Monte Cassino Part II

I wanted to share more photos the Stoic One took when we were in Monte Cassino. The treasures that were saved from the bombing in WWII are fantastic, but really the display is equally notable. The curator of this museum not only edited the treasures with a fine hand, but also had a delightful sense of color and fun in their display.

Remember, this is underground of a Benedictine monastery. To use these colors to display the art is genius.

This is an example of the art that is displayed on the walls. You are looking at inlaid marble, cut perfectly in ornate floral design. We saw this in a workshop in Florence and is called commesso fiorentino..The stones must all be natural colors of the marble. We were told the hardest color in marble to find is the blue. Note how little of the blue there is in the work. The artisan must not only have a remarkable knowledge of stone, but also a very steady hand for cutting and piecing together the marble so that it stays in place with no mortar or glue. If you rub your hand over it, which we did not do, it is perfectly flat and seamless. Truly remarkable.

These are book covers worked in silver and leather. They covered the Missal for mass.Note the blue that they used for the background and now note the color of the sky outside. Not quite the same but...

Even the photographs of the monastery after the bombing were poignantly displayed. As you walk through the room, you got a total experience of the devastation but also of people with picks and shovels working to put it back together.

This is not just about the art. The monastery is a religious site. I have been to many religious places in Italy, but for me, this was the most spiritual place I have visited. I encourage you to take time from your trip to Rome to visit.

Monte Cassino

We left Venice, came home for a day to gather up our clothes, and then headed down to Puglia. We stopped at Cassino about 80 miles south east of Rome. Monte Cassino is the home of the Benedictine monastery. Benedict built it around 529. Then it was burned, then it had a major earth quake in the 1300's, sacked by Napoleon in 1800 and then the Allies bombed it in WWII. Talk about a phoenix. We were all in awe of the monestary, its art and its history. This should be a major tourist site it is that impressive. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Cassino

It is definitely worth taking a few minutes and reading about the history of this place. The restoration process that the people went through to get the monestary rebuilt after the war is astonishing. A very sad episode of WWII and shows the impossible damned if you do and damned if you don't situations in war. In addition, it was later learned that the bombing was done by mistake. A translation error.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/apr/04/johnezard

In spite of what the Allies believed, there were no Germans hiding in the monestary, only about 250 local Italians who had gone to the monestary to take refuge. Heartbreaking. It was a German officer who helped save the art treasures from the monastery. He got the abbot to agree to ship them to the Vatican. There was one truck that went to Germany, but I believe most if not all of the art treasures were recoverd after the war.They are now beautifully displayed in the museum.

The entrance way into the monastery.

Standing at the Polish cemetery, and looking back up at the monestary perched on the hill.

ww.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/prince-harry/10839040/Prince-Harry-commemorates-sacrifice-of-Polish-soldiers-who-captured-Monte-Cassino.html

Venice

Sorry it has been a while since I have updated you, but we have been traveling with our good friends, Donna and Michael. They arrived a few weeks ago and we visited places around Umbertide and then took the train to Venice, a city I absolutely love. It was not very crowded this time of year, always a blessing. We had a tour of the Duomo at St. Marks and then a tour of the Doge Palace. We all agreed it was definitely worth the time and money.This is the tour that we took, from Walksofitaly.They get tickets for you, so there is not walking in line, and they lead you to the high spots, explain the history along the way and keep you moving. We enjoyed it very much.

https://www.walksofitaly.com/venice-tours/legendary-venice-st-marks-basilica-tours

As many times as we visit, we never tire of seeing Venice. This time we took a vaporetto tour of the Grand Canal. It was a very good way to get an overview of Venice. I definitely recommend this particularly on a stormy day.

We ate at an interesting restaurant that I would recommend, Ai Mercanti.It's close to St. Mark's Square, a little bit of a challenge to find, but it is is worth it. Service very good, and the food quite interesting and well priced.
http://www.aimercanti.it/?jjj=1445089161905

1800 Part 2

Here are some more photos:

People dressed in the period of the time:

This group was in our piazza...the faces of the girls are so precious...

