La Mia Patente

Finalmente!

Earlier this year after returning to Italy I started the process to get my Italian driver’s license, la patente. In 2009 the option of taking the written driving test in English was eliminated so I had to learn the Italian laws and improve my Italian language skills at the same time.

I did the book work on my own, without attending a driving school, or “autoscuola”. This was a better process for me as I needed to concentrate more on the translation and vocabulary than how to drive – I’ve been driving for almost 35 years.  I had obtained the books from an autoscuola here in Potenza.

The first step is to begin the paperwork process at the Motorizzazione Civile in Potenza. You have to go to the office and obtain the forms, fill it out and purchase a “marca da bollo”, (a tax stamp) from a tabaccheria and pay three different fees (71.72€) via the ufficio postale. A medical exam is also required and this means a fee for the doctor (20€) and another fee paid (18.30€) via the ufficio postale. I was able to have the doctor in Trivigno do this for me - a simple and quick process.

With the fees paid, the “Certificato Medico”, a set of photos of myself, the marca da bollo and the completed form I returned to the Motorizzazione Civile to make an appointment for the theory/written exam. Not so fast,  you submit the paperwork and then must return ten days later to make the appointment to take the exam. I did that and was scheduled for three weeks later.

Taking the theory exam consists of forty “vero o falso” questions on a computer program. It isn’t hard enough that I’m taking this in Italian but the tests are notorious for having trick questions. During the test I was the only non-Italian and of course the oldest. You can miss four and pass; on my first attempt I missed five – aargh! I took consolation that I was not the only one as the failure rate is rather high. After a week of doing anything but dealing with the patente issue I made another appointment for the theory exam which requires you to wait another thirty days.

The books provided by the autoscuola show you the actual questions, they have not changed for a couple years, but you never know which of the thousands of possible will show up randomly. The subjects not only include how to drive and the laws but also first aid, vehicle mechanics as well as civil and criminal law issues. I concentrated on the vocabulary and familiarizing myself with the questions that would be “vero”.

 

On my second attempt I passed the theory exam, that was May 6^th. Whew!

To take the practical driving test you must wait another thirty days. In Italy you can’t take the practical test without paying an autoscuola. No way around it – “punto”! You must use the autoscuola vehicle that is equipped with a passenger-side clutch and brake and do at least six hours of driving with the instructor. We asked several friends for recommendations for an autoscuola and met with an owner and since I felt comfortable with comprehending his Italian and the price was right I signed-up.

For 300€ I met the instructor four times to drive in the city, on the superstrada and at night. Once he was comfortable that I knew how to drive a manual shift and could park, after the first half hour, we spent most of the time just driving and him asking me questions about America.

For the practical test the examiner comes to the autoscuola. This happened on Saturday morning where I joined several young students to wait our turn. The examiner arrived late and went off with the autoscuola owner for a caffe’. After about another half hour we started. The student drives, the school instructor sits in the passenger seat and the examiner sits in the back seat.  Several students took their test, which consisted of about fifteen minutes, before it was my turn. Once I got in the vehicle the examiner started asking me questions about the US while the instructor was telling me what to do. We drove to the end of the street, made a turn, parked and then went back – all in about five minutes. I was as concerned with trying to understand the examiner’s questions about America as I was trying to drive. I don’t think he could see anything I was doing as a driver from his location in the rear.

With that formality finished we all went into the autoscuola office where I signed some forms about my completion and was given “la mia patente”!

So, after 410€ and four months I am again a legal driver in Italy!

Valerie is also happy that she is no longer my chauffer. 

Festivita’ del Beato Egidio da Laurenzana

Laurenzana (PZ)

Last weekend we were in Laurenzana for the Festivita’ del Beato Egido da Laurenzana, the patron of the city. A group from the US had arranged with us through My Bella Basilicata to visit the town from which their grandparents emigrated. This was significant for us as Valerie also has family connections from this mountain town that is less than thirty minutes from Trivigno.

We attended the mass in the morning and joined the procession that included carrying the statue of Beato Egidio down the sometimes steep and narrow streets, through town and back up to the church. The procession is led by the priest and included a band and the faithful. The church, Chiesa Madre dell’Assunta, sits on the edge of town near the rocca and has recently been reopened after several years of restoration. They did a great job, in my opinion one of the most beautiful church interiors in the area.

This town of about 2,000 people that sits at 850 meters has also unveiled a new piazza that sits below the church and the rocca. This provides a great view of these majestic structures that overlook the town. The rocca has also been undergoing some repairs is the past few years but is only open on limited occasions.

In the past Laurenzana was noted for the production of caffe’ flavored liquors but unfortunately all of the distilleries have closed. There is a restaurant, pasticceria and several bars in the centro storico. Being located in the mountains this town is a great jumping off point for those wanting to explore nature.

The Wall

Before...

When we first looked at our house here in Trivigno we imagined removing some of the plaster to expose the stone work we know lies below. We recently undertook this endeavor in our bedroom…in a 300 year old building this is never a simple project.

