I mean, take a look at the green beans here!
They are so long they are called “serpenti.”
Here are the serpents outside of their package. They are longer than my regular sized dishwasher is wide!
Yowza! I’ll report back about their taste.
Italian customs
A beggar and a man of god.
In the staggering heat of today (90+ degrees F.), two people are overdressed for the weather. One is a beggar and the other a Franciscan monk.
As I watched this encounter take place between the two of them, I wondered: will the man of god give money to the beggar? Or, is he as poor as she?
He did not give her money, but I caught the encouragement and gentleness he shared with her. A passing moment of beauty.
And P.S., neither of them seem bothered by today’s heat. :-))
Piazza di Spagna, with spring azaleas
Bellissima!
Foods of May
Above all, this month is about artichokes and fava beans.
Today I did my part by dining at Sabatini in Trastevere, where Carciofi alla giudia was divine.
Sapere il galateo
In an effort to correct his fellow countrymens’ manners, Giovanni della Casa (1503– 56) wrote an influential treatise in 1555 called Il Galateo. In it, he prescribed good manners and proper deportment— not just in royal or courtly circumstances, but also in everyday situations. The work of this Miss Manners of Renaissance Rome survives in the Italian phrase sapere il galateo. Translated as “to know the Galateo,” it describes someone with impeccable manners.
Nickerson, Angela K. (2008-03-01). A Journey Into Michelangelo’s Rome (ArtPlace) (Kindle Locations 143-146). Roaring Forties Press. Kindle Edition.
Santa Sabina and Old St. Peter’s
Liberation Day, a national holiday in Italy
Every 25 April, Italy celebrates the Festa della Liberazione which marks the country’s liberation from German occupation and Fascist rule at the end of WWII. 2017 marks the 72nd anniversary.
A public holiday across Italy, all state schools and offices are closed on Tuesday 25 April, as well as many shops. This year many businesses are also closed on Monday 24 April with Italians taking a ponte, or bridge, between the weekend and the holiday.
In Rome the day is marked with a ceremony at the Altare della Patria, attended by Italian president Sergio Mattarella, at 09.00. At the same time, ANPI supporters will walk from Piazza Caduti della Montagnola, between the Tor Marancia and EUR districts, to Piazza di Porta S. Paolo, by the Piramide Cestia monument.
The date was chosen by convention, as it was the day of the year 1945 when the National Liberation Committee of Upper Italy (CLNAI) officially proclaimed the seizure of power by CLNAI in a radio announcement. The announcement also contained the news of the death sentence for all fascist leaders (including Benito Mussolini, who was shot three days later).
The liberation put an end to twenty years of fascist dictatorship and five years of war. It symbolically represents the beginning of the historical journey which led to the referendum of June 2, 1946, when Italians opted for an end to the monarchy and the creation of the Italian Republic, which was followed by the adoption of the republic’s Constitution of Italy in 1948.
Faux painting
I love it to pieces!
At Villa Gamberaia recently I saw this exterior faux:
Then on Saturday I noticed this in the San Nicolo neighborhood in Florence.
And then there was this series of chicks painted on a building nearby. It isn’t an example of faux painting; it’s just cute. I believe the building housed a school for young children.
Aprile in italia
“Aprile, apriletto, un dì freddo un dì caldetto” –(April, oh April, one day you’re cold, the next you’re warm.)
The weather has been all over the place lately, exactly like it is supposed to be in April! Sunny and almost hot and then windy, rainy and cold. Infatti, Aprile is quite notorious and has a pretty wild reputation in Italy. There are an astounding number of old Italian proverbs devoted to this wily month:
Aprile e Maggio son la chiave di tutto l’anno (April and May are the keys to the whole year).
And then: Aprile fa il fiore e maggio si ha il colore (April brings the flower and May the color.)
One I really like is: Aprile carciofaio, maggio ciliegiaio. (In April, artichoke. In May, cherries.)
April rains are their own category of proverbs. To wit:
*Aprile piovoso, maggio ventoso, anno fruttuoso” — Rainy April, windy May, fruitful year.
Error
This video doesn’t exist
*L’acqua d’aprile, il bue ingrassa, il porco uccide, e la pecora se ne ride” — The water of April, the ox grows fat, the pig dies, and the sheep laughs.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
*Quando tuona d’Aprile buon segno per il barile’ — When it thunders in April, it’s a good sign for the barrel (of wine).
And the weather can be a guide to men as well: “Gli uomini sono aprile quando fanno all’amore, dicembre quando hanno sposato.“– (Men are like April when they flirt/court; like December once they are married.)
Hang on, May is almost here!
Wow! Florence celebrates Easter Sunday with a bang!
I’ve witnessed some celebrations in my life. But, I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything quite like what happens every Easter morning in Florence!
The celebration that takes place in and in front of the Duomo is somewhere between a Chinese New Year spectacle, combined with something you might see in a festival in India, with some Roman Catholic overtones.
Honestly, I’m still scratching my head!
So, I got to the Piazza del Duomo about 9:45 and already the crowds were thick. I was able to nab a pretty good spot to watch part of the parade arrive in front of the Duomo.
Then I moved to a better spot to see the Carro. Unfortunately, by 10 a.m. the crowds were super thick.
The white oxen festooned with floral wreaths pull the antique Carro to the front of the Duomo and park it there, lining it up with a mechanical dove that will shoot out of the church at the right moment, and alight the Carro.
The beloved Carro or Brindellone returns to piazza del Duomo every year on Easter Sunday. Housed 364 days of the year in via il Prato, this cart filled loaded with fireworks is paraded through the city streets, arriving in front of Santa Maria del Fiore at around 10am. After the cathedral’s morning mass, much pomp and circumstance ensues all leading to the festivity’s ending in a pyrotechnic spectacle.
A dove-shaped rocket called the colombina is ignited inside the cathedral and then runs along a wire out to the Brindellone, which it ignites.
No matter how many pictures I post, nothing will take the place of these Youtube videos. Stay with it, the fireworks are incredible. Not sure how it celebrates the Resurrection of Christ, but that’s not a problem in this famous Florentine celebration!
Legend has it that if the Brindellone alights completely as planned, Florence will have a bountiful harvest and a great year. From the looks of it, 2017 will be a boon year in Firenze!
Enjoy the following videos! Buona Pasqua!
On Easter Sunday every year, Florence celebrates the religious holiday in a very special way. The Scoppio del Carro, or the “Explosion of the Cart”, dates back over 350 years. An elaborate wagon built in 1622 and standing two to three stories high is pulled by a pair of white oxen decorated with garlands through the streets of Florence to the square between the Baptistry and Cathedral.
This tradition finds its origins in events that are partly historic and partly legendary. A young Florentine named Pazzino, a member of the noble Pazzi family, apparently took part in the First Crusade in the Holy Land in 1099, where he gave ample proof of his courage (he was the first to scale the walls of Jerusalem and raise the Christian banner).
When he came home, he brought back three flints from the Holy Sepulchre that he received for his act of courage. This reliquary, today preserved in the Church of SS. Apostoli, lies behind the Florentine celebration for the Resurrection of Christ.
Today, the ceremony still bears a strong resemblance to the way in which it has been celebrated for centuries. Starting around 10am, a priest rubs Pazzino’s three flints together until they spark and light the Easter candle; this, in turn, is used to light some coals which are placed in a container on the Cart and the procession delivers the Holy Fire to the Archbishop of Florence before Santa Maria del Fiore, better known as il Duomo. The cart is accompanied by drummers, flag throwers and figures dressed in historical costume as well as city officials and clerical representatives.
get back, lauretta! 
You must be logged in to post a comment.