Pergola

26 August – 02 September 2019

We are still based in Robert’s Italian home town of Serra Sant’Abbondio and this post has bits of this and that. Errands in Pergola, an almost climb to a mountain top, a trip to buy wine and see friends, even a fashion show. No need to hold onto your seats. This read will be a gentle ride.

Serra wanderings

Baby food—apple, veal, lamb, chicken, and rabbit.

What remains of an abandoned frazione near Serra

Serra’s butcher shop, open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The butcher refused to be in the photo, and she ran out the front door to make sure she wasn’t!

Serra’s bakery, open Monday-Saturday mornings. The clerk practices her English with Robert who comes in every morning for bread and two pastries (one for Luciana).

Luciana and Rita review photographs of a local wedding last weekend.

Chiesa di Santissimi Biagio e Abbondio in Serra Sant’Abbondio

Yep, more posters!

Most advertising special events, dinners (sagras), or food.

Pergola errands and . . .

We drove 15 minutes to Pergola to buy vegetables, have lunch, and exchange a faulty Italian debit card at the post office. The exchange went smoothly, and in conversation the clerk Christina mentioned she had relatives in San Francisco. Just for the heck of it, Robert asked for the last name. Turned out to be Magagnini, her uncle and a good friend of Robert’s family. Actually Tony Magagnini lives in Menlo Park, and at the next window the customers Carol and Tony Roselli overheard us and announced they were from Menlo Park and staying in Frontone! Tony is a member of the San Francisco Marche Club like Robert! The world is sometimes smaller than you think.

Tony Magagnini’s niece Christina, discovered by chance at the post office in Pergola

A friend of Luciana runs this restaurant on the edge of Pergola. He bought the 15th century villa built first for a carndinal and restored it with his father in the 90s.

Mt. Catria—The hike

At an elevation of 1,701 meters (5,580 feet), Mt. Catria is the highest mountain of the Apennine Mountains near Serra. It is composed of karst and has numerous sea fossils. It served as a dividing point between a variety of nations over the centuries. On top there is a large steel erector-set-style cross, first constructed in 1901, damaged by 1907, and reconstructed in 1963. During reconstruction workers discovered bronze statuettes more than 3,000 years old. So Mt. Catria has been considered a spiritual site since ancient times.

Adriana, Guiliano, Luciana, and Robert decided to hike to the top of Mt. Catria. Since Robert’s last visit in 1972, the locals installed a funivia (two-person carriages suspended from a cable) to make part of the ascent. They met at 9:30 and waited about 30 minutes for the operators to “fix a part.” The trip up took about 20 minutes.

The funivia was installed to promote Mt. Catria for skiing. Local communities committed to fund the project, and developers cleared forests for ski runs. Several new roads were added at the base to reach the lower end of the funivia. The problem is that Mt. Catria gets sufficient snow for skiing only about two weeks a year, and when it does snow, major winds usually blow the snow away. On our hike we saw a crew dismantling some of the secondary funivie that went to higher elevation ski runs. They do promote the area for mountain biking and have a refugio at the top end of the funivia that has a cafe and food service.

On the map posted at the top of the funivia we noted that the hike to reach the cross at the summit of Mt. Catria would take 1.5 hours. However, this did not factor in the Italian conversation time coefficient of 3.12. It took us 1.5 hours to reach a junction of trail and road where the estimate to reach the top was one hour. That coupled with a weary Luciana and the lunch planned at the house in Serra convinced us to turn back and begin our return trip to Serra.

Next time, if he is not too old, Robert will drive to the trail junction and hike from there to the top of Mt. Catria. Bucket list item.

Robert was surprised that the forests were mainly comprised of alder trees with very little understory.

The cross on top of Mt. Catria in the distance.

Luciana happy to have made it that far on the trail

**Chianina** is a breed of cattle first used for hauling carts and later in life for their meat. Their DNA matches DNA of cattle in Persia, perhaps a link to the Etruscans who once settled in this area of Italy.

If you look closely and know what you are looking for, you can see Serra Sant’Abbondio in the top far distance right of center.

Returned to Serra for our pranzo: fettuccine handmade by Robert

Matelica—Vino e pranzo

We did a day trip with Luciana to see her friends Nery and Renzo in Pioraco with a stop first to purchase wine in Matelica (not Metallica for you heavy metal fans).

Small young fruit, all under grappa. An ingenious use of fruit thinned from trees. Robert may try this in the future.

