Easter Rites in Northern Lazio

The small towns in the territory north of Rome, previously the Papal States,  are an antropologist's dream for many ancient ceremonies connected to the rites of Easter  still happen here each year.


One of the oldest  is the traditional visit  to the sepulchres - sepolcri - which takes  place on Holy Thursday.
How many  of  my readers remember    visiting   seven different  churches on this evening  as children ?


Check out the dark, underground crypts of churches like San Francesco in Vetralla  and you will see these archaic "crops".

sepolcri  grow in the dark crypt of San Francesco, Vetralla

About  a month ago vases with wads of moist cotton were sprinkled  with seeds  and grains  and then kept in the dark until the seeds  sprouted.  These sepolcri range in color from white filaments to light green and red, depending on which type of seeds were sown.
 They are the perfect symbol for the Christian Easter  celebration of  resurrection and also  connect the local population with  its  Etruscan   heritage.

San Francesco, Vetralla, crypt 

The use of the sepolcri dates to pre-Christian times  and  symbolizes   the renewal of life in the spring.

 See the story on my website about the recent discovery of the  sanctuary of goddess Demetra in Vetralla. 

Good Friday  procession  of barefoot penitents in Tuscania

  The many processions which take place   on Good Friday  night at  9 p.m. are another ancient ritual  still to be seen in the towns of Orte, Bagnaia near Viterbo and Blera . 


 In this last town  the procession consists of groups of black-garbed  men and women  chanting ancient litanies (a use found only  in the town of Blera) as they proceed along  candle lit alleyways, and  horsemen  dressed  as Roman soldiers . 
It  concludes  with a realistic crucifixion  scene in front  of the main church.
Photo of the procession  in Tuscania  courtesy of Agostino Cecchini. More about local Easter  rituals  in "Etruria-travel, history and itineraries  in Central Italy".

Italia in Tavola

Vendors  from  many  parts of Italy  brought   the best of the country's foods and  handicrafts   right to our doorstep this weekend .     
Biscotti  and carta musica, a thin, crispy  Sardinian bread  could be found  as well as huge round wheels of  Altamura  bread. 
 We stocked up on  mirto, a sweet liqueur distilled from Sardinian    myrtle-berries each January and  rich red   Cannonau  wine.

  

 Cheeses  and  salumi  from Trentino in the far north were  lined up next to Umbria's   gastronomic  delights  such as truffles   attracting   visitors  who were surprised  to find  such variety in the improvised market  -Vetralla's  main  parking lot . 

Antonella  and  Marco  showed off their  hand decorated Deruta wares including   Easter eggs, dinnerware, clocks,  umbrella stands  and even a giant  dog house .

 peperino  from the Viterbo area

  Deruta   hand-painted  ceramics  come in all  sizes, shapes  and uses  from tiny  pendants    to huge, heavy  tables  made of volcanic  stone

hand painted   in Deruta 

        

 and covered with ceramic- the perfect "tavola"  for  a terrace or garden since it can withstand extremes of temperature  and need no maintenance.

Here  is  my   olive  motif  table on the terrace, purchased  from  another  Deruta  manufacturer, Domiziani .

Weekend of Vintage and History

The first really warm weekend  here in central Italy saw many people heading for beaches  and countryside pools  to catch their first quota  of sun tan.   Others avoided the lines and crowds  in the  hamlet  of Blera  or the historic center  of Viterbo where  lots of cultural  happenings were in store. Here is a sampling:

marble insert above San Nicola doorway 

Blera -a wall with  a history 

 In Blera artisan Eva welcomed visitors to her tiny  shop full of goodies from Gubbio .

 and  hand made jewelery   while across the narrow  main road   Swedish and Italian  archeologists  convened to discuss  the importance  of the sheep in ancient times.
Speeches were given, poetry was recited/ sung, photos were admired and  ricotta and cheese were eaten at the end of the evening.

 The tiny altar and marble inserts adorning the exterior wall of the  Sala San Nicola  give an idea of the  town's   antiquity and   flavor.

 On Sunday  there were numerous artisans  showing off  their wares and tables full of vintage bags  and knick knacks in the former  convent  of Santa Teresa in Viterbo's Piazza Fontana Grande.
The venue was used  as a courthouse  in the  1950s  and  the  writing on the wall  above the prisoners' cage still  says  "La Legge é uguale per Tutti".

Valerio and his fantastic fashions and bijoux

Giusy and her friend show off their wares

One tiny room held  delightful lamps  created from 

 old wine containers and   hand painted screens  that  Massimo  and his partner Paola have made from discarded window shutters

Don Quixote lamp 

Nearby  in the San Pellegrino medieval quarter  the magnificent Palazzo degli Alessandri hosted    a group of costumed  knights  and soldiers  who   were roasting  in the  hot noon sun  under  the weight of their  armor .     They were inaugurating the Templar's mansion, a sort of living history experience, which will be  open on weekends  to enliven the quiet  medieval quarter  for the next three months. 

