Stain glass in the sky

Ripaberarda stain glass windows

North of Ascoli Piceno in the hills on the way to Rotella is the town of Ripaberarda. This is a cute town on a hill with a well preserved historical center though it seems most of the inhabitants work elsewhere as the town is usually empty during the day. Just outside of the center is the Chiesa di Santa Egidio that has a high façade with these stain glass windows in the façade. With the spring sun shining through in the morning it is a very lovely sight. There are also stain glass windows inside behind the central altar and in the crypt you can enter on either side of the sanctuary.

A city without water

Una citta’ senza acqua

This morning we awoke to find we had no water, nothing coming out of the faucets to make our caffe’, brush our teeth or take a shower. Fortunately we always have bottled water so we were able to brush our teeth and then set out to find a bar for some caffe’. Being without water is the topic in town, it seems the entire centro storico is without water and they have been working on the water line west of town since late last night. When we will have water, no one seems to know.

The fountains are off and there was a rush at the grocery stores for bottled water. There have been several stories in the paper this week about the drought they expect in Italy along with warm temperatures, hopefully today’s waterless experience is only a temporary one-time experience.

Being waterless gives new significance to my post yesterday on flushing…

We finally had running water again around 11:00 PM that night, just in time to take a shower before going to bed.

Big or little flush

When we lived in New Mexico the city of Albuquerque had a big campaign to reduce water usage in that semi-arid climate by promoting the use of toilets that used a lower volume of water. Many people complained that these low flow units did not work as well as the older models but personally I never had an issue with that.

Italy seems to have found a way to accommodate the proper flush of a toilet while saving some water at the same time. This may seem like an odd topic but just another one of those unique things that I have noticed about life in Italy.

On our first trip here ten years ago it was more common to see public toilets that consisted of a ceramic panel on the floor with a hole in the middle and foot pads on either side. I’ll let your imagine figure out how that was used. These seem much less common now but there is another option when flushing many of the toilets – do you want a big flush or just a little one? The buttons for flushing on some toilets have a small button for a small flush and also a big button for a longer more forceful flush. No need to use more water than necessary.

You still need to look around in some bathrooms for where the flush button is – is it on the top of the tank, is it on the of the tank mounted on the wall or might it be that button on the wall in front of you? The standard handle on the front corner of the tank behind the seat common in the United States just is not common here in Italy.

Window garden

I have enjoyed having a garden since I was a teenager. Growing up in Ohio we always had a big yard and some of my chores where cutting the grass and pulling weeds, but I also enjoyed planting and tending a garden which I never considered to be one of my weekly chores. We also had gardens at our houses in New Mexico but those required much more effort due to the lack of moisture and the bugs that seemed much more ferocious. Our last house in Corrales had an acre, most of which was wild sage and cacti with areas close to the house that I had converted into xerioscape gardens with native plants. I always considered spending some time out pulling weeds and planting things as a way to relax and unwind.

When we were in Anzio last summer I took up the task of tending the garden our host Francesca had for a yard and we enjoyed the flowers, lemons and herbs that her garden produced. Here in Ascoli Piceno we have no plot of land to call our own so I have adopted what I see so many others here in the compact centro doing…growing things on the window sill. Since the walls are over a foot thick and travertine sill is a foot wide there is ample room for a couple plants between the shutters and windows. I have allotted this precious space to a few herbs; basil, thyme and rosemary. If I am going to grow something why not have it benefit our dining table.

Some pleasant bureaucrats

For those who are new to the saga I will provide a brief recap of some of our Italian bureaucratic encounters…

One year ago this week we applied for our permesso di soggiorno (the document that allows us to stay more than 90 days) swhen we were living in Anzio which is in the Provincia di Roma. To obtain our residenza in Ascoli Piceno we need to have our permesso di soggiorno changed to Provincia d’Ascoli Piceno. In Anzio we went to the local Questura and applied in person but late last year the Italian government changed this process.

The new system is done through the Ufficio Postale. This is one bureaucracy, the Ufficio Postale, helping another bureaucracy, the Questura! We went to the Postale and picked up the necessary packet full of forms and instructions in bureaucratic Italian, which was too confusing. Fortunately we found an assistance agency, CISL, which helped us through the process and we mailed our packet with the tax stamps in March. In April we received two letters in the mail from the Questura di Ascoli Piceno, one letter for me indicating an appointment on May 21 and the second letter was for Valerie for an appointment on May 29.

