Sorry… but it had to be a lazy almost do nothing day..after all it was Augsut 15th,,the day that really means RELAX…my favorite way to spend it is a trip to my favorite town..my grandfather’s birthplace and the (once) location of my great grandparent’s vineyard….in the mountains of Abruzzo…no fast food in site…only really Slowwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Food…
a pause in the town of Tagliacozzo…..
Posted inCaro Diario. (Dear diary...) Italy Travel
Oh, I was so looking forward to reading something that someone else found interesting about Tagliacozzo.
We lived there for 3 years. As soon as you pass the cemetary on your left (going west)and then over a small road bridge…the 1st house on the right. Our time there was most probably the best time of my life!
The food is wonderful, the wine even more so and the friendships made, still holding to this day. We use to visit restaurants both in Tagliacozzo and Avezzano, but there is something good to be said about even the smallest places to eat…they mostly cook on the grills in fireplaces. Frank and Marissa use to serve the most delicious lasagna and Marissa made the whole thing from scratch. When inviting friends for dinner, she often made the lasagna for me to bake at home. Frankie was a wiz with the meat and scamorzza on the grill. Alas, they closed the restaurant many years ago. Midday dinner at Restaurant Marina was always a wonderful experience. It is nice when you get to know people so well, they just send out what is cooking and going on in the kitchen…”taste, you must taste”! Evenings there would take us close to midnight, with friends all sitting around, chatting, singing..and yes, drinking good wine. Most of all was the hospitality shown by so many by inviting us into their homes for lunch or dinner, trekking into the mountains for a daylong picnic with large groups of Italians to celebrate their Labor Day. Walking in procession through the streets of Tagliacozzo, following the Madonna to the Piazza Obelisk for different ceremonies.
Noone ever stood on formality…But then, that is Tagliacozzo!
Joanna:thanks so much for sharing your stories of Tagliacozzo with me and my subscribers also. I will be back there soon, and reading this I can not wait for the trip! There seems to be something almost magical about this little town. And everything you have mentioned here is absolutely correct. correct, this is just as it is! My grandfather used to tell stories about his town- Tagliacozzo- after dinner every Sunday and show pictures and I could not understand why his eyes would light up every time he talked about it..and didn’t get to visit till he passed, but now I know. I think he somehow guided me there. No matter whee I am in Italy, it always seems like Tagliacozzo is calling me to visit and I can never resist to spend a day or evening there.
Hope you can visit again soon!
Maria