Thanks  to the collaboration of Gianluca di Prospero and Bruno Scardozzi  the  group  "La Contesa"  have recreated  a  Templar Knights' habitation  right down to the swords, bread plates, beds of straw and  hand made candles.  

An Unusual View of Italy's Risorgimento

We all recognize this Risorgimento character   on the left....

           ...but who was this ?

If you want  to learn more about the Risorgimento, especially   the little-known  international aspects  of Italy's  unification movement,     this is a  book for you.


Until now the stories of  the 1000 Irish volunteers of the St. Patrick's Brigade who fought for the Pope and the  1000 English excursionists who sailed to Italy to fight with Garibaldi were  forgotten episodes of the Risorgimento.


"The Irish and English in Italy's Risorgimento"   now available in a limited edition of 200 numbered copies , promises  to  become a collectors'  item.

 Thanks to research spanning several decades  I have been able to unearth  documents and information  on the process that prompted Irish and English volunteers  to risk their positions and lives to fight in the Risorgimento battles of  far-away Italy.

Contents  include  confidential letters, diaries and secret documents regarding the Irish and English who volunteered to fight in  battles  on Italian soil in  1860.
There are  chapters on the foreign brigades, attitudes towards the papacy, volunteers' culture shock, spies,  scandals, propaganda, the English -and Irish- who volunteered for Garibaldi,  missing medals, caricatures, scandals and doubles, sailing for Sicily, correspondents, poetry, music and the volunteer movement, lists of  Irish soldiers.
180 pages, index, maps, bibliography, 10 pages of   images and  portraits.


Order  directly  from the author   macryan@alice.it   and pay   with paypal. Cost  15 euros  plus postage.
For  the e-book format  contact www.edizioniarcheoares.it .

The Wisdom of Tuscany by Ferenc Maté

In his latest book Ferenc Maté gives an intimate look into life in the Tuscan countryside and why  it should be a model for sustainable living in our global world.
 He also gives some pointers on how this can be achieved..even if you don't happen to live, as he and his family do, in a beautifully restored ancient Tuscan villa surrounded by vineyards.

With humor and personal tidbits about his early life in Hungary,  growing up in Canada and as a world traveler, Maté explains that it is not the quantity of stuff, the size of house,car or boat, but the little things and personal  connections that make life satisfying.

His musings on the importance of neighbors, freedom of children to grow up in a healthy society, the ability to find satisfaction and magic in small simple things all strike true notes.
 A good read from cover to cover, the book can also be opened at random for  a daily dose of Tuscan wisdom.  It is almost like sitting down with Ferenc for a chat over a glass of vino - which he mentions often, since he and his wife Candace produce one of Montalcino's wonderful wines.

an ancient convent surrounded  by the  vineyards  

The Wisdom of Tuscany is not a romp through the luscious Tuscan landscape and lifestyle, it goes beyond the pretty prose that fills travel books and  Hollywood  films. Nor is his prose anything like that of "instant" writers who blog about their  golden expat lifestyle.

The Maté family are year round residents  who make a living creating fine wine and  books - both difficult tasks that can be backbreaking and lonely.  This book is also a hymn to small town safety, the multi-generational family, closeness to nature and quality of life. 

As the world gets more  global and hectic  our sense of isolation increases. The fact that people continue to need each other and stick together as they do in smaller Italian towns is reassuring. 

entrance to the cantina 

Provincial Italy -in any of the 20 regions, not just Tuscany- is not a "golden ghetto" for the elite. Those of us who are permanent residents face problems daily that are very real, problems that a 2-week visitor does not see nor even imagine. Even expats who have trasferred permanently  to Italy spend years in the "honeymoon phase" before  becoming aware of what really goes on. 

In the past few years the rolling landscape of central Italy has been experiencing  an invasion of monstrous giant  eolica towers of wind farms "planted" on the  photogenic hills by unscrupulous speculators who live far away. Some towns have problems with arsenic in the water  and we all know of bright young university graduates who have had to emigrate abroad to find decent jobs. 

An interior courtyard 

As a long time resident  I found some of the book's observations obvious, almost hackneyed. But then I realized that  Maté's  target audience is made up of the thousands of wishful North Americans who live in mega-cities and bland suburbs.  It is easy to forget how different things are "over there" for we do   get used to wine at meals and freshly baked bread every day. After a few decades  we take  these things, and  our extra virgin olive oil,  quite   for granted forgetting that these are  considered luxuries  outside of Italy.