This morning we took our packet of documents and went to the immigration office at the Questura at 9:00 AM sharp and were the first ones there. The lady behind the glass took our letters, went back and checked some papers and came back and told us we needed to pay another tax. We tried to explain that the CISL and Ufficio Postale both told us we did not need to pay that extra tax. She said yes we did and provided us with the exact tax number we needed. We asked her if we could go pay the tax and come back today and finalize the paperwork for both of us and she said yes. Off to the closest ufficio postale to pay the tax we went.

At the postale the clerk there was very friendly and even joked about how the system for applying for the permesso di soggiorno had become more complicated and expensive under the new system. She smiled and wished us luck as we headed back to the Questura.

Back at the Questura the same lady as earlier was behind the glass counter and when she saw us she waved us to the window. She then pulled out folders for both of us and proceeded to input the required information while asking us some unrelated questions on what we were doing in Italy. After inputting our photos and signatures electronically and scanning our fingerprints she told us we could call or check on the internet when our documents would be ready, probably within thirty days. She smiled and wished us a pleasant day as we left.

These were probably the two friendliest bureaucrats we have dealt with in all of our experiences with the Italian bureaucracy both with the consulates in the US and here in Italy. For those who do not believe in a God who answers prayers, I present this experience as proof that He does indeed listen to the faithful.

Hopefully in June we will have our new permesso di soggiorno for Ascoli Piceno...the saga continues.

Our first year in Italia

One year ago…

It was one year ago today that we landed in Italy, the country we would like to make our permanent home. We have met many new and interesting people, seen many beautiful places, eaten a lot of great food, and been able to experience what it is like to live in a different culture. This blog has been a way for me to document our adventure.

If you have followed this blog for awhile you will know that this has not always been an easy process for us; we were denied a visa by one consulate before we could even leave the United States and have had and continue to have our share of bureaucratic headaches since arriving here (you can see these under “the process” tag). Anyone who would tell you that Italy, or any place for that matter, is perfect is either lying to you or has only been there on vacation.

There are the Italian drivers, the ugly suburban architecture, the bureaucracy, the lousy dollar exchange rate, my struggle with the language and other things that come with life in Italy. But…there are so many great things about living here that in our view they outweigh the negatives. The term “bel paese” is commonly used to convey Italy and to me this means many things.

There are the friendly people who are patient with my poor Italian language skills, the Italians people who have helped us with the system, the food, the food, the food (yeah I like Italian food!), the different wines that every region has, the rolling hills, the majestic mountains, the sandy beaches, the slower pace of life and of course – the caffe’.

God willing, this will only mark the end of the first of many years to come for us here in Italia.

New kid in the neighborhood

Announcing a baby birth in Italy

The other night we were walking back to our apartment and we could hear the crying of a baby echoing in the narrow streets. The cry sounded like a newborn, they just seem to have that distinctive pitch. With the warm night and all of the open windows it was hard to tell which building the baby was in.

Today we were taking a short-cut to Piazza Arringo and noticed on a door a new blue ribbon, the traditional way that Italians announce the birth of a new child. Now we know where the new baby boy with the healthy lungs lives.

City of Travertine

Citta` di Travertine

Ascoli Piceno is known as the city of travertine. When you see photos of places like Roma it looks like many of the buildings are made of marble, but beneath many of these grand-looking facades lies a brick base with a thin travertine veneer. Not so Ascoli Piceno. This town has an abundance of travertine in the nearby mountains and has made full use of it in constructing its buildings from solid blocks of stone.

The Valle Tronto to the west has several quarries that are visible as you drive the Via Salaria, which supplied building materials for Ascoli as well as the other cities in this valley. This is contrasted with the cities north and east of Ascoli which are all mostly brick, travertine was only used for important civic buildings.

Travertine is a sedimentary rock formed in bodies of water as calcium carbonate settles to the bottom. It is not marble but many times the word will be translated to “marble” here in Italy, and I’ve seen travertine countertops in the US labeled as marble, as well. When you look at it closely you can see the layering of the strata which makes it porous. Travertine can be cut into thin slabs and polished, which are commonly used on walls and floors (and dividers in fancy hotel lobby bathrooms). It can also be carved and there are many fine examples of finely-carved travertine here in Ascoli, especially on the entry portals to Chiesa San Francesco.

The majority of the buildings here are built from solid blocks of the stuff, with its use extended to such things as lintels, window sills, door frames, and floors; the grand Piazza del Popolo is paved with polished travertine. The solid foundation of these buildings is a testimony to why this city has survived since before the founding of Roma.

