Saturday in Teramo - To the market, the cemetary, the sea and the fortress!

TERAMO, Saturday, July 22nd
Yesterday was such a busy and exciting day, first leaving Rome and driving to Teramo, then meeting the family and doing so many things. But today I still woke up early because I don't want to waste any time during our stay in Teramo. I left the hotel and went for a walk. I thought I'd be able to find the places we walked to last night, but I must have made a wrong turn because I ended up in a completely different part of town. I found a school, another church, and some public buildings that had a large parking lot filled with vespas. Then I walked past a small park where people were walking their dogs. I was heading towards the mountains for a little while, but then I started to think I might be lost and wasn't sure if I'd be able to find my way back into town. But then I saw the bell tower in the distance and knew that the church and the square that we were in last night was in that direction. I eventually found the hotel and went to get everyone because the plans were that "the girls" were going to meet us at the hotel to take us shopping at the local market.

When I got there everyone was ready for breakfast so we all went downstairs for breakfast. Our breakfasts in Italy were all included in the hotels, and they were all pretty much the same. They consisted of prosciutto and cheese, rolls, croissants, fresh fruit, coffee, and assorted pastries. The Abruzzo Hotel also served this type of breakfast, and as soon as we finished eating they arrived. Rossella was there and with her was Angela. She is married to Marco's brother, Gigi. Everyone seems to be named Luigi, but they all have nicknames. Angela, we found out, lived in Canada for many years. Her parents were originally from Teramo, but moved there for work, then eventually came back. Because of this, Angela spoke English very well. We all loved her instantly (she reminded me of Marissa Tomei in the movie Only You), and even though she was an "in-law" she knew a lot about the family history, and with Rossella's help, they told us this story: In the 13th Century members of our family, known then as the "Federicis" fought for the Doge (High Duke) of Venice. They won a great battle for him, and he was so grateful so he gave them large amounts of money and also bestowed them with a family crest, which they still have today. It is also when they received the distinction of being able to put the "De" in front of their names and that is when the name became "De Federicis" or "of the Federicis". There was a family castle, and they were barons (land owners) and were very wealthy. The girls all went to private schools and the family had their own priest. They lived in Puglia until many years later in the early 1600's when a Revolution broke out in Naples. The "De Federicis' of Puglia" sided with the church and the Pope and fought against the King. They lost the battle, and fled to Valle Vaccaro where they built a large stone home. They were the only persons in the area with a home and property. Angela told the story very well, and she assured us that even though at one time they were very wealthy, she laughingly said - "But now it is all gone!" They then told us they would tell us more later when we get to Blandina's and they would show us the crest. It is blue and has 7 stars.

We walked to the market which was not very far, and the streets that we walked in last night were now filled from one end to the other with stalls of clothes, leather items and household items. This was not a tourist market like they have in Rome and Florence, but was a local market where the locals shop for their goods. We all walked around and shopped, and we each bought a few things. I bought a new pair of sunglasses because mine broke in Rome, and Gary bought Mom a beautiful tablecloth and matching chair pads. Danny bought a leather belt. Annette bought a few new skirts, and Joyce bought a beautiful piece of lace for Jeannine which we all agreed she would love. Since the market was along the streets of Teramo, there were also shops along the way that were open. I went into one of the boutiques and bought Michelle, Jamie and Kari some beautiful items. We met up with Carla and a few more cousins and then we were once again near the Medieval church and bell tower that I love so much. We went in again and took some pictures. When we came out Annette found a yarn shop and bought some wool yarn that she loved. We spent a few hours in the market then went back to the hotel, but only for a few minutes because they were going to pick us up to go to the cemetery. Everyone went, including Blandina's sister Irma who is 76 years old. When I first wrote to Luigi, Zia Evalina told me that Grandpa wanted to visit his mother before she died, but he never did. I always felt bad about that and I told Luigi in my emails that when I come there I would like to buy some flowers to put on Grandpa's mother's grave (Grandma Rita) for him. They remembered that and stopped at a little flower shop just outside the cemetery so I could buy some. Carla helped me pick out the flowers, and we went into the cemetery. I don't think any of us "Americans" who were there could even begin to describe the cemetery, but all I can say is it was unbelievable! We took pictures, but I don't even know if that would do it justice. All I can say is that Italians mourn their loved ones! There were rows and rows and building after building filled with tombs - and it didn't matter if they died a week ago or 50 years ago because they were all filled with flowers and mementos. There were even separate buildings with glass walls that looked like you were looking into someone's living room with furniture, lamps, pictures and electricity! We found out that they actually pay an electric bill. We walked around for a little bit and then they took us to the family tombs. They were on the wall and we saw the stones for Rita, Cesare, Zia Sophia, Zio Rocco, and many other family members. All of their pictures were in oval frames on their individual stone and it was actually very beautiful. We put the flowers that I bought into the vases that were attached to the stone. Carla and Luigi had even thought to bring scissors for me to cut the stems so they'd fit. Then as we were all looking at their photos, Gary turned to me and said - what day is it? I thought for a minute then said - It's September 22nd. And he said - it's Cesare's birthday! And sure enough, we all were amazed when we saw etched on his stone 22-9-1856 - he was 151 years old today! It all seemed special to all of us that we were there on Great Grandpa Cesare's birthday! He was Grandpa's father, and the patriarch of the family and the reason all of us - Italian and American - were here today!