The women working at Bar Centrale. They knew they were going to have a big night in front of them.

Clementina, the owner of the bar, having a bite to eat before the craziness started.

Marta, who also works at the bar, with Luca.

The Umbertide band. They have a lot of fun at these events.

Italians know how to enjoy parties.

Good bye until next year.

Ottocento/ '800

Our big festival ended last night. We had a great attendance in the town for four nights. People cavorted, sang, drank, and generally had a good time. The Stoic One has a new camera...so there are many photos. Most of them need no explanation.

He went out earlier in the day to catch people practising before the crowds arrived. Here are some of the dancers.

Her t-shirt says Make Art with Love..

This is the dance instructor. The sign says Dance School. She is doing a run through before she had on her costume. I love the pose, the jeans, the hands.

I think is my favorite. It reminds me of a Degas painting. They were all so nervous before they went on.

Ok....this poor girl is in this contraption. Underneath her skirt is a dolly and a young man under her skirt rolls here around.

Here she is dancing....

There is something about Italian Mamma's.  Oh to be an Italian baby!!

To be continued....

Festival Madonna Della Reggia

September 8th was the festival of the Madonna della Reggia, the patron saint of Umbertide. She is called della Reggia after the little stream, the Reggia,  that runs through town and joins the Tiber river.

The origins of this holiday hold that on the morning of September 14, 1556, a seven year old girl, the daughter of Orlandino Vibi,  prayed to the Madonna at a chapel in Umbertide. The girl had a leg that was so deformed that she was unable to walk without support. After her prayer, the girl was miraculously cured of a leg injury. The town was astonished by the event. The bishop from Gubbio came and confirmed the miracle. The people of Umbertide were so joyous and thankful that they built a church in the Madonna's honor. The church, which is commonly called the Collegiata is the octagonal church that is seen in Umbertide. On the holiday the banner of the Madonna is taken from the church and processed through the town.

In honor of this holiday, the collegiata is lit at night. The inside restoration of the Collegiata is still ongoing, but the outside is spectacular.

This is the Rocca in Umbertide, also lit at night.

Calagrana

It has been a while since I have posted. The Stoic One and I have been busy living our every day life here and getting prepared for guests coming our way. I love to show off Umbria, so I can hardly wait for their arrival. I have also been busy with a work project, but I am coming in to the end of it.

I wanted to tell everyone, once again, how grateful I am for Calagrana. http://www.calagrana.comThe food is spectacular and Alberto and Ely are the absolute best. This summer they have been doing special dinners that represent different provinces in Italy. Last night's province was the Veneto, which is near and dear to my heart, since that is where my dad is from. The food and wine were perfect matches.

Here is our menu, with the wines we tasted.
 A salad of bacala, prawns and mussels poached and served on warm potatoes with olive oil and lemon.

This was paired with S. Cristina Lugana DOC 100% Rebbiano from Lugana...excellent match.

The next course was risotto nero, made using the cuttle fish ink sacs, served topped with a cuttle fish ragu.

This dish was so delicious. The photo does not do it justice. We drank a Ripassa Valpolicella DOC superiore. 85% Corvina and 15% Rondinella. Yum!!!

The next course was guinea fowl breast "venetian style" whic was wrapped in pancetta and raosted and served with stewed onions and Amarone wine sauce, accompanied with a puree of potatoes and a creamy spinach...Unfortunately for you I gobbled it down before I took a photo.
We drank an Amarone Classico DOCG ...80% Corvina and 10% Rondinella and 10% Oseleta. The best wine of the night.

Even though I said I could not eat one more bite, they brought out the lightest tiramisu I've ever eaten.

We had a rose prosecco with it, Valdo Rose' limited edition Floriale.  And yes we all got home safely.
The best meal ever!