We were invited to pranzo (lunch) at the home of my cousin Luigino and his wife Flavia today. They live in Arrone next door to their son Graziano and his family. Flavia had been in contact with Cinzia throughout the year via Facebook and Facebook Messenger. When she saw our Mardi Gras posts she even asked if we might bring her some beads. We made it a point to pack some, along with small gifts from the Disney Store for her 3 grandchildren. Luigino picked us up at noon in the piazza after checking on his father, Virgilio. It was a short drive to his home, which we can almost see from our balcony.
Flavia greeted us with a big hug and lots of kisses. Her flamboyant personality is explained away with one word: Napolitana. Apparently all people from Naples are this way – at least according to Italian stereotypes – much in the same vein that all people from Florence are stuck-up and all people from Genoa are cheap. She gave is a tour of her home before we deciding to show us the church. The church is in the center of town, as you might expect, and a short walk, but she decided to drive. The main road through the center of Arrone is narrow, so a traffic light alternates the flow of traffic so head-on collisions are avoided. The church is small, but well maintained. In sections you can see the older frescos peeking through section where newer frescos had covered them. After a few photo we found ourselves back in her home seated at the kitchen table.
A parade of food awaited us. First – lasagna. She rolled out the pasta sheets that morning before filling the 2 layers with meat sauce and mozzarella cheese. That’s it – only 2 layers and no ricotta cheese or other fillings. This is how all lasagna is made in Italy. The multi-layered enormous lasagna filled with tons of cheeses and loaded with meat are only a creation of Italian-Americans. Her lasagna has a wonderfully crisp top and is delicious. Seconds? Yes please! Next up is involtini. She rolled thinly pounded pieces of beef and salami around a core of smoked provolone cheese, fixed each tiny roll with a few toothpicks, and then slow cooked them in a sauce that contacted black olives and sage. The involtini were tender and flavorful. Next up were small cured sausages. Unlike dried sausages in the U.S., these were of the soft variety. She also had a type of Swiss cheese to serve with them. Homemade macedonia (fruit salad) was served in small cup. Macedonia is a popular dessert throughout Italy. The word macedonia was popularized at the end of the 18th century to refer to mixed fruit salad, alluding to the diverse origin of the people of Alexander The Great’s Macedonian Empire. She used Italian prune plums, yellow plums, and white peaches – all from Luigino’s garden – with some pear, banana, and a bit of sugar. The pieces of fruit were chopped quite small and the mixture was very good. Just in case we had any more room, she brought out a panna cotta gelato and some coffee cream liqueur for Cinzia. We were stuffed.
Luigino gave me a tour of his fruit trees. The branches were heavy with fruit. In no time he picked about 10 pounds and put them in a plastic bag for us to bring back to Torre Orsina. A knock at the door brought Sofia, her oldest grand-daughter. She visited with us a bit and was able to take this photo. She’s 10 years old and studies English in school. After some initial shyness, she translated where needed. Cinzia and Flavia understood one another just fine, but after that big lunch drowsiness set in. The Italians understand the effects of this “food coma” and even have a word for it: abbiocco. This signaled time to leave and take a nap, so Luigino whisked us back to our home in the Colle where we were out cold until 6:30 or so.
A parade of food awaited us. First – lasagna. She rolled out the pasta sheets that morning before filling the 2 layers with meat sauce and mozzarella cheese. That’s it – only 2 layers and no ricotta cheese or other fillings. This is how all lasagna is made in Italy. The multi-layered enormous lasagna filled with tons of cheeses and loaded with meat are only a creation of Italian-Americans. Her lasagna has a wonderfully crisp top and is delicious. Seconds? Yes please! Next up is involtini. She rolled thinly pounded pieces of beef and salami around a core of smoked provolone cheese, fixed each tiny roll with a few toothpicks, and then slow cooked them in a sauce that contacted black olives and sage. The involtini were tender and flavorful. Next up were small cured sausages. Unlike dried sausages in the U.S., these were of the soft variety. She also had a type of Swiss cheese to serve with them. Homemade macedonia (fruit salad) was served in small cup. Macedonia is a popular dessert throughout Italy. The word macedonia was popularized at the end of the 18th century to refer to mixed fruit salad, alluding to the diverse origin of the people of Alexander The Great’s Macedonian Empire. She used Italian prune plums, yellow plums, and white peaches – all from Luigino’s garden – with some pear, banana, and a bit of sugar. The pieces of fruit were chopped quite small and the mixture was very good. Just in case we had any more room, she brought out a panna cotta gelato and some coffee cream liqueur for Cinzia. We were stuffed.
Luigino gave me a tour of his fruit trees. The branches were heavy with fruit. In no time he picked about 10 pounds and put them in a plastic bag for us to bring back to Torre Orsina. A knock at the door brought Sofia, her oldest grand-daughter. She visited with us a bit and was able to take this photo. She’s 10 years old and studies English in school. After some initial shyness, she translated where needed. Cinzia and Flavia understood one another just fine, but after that big lunch drowsiness set in. The Italians understand the effects of this “food coma” and even have a word for it: abbiocco. This signaled time to leave and take a nap, so Luigino whisked us back to our home in the Colle where we were out cold until 6:30 or so.
Dinner was out of the question, so we readied ourselves for this evening’s event: Palio Della Rosa. This year’s games between the four regions of Torre Orsina – Borgo, Buchi, Colle, and San Sebastiano – consisted of 4 events: Team Race, Egg Toss, Ring Toss, and Race. After the Duke, Duchess, and their court were seated upon the stage the games began. Two judges were brought in from outside of Torre Orsina to keep it fair. (Apparently this was an issue in palios of the past.) Our region, the Colle, managed to take 1st place in the team race up the steps of the church and the egg toss. We failed to put the ring around the neck of the wooden goose in the next event and came in 4th. We were tied with the Borgo heading into the final event. In this event, a single participant rides a horse (actually a bicycle with a horse head) through a course holding a lance. They must accurately spear 4 small rings and hit a dummy as they race to the finish one team at a time. With our poor showing in the previous event, we were first. Our rider was quick, but missed 1 ring. The rider from the Borgo only needed to hit each target, so they slowly made their way through the course careful to without regard to the time, and easily defeated us to win the palio and the bronze rose. Photos were taken and cheers went up from the crowd who lived in the Borgo. Maybe next year will be the Colle’s year.