Since the August/October 2016 seismic shake-ups in the four regions of central Italy – Latium, Abruzzo, Umbria and the Marches – I have a new mantra: “No, art is NOT eternal.” I keep reflecting on how fortunate Pino and I have been to have explored so many of the artistic treasures of our region and…
What’s the most memorable moment of an afternoon visiting our rural friends? Meeting Peppe as he’s picking his olives? …seeing his pride in his olive harvest abundance? …taking a whiff of that olio novello (“new olive oil”), just back from the mill…? …or seeing the pride Peppe has in his prosciutti? Meeting Peppe’s daughter Paola…
On a rainy November Sunday, Pino and I headed to the Valnerina for lunch, planning to go on to Norcia for espresso afterwards, just a small solidarity gesture. Close to the Norcia/Preci epicenter of the late October 2016 quakes, Valnerina tourism has evaporated. Norcia is a zona rossa town (evacuated and no admittance inside the…
On a rainy November Sunday here, Pino and I headed towards Norcia – planning to eat out on the way in a Valnerina trattoria. A deliberate choice: we knew that tourism had detoured from the Valnerina area post-October, 2016 earthquakes, that any ristorante or trattoria would be eager for diners. And I wanted to head to one…
Pelleting rainstorms and blustery winds are making tent-life challenging for those in Cascia who’ve temporarily abandoned their homes after the October 2016 earthquakes. Volunteers at work have had to salvage tents whisked away by strong gusts. And the early November Sunday Mass was celebrated outside in a parking lot as every church has to be…
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…