Close to the epicenter of the October 2016 earthquakes, Norcia is cordoned off, a zona rossa (“red zone,” i.e., no entry to anyone due to possible danger of falling rubble – and the need to inspect each earthquake-compromised building). In the town’s main piazza, the Basilica di San Benedetto is a shell, only the facade…
As all Castelluccio has been evacuated, I wonder where Derna is staying – and if her sacks of lentils are with her, salvaged from the rubble of the October 26 and 30, 2016 earthquakes? As we wandered Castelluccio summers ago, tour guests and I had stopped to chat with elderly Derna sitting in a plastic…
No, art is not eternal. No, Italy’s artistic patrimonies are not inviolable. The earthquake this August with beastly aftershocks in October have taught us this. But earth trembles keep underscoring the point. Enough. Basta. We’ve got it. But the losses are painful. A laceration to the soul and spirit is the October 2016 earthquake devastation…
…..and the aftershocks of the August 24, 2016 earthquake continue…..Epicenter of that shake-up: Accumuli and Amatrice in the region of Lazio. Benefit events for the earthquake homeless centered on pasta all’amatriciana. Epicenter has moved: Norcia-Preci area was bulls’ eye for the October 30th earthquake. Stronger than the August 24th quake (considered 6 – 6.2/3 on…
I still remember the colorful, lyrical charm of Preci – not far from Norcia and close to the epicenter of the October 30, 2016 earthquake – when I visited there a few years ago. Like Visso, not far away, this tiny hilltop town (pop. about 700) in the southeastern mountains of Umbria, is graced with…
I’ll visit the Assisi cemetery this afternoon as I always do around la Festa dei Morti (“Feast of the Dead”, i.e., All Souls’ Day, November 2nd). In late October/early November, Italian cemeteries are transformed into a kaleidoscopic tapestry of colors as visitors lovingly arrange chrysanthemums of rust, buttery yellows, creamy whites and burnished oranges on…
I wonder if next year, the kaleidoscopic splendor of the early summer wildflowers will still draw visitors to the Piano Grande (“Great Plain”) fanning out below medieval Castelluccio di Norcia? After all, there will be fewer lodgings for visitors and those delightful little trattorie serving up the famous Castelluccio tiny lentils will perhaps still be…
No, art is not eternal. (This has become my mantra). The seismic activity in Italy since August 24, 2016 has affirmed that for us. Again and again. The strongest tremor of all – the 6. 5 quake at 7 41 a.m on October 30. 2016 – brutally gouged the rich artistic patrimony of southeastern mountain…
Heart-breaking updates of the continuing losses of our rich artistic patrimony come to us in waves – like angry swells breaking on a rocky beach. Mother Earth is still in a rage. We’re hoping she’ll soon be soothed.. ..and now more than ever, a thought I often share with my tour guests while showing them…
Today while telling my tour guests about the restoration of the Basilica di San Francesco in Assisi after the 1997 earthquake, I added “and feast your eyes on this splendor, remembering that seeing this with your own eyes is not the same as seeing it in a book.” The earthquake of 1997 underscored that for…