Better late than never, isn't that what they say? Six months have passed and I am finally posting a link to the book I submitted to Fund for Teachers as part of my reflective piece for my fellowship titled Making Connections. I thought it would be a nice way to sum up my adventure in Italy without posting hundreds of random pictures or telling lots of rambling stories. You'll have more viewing options if you download the file, though depending on what you use the layout may vary a bit. Tanti saluti...
02/10/2008
07/20/2007
07/16/2007
Lecce & Otranto
It feels like weeks have passed since the last post. Terry arrived on the 10th of July and I returned to Rome (from Matera) to meet him and then we headed to Lecce, a city in the south of Puglia. I don't think I realized how big the region of Puglia is, I'm already compiling a list of places I'd like to visit on a future trip because there is simply not enough time (which I can't believe given I have had almost a month here, the time seems to move quickly). We spent the last two days in Otranto, a beautiful town by the sea, and reluctantly left this morning after a swim.
We returned to Lecce this afternoon and plan to explore here for the next day or so. Lecce is a city with a population of about 100,000 people and has a lot of Baroque architecture. Like the other places I have visited on this trip, it has small cobblestone streets that weave through part of the city and you just never know what you might find around a corner - a small restaurant, a machine shop, or a grandiose church that was built hundreds of years ago.
We went to the most amazing bakery two days ago. Il Fornaio is owned by a woman named Cinzia, where we met Battista who bakes bread in Altamura and then drives all morning delivering his goods to restaurants and bakeries. He proudly showed us a loaf of bread that was about 4 feet long and told us that it was a small one, that he made some about twice the size. He very kindly gave us a loaf of his bread that Cinzia said was famous and from Altamura. We truly wanted to buy one of everything in this little bakery but let Cinzia select some of her favorites for us. We sat outside and ate olive bread followed by a sweet pastry and then, of course, some espresso. The famous bread, along with a few cookies, we saved and ate while waiting to get into our hotel when we arrived in Otranto. It was all unbelievably good and I was perfectly content to sit in the lobby, eating bread and cookies. Three days later, we're about halfway through the loaf of bread and it still tastes incredibly fresh. After a month in Italy, I think I'm beginning to understand my innate love of both carbohydrates and the sea.
Just an aside - it made my day complete to buy three fresh figs from a truck vendor in Lecce, around the corner from the bakery. Bread, figs, and the ocean close by, for what more could I possibly ask?
We returned to Lecce this afternoon and plan to explore here for the next day or so. Lecce is a city with a population of about 100,000 people and has a lot of Baroque architecture. Like the other places I have visited on this trip, it has small cobblestone streets that weave through part of the city and you just never know what you might find around a corner - a small restaurant, a machine shop, or a grandiose church that was built hundreds of years ago.
We went to the most amazing bakery two days ago. Il Fornaio is owned by a woman named Cinzia, where we met Battista who bakes bread in Altamura and then drives all morning delivering his goods to restaurants and bakeries. He proudly showed us a loaf of bread that was about 4 feet long and told us that it was a small one, that he made some about twice the size. He very kindly gave us a loaf of his bread that Cinzia said was famous and from Altamura. We truly wanted to buy one of everything in this little bakery but let Cinzia select some of her favorites for us. We sat outside and ate olive bread followed by a sweet pastry and then, of course, some espresso. The famous bread, along with a few cookies, we saved and ate while waiting to get into our hotel when we arrived in Otranto. It was all unbelievably good and I was perfectly content to sit in the lobby, eating bread and cookies. Three days later, we're about halfway through the loaf of bread and it still tastes incredibly fresh. After a month in Italy, I think I'm beginning to understand my innate love of both carbohydrates and the sea.
Just an aside - it made my day complete to buy three fresh figs from a truck vendor in Lecce, around the corner from the bakery. Bread, figs, and the ocean close by, for what more could I possibly ask?
