Borghi Romani

 Ciao and Happy Easter, or should I say Buona Pasqua! I spent the weekend with Gioias family and friends celebrating and learning all the Easter traditions and eating way too much food. On Easter or Pasqua, it is common to spend the day with extended family and on Easter Monday or Pasqutta (little easter) is the day to celebrate Easter with friends. These celebrations are similar to ours at home and I even got a chocolate egg from the easter bunny! Before all the easter preparations and celebrations, my host family took me to some local towns to explore and take photos, there’s been four that I’ve visited so far, besides Lariano and Velletri, the towns I live and go to school in. When I picture Italy I see little streets with stone roads and plants in every corner and these towns are exactly that. I love the quietness and architecture these parts of Italy have to offer and capturing it all with my camera makes it all feel so real and personal.

Gaia and I after eating way too much food for Easter

The town that started my little obsession is called Anagni, an ancient town in the province of Frosinone. Gioia, Mirna and I walked though the more modern part of this town to the original city centre where the cathedral and main monuments were. Mirna, Gioias Mom, explained that in the 1200s, this is where the home of the Pope was, she told the story of the “Outrage of Anagni” where Pope Boniface was captured in his palace in 1303 by French and Italian soldiers. Apparently the Pope was slapped by this guy named Sciarra Colonna, at least thats what I understood but when I researched it later I realized that slap was a big deal back then so thats why they call it an outrage. My favourite part of Anagni was the narrow streets with little ally ways that had doors to houses with plants along the walls and in windows, if you’ve ever seen my room before, you know I have an obsession with plants and flowers so you could imagine I happy I was to see plants everywhere. I was a little mad at myself for not bringing my camera so enjoy the iPhone pictures!

After learning a little more about the history and architecture on the Pope’s palace, we ate lunch in a little Restaurant near the centre of the town. It was one of the coolest buildings I’ve been in, the tables and walls were decorated in old art and the lights looked like they belonged in Hogwarts from Harry Potter. The whole building was stone and there was even a wine cellar at the bottom of some stairs in the middle of the restaurant. Soon after we picked a table the waiter brought out water and Antipasto Italian for “before the meal” which was a platter of meats, cheeses olives and honey (like a charcuterie board). Next we ordered three different kinds of pasta so we could all try each others. They all tasted so good, I couldn’t pick a favourite, mine was called Gricia. Lastly, we ordered Dolce Italian for sweets but it’s basically desert. Gioia ordered me a rock (sasso in italian but literally translates to a rock), I was very confused until I saw it… ice cream covered in grey chocolate that literally looked like a rock. It was one of the best meals I’ve eaten in Italy which says a lot because I’ve liked every meal here! 

The next town I visited was called Artena which is right beside Lariano. We drove past it a couple times before visiting and I was always astonished by it since it sits on the side of a mountain. We Started our day in the lower half of Artena, that isn't on the mountain, and sat at a cafe to drink espresso to prepare ourselves for the climb up, our goal was to reach the top for the best view. We walked up the streets with cute buildings and flowers everywhere, catching the view of the town below in-between some of the houses until we reached the top. The view was breathtaking and the hike up was well worth it at that point. I took lots of photos, by the time I was ready to walk back down Gioia might have been a little annoyed with me (I’m just kidding, she was too busy meeting all the stray cats that were enjoying the sun). We talked about getting Gelato before going back home, I thought we deserved it after reaching the highest point, but it was around lunch time so all the gelatorias were closed. In most parts of Italy, stores and restaurants close during lunch time but we did manage to find a cafe with some pastries instead. 

After showing Gioias family my photos of Artena, they told me they’d bring me to another town called Castel Gandolfo because we were invited to a birthday party in the same area. That day, we got ready, (we were dressed pretty nicely… they don’t mess around when it comes to birthdays) and left the house just as the sun was starting to set. It started to rain as we were walking to the centre of the town so I tried my best to get some good pictures. The Main Street was small but had so much character with its little restaurants and shops all lit up by warm street lights. At the end of the the street was a huge church with a fountain in front but what makes Castel Gandolfo special is the view of lake Albano which is formed in a small volcanic crater. With the rain and warm lighting it felt like we were apart of a movie, I made sure to get lots of photos especially of Gioia, Gaia and Mirna because we were all dressed up and the umbrellas made perfect props. We finished off the tour by walking past a property with a huge house with a fancy gate surrounding it, Mirna explained it was one of the Popes houses and he could choose to live there during the summer but most of the time he stays in Rome, if I were him I wouldn’t want to stay there either… I don’t know if it was the rain or dim lighting but that place was definitely haunted.

 

The most recent town I’ve visited was Nemi, the smallest village of the Castelli Romani. Just a twenty minute drive from Lariano, Nemi has beautiful views from both sides of the small village and lots of character. Just Gaia and I went to Nemi so she was my tour guide and told me all about the history and culture. Apparently, Nemi is famous for its wild strawberries which grow on the sides on the lake that this small town overlooks. As Gaia and I were walking down the streets I saw many bakery displays with tarts made with these small strawberries. We stopped to take pictures on the Terrazza degli Innamorati which means Terrace of Lovers. The view of lake Nemi and the town below was beautiful and was a popular place for many other tourists because it was very busy, especially for a small town like Nemi. We finished the tour off by visiting another church, Italy does not lack churches, this church was completely empty and I was surprised they leave buildings like this unlocked and open to the public. After filling my cameras SD card we left the town and headed back home.

Out of all the borghi Romani or Roman villages which is what they call them, my favourite was Artena because of how unique it was, I’ve never seen anything like it in Canada. Gioia asked me where I would live if I ever moved to Italy and if I had to choose one place it would be Anagni, the first village I visited, because I could picture myself decorating a little house hidden in an ally with plants just like all the other buildings, plus, the food there is amazing. She was surprised I didn’t say Artena but I don’t think I would love doing all the walking uphill, thats when she told me I could just use a mule like the locals do. Over all, these Villages in Italy have been the highlight of my experiences here so far and I’ll always have the photos to remember them by. Now I’m off to help clean up and reset after this easter weekend, I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays at home. Arrivederci e fino alla prossima volta!