Good afternoon, everyone,
Yes, it is Tuesday already, and you are probably wondering why I haven’t told you about the Festa, as I promised. It is a very short story, but I have to tell you. I am so dependent on this iPad, that when it decided to go to sleep and not wake up again, I was in a panic. Fortunately for me, my brilliant grandson, Geoff, came to my rescue one more time. He gave me the answer, I tried it and it worked. Yay! So now my iPad and I can continue with our blogging. Many thanks to Geoff. His expertise with all things Apple has saved me more than once.
On Sunday, there was a grand festa here in Montepulciano, celebrating the food and wine of this area. This weekend, it was called, Calici della Stelle, (“Chalices full of stars.) Not only were we lucky enough to have a gorgeous summer evening, but we also had a brilliant full moon, plus the Calici della Stelle. Life doesn’t get any better.
As I have told you in a previous blog post, there are 8 contrade, or neighborhoods in this hill town. On Sunday afternoon at 5:00, there was a parade that started at the Porta Al Prato, the gates at the lower end of town, and went uphill to Piazza Grande.
First there were 2 little girls, dressed in the Medieval costumes in the colors of Montepulciano.
They were followed by a senior man from the village and 2 younger men, each carrying the flag of Montepulciano. The flag of Montepulciano has a griffin and a lion: the head is a griffin and the bottom half is a lion. I do not know the significance of this, but there it is. (See the picture below.)
After those people came 8 flag throwers, one from each contrada. Next was the drum corp, followed by 8 more flag throwers, again, one from each contrada. Occasionally the parade would stop, the flag throwers would perform, then the parade carried on again. This parade went up the Corso to Piazza Grande. We followed them through town for awhile, but eventually we took a short cut and got to Piazza Grande just before the parade got there.
Once they were in Piazza Grande, the flag throwers really put on a great show, throwing their flags into the air, catching them, throwing them to each other with such precision. No one dropped a flag, and the performance was most entertaining.
After the flag and drum performance, there was wine tasting in each contrada. I knew before I came here that the town was famous for its Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, but I had no idea how many wineries are here.
All the wines are either Rosso di Montepulciano, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, or Vino Nobile Riserva. I was impressed. And this is just one of eight tasting areas. And the wine is excellent.
Also, each contrada had food from their area where you paid for what you wanted, sat at long tables with other people and enjoyed food and wine under the stars.
There was also music in several contrade, with large bands, 10 or 12 musicians in each. It seemed to me that their favorite music was from James Brown. We kept hearing the same songs again and again.
We finally meandered down the hill to our home, around 10:30, but the crowds were still out there, with the kids and the dogs, and the music playing until midnight. I asked our teacher, the following day, how do these people do this? Party until 1:00 a.m. then get up and go to work on Monday. She just shrugged her shoulders, and indicated that this a a way of life for them, and the feste aren’t held that often. One just enjoys the fun while they can.
Now we have only 3 more days here, then Susan and I will go to Rome for 5 days. We still have classes for 2 of those days, and the instructors are really giving us a lot of information, which is giving me a headache! I hope I can retains some of it.
The school, Il Sasso, is really very good. I am impressed with how many professional people from all over the world come here to learn l’italiano. Every instructor we have had has been so patient and kind, and full of Italian verbs for us! I have enjoyed our 4 weeks here, and would love to come back some day to study. The atmosphere of the school and the town is very conducive to learning l’italiano. The people are so friendly. Our neighbors near the apartment know all about us; they smile and say “Buongiorno” when we see each other. Even our barista knows what I will order each morning and starts preparing it as soon as I walk into his bar.
Now the church bells are ringing, it is 5:30, so must be time for an aperitif.
Arriverderci now, and I will write again soon. I will try to keep the iPad happy so he will not sleep so long again.
Ciao for now,
Dolly
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