When Winter isn’t your season

Winter didn’t really arrive in Tufillo until after the New Year. We were blissfully deluded that we would now just skim over the winter season since we lived closer to the sea…Such naivety! Granted, this was not the usual snow for Tufillo and they hadn’t had one like this since 2017, but still here we were. Ok, so we are going to have a real winter and me being a not winter person, I needed to find the fun in it all for the next month or so.

The first two days during and after this snow, I got outside and walked around as we all love snow when it’s fresh and the sky is clear. What captured so many of us here in Abruzzo with this particular snow was its color… blue! No kidding and it wasn’t the reflection of the sky but the absorption of the colors in the spectrum. What causes blue snow?

And when it all melted, we headed out for a trek to the mountain town of Montemitro, just south of us in the region of Molise.

Montemitro (also called Mundimitar) is a small town and comune in the province of Campobasso in the Molise region of Italy, near the Trigno river.

Like Acquaviva Collecroce and San Felice del Molise, Montemitro is home to a community of Molisian Croats, most of whom speak a particular Croatian dialect (they call it simply naš jezik, or “our language“) as well as Italian.

Montemitro was granted an Honorary Consulate by Croatia.

The patron saint of Montemitro is Saint Lucia; the church dedicated to her is the church of Santa Lucia Vergine e Martire. However, the town does not celebrate the feast of Saint Lucia on its customary date (December 13), but rather on the first and last Fridays of May. This honors the crossing of the Adriatic Sea to Italy in the 15th century by the town’s ancestors; they are believed to have carried a statue of Saint Lucia with them, arriving in Italy on a Friday in May.

Wikipedia

Looking left off our terrace, we can see this small town perched on a mountain top on the other side of the Trigno River. I checked out possible trails and roads, with the least amount of traffic, that would take us from Tufillo, across the river and up to Montemitro. The weather was a perfectly cool day, sunny and the trek just lovely. The small town of Montemitro was hushed for winter but my understanding is that there are more in residence in the warmer months. The window boxes are full of brightly colored flowers and there are some summer festivals. We will return! On the way home we jumped on part of the Maurizio Salvatore Trail that took us back to the historic center of Tufillo.

Description of trek along with track can be found at this WIKILOC link .

Having fun can also go hand-in-hand with helping someone other than myself, so I volunteered to help our town’s local goatherder, Federica Benemeo. This past summer, she took over care of this dairy herd from longtime herdsman, Attilio Marino. Even though the original herd was greatly reduced and manageable, having assistance, with the workload and unpredictably of working with animals, is important.

John and I both come to this life in Abruzzo with the love of animals. We have individually and collectively had horses, cats, dogs, chickens, and turkeys. I can’t attest for John but I can unequivocally say that I actually enjoy the smell of some manures, such as horse and cow. So goats aren’t’ too far of a stretch for me. Many of us can’t help ourselves around cute animal babies, as we coo over their cuteness and antics. Now adult goats come with horns and hooves and usually take a backseat to their kids in the adorable category, but I came with lots of experience from working in horse barns in the past, so I felt I was up for the job.

And it has been an amazing experience; helping with new babies, croon to the mommas as Federica cares for them whether they have too much milk, a sore hoof or whatever they may need. I also get to spend a few hours out in the countryside with Federica and the herd as they graze. I hope that I can help more in the future. It gives me the chance to help where needed as well as time with animals out in the countryside.

Carnevale In Italy

Carnevale in Italy adds a splash of brightness to the gloomy, chilly winter months. A massive farewell party to eat, drink, and have fun before the limitations and solemnity of Lent. About a month before Ash Wednesday, Italians celebrate over many weekends with big parades, fancy masks, and tons of brightly colored confetti. The origins of this event may be traced to ancient Greece and Rome, when they worshipped Bacchus and Saturn. Some think they date back to archaic winter-to-spring ceremonies. Despite its pagan origins, the event was so extensively celebrated and the tradition so powerful that it was swiftly altered to fit into Catholic rituals. Carnevale is traditionally celebrated on Fat Tuesday (February 21 in 2023), but the weekend prior features just as large or maybe more significant activities. The most famous carnivals in Italy are those held in Venice, Viareggio, Ivrea, Cento, Apulia and Acireale. These carnivals include sophisticated masquerades and parades.

Wikipedia

It’s been a few years since towns have celebrated due to COVID restrictions. Now Italians get to express their love for color, humor, food and spectacle! The larger cities, especially Venice, have gone all out with their costumes this year. In the smaller communities, such as Tufillo, it will take a year or two to bounce back. But it was wonderful to see everyone out enjoying the funny and colorful floats!

I found a lot to keep me going through the winter, and thankfully for me, we didn’t have much more snow after that big one… I’m just not keen on cold weather (anything below 55F LOL). Now it’s the end of Febuary and the fields are greening up and Spring will be here soon. We have lots planned for the next coming months; a trip (finally) to see family and friends in the US, a surprise 70th birthday trip this July for John (and I’m just as excited!) and another cammino later this fall. We are always planning but at the same time very grateful for each and every day we get to experience this amazing life that we have here.

Thank you for reading my posts and I hope they give you the chance to dream your dream… and maybe make it real someday. Until next time…