After we left the cemetery we went back to the hotel to meet up with Marco's family. We found out that they had everything very well orchestrated for our entire visit and we were never idle for even a minute. As soon as we arrived back at the hotel, our rides were ready to take us to Angela and Gigi's house for lunch. Marco had not arrived from Rome yet, but we were told that we would see him that night for dinner. We drove to their house which was on the outskirts of Teramo, but was on the side of a hill and overlooked Teramo. The view of Teramo from their yard was beautiful and we took some pictures. They had fruit trees in their yard, and out the back there was a garden and grapevines. Their house was large, but they lived on the first floor. Angela's sisters lived on the other floors. We met Gigi, and he spoke some English but had a GREAT sense of humor! He kept us laughing and they were excellent hosts. I asked to use the bathroom, but only because I was nosey! Their houses are so different from ours - stone, marble and tile everywhere. No carpeting or rugs. Besides Gigi and Angela, who was our interpreter, there was Gigi's mother (Diane)and grandmother who was 92 years old and was so cute! Gigi's father, Cesare, and mother are divorced. They had lunch ready for us and we had stuffed peppers, olives and hot peppers, insalata, prosciutto, cappacola, veal with cream tuna sauce and capers, risotto, mushrooms, green tomatoes in olive oil, and lots of wine. It was all very delicious!Gigi's mother made una torta (a cake) for dessert and not only was it delicious, it looked like it was purchased at an expensive bakery! We also had fresh fruit, more wine and coffee. We had a great time laughing and talking during lunch, and almost as soon as we were done we were being picked up by Luigi and everyone else to go see the sights. We were in three different cars and Zia and I ended up in the car with Luigi, Carla and Francesco. We drove higher and higher into the mountains and we were on our way to see Civitella del Tronto - a fortress in the mountains. The road kept getting higher and more twisting and we saw the fortress in the distance and it was huge and beautiful! We eventually got there and waited for everyone else. After a while, Luigi's phone rang and I'm not sure what happened but somehow everyone got mixed up and even though we were all supposed to meet at the fortress then go to the Adriatic Sea, the rest of the group ended up at the sea while we were in the mountains. There was nothing to do except for us to see the fortress and them to see the sea and we all agreed we'd just share stories and pictures later. So even though we were so high in the mountains, we climbed even higher to get to the top of the fortress. We walked quite a bit, and there were a lot of interesting things to see and the views were fantastic! From the top we could see into the region of Le Marche, which is the region North of Abruzzo. Carla told us she was originally from Le Marche and pointed out the direction where her family was from. We visited the museum and then walked back down, but not before Carla decided she was going to climb up onto the stone wall where the huge bell was and even though Luigi called for her to get down because she'd get hurt, she kept climbing until she reached the rope so she could swing it back and forth until the bell chimed for us! It was funny because Luigi was so worried about her but she was determined to ring the bell for us. I, of course, took pictures!

We headed back to the hotel to meet everyone and we found out that they were thoughtful enough to put some water from the Adriatic Sea into a bottle for us since we weren't able to go. We had just enough time to get ready to go to dinner - Marco's family was treating us at an agritourism restaurant called Le Macine and it is an old mill that made wine and olive oil and served typical Teramo products from their farm. (I added a link to their website under "My Favorite Links for all Things Italian" on the right side of this page - check it out, it will all look familiar. ) Cesare, Gigi, Angela, Marco and his girlfriend Nicoletta were all there. Nicoletta is adorable and speaks very good English. We had cheese, prosciutto, eggplant, tomatoes with pesto, bread with spreadable sausage, bread with hot spicy cheese, fried bread dough, pasta with duck, gnocchi, pork and lamb. We also had plenty of wine and pizza dolci for dessert - a typical Teramo dessert made with vino cota (cooked wine) that was delicious, and coffee and tea. It was a great meal! We gave them presents and Gary made an excellent speech as he gave out the gifts. He talked about Marco's visit with the family in New York and said we brought some products from home with us. He gave Marco and Gigi Weber's Mustard (which Marco told us he loved when he was here) and some Frank's hot sauce. He also gave Marco a "wooden car" - when he was in NYC he told Gary he kept seeing wooden cars and Gary had no idea what he was talking about and then one drove by them and it was actually a station wagon with wood panels, and Marco took pictures because he wanted to show everybody in Italy. Gary had found a small model one for him and brought it to him and they thought that was really funny. He gave Buffalo Bills shirts to Cesare, Gigi and Marco and we had honey soaps for Nicoletta and Angela. It was a great time and we really enjoyed the food and family! But now I am looking forward to tomorrow - we are going to visit Grandpa's house in Valle Vaccaro!

SEE: Sunday Morning: A Visit to Fratolli