Pioraco con Nery e Renzo

We went to visit Luciana’s friends Nery and Renzo who live most of the year in the small town of Pioraco, about 15 kilometers south of Matelica. Pioraco experienced two devastating earthquakes, one in 1997 and the most recent in 2016. The result is that 36 families now live in a basic housing complex constructed by the government, and many buildings in the historic center are no longer in use.

The town is in a mountain valley with a river and several streams. Quite beautiful with lots of sport amenities. Renzo spoke enthusiastically about fishing for trout in the area. Robert made a mental note.

Luciana wanted some of the action on the bridge too.

The town has been known for paper production since the 1300s, making use of power provided by the river. This machine was used in the 1800s to pulverize old cotton clothes, which was then recycled to make new paper. The Fabriano paper company still makes paper here today—some used for banknotes.

Built into the hillside, this is only one of three churches in town that survived earthquake damage and is still in use.

“The tree that was, 2018.” In the elegant but seldom used passato remoto verb form.

Roman bridge dating from the first century BC on the Via Salaria. It has survived all the earthquakes so far.

City hall now closed because of earthquake damage.

Mercato Day in Pergola

Robert arrived in Pergola early for the weekly mercato, around 9:00 am. (Bonnie slept in.) Some stalls were still being set up. Robert remembers going to the mercato in 1962, when it seemed very big and impressive to a 12 year old. The market is still big, but some of the magic of 57 years ago has worn away. Still fun though.

It seems as if most pharmacy signs in Italy were designed during the Liberty (Art Nouveau) period.

Robert went in to talk to the clerk about fishing. Only lake (pond) fishing for trout around here.

Cattedrale di Pergola

Madonna del Grottone, Petrara

This grotto was used during WWII to shelter locals from the bombings. The Germans retreated through this area, pursued by the Allies. The grotto was abandoned for decades before a local man decided to clear out the vegetation that had encroached on it. He dedicated it to the Madonna and it has since become a place of prayer and meditation. Just 50 meters or so further into the canyon, the mountain rises dramatically. The grotto is near Petrara, one of the frazioni (small hamlets) attached to the town of Serra.

Fashion under the Stars, Serra

Rows of chairs and a red carpet appeared midday up the street near the city hall. All in preparation for an evening fashion show of clothing by students from the high school in Fabriano. About 200 people showed up. Standing room only. Lots of children’s clothes. Lots of families. Lots of fun. Very well done.

Cibo e bibite a casa

Cibo e bibite fuori la casa

Oops. Robert forgot to take photos of food.

Lunch at Frontone Alta

You remember Tony Roselli don’t you? We met and his wife Carol in the post office in Pergola. He grew up in North Beach and then East Palo Alto but has moved around quite a bit since then. Most recently he and Carol bought a house in Frontone to live in year round. His father was a Marche Club member and Tony knows a few of the same people Robert knows in the Bay Area, including Tony Maganini. You remember Tony’s niece? She is Christina who helped Robert at the post office in Pergola.

Tony and Carol met us in Frontone Alta at the Taverna della Rocca, a must-visit place when you are in this area. The restaurant is known for grilled meats and especially crescia. Always a treat.

The locale is charming, with narrow streets and great views of the surrounding landscape, most of it under cultivation in a patchwork with woods and houses.

Video!

Their ingredients for crescia consist of flour, water, salt, egg, and lard (strutto). They also baste the crescia with melted lard when it is on the grill. That might make it more flexible.

Cagli

After saying goodbye to Tony and Carol in Frontone, we took a short ride to Cagli, population 8.000. We got there a little too early because the shops did not reopen after lunch until 4 or 5 pm. But we had a nice walk in a light rain. The rain turned into a downpour on our way back to Serra via Pergola with all the dramatic lightning and thunder we now expect in Le Marche.

**Torrione Martiniano** designed by Francesco di Giorgio Martini and built in 1402. Martini is the same architect who designed the rocca (now gone) in Serra Sant’Abbondio.

Oratorio San Giuseppe—Cagli

More to come on Serra, wanderings, and observations of Robert’s Italian culture

22-25 August 2019

After returning from three days at the coast in Pesaro-Fano, we spent one day in Serra and then took off again to visit Luciana’s son, Dario Forato, near Parma.

But our day in Serra is one we will remember. We were invited by Claudio Pantaleoni, his wife Natasha, and the three children to see their summer house in Bellisio Alto (about 8 kilometers from Serra). During the school year they live in northern France and Claudio teaches religion in Luxembourg, but during the summer they like being close to Claudio’s childhood home in Serra, so they renovated a stone house built around the 15th century. When they were searching for a house, their main objectives were finding a great view of the countryside and being in a quiet area. They succeeded wildly in both. Their view is one of the best we have seen, and they are even deeper in the countryside than the town of Serra.

