Saint Petronius' Day in Bologna

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Dear Max and Dominic,

Last Thursday it was a public holiday in Bologna because it was "La Festa di San Petronio" so we went to explore our city a bit more. We are starting to understand better why this city is such a good place to live (although right at this exact moment, at midnight on Sunday night with pretty awful loud Italian music coming from the apartment right next door so I can't sleep, I'm not sure everything about Bologna is so perfect).

Scattered through the city are lots of little places called "Piazze" or piazzas. Not "pizzas", but places like the Square used to be in Christchurch. They usually have a cafe like the one in the picture and they are surrounded by nice old buildings. The one in the picture had some very grand old houses decorated with carved heads of various people that used to live in them looking down on the square. I think Tumnus the Faun must have lived here once.

Inside the ancient church that was nearby there was a very peaceful and beautiful square right in the middle. This one is called a "cloister" and you can easily imagine the monks walking around it in their long robes going to a church service. But see who is looking down on everything here - more carvings. I think this one didn't want to miss out on seeing anything interesting in the cloister, but he must get a tired neck.

We visited some of the special food shops near the city centre. They are amazing because they are full from floor to ceiling with delicious food. One of the names for this town is "Bologna the Fat" because the food is so good. For dinner we cooked up a special dish called tortellini in soup. Tortellini are tiny rolls of pasts with meat and cheese inside them, handmade by little old Italian women with names like Rosa and Maria. They are made with love and you would both love them.

In the main city square we watched a procession of trumpeters, drummers and a team of flag-throwers all wearing costumes like it was the Middle Ages. The flags get thrown into the air, sometimes from one person to another, sometimes to be caught by the same person again. One guy juggled four flags at once including using his feet to help. Pretty clever I reckon.

We ended our exploration at the church where Saint Dominic worked and was buried. That's who you are named after, Dom. The picture shows the mosaic pattern above the main door because he looks pretty friendly and his special sign is cute - it's a dog carrying a torch to set the world on fire with stories about God. Two baby angels are flying around to get a good look too. I'm not quite sure where the angels have put their bodies, but perhaps it's best not to ask. I can tell you where Saint Dominic's body is though - when I said he was buried in this church, that's not quite right. He's actually in a box right in the middle of a side chapel in the church, except for his skull, which is in a golden cage so you can see it. I tell you what, guys, when you see these kinds of things you know you're not in New Zealand any more!

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Comments

[vincent]

Amazing letters
Hi both u's, Such interesting letters&pictures make Dom&Max grow up very fast & mature.The festival sounds gud...what was it the celebrating! Cu Vincent