Tomorrow is Liberation Day here in Italy. It commemorates the day when Italy was liberated by Allied troops during the Second World War.

There will be various celebrations and even some protests in different cities throughout the country, along with fairs, concerts, and various other events.

Of course, schools and offices will be closed. And, since it happens to fall on a Friday this year, people are happy because they get a long weekend.

Happy Liberation Day!

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For most everyone, Valentine’s Day was a normal work day, celebrated mainly in the evening, but here in Palmoli, “La festa degli innamorati” is a special day. Saint Valentine is our patron saint, so the schools are closed and we have a special celebration.

The day began with fireworks at 8 AM (just in case someone was thinking about sleeping in, I guess). Being right by the school, we had the extra added benefit of hearing the marching band practice. Mass is at 11:00, but before that, many people head down to the Piazza to say goodmorning and wish everyone a good day. The marching band also comes down to play a few songs.

Then it’s mass at 11:00 and, although I have to admit that the church is rarely crowded, on feast days and holidays, it’s standing room only. Laurel leaves are strewn over the stone floor and the church is decorated with roses and other flowers. The statue of Saint Valentine has been moved out of his cubby hole to the place of honor next to the altar. (The various Saints’ statues are moved throughout the season.)

The church has been endowed with two relics of Saint Valentine, one is a piece of his arm bone that is encased in a bronze urn, and the other is his sacred remains. During mass, everyone files up and kisses the bronze urn that holds his arm bone. Then, when mass ends, the statue of Saint Valentine and his banner are removed from church and carried through the town, followed by a procession of town-people.

The Saint Valentine Chapel with the sacred remains

During the afternoon there is a special session in the church to bless the children. Then in the evening there is various entertainment.

History

On March 10, 1736, Saint Valentine was voted Patron Saint of Palmoli by unanimous vote of the clergy, the citizens and the Marchese di Gagliati, Baron of Palmoli.

The town already owned a sacred relic of Saint Valentine, the Sacred Arm, given to the church Santa Maria delle Grazie in 1705.

During the reign of Pope Leo XII, the town obtained the remains of Saint Valentine, authenticated by Cardinal Giuseppe Perugino, through the efforts of the Marchese of Palmoli. On November 18, 1824, the sacred Urn containing the remains was transported by sea from Rome to Naples, then overland to Trivento where it was met by a crowd of devotees, ready to escort the Saint to his new home in Palmoli.

Painting on the ceiling of the church, Santa Maria delle Grazie, in Palmoli

According to legend, the people of Trivento wanted to keep the sacred relic in their town, however, San Valentino raised his arm as if to say “To Palmoli, to Palmoli”, and off they went. When they reached the nearby town of Mafalda, also devoted to San Valentino, the townspeople there also wanted to keep the Saint’s remains. After much discussion, a test was devised. They hooked the carriage containing the saint to two untried oxen. The decision was made that if the oxen took the road toward Mafalda, the saint would stay in Mafalda. If they took the road to Palmoli, the saint would continue his journey to
Palmoli. And so, the oxen were hooked to the carriage and, as you can imagine, they took the road towards Palmoli.

Thus the journey continued, reaching Palmoli on December 22, 1824.

In 1898, construction began on the Saint Valentine chapel in the church and it was later inaugurated in 1904.

Palmoli celebrates its patron saint on Saint Valentine’s Day, naturally, and also on the first weekend in September, with mass, a procession through town, and various other diversions.

Every 25 years a special celebration is held and the procession carries the sacred remains of Saint Valentine through the town.

Santa Maria delle Grazia (this picture was taken last year during the Easter season)

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Truffles are something that I’ve only recently discovered – mainly because they’re very expensive. But, they grow in this area, so they are used in some local dishes and we see them quite a bit at different fairs. A small jar of chopped black truffles (90 grams) costs 13 euro. (It seems like a lot, but go check your spice cabinet, see how much is in one of those jars and figure out how much you would end up paying for 90 grams of that particular spice.) Fortunately, it only takes a little bit to get that full truffle aroma. Added after the dish is already cooked, they are fantastic when grated over warm pasta. Just put a little olive oil on the pasta, put it in a dish, and grate some truffle over top.

Truffles are found underground at the roots of trees – mainly oak. Locally we have mostly black truffles although there are some areas nearby where white truffles can be found.

We were going to wait until tonight to go to the truffle sagra over in Torrebruna but, considering that we have our own sagra scheduled here in Palmoli, we decided to head over there last night.

The place was packed. We estimated around 1500 people were there. Considering that it’s a 4 day event, that’s a lot of truffles! It started at 7, we got there around 8 and, by the time we were done eating and ready to leave, there were more people still arriving. This is one successful sagra. It’s very well organized too. You pay at the cash register and they give you a ticket listing what you ordered. You can choose the whole meal or break it down into parts. Then a server comes by, takes the ticket and quickly and efficiently brings you your food and drinks. The plates, cups, and utensils were all plastic – it was a sagra after all – but the food was delicious.

