20 – 26 April 2019

Rome to Serra

Tested the Peugeot heading northeast out of Rome using the built in navigator toward the old Sabbatini house at Corso Dante Alighieri, 15; Serra Sant’Abbondio, a small hill town in Le Marche. Arrived four hours later greeted by Adriana and Gino, who had already arrived, stocked the refrigerator, and hung Italian and American flags out the windows, in honor of the new citizen, Robert.

Adriana and Gino Secondo arrived a few days earlier to air out the house and fill the fridge with local goods! Marta and Luciana arrived about 20 minutes later. Dario, Marta’s brother, arrived by train from Parma where he works. His friend Michele drove Dario from Fano. After a brief visit with the family, Dario went out for a night with his friends. Dario says he got back at 3 AM. His mom says it was 5:30. (We believe his mom.)

The Family Home

The three-story stone house, just inside the town walls, has been the family since 1700, with each generation undertaking renovation/expansion—addition to the back, expansion of the top floor. The ground floor ceiling of the cantina has large timbers that support stone for the floor above. Nonno Delfo believed this original structure dates back to 1200. Adriana recently undertook renovation of the facade. Removing the plaster revealed stone, and lots of repair made the place fit the historic character of the commune.

Pasqua (Easter) in Serra

At 9:30 pm mass up the street on the evening before Easter, they lit the new candle for the year from an outside fire. The whole event took two hours. The good news is that everyone could sleep in the next morning, rising to munch on all the food Adriana prepared for Easter breakfast, which lasted three to four hours reflecting the range of early to late risers. The lunch was bigger with lasagna, lamb, and coratella (a recipe typical of Rome–a mix of artichokes and the internal bits and pieces of a lamb—I won’t go into more detail). Delicious. La bandiera (Italian flag) inspired the desert cake.

Permesso di Soggiorno

Bonnie filled out intricate forms for a Permesso di Sogiorno (the visa to stay longer than 90 days). She will be an expert when this is done. She has brought the required attachments: copies of her passport, marriage certificate translated into Italian, FBI clearance, proof of medical insurance, return plane ticket. After a call to the Questura (police) in Pesaro we learned that Bonnie required Robert to become a full time resident of Serra. As the married partner of an Italian citizen in Italy, Bonnie can gain permission to a stay for a long period of time. The result is that the family home is registered in Robert’s name. His cousins are now Robert’s guests in Serra. Robert will determine how much rent they will need to pay him. He offered a discount for extended stays.

We will submit the required paperwork for Bonnie in Pesaro when we return from Sicily. Stay tuned to find out how this turns out.

Il giorno normale

The typical day here for our cousins is breakfast around 9, lunch around 2, followed by dinner around 8:30. Bonnie goes to bed around 10, Robert 11, our cousins follow around 12:30 after playing cards. I gioveni (the youngsters) return from a night out around 5:30 AM. 

Sheet or …?

We have spent lots of time coaching Luciana on English pronunciation and laughing at the difference in pronunciation between sheet and shit. We have advised her to ask for a piece of paper rather than a sheet. We too have had corrections. There is a difference between fico and figa/fica. Look it up.

Le Passeggiate (Walks) di Serra

Bonnie and Robert have taken long and short walks around the town enjoying the vistas, the old and new stonework, and chats with the Serrone. Weather is pleasant during the day, cold at night.

Festa della Liberazione d’Italia

On 25 April, the Italians celebrate the liberation of Italy in 1945. We went to a lecture and concert at Fonte Avellana the night before. The next day, Serra held a brief ceremony at their monument to the fallen soldiers. On TV, they had many discussions about the current rise of the fascist movement in Italy showing clips of supporters of Mussolini.

We include a photo of Uncle Rico who was among the first US troops to enter Rome in June of 1944. He was in the advanced infantry, first landing in Sicily and Anzio.