Good morning/afternoon all. I have a day off -- a regularly scheduled day off and not the surprise one like at Città di Castello. The blog will be short because this is a tiny village. It is beautiful here and quite chilly in the mornings. I am really getting the fall feeling. I walked back into Pietralunga to see the church, say some prayers, and pick up some coca-cola zero.
There was a truffle festival and exhibition here in Pietralunga on October 13th. Dang, I missed it. They unveiled the Statue of the Tartufaro which is dedicated to the historic quarrymen of Pietralunga. It is wrought iron and made by Evancho Girelli, a master forger. I thought it was the tinman from the Wizard of Oz. He even has an axe, but that dog sure ain't Toto.
The parish church of Santa Maria dates back to the 7th century. It is the oldest church in this diocese.
The main altar has the organ pipes behind it -- unusual. When I first poked my head in, there was a service with one man in attendance. It was either live from somewhere else or recorded earlier and played today. I keep hearing there is a real shortage of priests.
A close-up of the unusual rose window.
I was drawn to this statue because of it's pink color. I have never seen one of the Saints dressed in pink. From widipedia, I learned that Saint Gaudenzio was a preacher in Italy and the Middle East. When Philastrius, the previous bishop died around 387, the people of Brescia elected Gaudenzio as bishop –evidently against his will. He was on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem when the people of Brescia bound themselves by an oath that they would accept no other bishop than Gaudenzio. He was obligated to return. The neighboring bishops threatened to refuse him communion if he did not obey.What is the most interesting about this particular Saint is that today, October 25th is the Feast Day of Saint Gaudenzio. What an interesting coincidence -- if you believe in coincidences.
This is a lemon-flavored Coca-Cola Zero and it is terrific. I have not seen this in our country but I hope we get them soon.
My first course delivered right here to my little Italian bungalow was Crocchetta, sort of a fried mash potato cake served with an artichoke dip. Quite tasty.
And the main course was this enormous calzone stuffed with tomatoes, mozzarella, mushrooms, and prosciutto and who knows what else. I have enough for three days. So now I am stuffed tighter than the calzone.
Off to bed for me. Tomorrow is a long day and I read the word, steep in tomorrow's directions. Good night and good sleep.
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