07/10/2007
Arrivederci a Matera
I left Matera in the morning yesterday and took a bus to Rome. The last few nights there were amazing concerts in the piazza and I even had the chance to buy a cd of one of the bands. I'm not sure how to describe them, they had about nine or ten members and played the accordian, tambourine, guitar, drums, and probably a few other instruments I can't remember. I love the diversity of people in the square, whether they are there to listen to the music or just be with the community. My last night in Matera, there was a huge parade to end a festival that culminated last week, the day before I arrived. Apparently, all the people in the town gather and destroy this float that took 90 days to create and carrying a piece away is like a trophy and I think good luck for the year. I like to think that the parade was simply in honor of my departure, I did keep hearing my name in the chants and prayers. There was a classical concert outside the church where the parade procession began and while I was waiting for it to start, I walked down into the piazza to get something to eat. The piazza was wall to wall people and the priest, or maybe bishop, was addressing the town, to end the festival I think. The procession was led by a statue (not made of stone, like a really big doll) which held a miniature version of herself carried on a horse drawn carriage. As I headed back to the concert, the streets were covered in horse poop and the parade made it's way back to the church and after a bit more chanting (which I tried to record) to end the festival, the classical concert began. I hope this post makes sense as my head seems a bit clouded today and all the events in Matera seemed interwoven and a bit complex. I will miss the winding cobblestone streets and stairways here and listening to people gathered in the square at night, talking and laughing together.
07/07/2007
07/05/2007
Saying goodbye and a Matera
It was harder than I imagined saying goodbye to my family and to Sicily. I actually feel as though I'm leaving a piece of myself behind, perhaps so I will have to return for it. I feel a connection that until a week ago simply did not exist. Thank you to Fund for Teachers, I can not begin to express how grateful I am for the chance to spend this time with my relatives. The wording in my proposal was to establish a connection with my relatives in Sicily and I could not have asked for it to be a better one. I have invited all my relatives to visit me in America whenever they would like to come, we'll see what happens.
I am now in Matera and finally feeling a bit rested. The overnight train ride from Sicily did not allow for much rest as the other person in my compartment snored in a way I have never heard before. I arrived here at the end of a festival and there was a marching band in the street and tons of people in the town square. Everyday the town is quiet from about 1:30 until about 4:00, when all the stores close and people go home to eat, rest, and just be with other people. I have just begun a closer examination of the Sassi dwellings and hope to post more soon.
06/30/2007
La mia famiglia
It has been a long time since I have had such full days, I am exhausted and exhilarated at the same time. I have been staying with the family of Michele Miragliotta (his dad was my grandfather's brother) and I think we have visited every relative they know of here, although one day we simply ran into someone on the street in town and Tina (wife of Michele) said, oh look there's anther cousin of your mom. I have visited Tindari, Taormina, and Siracusa - each time accompanied by one to eight family members - and, of course, spent a day at the beach (with the family of Nicola Miragliotta - his mom was my grandmother's sister). I had the chance to visit the house where my grandfather was born and inside we found a picture of my Aunt Mary that my grandfather had sent when she was six months old and a few pictures of Giovanni (my grandfather's brother) who lived in the house until about two years ago and passed away this January at 91. I have taken a lot of pictures but because they have each been taking a long time to upload, I'm only posting a few today. Ciao per adesso...
06/25/2007
Piraino and Gioiosa Marea
I spent today meeting so many different people that I have to write down their connections or I will forget who they are by the time I arrive home. The first thing we did today was visit the house of my grandmother, Maria, where her brother's wife, Antonina, still lives and then I got a somewhat closer look at the house where my grandfather was born but we were driving and one must get to his house on foot.
06/23/2007
a Roma - parte due
I'm finally able to post some photos from Rome. The two below are a great example of what I mentioned in today's earlier post about massiveness and minute detail side by side. Although I feel like I have a lot to say about the last few days, I shall refrain for a few reasons but mostly because I want to be sure to get some photos up before my time runs out. I'll post what I can and post more photos when I next have access (I leave for Sicily in the morning).
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