MILESTONES

Everyone has memorable moments that stand out as highlights or markers...extraordinary events that shape their lives. Some are planned, others are not.

Weddings - as young lovers and products of the rebellious 60's, we defied generations of tradition and family wishes and declined the expected "big fat Italian wedding", choosing instead an intimate ceremony and reception.

Military Service - newly married, we naively embarked upon a two year Army assignment to Naples, Italy, believing that we'd fit right in because of our Italian-American background.

Careers - finally able to pursue our respective careers, we bought a house and partied like the 80's yuppies we were.

Parenthood - we were blown away by the indescribable intensity of emotions and the sheer, absolute love that erased all the previous self-centeredness of our lives. We devoted ourselves to the unparalleled joy of raising a child.

Empty Nest - the necessity to re-focus and set new goals became a priority. Which brings us to...

Two Thousand Ten...Twenty-Ten...2010 - however we refer to this year, it will always mark an enormous milestone for us. We lived in Italy! For as long as we can remember, spending a year in Italy had been a goal....a dream. We didn't know when or how or if, but we never stopped dreaming and researching and learning and preparing in anticipation of "someday".

It is with a huge sense of gratitude that we add "Our Year in Italy" to our list of milestones: for grandparents who were brave enough to emigrate; for families who maintained the traditions; for expats who blogged and shared; and for Soriano residents who were kind and welcoming and infinitely helpful. Mille grazie!

Alex's Video B'Day Card from Norcia, Italy

We're in Norcia...a small Umbrian hill town known for it's wild boar, truffles and pork products. We recorded this video birthday card for Alex...we really miss you and wish you could be with us here.

THE PERGOLA

If there were a footbridge across the ravine, we could walk from our apartment to the piazza in about 2 minutes. But there is no footbridge, only a road that has three switchback turns. It takes about 15 minutes on foot by this road to arrive in piazza. There's a regal old palazzo that sits at the top of the hill, just before the first turn. The unpaved driveway is guarded by a decorative iron gate. Over the driveway is an enormous pergola where a few bare grapevines remained. When we first arrived last March, the pergola was brown and dry and dead looking. Those vines could not possibly be alive!
Along the left side of the pergola, a low stone wall stone wall steps down every few meters as it follows the driveway down into the ravine. At each step-down, a huge terra cotta planter holds a mature lemon tree. The right side of the pergola is bordered by a high stone wall that offers privacy from the street. Depending on the blooming season, a tangle of wisteria, jasmine and multiple varieties of roses is climbing the wall and perfuming the air. With the arrival of summer, the vines miraculously filled in and the pergola became laden with grape leaves, curling tendrils and budding bunches of grapes, that have recently begun to mature....right on schedule!
We've watched patiently as the changing seasons brought life and fruit to this fantastic pergola. You get to see it all at once.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

We just want to let everyone know that we've started our very excellent adventure to Northern Italy and Southern France. As you can see, it's a little windy in Como (nice hair, Bill). While we're visiting friends and family we'll try to post but, as always, it will spend on he availability and quality of our Vodafone wireless service.

Stay tuned for more...

HOW WE DISCOVERED SORIANO

Although the final decision to begin our year in Italy last March was made very quickly, it was the result of many years of wishful planning. During those years, we connected via internet with Americans who live in Italy. They were always amazingly kind and generous with their insights and advice about living here. Two internet sites were also invaluable. Expats-in-Italy (www.expatsinitaly.com) is a place where non-Italians living in Italy have established a community of support, advice and resources for making the move. SlowTravel (www.slowtravel.com) is a virtual network of travelers who share their experiences about taking the road less traveled.

So in January 2010, I zeroed in on Viterbo, a city of about 60,000 people in Alto (northern) Lazio, bordering Tuscany and Umbria. It is just about dead-center on the "boot", making travel north and south equally accessible. According to TrenItalia, the state-run rail system, Viterbo has train service to all the places we might want to go...Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, with connecting commuter service to smaller towns. We were considering the possibility of city living without a car.

I posted a query on the Expats and SlowTravel forums, asking if anyone lived in Viterbo

Larry and his wife, Heather, lived in the Centro Storico (historic center) of Viterbo. They rented a small furnished apartment and managed quite well without a car. Larry even mailed me a map of the city to help me get familiar with the neighborhoods.
(Oh, did I mention that Larry and Heather are serious cyclists who walked or rode everywhere? (www.cycleitalia.com))

. We have discovered Vino Nobile in Montepulciano, Brunello in Montalcino and visited private cellars and olive mills, where lunch was prepared and served in the exquisite outdoor setting. We've heard Gregorian Chants at an Abbey once visited by Charlemagne and seen the Basilica of St. Frances of Assisi. We've decended deep underground into one of the oldest wine cellars and climbed a 300 meter land bridge to the Dying City of Civita' di Bagnoregio.......exactly why we came here in the first place.

And THAT is why we chose to live in Soriano! I mean, how lucky can you get?