on  mailing lists  of associations in your  area. For the Olgiata area contact Paola at  Welcome Neighbor.   

·  Interested in archeology conferences and excursions?  Join  the 370 members of Archeotuscia for a rich calendar of outings in the northern Lazio area. See below for  this week's happenings. 

·   Tuscia Web  is just one of the many on line news sources for  Viterbo and environs. Others are Teresa Pierini's La Tua Etruria. 

·  La Loggetta is a bi-monthly  magazine written by local experts with a subscription of  25 euro. It can be  delivered to you  worldwide. www.laloggetta.it

  For musical afternoons and house concerts in the N. Lazio area   check out Opera Extravaganza . 

     Ask to be on their mailing list for updates on concerts.

Massimiliano Darida and Maria Lunella Reedy
delighted the audience at yesterday's concert

part of the international  audience  

·    Some faithful readers  may  remember  the 70+ issues of   Elegant Etruria Newsletter  that I emailed  to hundreds  of addresses  in the mid-1990s, a labor of love which helped to give information to the  burgeoning  international community of Rome's northern suburbs.    Feedback was rare,  but the huge  mailing list  and connections  made,  became a highly prized  (and envied) piece of information.

·   Mailing lists, email invitations…these have now been  surpassed  by the many blogs published  in English in central Italy.  Sign up(scroll to the bottom of the page and leave your email)  to receive  the  weekly edition of  this blog 50yearsinItaly,  one of many in English. Please share the names of your favorites with a comment  at the bottom of the page. 

And in case you havn't heard yet, here are just a few of the interesting happenings taking place this week in the Viterbo area: 

• Friday, 25th Jan. in Viterbo I will be  presenting an illustrated conference for Archeotuscia  entitled  “Foreign Artists and Archeologists in  Etruria” .  To be held at Sala Coronas, 2nd floor, the Prefecture of Viterbo (Piazza dei Priori, near the City Hall) at  5 p.m.  on Friday 25th January. All  are welcome to attend.

Francesco Aliperti & Georgia of Edizioni Archeoares 

  

delegation of Air Force students 



Mario Bracci Devoti, Fabiano  B.  & Chief Inspector Orlandini 

• Photos of Friday Jan. 25th  conference in Viterbo.





• Saturday, 26th Jan. in Vetralla,  Destinatario Sconosciuto at the Museum  of Vetralla. 
• Your comments are welcome. Commenti in italiano  sono benvenuti! 

Fashionable and Handmade in Etruria

City Hall  decorated for the festa  

In Northern Lazio's quiet towns the most important festivals  are all about eating and  food. 
Although equidistant from cosmopolitan Rome and fashionable Florence,  here in Etruria food and wine take precedence over bella figura and sexy shoes .  

enjoying  pizze fritte  at the festival of  San Antonio 

The Tuesday morning market brings  a weekly quota of fashion that is   brightly colored,  cheap and chic, but  mostly made  in China. 

summer fashion  blowing in the wind

one of the bancarelle at the weekly market

 Then for  two weekends  in June there is the annual  Cene in Cantine festival  and the entire town takes on a whole new look.  

handmade cloth dolls  

A flood of  visitors from all over the province and from Rome descend to partake of the excellent food  prepared and served in the underground cantine. 

  The main street becomes pedestrian, cars are banned and there may be a bit of havoc late at night due to groups of young people who have had too much wine.  

tapestry bags  handmade  in Vetralla

Vetralla is  also invaded  by a few dozen local artisans with  handmade  bags, fashion  accessories and artisanal handicrafts.  

Snow White and 7 dwarfs   

A wide array of  unique  handmade pieces are displayed  on tables along the one, central street and also in numerous  tiny shops of the centro storico. 

Graziella, Maria Flavia and Isolina  with their handicrafts

Most of these shops are usually closed due to lack of customers who flock instead to supermarkets and malls for their shopping needs.

crocheted  evening purse 

Many of the handicrafts and fashion accessories  on sale are comparable to those sold at much higher prices in boutiques located in  tourist meccas of Tuscany and  Sardegna's Emerald  Coast

coral and seashells  vase 

These festive June weekends are  another proof that the creative instinct  is very much alive.  

inexpensive caps 

Barbara 's handmade items clash with nearby Chinese shop

bags, bracelets and T shirts  from 4 to 25 euro

belts made to last  a lifetime

Martelletto's belts  

..and bags 

 Most of the artisans  are women, but I did meet a  sculptor from Viterbo  who also restores  antique furniture and accepts commissions for sculptures. 

Cristiano, wood sculptor 

He was working on a linden wood sculpture of a dolphin, a detail of  

from design to finished sculpture 

 a fountain in nearby Campagnano. 

tools of the trade

Hopefully the city administrators will give incentives  to craftsmen  and shop owners to keep the  premises open, giving craftspeople a place to work and display their wares and thus bring the historic centre back to life.

Do you like to visit artisans'  workshops? 

We need your ideas and comments to help convince our local administrators how important it is to have a lively historic center. Please share with friends through Twitter, Facebook and email.