Ferenc must have kept dedicated diaries of his first impressions  for his narration  creates  images   that roll easily off  the  keyboard. His style is witty and  the language  similar to that of Polish-born novelist Conrad, who, like Maté , wrote in his second language -English.

Come in for a glass of wine

Wisdom of Tuscany ends with a selection of simple recipes  by  family friend Pino Luongo; basic foods to be enjoyed with family and friends  gathered  in the kitchen and of course, a glass of Maté's Montalcino.

Next month I hope to showcase another writer who escaped the big city to follow a simpler, but tougher, lifestyle. I already have a few in mind, but readers' suggestions are welcome.

                                  

Ireland and Italy share a common celebration

first printed map of Ireland, 1590

Over 700 million Irish -and those of Irish descent- scattered  in all corners of the globe  will be enjoying a   long weekend on March 17^th  full of  festivities and  parades  in honor of St. Patrick’s Day .  For the first time Italy will be celebrating the day too,  for  March 17^th  has been proclaimed  a National Holiday  in honor of the country’s   150^th anniversary of   unification .  

Italy and Ireland have shared  connections for a long time. 
Irish pilgrims, saints and scholars gravitated  toward Rome while   legend tells us that even the patron saint of Ireland -Patrick-was originally from Italy.   In  the ancient basilica of St. Stefano Rotondo set in  the quiet of  Rome’s Caelian hill  there are curved

walls  frescoed with  gory scenes of  martyrdom and   also  a plaque


 commemorating  Brian Boru’s son, King Donnchadh of Munster, 


who died during a pilgrimage to Rome and was buried here in 1064.


  Monumental graves in front of the altar of  St. Pietro in Montorio


 on  the Janiculum    are  testament to a  group of  exiled  Irish Earls


 led by Hugh O’Neill who fled to Rome  in 1607.

model   St. Patrick's Brigade  uniform 1860

The first printed map of Ireland appeared in “Le Isole piu famose del mondo” in 1590 where Venetian cartographer Tommaso Porcacchi showed Hibernia laying on its side. In the 18th and 19th centuries many Italians migrated to Ireland including Charles 

Bianconi who organized an entire transport system for Ireland

including coaches which crisscrossed the country and a system

of postal stations, inns and mail delivery. Even today Bianconi

Inns can be found in smaller Irish towns .

Among the Irish  saints and scholars  who were  regularly  “exported”   to Italy many  left  indelible marks  on the Eternal City . One was Franciscan Luke Wadding who set up St. Isidore’s Church and the Irish College. Dominican priest Joseph Mullooly  excavated  under  San Clemente‘s   Cosmastesque pavements  to find  an earlier 4^th century church and, on a still lower level, a pagan Mithraic temple and Roman houses.  Besides being an amateur archaeologist, Mullooly was also an important figure in a little-known chapter of the Risorgimento  which  gives  Irish and Italians  a common reason for  

celebrating this March 17.

Pope Pius IX

 In 1860 along with  Paul Cullen,  head of the Irish College in


 Rome,  Mullooly  was the  mediator between Austro-Irish officers


 and the papal government for the formation of the St. Patrick’s 


Irish Brigade.   Prior to 1860 Pius IX and his counsellors had


 doubts concerning the enlistment of Irish soldiers to defend


 Papal territory. 

 But by January 1860 Pius IX had changed his mind due to  the seriousness of the situation in central Italy and sent  Count Charles MacDonnell,an Austrian officer of Irish descent, to Dublin to  organize  the volunteer movement.


 During the summer of 1860 over 1,000 Irish volunteers travelled from Ireland to Italy where they  participated in the battles of Spoleto, Castelfidardo, Ancona and Perugia.

Fighting  valiantly  against enormous odds they wrote  a short but glorious chapter in the history of the  Italian Risorgimento to be remembered during this year’s  Unification  celebrations .
You can order  a copy  of my book on this subject directly  ...there are less than 100 copies  left.  

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Vetralla’s Carnevale – ItalianNotebook.com

Since  this  Sunday  February 27  will be  the first of the Carnival parades here in Vetralla,  here is the story I wrote about last year's parade which featured  the  Simpsons  and  some satirical  floats about Italian politics.
Little has changed  in a year, so take a look at
Vetralla’s Carnevale – ItalianNotebook.com

We are expecting  some American students   from the Viterbo USAC program to join in the festivities.   Who else  is coming ?
 For the entire Carnivale  program check http://www.prolocovetralla.it/Pro-Loco/programmacarnevale2011.htm

The parade starts at 3 p.m. and includes   giant floats and hundreds of costumed revelers .  If you want to  come earlier  to explore the picturesque medieval streets and have lunch,  I recommend  La Lanterna  a family-run trattoria  right  in the  historic center  on the parade route.