August 10 & 11, 2016

It is Garlic Time in Italy. When everyone has piles of garlic at the same time, 

how does anyone make money? 

The first week we were here we went to Rocca d Mesa. We were the only people there and all the shops were closed. We went back for the market on Wednesday and it was packed with summer people. Since we come in June we qualify as residents. 

After that we had a picnic in the Sirentes. Picnics are so fun!

A lecture was going on in CVS last night. Lectures are hard when you do not speak the language so we went to have free food and music in Goriano Sicoli. We met up with our friend there. She has been spending her summers in Goriano since she was four. She took us on a tour of the town while we waited for another lecture to be over and the art exhibition to open. 

Goriano is home to a saint. Saint Gemma. She was an orphan girl who was adopted by a family in Goriano. A rich guy wanted to have his way with her and instead she locked herself up in a jail. People brought her bread, but  she gave it all to feed the poor. Every year, in May,  this drama is reenacted and young girls take baskets of bread to each house. This is where people come to get the baskets of bread to distribute.

Goriano is home to a saint. Saint Gemma. She was an orphan girl who was adopted by a family in Goriano. A rich guy wanted to have his way with her and instead she locked herself up in a jail. People brought her bread, but  she gave it all to feed the poor. Every year, in May,  this drama is reenacted and young girls take baskets of bread to each house.

 The house were St. Gemma lived in her pre-saint days has been restored. When she makes her way to her adoptive parents she carries this large candle. In the upper right corner are tools used for spinning wool while you walk.

St Gemma's house has a nice new kitchen where the village women make all that bread to had out.

The entrance to St. Gemma's house. 

 Goriano was affected more by the earthquake that some towns that were closer to the epicenter. The earthquake ran through town like the edge of a knife. This house was split in two.

After the earthquake volunteers rebuilt the school in only three months. It was also split in half. Last night there was an art show in the school Here you see the mayor, right, and the man who led the volunteer effort on the left.

Our friend, Paola's father was a painter. His painting were too big to bring to the exhibit from Rome, but here are reproductions. The frames are the tray you get when you buy a plate of cookies at the bakery for a gift. Brillent!

Artists volunteered to paint murals in the school. They are beautiful.

Typical crafts.

 

In addition there was a exhibition of fabrics made by women of the town. 

Stuff from back in the day.

Photographs gleaned from townspeople. 

Escher did his first lithograph in Goriano.

Free food!

All the festivities were by the fountain. 

My free food and other people that had to wait for me.

The band warms up as the sun goes down.