Glady's Italy Journal - April 2007
Perugia - Local Homes
Perugia - Continued
Medieval buildings and streets are beautifully preserved here! Clean, cut stone streets and narrow alleyways, often between three to four story homes with shops or restaurants at street level, and only a little sky visible high above. Anywhere there was sun, were flowerpots! Everything was so clean - no litter, no smells of urine like we experienced in the early 1950's in Italy. A plaque beside our table in the bar of the Café di Perugia said, "Established 1463!"
There are four universities in Perugia; one is just for foreigners. The population of native Perugians is quite low. Most of the population is students. Shop owners, waiters, etc., are foreigners. It was rare to see anyone on the street over 25! The students mob the piazzas after 5 PM, sitting on the church steps, drinking beer and having a good time after classes.
We had pizza for lunch at the Lunaba Ferrari, near the hotel. We joined Bill and Bonnie for dinner at the same place. We learned that Bill helped start the Lenscrafter eyeglasses business and opened branches worldwide. He is retired, but Bonnie is still teaching.
Gubbio - View
After dinner, we parted from Bill and Bonnie and went to the American Bar in the Hotel Brufani. The friendly young bar tender, Allessao, was a lighthaired, blue eyed native Perugian (unusual coloring - most natives are dark-haired and brown eyed.) He learned English when a friend got him a job as a waiter in London - not speaking a word of English. (Maybe a buss boy?) He told us Perugia has a yearly jazz festival that has featured Santana and Eric Clapton, who stayed at the hotel.
Written on the bus going to Gubbio, Wednesday, April 18th:
Looking out from the bus, whether to right or left, every scene looks like a painting: Green, green hills, ancient single, square stone farm houses with tile roofs on small hills, and a town on a distant, higher hill. Grape vines and olive trees, fields of wheat. Trees: umbrella pines shaped as the name suggests, and Italian cypress, which we were told are really not native to Italy. A fallow field was rare; almost all land was cultivated. Every household with a yard was planted with a garden! Lettuce, tomatoes, artichokes, beans, fruit trees, and grape arbors. I noticed that the flowers blooming there were the same as those blooming at home: beautiful wisteria, some of them just huge, growing from giant, twisted trunks. The poppies were a bright red. Iris and a few late-blooming daffodils. Cyclamen, some petunias and geraniums in sunny spots. The weather is just like the weather was at home in Nevada City: chilly mornings and evenings, and warm in the sun at midday. Each day was a little warmer than the last, so by the last days in Sienna we did not need sweaters. We had NO rain the entire trip.
Gubbio
This is a beautifully preserved Medieval town, whose height of civilization was around 1300, preserved due to its isolation and high hill location. The Umbrian language was different from the Etruscan. These people were longtime allies of Rome. We took the elevator up to the "hanging piazza," meaning it was not a piazza built on land, but built on columns raising it above the sloping side of the hill. The medieval Government Palace is now a museum, built by the Ducca Frederico, 1450-70. The building was ahead of its time; it has running water piped up to the third floor, and a indoor fountain. It was a sparsely stocked museum, but did have some Etruscan stone and interesting costumed figures of Knights Templar, looking like the Ku Klux Klan with red crosses on their visors. We climbed the stairs to the highest point of the building for photos. Then, just us two, we wound our way down narrow streets back to the town square on flat ground at the base of the hill town. "All roads in Gubbio lead down to the town square," so we didn't worry about getting lost. Back at the piazza, in the huge, two-story former wool merchants' building, were a flower and vegetable market. There we met up with others from our group, and agreed to have lunch at La Taverna del Lupa (café of the wolf). Larry had pork ribs, and I had a hearty lentil soup. And of course we sampled some local wine.
The story of the wolf: St. Francis once visited the town. Legend says a wolf was frightening the people, and St. Francis spoke with the wolf and convinced him to become tame if the citizens fed him. Agnese explained the truth of the legend: In St. Francis' time, there was a cruel tyrant who mistreated the citizens. St. Francis converted him, and he became kind.
On the flat land below and just outside town is a partially ruined Roman theater/forum that is still used today for music and plays. Imagine attending a performance at the amphitheater where beyond the stage is the mountain backdrop of beautiful Gubbio.
On May 15th in Gubbio there is a pagan/religious ceremony where a huge "candle" is carried to the church at the top of the mountain above the town. The "candle" is ten feet long and so heavy several men must carry it together. Nobody knows the origin of this ceremony. In medieval times, and today, they have cross-bow contests in Gubbio.
Everyone napped on the bus and more later in the room. I had been up since 5:30. It's common for Larry to wake up that early - rare for the great sleeper, me.
Italian Language and Culture
Agnese gave us a fascinating talk on Italian language and culture. She gave us guidelines on pronouncing Italian words: H is always silent; ch is pronounced like K. CC is pronounced "ch" Every vowel is sounded, hence the word for "mister." "signore" is pronounced "seen your eh." Larry and I had studied Italian for a few weeks before leaving home, using the very effective Pimsleur method. We could understand some common words people were saying, and we understood what number/price salespeople were saying.
Italy has a new (1990's to today) illegal immigration problem. It has huge borders, and has become a very prosperous country. Illegals come from all directions: Muslim N. African blacks and Arabs, Indians, eastern Europeans. Many do not follow laws, pay taxes, assimilate.
Italy has the lowest birth rate of any European country: 127 adults to each newborn. This has huge implications for pensions. Italy does not have retirement homes; elderly people live with their families or on their own. Many illegals train to be caretakers.
Because Italy has mountains down its center, its regions retained their uniqueness, not only in food, but in language. Agnesa said standardized Italian was first taught in 1958! The Napolese dialect was so different from Roman, Genoese, etc. that the Italians from different regions could not understand one another. She said Napolese is closer to Greek than Italian. The instigator of standardization - TV!
Just the two of us went to dinner at La Taverna, down a winding enclosed stairway/street. Here, instead of buildings on each side of the narrow lane, the lane went under an entire building, making a tunnel. This was common. Once we were seated at the restaurant, we noticed Pam, who was traveling alone, at another table. She joined us and we enjoyed getting to know her. As promised, the food was excellent. We were told truffles are a specialty of Umbria. I had ravioli with truffles, no sauce, just some fine olive oil and a sprinkle of pecorino (sheep's milk) cheese. Larry had veal with truffle sauce. And a bottle of wine. It was one of the best meals we had.
Orvieto
Orvieto is a medieval hill town on a flat plateau, so no steep streets to climb. The Duomo di Orvieto is the only true cathedral in Umbria. Construction began in 1290 and it was completed in 1380. It looks Moorish in design with alternating rows of stone making a horizontal striped design inside and out. Inside is a beautiful marble pieta created by Scalza, the only student of Michelangelo. Modern bronze doors were made by Sicilian Grecco in 1970. Another church in the Piazza of Citizens was a church dating from 1400's that had a wonderful campanile and bells. Larry recorded the sound on my camera!
Lunch at La Palomba (The Dove) was paid for by the tour. We all had "Umbrian fare," which meant two kinds of pasta on one plate, each with a simple sauce. Then came wild boar stew - cooked in a sauce reminiscent of Hungarian goulash. Absolutely delicious! Lemon torte for dessert, and of course local Orvieto white wine with a little effervescence. Slept all the way home on the bus.
That evening we did not want dinner; we were full from the large, heavy lunch. We had wine and snacks at the American Bar with Ron and Sue. Early to bed.
I am reading, "Corrections," by Jonathan Franzen. Such dysfunctional family members!
City clocks in Perugia ring every 15 minutes day and night. They strike on the hour with large, deep-pitched bells. Then on the quarter hour, the low-pitched bell chimes the hour, and in addition a higher-pitched bell chimes once for the quarter hour, twice for half hour, and three times for the three quarter hour. Lots of bell ringing, day and night.
Orvieto - Church