**^^^^*^^*^^*^^^^^^**^*^*^^^^^*^***^^^^^^^^**^*^***^*^*^^**^*^^^*^*^^*^^^^^^^^*^*^*^*^^^^^^****^^**^^^**^**^^^^^^^*^^^^^**^**^**^*^^^^^^^^*^*^*^*^^**^*^*^***^^*^^**^*^^^^^^^^*^**^^^**^^^^**^*^^^^^^^***^^^*^^^^^*^***^**^^*^*^^*^^*^***^^**^*^
vpvsdcjoxujiushludnmyjvmhwphdbvuyfwbwbalozckxdjo
Passing of the seasons? Yes, yet another sign that a full year has passed: the feast of San Fortunato crept up on us, and we were so pleased that we didn't have to skip it as we did last year. It was definitely a celebration. Smaller than in past years, the organizers also decided to spread it over two weekends and include a few more activities during the week. The day itself is actually a Thursday, so it made sense.
The first weekend consisted of an intra-city archery mini-tournament/exhibition, a market, flag wavers, costumed procession, banquet, dancers, and more! We ended up spending most of our time outside, and did our best to encourage vendors to participate in future years.
We were delighted to stock up on cheese, a half-cheek bacon to hang on our rack, wines, salami, and a few sweets. Add to that a horn, wallet, and some other sundries, and we no longer have 2 pennies to rub together.
On the other hand, our bellies are full!
Love,
Alexandra
Michael and I had to miss out on an organized trip to Naples, but we had the chance to go for a dinner out which also involved a slide show of the trip itself. The dinner was held at a historic mill that has been converted to an agriturismo, and for 25 euros we had a gut-busting meal of antipasti (smoked meats, frittata, bruschette, and so on), homemade noodles mixed with pork and vegetables, polenta with cheese sauce, three types of meat (turkey, wild boar, and pork), vegetables (chicory), and then dessert. Of course, wine was all-you-wanted, and we finished with coffee and/or digestivi. Yum!
 |
| Part of the mill shaft |
 |
| The upper part of the water reservoir |
 |
| mill race |
The slide show was definitely enough to convince us to go to Naples for our 30th anniversary, which will be on the 19th of October. We can't wait!
Love,
Alexandra
Todi recently offered all local criminals their annual opportunity: it was the Festa della Polizia today, so officers from all over Umbria showed up for Mass in the Duomo. There were a few older police vehicles, and the officers were in their ceremonial garb, including swords.
Never a dull moment...
Love,
Alexandra
This summer, the Piazza del Popolo hosted some large columnar sculptures. The other night, Michael and I were fortunate enough to happen upon their removal. We were going for our nightly stroll at around 10 pm and we saw workmen eating dinner at the local bar, and large trucks and cranes inside the no-traffic zone of the piazza. We knew something good was about to happen.
It was worth the wait! We got to enjoy more than 2 hours' worth of entertainment, although we didn't stay until the bitter end. We weren't the only spectators by any means: the bar Bacio di Latte ended up closing late because we were all still ordering drinks and gelato past midnight.
Part of the fun was watching the personalities emerge. We had "Mario" (who looked like a character from Mario Brothers) who was a novice on the rental crane but was willing to give it a go. We had Michele, aka "the diggingest dog" who loved using his angle grinder to access various attachment points in the concrete base, we had the workers who were mostly observing dubiously, we had the twins who participated in a carefully choreographed round of wrapping the sculptures in plastic wrap, and we had the experienced crane operator who did a spectacular job of lifting the sculptures, then working with a third crane to rotate them into a horizontal position. After the wrapping, they had to be hoisted into the flatbed trucks in a very precise manner in order to fit everything in to be taken away.
 "Mario" is in the crane loosening the structure |
" |
 |
| the twins, wrapping one of the columns |
 |
| Laid out and ready to be loaded |
 |
| The diggingest dog loved his angle grinder |
Another enjoyable evening for the price of a gelato.
Love,
Alexandra
Last year, we re-pointed the exterior of our house because the old mortar was sandy and crumbly and it looked as though a gust of wind would bring down the walls. Which is a patently unfair characterization given the strong sirocco that howls for hours at a time throughout the winter (foreshadowing). We now have nice, strong, fresh mortar holding our walls together, and we started last winter feeling smug about the situation.
Until.
Remember that sirocco? For those who are in tune with seasonal variations, you may be aware that winter is also the rainy season. That sirocco beat the water straight into the porous rocks that were used to build the walls. That water formerly made its way out again via the sandy mortar joints.
Ah, the joys of unintended consequences. That water no longer had an easy route out through the mortar joints, and instead was forced into the interior of the house, causing the plaster to pop off the walls and staining the paint in the locations that the plaster remained relatively intact.
The original solution to water intrusion was the exterior stucco that is typical of many Italian buildings. The stucco allowed the rain to shed from the building rather than being absorbed into the porous stone. Ironically, the stucco fell off our palazzo probably 100 years ago and wasn't replaced, so we are not allowed to install stucco because it would change the exterior appearance. Historical preservation laws, while well intended and often justified, can be rather perverse at times.
The modern-day solution for those who can't use the historically correct solution is to Scotch-guard the stone. Sounds simple? Bear in mind that the conditions have to be absolutely right: the stone must be completely dry. There can have been no rain for several days prior to spraying the building. The stone must remain dry for several additional days after the spraying to allow it to continue permeating the stone and hardening in place. Oh, and the locations in question are 3-4 stories above the very narrow alley.
We had to wait all summer, no problem. Then, despite our knowing about this intended repair for months, there was the predictable "We're too busy now" from the builders, and the shock and chagrin about having to get a crane that can fit in the tiny alley and the requirement for permits, and so on.
The first set of days we'd scheduled ended up with rain in the forecast. Because the road closure was only permitted for those days (and we had to call off the work), we had to re-permit everything. This time, we pulled the permit for road closure to last over a month in order to give us maximum flexibility.
And then, the magical day finally arrived. Let me tell you about the crane: it was the cutest thing ever. It had little treads, and was operated with a tethered control box by someone walking behind it. It arrived on the back of a flatbed truck, and I was instantly in love. The flatbed had to drop off the crane in the Piazza Jacopone, because it was too large to navigate the alley leading to our house, so the little guy had to trundle up the road to our house. So cute!
After several hours of Luca's having a grand time inhaling fumes, the job was done. The little crane made its way back to Piazza Jacopone and from thence went home.
We, meanwhile, enjoyed fumes coming through the walls for a further three days. It was actually pretty interesting (and indicative of the water problems) how long the chemicals continued to penetrate the walls. At this point, though, we feel ready to take on the winter storms.
If we could only get the painter to come repair the walls so we could rehang the radiator and thus have heat...
Love,
Alexandra
