Monday notes:
Italy has one of the lowest birth rates in Europe. One can offer many explanations for this, but one accepted theory is that Italians feel themselves to be burdened with even just one child. Two seems overwhelming. More? As someone in the parking lot remarked yesterday – “ tu es kuku!”
And why is it such a burden? In part, because the Italians indulge their children – emotionally and financially, all the way through adulthood (forgive the generalizations, we’re talking trends here). It is common for parents to exchange stories about “i sacrifice” that they make on a daily basis for their offspring.
For a mere visitor, watching families out and about for the holidays is heartwarming. The affection flowing toward the youngster(s) is palpable. I haven’t the heart to photograph much of it, but my eyes always roam to the families out late at night with their very young children in the communal atmosphere of the main piazza. Find me a central town square on a warm summer night and I’ll show you a carnival-like atmosphere where children and adults cavort – there’s no better word for it – and unwind after the stresses (and the sacrifices) of the day. (The further south you go in Italy, the more the balance shifts from work to unwinding.)
If it’s Tuesday…
It is Tuesday. It must be Todi, correct?
No, not Todi.
Where is this post being written?
Ravello.
Ravello??? That’s nowhere near Todi. I thought you were in Umbria?
I am staying, for the most part in Umbria, except today I am in Ravello.
How far away is that?
About a five hour drive. It’s actually south of Rome, on the Amalfi coast. You can only get to it by taking your life in your hands and driving along a road meant for the width of a bicycle, perched high over a precipice that promises instant death if you steer a bit too sharply in the wrong direction.
Now why would anyone rent a farmhouse in Umbria and then leave it for a night in Ravello?
You have to experience Ravello to understand the logic behind it. Once you’ve been there you have only two choices: come back as soon as possible or die.
That’s rather dramatic, isn’t it?
That is, in essence, Ravello. I first came to the Amalfi coast when I was an adolescent. After seeing it, I thought I had experienced all that life has to offer. It’s a dramatic kind of place. I can’t give a better explanation than that.
So, you took a break from Umbria and Todi. At least you had the first few days in your Umbrian farmhouse, right?
Actually yesterday (Monday) I went to Rome.
To Rome??? And so you basically gave up on the farmhouse and Umbria?
No! Not at all. I went to Rome for the afternoon. Monday morning and evening time were in Todi, at the farmhouse. A morning walk in the Umbrian hills is one of the most beautiful experiences you can have. Rome, however, is a mere 80 minute train ride away. You can’t be that close and not want to hop over for a dose of city life.
What, you saw all of Rome in one afternoon?
I didn’t go to Rome to SEE it. For instance, almost two hours of the afternoon there were spent in a basement restaurant over lunch. Another hour was devoted to people-watching in the Piazza Navona – it’s surely the best place in the world to people-watch. And the fountains on the Square send chills up your spine.
It was chilly in Rome?
It was hot, sunny, breezy, sublime. After, I was in time for a late dinner (late by Madison standards, early by Mediterranean norms) back in Todi. Then, this morning (Tuesday), I drove the long stretch to Ravello and so here I am.
Okay, okay, tell it in photos! You’re literally begging to do so, go for it!
A PHOTO INDULGENCE:
