We left on the second for Italy-2 days travel time each direction, and arrived home yesterday.
We spent a couple days in Rome, and quite frankly I could have done without the city. While it was interesting to see some of the sights again, Rome has become just another bustling metropolis, and the sights are little more than tourist traps. The amount of graffiti surprised me-I don’t remember that problem when we were there about 30 years ago.
On the third day we picked up our rental car (a Peugeot 508) and headed south to the town of Soveria Mannelli. Soveria Mannelli is where my grandparents immigrated from, and we last visited in the early 1980's. Once we got out of Rome it was a pleasant 7 hour drive.
Soveria is like stepping back in time. Virtually nothing has changed since we were last there in the early 1980's, and very little has changed since my grandparents left in 1897. There are only about 3000 people in the town, and there are perhaps a dozen surnames-everyone either is related to or claims to be related to everyone else. Surprisingly, almost all of the family that we met in 1982 was still around, albeit older-most are now in their 80’s and early 90’s, but still active and working.
There's a small 6 room hotel in town and we slept there on all but a few nights, however every meal was taken with relatives. Some meals were at homes, some were in the common meeting hall-the town’s sala riunioni. It's rare for them to get visitors, especially from America, so when they do the entire town welcomes them. Meals in Italy are almost a religious experience, and it seemed like everyone wanted to have at least a couple meals with us. It was a great chance to brush the dust off my Italian language skills.
We spent two days and one night at the farm where my grandfather was born and raised. It's been in the family for as long as anyone can remember, and Ludovico and his family still work the same land that my grandfather did in the 1800's, and his father did before that, and so on. It was interesting to sleep in the same room in which my grandfather and his brothers slept. They grow and raise most of what they eat, and they still make their own wine the same way my grandfather would have when he was a boy. Many of the farming tools are the same tools that he used, and the old wine press is the same one he used as a kid. They still use it, and I marveled at the quality of wine they produced with ancient equipment, especially compared to our technology and stainless steel equipment in the winery at home.
The food was great, real Italian food is nothing like the American renditions. Soveria is in southern Italy and they use a lot of tomatoes and dark green olive oil. Caciocavallo, peconrino and mozzarella cheeses are the most common cheese. There are lots of vegetables, legumes, grains, lamb and fish; everything is grown, raised or caught locally. They also use a lot of ravioli, tortellini and prosciutto.
One aunt made the most incredible deserts-tiramisu and wandas. The wandas were so light they almost floated off the plate. I’m not sure what her secret is, but she could make a killing with a pastry shop in the US. I think I gained a couple pounds just on her pastries alone.
After 10 days we left Soveria and went to Brindisi for a few days, which is on the Adriatic Sea. While it’s a tourist area, it’s much cleaner than Rome and holds almost as much history. We spent most of our time there exploring the old sections of the city.
We spent 2 days meandering back to Rome and turned in our Peugot on Monday. We boarded the plane to come home, and arrived home late yesterday. It was bittersweet, knowing that at our age we would never see any of the Soveria relatives again. While it was a fantastic time, we’re certainly glad to be home. I did discover that jet lag takes on a whole different dimension when you're 69 as opposed to a thirty or forty something.
We spent a couple days in Rome, and quite frankly I could have done without the city. While it was interesting to see some of the sights again, Rome has become just another bustling metropolis, and the sights are little more than tourist traps. The amount of graffiti surprised me-I don’t remember that problem when we were there about 30 years ago.
On the third day we picked up our rental car (a Peugeot 508) and headed south to the town of Soveria Mannelli. Soveria Mannelli is where my grandparents immigrated from, and we last visited in the early 1980's. Once we got out of Rome it was a pleasant 7 hour drive.
Soveria is like stepping back in time. Virtually nothing has changed since we were last there in the early 1980's, and very little has changed since my grandparents left in 1897. There are only about 3000 people in the town, and there are perhaps a dozen surnames-everyone either is related to or claims to be related to everyone else. Surprisingly, almost all of the family that we met in 1982 was still around, albeit older-most are now in their 80’s and early 90’s, but still active and working.
There's a small 6 room hotel in town and we slept there on all but a few nights, however every meal was taken with relatives. Some meals were at homes, some were in the common meeting hall-the town’s sala riunioni. It's rare for them to get visitors, especially from America, so when they do the entire town welcomes them. Meals in Italy are almost a religious experience, and it seemed like everyone wanted to have at least a couple meals with us. It was a great chance to brush the dust off my Italian language skills.
We spent two days and one night at the farm where my grandfather was born and raised. It's been in the family for as long as anyone can remember, and Ludovico and his family still work the same land that my grandfather did in the 1800's, and his father did before that, and so on. It was interesting to sleep in the same room in which my grandfather and his brothers slept. They grow and raise most of what they eat, and they still make their own wine the same way my grandfather would have when he was a boy. Many of the farming tools are the same tools that he used, and the old wine press is the same one he used as a kid. They still use it, and I marveled at the quality of wine they produced with ancient equipment, especially compared to our technology and stainless steel equipment in the winery at home.
The food was great, real Italian food is nothing like the American renditions. Soveria is in southern Italy and they use a lot of tomatoes and dark green olive oil. Caciocavallo, peconrino and mozzarella cheeses are the most common cheese. There are lots of vegetables, legumes, grains, lamb and fish; everything is grown, raised or caught locally. They also use a lot of ravioli, tortellini and prosciutto.
One aunt made the most incredible deserts-tiramisu and wandas. The wandas were so light they almost floated off the plate. I’m not sure what her secret is, but she could make a killing with a pastry shop in the US. I think I gained a couple pounds just on her pastries alone.
After 10 days we left Soveria and went to Brindisi for a few days, which is on the Adriatic Sea. While it’s a tourist area, it’s much cleaner than Rome and holds almost as much history. We spent most of our time there exploring the old sections of the city.
We spent 2 days meandering back to Rome and turned in our Peugot on Monday. We boarded the plane to come home, and arrived home late yesterday. It was bittersweet, knowing that at our age we would never see any of the Soveria relatives again. While it was a fantastic time, we’re certainly glad to be home. I did discover that jet lag takes on a whole different dimension when you're 69 as opposed to a thirty or forty something.
