Artists in Italy: Zanzara August 7, 2016

Perhaps you have heard of the dance from Puglia called the Tranatula. It is a wild and frenzied dance that one does because a spider has bitten you. In Puglia you can buy no end of tambourines with a spider on them. This will appeal to some of you who love spiders.

Posed for the start

In Abruzzo, we have our own regional dance. It is called the Zanzara. Tradition has it that, before bug spray, people would go mad from itching the bites of the zanzara. These are creatures so small as to be almost invisible. With transparent wings and a body the size of a poppy seed what they lack in size is made up for in the intensity of their venom and there need to sting over and over to actually break the surface of the skin leaving not one, but five or six bites in each spot. But, the cruelest part is that each new bite makes all the others start itching again and hence the regional fame of the Zanzara. I had a chance to learn this dance at a class in the Parc Sirente. It is a closely guarded secret and up till now no photos have ever been published. In fact, we had to leave our phones at the door. At great risk to my own personal safety (and reputation) I have taken some photos of myself doing the dance. I believe that a hysterical record is important as, with the use of bug spray, this dance may well disappear.

Whirling to try and catch the Zanzara before they bite.

Foot stamping

Whirling in an effort to blow the Zanzara away

Scratching after the first bite

Continued slapping and scratching

Exhausted, the dancer decides bug spray maybe the better option

It is nice to be on vacation and I have only had three requests for paintings this week. The answer, to great disappointment, is that I will have to do them next summer. The exception is a reproduction of one of the frescos in the church of San Francesco. I am doing that for my friend Vittorio so he can hang it in his country house.

Walking back from town we saw our neighbor in her garden and she asked us in for coffee. We did not say no. This is what it looks like when you are invited in for coffee. Italians like to have cake for breakfast when at home. Another good idea from Italy!

With Enrica and Mattia

Invitational breakfast

Yesterday, rain was forecast and it certainly looked like any minute when we set off to explore Popoli, a near by small city, and Rainno. To get out of our valley to the east requires a trip through the Gole San Vanenzia. This is a deep canyon with steep sides covered by enormous metal mesh to keep rocks from crashing down onto the road way. This is the area that reminds me of the T-rex cage from Jurassic Park. At the bottom is a river with a nice swimming hole and a monastery. Once you are through the Gole, the land opens up in to the enormous Valle Pelignia: home to vineyards and olive trees and towns that can sprawl across the flats.

Two beautiful towns in the valley are Popoli and Rainno. We started in Popoli sure that rain would fall any moment. In the piazza preparations were under way for the archery completion next weekend and scaffolding and construction spoke to earthquake restoration, although it is August and everyone is on vacation.

Just wondering, are the cranes grounded?

In Popoli there is a an actual walking street with a few shops and lots of barbers and places to get coffee, gelato or a meal. And shoes! Popoli is know for its shoe stores. After Popoli we said forget medieval cities. We have a car: let’s go shopping! And so we did. First the large grocery store from Germany I think. As you can see it is an amazing experience for people from a small town.

Next one of the many China shops that has sprung off to buy a cheap fan. Success! Next door is a grocery store with amazingly cheap food. We like the rosemary potato chips and Jim likes the beer for under a euro a bottle. Last on the shopping list, although do not think we limited ourselves to the list, was a pot to re-plant the rosemary in. Unfortunately clay pots were 18E so I had to go with the 3E plastic one. By now we were sick of stores and shopping and headed back on the alternative route over the mountains instead of through the Gole. Not long after we returned home it started with the thunder. The windows were rattling. It was the loudest, longest thunder I have ever heard and the lightening strikes were between here and Gagliano. We took our feet off the metal railing on the balcony. It was also the longest rain we have ever experience here lasting from 1pm till 8:30 with a brief intermission and starting up at 9pm. We took our window of opportunity to go up to the piazza to internet and see a concert of Folk Sirente. (They did not preform the Zanzara dance. It is never done in public) Just as the concert was supposed to begin the rain came down in sheets. As soon as the worst was past, we trotted over to the church to see if the concert was inside. It was! There were three different groups preforming. We stayed till after 11pm, but who knows how long it went on. So that was our five days crammed into one.