Sunday 19th May.
Just by the hermitage there is a trail along the river which is spotted with modern art works, some sculpture and some pictorial works placed in relation to the nature surrounding it. So we walked alongside the river and reached an old mill once used by the monks. Then a bit further on we came to a bridge across the river which was closed to traffic but from which great views of the tumbling cataracts could be obtained. The whole area is a Nature Park and although we did not see all of it, there are sulfur pools, caves with Neolithic writing, an underground Roman aqueduct and many nature trails through the beautiful valley of the river. It is a pity that it is not better publicized so that more people could take advantage of it. We retraced our steps back to the hermitage where there was a snack kiosk which, to my surprise, had opened even though there were few if any people around. The young lady who manned the kiosk served us coffee and she and MAC had quite a conversation about the place and the local town of Corfinio where she lived and was also a tour guide. When asked if and when the hermitage would open she said “maybe yes and maybe no”. So we sat and waited and a few others joined us, some losing patience and leaving. 3.30 p.m. passed and there was no sign of anyone to open the hermitage and church. Then at 3.45 p.m., just as we were contemplating giving up, a lady arrived and opened up. It was well worth waiting for. The small church is beautiful and the remains of the hermitage is very impressive including a stone one can place any affected part of the body on and it may be cured of an affliction. We both sat on it, not sure what that will cure!! Then there is a very small aperture with some stairs and one could crawl up inside and then come out inside the church above. It was a bit small for me but MAC did it and came out inside the church to the surprise of her and the other visitors. Down below the church is a colored terracotta scene of the ‘pieta’ which is in a way rather beautiful.
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| A religious symbol placed high up on the cliff |
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| The interior of the church |
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| How to cure what ails you by contact with the stone |
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| The small hole up which MAC crawled up a set of stairs and which exited into the knave of the church. |
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| MAC sitting on the stone which is supposed to be possessed of powers to heal any part of the body which touches it. |
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| The 'pieta' in the church |
The views of the river and the ‘Gole’ or gorge from inside the buildings were quite spectacular. The day before, the 18th May was actually St Vernanzio’s day so this was an auspicious time to visit the hermitage.
During the course of the conversations with the kiosk lady, she had mentioned that in a nearby village of Prezza, there was an artichoke festival. MAC fired up by the idea of taking artichokes back for Stefania, set off in the car for Prezza. On the way we were stopped by a road closure for yet another bicycle race, this time it was for very young riders who passed us all kitted out in the gear of their elders we had seen the other day in the Giro d’Italia.
Onward to Prezza we arrived there to find that we would not drive up to the town which is very high up on a steep hill. We parked, as directed and were taken up the steep and winding road to the town by a small minibus which acted as a shuttle to keep traffic out of the town during the festival. We stopped at the town’s war memorial and then walked up the small steep street to the town square where the main festival was being held. There were musicians in the square and tables on which to eat the various food offerings none of which contained artichokes other than a pizza which did contain some!! Despite the signs everywhere advertising the ‘Carciofi’ Festival and the assurances we had been given that this area produced amazing and special artichokes, there were none in sight anywhere.
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| The hill town of Prezza |
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| The Prezza welcome comittee |
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| The steep streets of Prezza |
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| A rather 'cheeky' statue in the town square |
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| The local band plays in the square. |
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| A solar power 'farm' |
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| Views from the town over the local countryside red with poppies |
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| The hills surrounding Prezza |
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| Angry clouds bode rain in the future |
There was arrosticini, Porchetta, pizza, beer and wine and there had been a lunch earlier which the menu board indicated had contained many artichoke based dishes with pasta and other ingredients. There was also a sale of art by local artists and we bought a painting of a tree which the artist, who was present signed and annotated. It did cost euro 250 and we did not bargain with the man but I guess it was something local to add to our art collection and it was attractive and called the tree of life. Our only issue now will be to actually get it home!!
So after eating our artichoke pizza we set off down the hill to the sound of the musicians playing, to catch the bus back to the parking spot at the foot of the hill. At this point it did start to rain a bit. Returning to LFMD, we found that Stefania had been calling MAC’s cell phone to get us back for lunch but had not received any answer. Perhaps we were in the gorge then where there was no reception.
When we arrived home, the afternoon’s Communion party had wound up and Stefania proposed dinner at 8.30 p.m. to eat up some of the left-overs from the party. We went back to our house and sat outside in the evening sun. I had a beer and MAC read the news from the New York Times.
At 8.30 p.m. we went up and had a great dinner of pasta, lamb and other delicacies from today’s party. We finished the meal off with some chocolate liqueur.
And so to bed after an adventurous day.
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