Valerie’s parents were here at Easter and my father-in-law and I planned to use some of this time to do this project. The walls of our house are up to 3 feet thick and I have access to the back side of our bedroom wall which looked to have stones in reasonable condition and uniformity. Neither of us are novices at do-it-yourself projects, however this presented some issues we both quickly realized would be more than we anticipated

On the left what we initially found.

  We started to remove some plaster and what was exposed looked to me like a problem; a jumble of mixed stones with an irregular plane that had been hidden by various layers of plaster. I was afraid we had opened a can of worms and had visions of potential structural issues. Fortunately our friend Tonino is a structural engineer who has worked on many projects in Trivigno. When I showed Tonino my concerns he assured me that our wall was nothing unusual and was structurally sound. Tonino also recommended that another friend of ours, Giuseppe who has worked on many houses in town, might be able to help with the work.

Giuseppe came by and gave us some insights on preparing the exposed stone to be re-pointed. We removed the layers of plaster, the various types of mortar used over the centuries, cleaned the rocks and filled in the gaps with a base mortar. In this process we also found some of the holes where wood beams had been placed to support the floor above and the remains of a former window opening that we turned into a niche.

The niche

When it came time for the detail work I had Giuseppe come and work with us to repoint the wall. Watching him do this stonework, which he has done for 20 years, was like watching an artist. He could “see” what the wall should look like with specific stones and made several suggestions that were incorporated into the final product.

The work in progress

Once the stone section was done we had to let it dry thoroughly. Valerie was in the US for a family wedding recently so I used this time to finish the project. I applied a sealer to the stone and mortar and again worked with Giuseppe to redo portions of the wall where the plaster was to remain. This requires a couple of very thin layers that must dry before the next one is applied.

Once the plastering was complete I set about to paint the entire room. Remember that this is an old building with walls of plaster over stone – there are no even or smooth surfaces. Two coats of paint later, a lot of cleaning, moving back the furniture and the house was ready for Valerie’s return.



The finished product

As with most projects on a house of this age, the time and effort to do this exceeded what I had expected but we are very pleased with the results.



Gli Inviti

Valerie is fuori Italia to attend her cousin’s wedding next weekend. The wedding is in Phoenix so she is taking the opportunity to visit our “home town” of Albuquerque while she is in the Southwestern US. In her absence I am left to fend for myself.

It’s not that I don’t know how to cook; I just find it to be more of a chore. Besides, nothing I can make compares to the excellent dishes my wife is able to prepare in our small kitchen.

Since Sunday is the big family meal day several friends offered il invito for me to have lunch with them. I had committed to an offer a few days ago but today after mass while everyone was out in the piazza I had several more offers to join various friends for their family meal. I may be able to cook for myself but I’m never one to turn down a home-cooked meal.

The generosity of the people of Trivigno…just a part of “Una Vita Piu’ Bella”.

Basilicata - You'll Be Surprised!

My Bella Basilicata

It has been two years since we filmed our episode on House Hunters International and it is repeated a few times a year. Each time we are featured this blog has a dramatic spike in traffic for people looking for information on Basilicata. We created My Bella Basilicata to help people find out about this region we call home - whether that is their family history, what the area has to offer for tourists or if they want to own their own small piece of Italy.

I am going to periodically post information on different towns, sights, events or whatever I think people might be interested in knowing about the region known as Lucania. Please come again to see what is new…

Fish in Amalfi

Amalfi

 

Valerie found some “2 for 1” deals on hotels in Amalfi recently so we planned to relax a bit and spend a week-end there. Fortunately the weather just after Easter improved and we took the ferry from Salerno into Amalfi. The hotel in the center of town we had booked has a B&B located farther up the valley and they offered us a larger room at that location. Once we saw the views we opted for this alternative.



View from B&B balcony

We took the bus to Ravello and enjoyed some of the local wine and views looking down onto the coast.

We ate fish.

We strolled around Amalfi and happened to bump into Laura from “Ciao Amalfi” on the lungamare. Sometimes Italy can be a small world.

The next day we walked to nearby Atrani and enjoyed what Amalfi probably looked like before tourism became the number one activity. There is an easy walk through a connecting tunnel or take the scenic route amongst the houses above the highway. We did some exploring of the narrow side streets of Amalfi and had a big lunch at one of the restaurants on the beach.



Atrani

We ate fish.

On Sunday we got up and had very expensive caffe’ and cappuccino in the piazza facing the Duomo. Table service with no pastries or cookies for 7 euro – ouch!

 

We took the bus back to Salerno.  The bus ride is interesting as the driver maneuvers the tight curves, but may not be for those prone to motion sickness .I have driven the coast road more than once and my recommendation is to take the ferry. It takes about 35 minutes and you get great view as you go along the coast.

It has been a few years since we have been able to get away by ourselves, usually we are showing clients or guests what Italy has to offer.  This was a nice diversion.