Bella Vista and Family Visits

martedi, 22 agosto

I continue to enjoy August in Italy - I will say I am considering taking vacation during this time in future years due to the amount of people that descend on southern Italy.  It can be a bit overwhelming as you have to think twice when leaving the house - what time is it and will I run into a lot of cars and people?  The other day I was going to the bank and turned around and went back home before I got there - I was sitting in a line of traffic that was crawling.  I didn't need the money that bad (haha).  

But the one good thing about August is I do get to see many family members that don't live in southern Italy.  Everyone "comes home" for at least a few weeks if not for the entire month.   And festivals abound.  I went to another Sagra - this one way up in the mountains in a village called Stio.  The food was amazing and when we left there were lines of people waiting for tables.  Each Sagra is so different in the set up but the one constant is GOOD FOOD!!

Tables were smaller than other Sagras and had a cover/roof over them

Menu for the Sagra - and people come to your table and take your order
and bring your food to you.

Bean Soup, Eggplant and of course Wine!

I believe I have mentioned my cousin Doria in previous posts. She lives in Germany but comes to Italy with her family twice a year - one week in June and then for the entire month of August.  Yesterday she and I went to visit an older cousin - my mom's first cousin Angela.  She is amazing at 80+ years.  Doria had never met her.  They are from different branches of the family tree but I knew Angela and her daughter Rita may remember Doria's mom and her grandmother.  I love bringing people together so I arranged for us to visit last night.  It was a lovely visit - sitting on her back terrace and enjoying stories of times gone by.  Angela is probably the last relative that has memories of the Gentile brothers (my grandfather included) so I want to make a point of visiting and maybe recording her during future visits.  Her information and stories are wonderful.  

After our visit Doria drove us to San Bernardino.  This really isn't a city or village but an area of Southern Italy where my grandfather and family grew up.  The family land is here and many homes are still on the land - although many in very poor condition.  Doria also showed me her father's land.  I have been here a few times over the years.  I apologize as I didn't take any photos of the land - next time -  as I will be back there for the olive harvest in November.   But as we were leaving the view was so stunning we stopped the car and both got out and wanted to take pictures.  So I took a quick video and posted it on YouTube.  Here is the link. 

https://youtu.be/seoRi3fEnNM

Here is a panoramic still picture I took as well.  

Panoramic from San Bernardino

Till next time!!

Ferragosto, Festas and Figs

giovedi, 17 agosto

Ferragosto, festas and figs are all part of summer in Italy - especially in the month of August.  As I mentioned this is the month of the Italian holiday - everyone takes a break from work - many for the entire month of August.  It was never so apparent than during my recent trip to Rome.  I was amazed at the lack of traffic.  Yes there were lots of tourists but there was minimal traffic. In all the years I have been traveling to Italy and Rome I have NEVER seen it with no traffic.  But here in the south - oh my - so many cars in these little villages.  I can see why the locals (which I am now) do not like August.  It is an invasion and makes daily life rather challenging.  I experienced my first Ferragosto on August 15th.  

What is Ferragosto?  I always thought it was just a celebration of summer but I researched it a bit more and discovered it really is a religious holiday with a celebration of summer.  From Wikipedia - "Ferragosto is an Italian and Sammarinese public holiday celebrated on 15 August, coinciding with the major Catholic feast of the Assumption of Mary. By metonymy, it is also the summer vacation period around mid-August, which may be a long weekend (ponte di ferragosto) or most of August.^[1]".  

It reminded me of one of our summer holidays - everyone has picnics with family and friends or they go to the beach.  Some of the villages do have a religious celebration and most have a special mass.  My village only had a mass.  The night before I stopped at the grocery store for a few items and I discovered a similar scene to back in the states - everyone buying their groceries for the parties the next day.  There was nowhere to park and the lines to check out were extremely long.   I didn't exactly celebrate Ferragosto but I did attend a birthday party/cookout for a cousin who was turning 16. It was just a family affair but I experienced my first BBQ as they call it.  Italians do like to cook out - but interesting fact - they don't always use charcoal - they use wood.  Wow - what flavor!!   

And last night the parties continued.  Sagras are another celebration or Festa.  Again from wikipedia  -  "sagra (plural: sagre) is a local festival, very often involving food, and frequently a historical pageant and sporting events: when the sporting event is a historical recreation as well, such as a joust or a horse race in costume or armour, it is called a palio."   The sagras I have attended so far just involve food.  I have not experienced any with pageants or sports.  But there is always cilentano music played by local musicians and lots of dancing.  