Here’s the truffle ravioli

and the roasted cheese with truffle.

This kicks off the season for us. O is on vacation starting tomorrow so we’ll be out and about, going to fairs and sagras, visiting some local sights. So, my entries may be a bit sporadic for the next few weeks. But, I’ll be taking pictures to share with you once things get back to normal and posting now and again.

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There is never a lack of things to do here in August with various festivals, musical events, and sagre.

A sagra, for those who don’t know, is a food-based event celebrating a typical dish or product of the area. For example, here in town we have the Sagra della Ventricina on the 10th and the Sagra dello spezzatino d’agnello on the 13th. Ventricina is a local pork salami that is made specifically in this part of Abruzzo and in the neighboring part of the Molise - the area basically known as the Vastese. Spezzatino d’agnello is a local dish of lamb slow-cooked in sauce so that the lamb becomes very tender. Both products/dishes are characterized by a specific procedure that is used in making them. Ventricina can be bought commercially and there are a few small local companies that sell it. If you’re going to buy it, it’s best to buy it from the small companies. On the other hand, many people make their own and each person’s is slightly different. It must be done during the winter and aged properly. But, I don’t want to go too far down that path. I’ll talk more about ventricina when it comes time to make it.

Back to the sagre……This isn’t a local thing, there are sagras all over Italy. For tourists and visitors, it’s a great opportunity to try some local food. For those that live in the town it’s an opportunity to celebrate their traditions with family and friends. (And, for those who were wondering, no, they’re not free, but they’re usually not all that costly either).

Coming up in the next few days, in some of the local towns, we have two other Sagre della Ventricina - one at Guilmi and one at Carunchio. There’s the Sagra di “sagne e fasciule” (basically pasta and beans or, if you prefer, pasta e fagiole) in Vasto the 9th & 10th and the Sagra dell’arrosticino in Fossacesia the 9th, 10th, and 11th. Arrosticini are sort of like shish kebabs, but they contain only small pieces of mutton and are grilled.

Nearby Tufillo offers cavatelli and sausage at their sagra on August 11th.

In Pennapiedimonte there’s the Sagra del Cinghiale. Cinghiale is wild boar which are found all over this area and sometimes cause much dismay to those trying to grow a garden. And last, but certainly not least, is the Sagra del Tartufo at Torrebruna which runs from August 8 through the 11th. This is one I’m particularly looking forward to as I really like truffles. We’re not talking about the chocolate or ice cream kind either.

That’s not all though. There are lots more that I haven’t mentioned here since basically every town has a Sagra at some point during the summer. The hardest part is choosing which ones to go to.

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This weekend was festival weekend here in town. Well, it really started on the 16^th when we had the Festa della Madonna del Carmine. We have what we call the Collegio below town which was once a monastery, then a school for priests, and is now where the priests live. It has always been the Madonna del Carmine Sanctuary and contains a statue of her. Following the tradition here in town, there is a procession on the 16^th and she is carried up to the main church in town, accompanied by the townspeople carrying candles and often, fireworks. She remains there until the 27^th of July when she is returned to her proper place.

The festival starts on the 26^th of July, when the town celebrates the Festa di Santa Anna. That evening there is usually a musical event – this year it was a concert with Paolo Vallesi. Then the 27^th starts bright and early, usually with fireworks although they were cancelled this year due to the fear of fire. Mass is held and the statue is carried throughout the village. Afterwards, she is followed up the main streeet in town by the “Pacchianelle”. This is a parade of offerings to the Madonna. People prepare carts, baskets, etc. and parade them up the hill. Some of them are very elaborate. The carts are decorated in a traditional theme and pulled up the hill on tractors. There was one built like the kitchen of an old house and the woman inside was making pasta. Another was made with the various implements used to weave cloth. And, of course, we had one with a festa theme – a barrel of vino cotto and some ventricina and cheese to be passed around.

Porchetta

Making pasta

Small cart

Festa

Everyone then gathers in the park, there are ventricina pannini for sale and just general visiting before mass at 11. Then, in the afternoon is the auction. All the items offered are auctioned off in the piazza (Piazza Marconi that is). They range from baked goods to watermelon, whole porchettas to baskets full of prodotti tipici. There are even live animals – rabbits, sheep, pigs, goats. I wanted to bid on the cute little goat, but we didn’t have anyplace to put it. Next year maybe we’ll put up a fence out in the garden and bid on some of the animals. Of course, those bidding on the rabbits are probably planning on eating them. I like rabbit, but could never cook it after having looked at it. A weakness, I guess.

Do you see the goat?

That evening the Madonna is returned to the Collegio with another procession. Afterwards everyone files by (well, this is Italy, so it’s nowhere near as organized as that sounds) and pays their respects to the Madonna before making the long trek back up the hill to town.

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