Living in San Giorgio di Pesaro and Kingston

On Friday Bill, Elizabeth and I went to the south of the Marche, to a small town called Belforte del Chienti. We went to see a Polyptych in the church of St. Eustachio. This  is, apparently, the largest polyptych in Europe. It was painted in 1468 by Giovanni Boccati and remains complete in its original frame. (When Napoleon controlled Italy he had wanted to take it back to France but the local priest had taken the painting to pieces and had hidden it in the roof of the church.)

From San Giorgio we went by motorway to Citanova Marche and then travelled inland to Belforte which is just beyond Tolentino. It is a beautiful little village (below left). The church is in the small central piazza and is open in the mornings and afternoons. When we went in we couldn’t find the light switch to illuminate the painting. However, in the main square there is a small tourist office/proloco which was open. (Afterwards I noticed a notice on the door giving various telephone numbers of people who will open the church if the tourist office is closd). The young man on duty came across, switched on the light and then explained who the various figures in the painting were. Having travelled an hour and a half to get to the church I am glad to report that it was well worth the effort.

In the town square there is also a bar which was unfortunately closed as we had arrived on the feast day of Saint Eustachio. However, although we didn’t get a cup of coffee the guide from tourist office had mentioned in passing that coming to the church on the saints feast day got rid of all sins.
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Erika and Thomas had been telling us about the fields of wild flowers up on Monte Petrano near Cagli. So on Sunday we went with Anne from Mondavio and Nick a friend of Anne’s. We went up in the morning as the weather forecast was for heavy rain in the afternoon.

We made it to Cagli but missed the sign for the short, good road up to the summit of Monte Petrano and instead took the long bad road. So instead of getting to the top of the mountain in five minutes we arrived 45 minutes later having passed some fantastic scenery but not seeing much of it as we tried to manouvre the car round the potholes in the road. 

The summit of Monte Petrano is not a peak but a plateau and if Sunday was a typical day then cool and windy. In spring the fields are covered in wild flowers. Early in the year there are crocusus but at the moment it is covered with buttercups, orchids and beautiful wild narissi. When we arrived the visibility was bad  and so we didn’t see across to Tuscany but we did see lots of wild flowers. The nice thing is that although there are a few paths it is OK to walk across the fields and enjoy the flowers.

Can’t believe a year has passed since the last Colle Maratona – the marathon run from Barchi to Fano. There were 1,021 entrants this year. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day and probably not ideal for at least 3 hours of running.

As last year it was an African who was in front when they reached San Giorgio. In second place was a north African. (When talking to some friends about the blog entry I said I could call it “The Future of Italy” as with lots of immigrants arriving from Africa in recent months people are concerned about the impact on Italy’s future and if the immigrants are winning the Barchi to Fano Marathon where will it all end.)

Normally the event passes uneventfully but this year there was a fall. The road past our house is on a nasty slope and the road surface is not the best. A group of runners were passing by and suddenly one fell. Not sure if it was the road surface or if he had touched one of the other runners but he went flying to the ground and when he struggled up his shoulder and leg were badly scraped.

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Here  in the Marche when approaching a town you are often confronted with a sign telling you why the town is famous. None go as far as saying “Town of wine, women and song” but simple statements such as San Michael the “town of the parks” or Cartoceto the “town of olive oil”.

We went to Cattolica last week for the “Cattolica in Flower Festival”. There were no signs on the approach to Cattolica but we wouldn’t have been surprised is it had annonced itself as the “city of fountains” as scattered throughout the town are various fountains each of different size and beauty but no doubt all of them memorials to ex mayors who wanted to have his name remembered by future generations.

We went to the festival not expecting very much as last year we had been to the “Fano in Flower Festival”. Fortunately when they say Cattolica in Flower they mean Cattolica in flower as 5 or 6 of the main streets were full of market stalls selling potted plants. We bought some jasmine, some rhubarb (the first time I had seen it for sale in Italy) and 14 Busy Lizzies for 10 euros. I was slightly disappointed that there weren’t many stalls sellling shrubs but overall it was a really good show. Extra bonuses were the weather which was warm and sunny despite the forecast for cool, dull weather. Another bonus was the nice cafes were you could relax between visiting the market stalls and finally we found a very nice fish restaurant which looked rather uninviting from the outside but they had very friendly staff and served good fish.  

Easter lunch is a family affair in Italy. This year we invited Pam and John (Roscoe), Pam and Michael (Wood) and Elizabeth (Thompson from Cabernardi). The picture is the table after the guests had departed.