Each village will celebrate different foods.  I thought it was food specific to the village but that is not correct.  It is just good Italian/cilentano food but each village will celebrate something specific.  There will be other items as well to pick from. See our menu below - from our Sagra held in July.

Last night I attended the Sagra in Casalvelino Scalo - celebrating Parmigiana.  Oh my check this out.

They also had chicken or sausage with French fries on their menu.  Look at the amount of chickens on these grills.  They even have their wine bottled for the Sagra.

Sagras do continue throughout the year.  They are not just in summer so I look forward to experiencing more in the coming months. 

So where do Figs fit into this story.  August is the month when the figs start to ripen.  I posted a picture on Facebook back in June of my first fig.  That clearly was an early bloomer as August is the typical month for harvest.  I have one fig tree in my front yard. 

It is full and the figs are starting to ripen.  Picking at the right time is important.  

But what in the world do you do with all those figs?  I am researching and learning.  You can just eat them fresh off the tree or use them in recipes.  They are a very healthy fruit and part of the very healthy Mediterranean diet.   So far I have tried two new recipes with Figs.  An appetizer with prosciutto, gorgonzola cheese (or goat cheese) and figs - yum.  Or how about some Banana Fig bread.

But what most people do is dry them.  When stored properly they will keep for months.  You start by drying them in the sun for a few days on a special wooden tray - you can dry them whole or cut them in half and dry them.  Once dry you can fill the ones cut in half with a nut or special flavoring.  You then continue drying them in the oven for a short period of time.  

The finished product - YUM!!  You have them to enjoy all year long until next summer's harvest.

Buon appetito!

I'm Back!!

mercoledi, 9 agosto 2017

Hello again,

I'm back from my little blogging break.  I had a great 2 week visit back in the states and then a friend of mine came back to Italy with me for 2 weeks.  

Going back to the U.S. (Minnesota) I wondered what I would feel - would I miss it, would I say - "oh my I should never have moved to Italy" - I really wasn't sure.  I know I miss all my friends but having moved over the years for Honeywell I know that no matter the miles you stay in touch with those friends that want to be stayed in touch with.  But would I miss the environment, the lifestyle?  The answer - NO!  I was a bit surprised but maybe not.  I found myself thinking about "home" in Italy as I know it now.  But I did have a great stay visiting some of my favorite places for food, golf and shopping.  I also flew to California for a wedding.  A high school friend's daughter was getting married and it was a beautiful event.  So happy I chose to travel the distance.  

Upon my return to Italy on July 28th a friend from Minnesota came with me.  This was her first trip to Italy - in fact her first trip EVER outside the U.S.  She had to get a passport for the trip.  I so enjoyed showing her my new lifestyle.  We did some amazing things while she was here - even tho we were having record heat and humidity.  It was fun to see Italy through her eyes. She posted some amazing picture videos on her Facebook page and I am "tagged" in them so they are on my page as well.  Check them out if you are a Facebook friend of mine.  We went to Naples for a day, spent a few days at the beach, went shopping and of course she met some of my amazing family (cousins).  At the end we traveled to Rome for her trip home but spent a few days doing the tourist thing there (again in record heat) but she was able to see some of the amazing sites of Rome.   It was a great visit with her and she is now on her way back to her family.  

So now back to the normal routine.  August in southern Italy is very unique. My cousins had always told me this but now I am seeing it in person.  This is the vacation month for Italians and the major cities empty and many families come south to the sea/beach.  It was very apparent when in Rome these past few days - traffic was so light - I had never seen it like that.  But traffic here in southern Italy is a mess.   I am amazed at the amount of people that come here.  Every beach town is packed with people who rent little houses for the month.  The beaches are packed by 9 a.m. in the morning.  At night the streets are filled with people.  There are lots of activities going on as well.  Beach volleyball and soccer tournaments, lots of festas (parties) and concerts.  I will be taking in some of it over the next few weeks and will fill you in as I experience it.  

Some disturbing news - while I was gone there were fires in the hillsides of southern Italy close to where I live.  They started up closer to Naples and Mount Vesuvius but moved south over the past month.  In fact one area affected is just outside my door up higher in the hillside.  I understand most of them were from arson.  Even land around Velia (an archaeological site close to me) was damaged.  Access to some of the sites is closed.  There are many stories floating around on why/how they were set.  Some of my cousins lost olive trees on old family land and one cousin had damage to his house (the area close to me).  See the picture I took below.  I am grateful my house is safe but my heart aches for the land that has been damaged.    As you drive around the area you see so much of it.  I have no idea how long it will take to recover.  We have not had rain in months so that did not help the situation and the heat and humidity continues.  

But I am glad to be back home and will continue my stories.