Here are a few photos. We are unable to upload them all to our smugmug right now, but we think we’ll be able to take care of that next week in Rome.
FYI: In August there are festivals in just about every city and town in Italy. Ferragosto is August 15 and is national and Catholic holiday – although no one seems to know what the Catholic holiday is about. We attended a number of these festas as they are a great opportunity to hear traditional music and eat local delicacies.
Ball at the Boboli Gardens in Florence.
Ferragosto Festa at Castel Rocchero, Piemonte. We toured this countryside near Castelnuovo Belbo with our friends from New York. In Castel Rocchero they were serving a fixed meal which consisted of Insalata Russa, two types of salami, lasagna, and macedonia (fruit salad). They also served their Cantina Sociale’s local red and white wine.
Ladies in Castelnuovo Belbo, my mom’s hometown.(L to R: Genovese sisters, Esther and Lilly, Teresina (my mom’s cousin), and her mom, Zia Tersilla (my 91 year old aunt)) I think gossip is their fountain of youth.
The view from the bathroom of Zio Giuseppe’s farm house in La Collina, Castelnuovo Belbo.
Dancing at the Ferragosto in Incisa. The couple in the foreground is Maddalena and her husband Vinizio, my grandmother’s first cousin. At this festival they served the traditional angelotti (ravioli) and various other things.
Piadina stand at the Festa of San Lazzaro di Savena, near Bologna. Piadine are typical of this region of Italy. They are made of soft bread that is folded over various fillings. We had one with prosciutto, stracchino and spinach. This festival was more about shops and eating than music and dancing.
Dentures made of marzipan, on sale at a pasticceria in Milan.
