Trip to Italy - Journal Entry #23 - September 28, 2009 - 8:00 am
After touring the church in Portalbera, and the small park next door, we were then invited inside Angela's house. This is a very old home, but it is also very beautiful and extremely comfortable inside. I have the feeling that Italians build things to last! As is common, however, we did not stay inside the house. Instead, we toured a few of the downstairs rooms and then proceeded out the back door onto a beautiful outdoor patio area -- under a wonderful old arbor! This is where we visited for a few minutes and enjoyed tea and coffee with biscuits.
We did not stay long, but Angela joined us in the car for the return trip to Stradella. On the way out of Portalbera, we drove by the Moroni family homestead where Dad's mom and Zia Chiara were born. This house is 400 or more years old. Today, a cousin, Rafaella, and her family live in the house.
We made one more stop on the way out of Portalbera - the local cemetery where many of our
ancestors are buried. This is a cemetery unlike any I have ever seen in the US. Most of the markers are in the walls that surround the cemetery and on each marker is a photograph of the deceased. On many of the grave sites, there are flowering plants, and at the wall markers, there are also fresh flowers in vases as well as an occasional light fixture or candle. Clearly, Italians very much honor the memories of their dead. Some of the graves we saw here included Angela's husband, Rosita's husband, Ugo, and Dad's grandmother.
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