Festa della Mamma

To our mothers who we are thinking about on their special day.

Panorama Italy Tours

Panorama Italy

We have officially launched a tour group offering tours of the area that we call home – Ascoli Piceno. Since we first moved here we have been struck by all that this city and the Piceno area have to offer in history, art, food and scenery. Some guidebooks describe this area as encompasses all the best of Italy and we agree.

Our tours, Panorama Italy, will provide first class service to small groups with the availability of Italian language classes conducted by a native speaker. We will show our guests the hidden gems of the Piceno region that will tantalize the eyes as well as the palate. Our web-site at www.panoramaitaly.com, outlines the details of our itinerary options.

Valerie and I have teamed with our friend, Linda Ancona, who is a native of Ascoli Piceno and is experienced teaching people of all levels her native Italian. The three of us share our passion for what the Piceno area offers to both the first time visitor to Italy as well as the experienced traveler.

Visit Panorama Italy and plan your trip to this hidden jewel of southern Marche.

Our website was possible due to the generous help of our friends Bob and Maria Berry at Berry Patch.

Ragazzo di Ascoli

Ascolano in America

I received a comment on this blog recently from a high school student in Hurricane, West Virginia. Giorgio Tomassetti is native to Ascoli Piceno and is in the United States for a one year exchange student program. He has a blog, “un anno a stelle e strisce” (a year of stars and stripes) where he talks about his experiences in America. It is interesting to see his views on my home country just as he finds it interesting to see my views of his hometown. His blog is in Italian but if you have even a little language knowledge you can understand what he is talking about as his blog is full of photos and video, be sure to check it out.

If you want to read a humorous twist on Italians’ views of America there is a good book by Beppe Severgnini titled “Ciao, America!”. He gives some interesting insights on America from his experience living in the Washington, DC area. 

Looking at yourself through another person’s viewpoint does make you wonder why we do some of the things we do.

American monks in Norcia

We have been to Norcia before, the land of salami, tartufo and funghi, charming and inviting town. Today wand found it to be ae decided to get out of Ascoli Piceno for the day and drove over to Norcia to check out their weekly mercato. The mercato wasn’t much to get excited about, but we made an interesting discovery while in Norcia.


Norcia is the birthplace of San Benedetto and the Duomo is dedicated to this monastic founder. Next to the Duomo, which is located in Piazza San Benedetto, is a shop that sell products produced by the Benedictine monks who live there, which we hadn’t seen on our last visit. We went inside to see what kinds of goodies they might have, as we consider it a worthy cause to support such groups when possible.


When we entered, there was a brother behind the counter who we exchanged greetings with and then he asked us in very clear English where we were from. It turns out that Brother John is from Detroit. He told us that the brothers in Norcia are all Americans and the head priest is from a seminary in Indiana, St. Meinrad. Brother John told us that despite Norcia being the birthplace of San Benedetto, there had not been a presence of the order there since the time of Napoleon, and they started their community there seven years ago.


You can check out their web-site at www.osbnorcia.org.


So if you visit Norcia be sure to stop by their shop to the left of the Duomo and say “hello” to the brothers.

Cholesterol check!

Terza Edizione Fritto Misto all’Italiana

Today is another holiday here in Italy, Festa del Lavoro, which is similar to Labor Day in the United States. Since Italy does not move holidays around to match a Monday, Italians have adopted what is called “il ponte”, the bridge, which is a way of making holidays longer. For example since today is Tuesday many people also took yesterday as a holiday thus “bridging” today with the week-end. Not a bad way to make for a really long week-end.

Ascoli Piceno seems to always have some event going on and for this long week-end there is the Terza Edizione Fritto Misto all’Italiana, or the 3rd Annual Fried Food of Italy. Workers started setting up for this event a week ago with a mini tent city in Piazza Arringo and in the newly reopened Chiostro San Francesco. There are booths where you can have un assaggio, or taste of fried food samples from eight different regions of Italy and five different countries. And of course there is wine. There are daily food demonstrations and special dinners as well a concert each night in Piazza Arringo.

We have sampled most of these offerings and for us fritto misto all’ascolana is still the best. Olive ascolane, olives stuffed with a meat mixture then breaded and fried, just stand alone along with the fried veggies, meats and sweet cremini that contribute to the wonderful cuisine of this region.

No there wasn’t any southern fried chicken, fried okra or even fry bread. It is interesting that some Italians seem to have a view that America has the market cornered on fried foods; perhaps they need to take a look at their own plate sometime.