We had hoped to eat outside but the weather was cool and cloudy. However, we did manage to down a couple of bottles of prosecco out on the terrace but had to move inside for a delicious lunch of Pasta with courgettes, ricotta and mint, followed by apricot stuffed boned chicken, greenbean and chickpea salad and finished off with home made apple pie.

Everyone seemed to have a good time and no-one seemed to mind looking at the mounting mass of dirty pots, dishes etc, as the meal progressed.

Just before we celebrated the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy we received a copy of the constitution. This was sent, by the mayor, to every household in the village. for me it was very interesting and I have actually been reading parts of it as on discussion programmes on TV there are lots of references to particular clauses of the Constitution.

However, we heard that the mayor of Barchi, a nearby village, had opted to send every household an Italian flag. Not sure if a flag is better than the constitution but no doubt on the big day Barchi was full of flags.

Yesterday, the 17th March, Italy celebrated the 150th anniversary of its unification. Here in San Giorgio the mayor had sent out a notice asking people to display the Italian flag. On the day San Giorgio responded with about 6 or 7 flags down the whole length of via Garibaldi.

On the 16th we had gone for a coffee in “La Dolce Vita”, a cafe on the road to Pergola. Normally they celebrate everything. At Christmas they have a white Christmas tree with lots of lights and ribbons. At Easter there are chocolate eggs and fluffy chickens everywhere. But for 150 years of unity there was nothing. I asked the waitress why they were not celebrating and she said they would be putting up a flag on the 17th. When I asked her where she would buy a flag she said they had one from the World Cup too years ago. The same was true for other people I asked. So had lots of San Giorgio’s citzens bought a flag two years ago and now couldn’t be bothered to get it out?

Or could he lack of flags be due to lack of availability. We decided to be patriotic and went to buy a flag at the supermarket – none available. Then we tried Roberts’s our local newsagent and again she was sold out. On the news the same situation was being reported all over Italy. Shopkeepers, surprised by the demand, had none left. However, the lack of preparedness on the part of shopkeepers is not surprising. With the World Cup people knew a couple of years in advance that Italy would be there. However, as the Government only finally decided in February that the day would be a national holiday a lack of preparedness on the part of shopkeepers or a lack of enthusiasm on the part of the people is understandable.

Of course, on the day there were lots of large scale events in Rome, Milan, Torino etc. But perhaps the lack of flags, of house parties of enthusiasm in a small village like San Giorgio confirms what surveys say i.e. that after 150 years people feel a stronger attachment to their town than they do to their nation.

Observant readers of the blog will remember this photo. It is part of the publicity leaflet for the play “La Casa della Luna Calante” recently staged by the “San Giorgio Players”. On U-tube it is now possible to see about 15 minutes of the play. All you have to do is Click here.

If your feel you cannot bear watching amateur dramatics where people are speaking in dialect then you can amuse yourself by looking at an interesting card trick on u-tube. Pam and Michael from Tavernelle brought this to our notice. Click here.

On Sunday the San Giorgio carnival took place. This year the theme was music which meant the Supremes, the Village People etc came marching down Via Garibaldi and then marched back again to the front of the Commune where, after more singing and dancing, sweets and chocolates were thrown to the waiting crowd.

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From Tuesday to Saturday last week the 61st San Remo Music Festival took place. This is the Italian equivalent of the Eurovision Song contest but instead of lasting 1 night it lasts 5 nights. Each evening on television from 9.00pm to midnight the competition unfolds with the winner finally (!)being announced late Saturday evening.

On Italian television variety shows it is traditional to have 3 presenters – one short man and two tall, beautiful women or one old man and two tall, beautiful women or one ugly man and two tall, beautiful women or one short, old, ugly man and two tall, beautiful women. In the last couple of years the San Remo Festival went against this trend and had a single presenter and a show which had been declining in popularity bounced back. However, this year it reverted to type and had: Gianni Morandi the Cliff Richard of the Italian pop world; Elizabetta Canalis best known for being the current girlfriend of George Clooney; Belen Rodriguez an Argentinian showgirl who is famous in Italy for a series of television adverts and her body. And the show was a great success with over 50% of italian television viewers opting for the festival. We opted instead for going out. 

The idea of one man two women presenters exists in other types of tv programes. The highlight must be a programme called “Vivere Meglio” (Live Better). It aims to give advice on health and lifestyle issues and has the winning combination of 1 short, old, ugly man with 4 tall, beautiful women.