At the house they treated us to late afternoon champagne and snacks as well as an impressive piano recital by all three kids. Afterward we drove to Pergola (very close) for pizza and more conversation. Major topics were home schooling (they are pursuing it after disappointment with a small French public school), learning languages (they all speak several), the decline of the monastic life at Fonte Avellana, and conflict in Ukraine.

Bellisio Alto and Pergola

Side of the house. Several photos below, you will see the view they have from their window.

They call this the family “tv”—scenery always changing.

Video

Serra and some wanderings

The next morning we woke early to a great thunderstorm. It reminded Robert of his hikes in the Sierra with Mitch, Jim, and Sig.

Lighting strike on Leccia, 26 August 2109, from the window of our house in Serra

Video! The above with sound!

Cibo e bibite a casa

Sant’Andrea Bagni,
Province of Parma

On Friday we loaded our luggage back in the car and headed northeast toward Parma. We were taking Luciana to visit her son Dario and supply him with additional bedding, towels, and food. The predicted 3 hour 20 minute drive on the autostrada took 6 hours 30 minutes. (Friday traffic, August vacation traffic, and a few accidents.)

Dario’s apartment is in a small spa town in the green hills outside of Parma, just ten minutes from his job. The town of Sant’Andrea is (was) known for its terme (hot springs for bathing). It has only one hotel, which faces a wooded park. Very pleasant and laid back.

For almost a year Dario has been away from Rome, working as an engineer at a company that does thermo coating of airplane parts. His degree in aeronautical engineering is paying off, and he is enjoying the work. Unemployment for young people in Italy stands at about 25 percent, so landing a full time job deserves a celebration.

In our conversations with cousins, most of the families with teenagers tell us that because of the economy they are preparing their kids to work abroad—elsewhere in Europe, in Britain, or in the US. This is a real cultural shift for Italian parents, who have long expected several generations to stay in the same home town. But it echos the great wave of immigration from Italy to the US in past decades. Parents we know are focused on English language fluency and job skills for their children.

Proud mamma Luciana beams at her son Dario

Map of the many castles in the area west of Parma

Cena in Roccalanzona

We ate dinner in the countryside, a short drive from Dario’s apartment. Close enough that everyone knew Dario—the chef, the waiters, and the customers! Great local food. Torta fritta is one of the specialities of the region. And Robert believes this area should be called the Capitol of Maile (Pig Capitol) because the region seems to make full use of pigs in all manner of cured meats as you will see in the photos.

Potatoes . . . but you knew that. Bonnie is surprised by the heavy use of potatoes throughout Italy.

Parmigiano Reggiano in Rubianno

Dario sent Luciana and Robert to visit Rastelli, a company that makes Parmigiano Reggiano. After Luciana purchased some cheese, she asked for a tour, and we were surprised to get a very thorough look at the cheese-making process. The owner along with two workers were enthusiastic about their work. The owner knew Dario, said what a great guy he is, and said she hoped he would find a “bella ragazza” in the area. Everyone seems to be on the lookout for Dario!

The owner started the tour by explaining that the milk must come from specific breeds of cows who graze in the hills and mountains nearby. They add a coagulant to the milk and pour it into copper kettles with double walls to allow heated water to circulate and warm the ingredients. After two hours, the cheese is ready to be lifted, divided into two portions, and placed in plastic forms to compress the cheese for several days. Next the cheese goes into metal forms for several days. After that, they soak the cheese in salt water (the same water can be used for 30 years), air dry, and place it in a room for aging, for 12, 24, or 36 months. All the steps after the copper kettles take place in refrigerated rooms. They pull off cream from the remaining liquid to make butter and sell what remains to local pig farmers.

Video—Say cheese!

If you every wondered (Robert did) how the markings are made on the cheese, now you know.

2243 is the identification of their company. It goes on every wheel of their cheese.

Without this stamp, the cheese is not Parmigiano Reggiano.

Recommended by Dario, in Fornovo di Taro

Parma—Wanderings

Parma—Giardino Ducale

Parma—Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta

Parma—Chiesa di San Giovanni Evangelista

Fontanellato

Dario suggested the small castle town of Fontanellato for a Sunday outing. This area of Italy is filled with castles. This castle has a moat, and on the Sunday we arrived there was a mercato that extended far into the town.