Advertisement
The Marche Region
The view out over the countrysideThe time has come when I needed to get off my ass and go and visit the country that gave me my heritage. As always money and time was a problem, but as the expiration of my visa was fast approaching and I knew I had to be out of the country before then, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to go and discover my roots.
My crazy italian friend, Marianna Bonaventuuuuura was heading home for the holidays so I decided that my first plan would be to go back with her and visit her home town. Our flight left early on Sunday morning, but being Londoners we decided to go out for a 'few' drinks the night before, have chinese at 3am, and then get to bed at around 4am (meanwhile Marianna still hadn't packed!). So after 2 hours sleep we awoke hungover and tired, and somehow made our way to the airport. Marianna's friend Evie from her home town met us at the airport and we all flew together. The funny thing was, she had also had a big night out and nearly missed the plane because of it! The flight was fairly uneventful, we slept, Marianna's
legs sprawled out over me as we desperately tried to get comfortable.
We arrived in Ancona which is in the Marche region, on the north west coast of Italy. As soon as we got off the plane I was greeted with a hot blast of Italian air. It was really hot, but I didn't care, I was in my homeland and I was ready for some culture. Marianna's dad (Gianfranco) met us along with Evie's parents. Gianfranco looked like a typical Italian man that lives the by the seaside. He was so tanned that he looked black, and his floral shirt and pink trousers just completed the image. Evie's parents spoke a little English, but their English was as good as my Italian, which means we didn't really communicate at all. As for Gianfranco, it was a lost cause trying to communicate but over the few days that I stayed with their family, we managed to make each other understood. The drive to Marianna's village was great, I didn't realised that she actually lived right out in the countryside. Up and down winding hills, past fields of sunflowers and acres of farmland. I thought I was going to be
sick until eventually we got to the quaint town of San Severino Marche. It was so beautiful, cobblestone paths, concrete houses painted in warm reds and oranges, and italian flags proudly hanging from every window. I met Giacomo, (Marianna's little brother whom the people refer to as Ronaldini because he is a fantastic footballer) and it was really touching to see how much they had missed each other. Watching them embrace made me realise how much I miss my own brothers and sister and how a bond like that is so special. Next came Dorianna, Marianna's mother and before I even had time to say hello lunch was being prepared. I was in for a treat as a typical italian feast was laid out before me. I wasn't complaining, I was starving, but afterwards as Marianna and I rolled out of the house I realised that I was probably going to get fat on this trip. As we were eating I had a strong sense of nostalgia and really started to miss my family back home. The way we all sat around the table eating pasta, and bread and salads, even the way Giacomo playfully joked with his parents and
Mari
An alleyway just off the main Piazza the way Marianna muttered under breath in English that her mum was already nagging her, just made me feel homsick.
After lunch Martina and Adolfo (Marianna's friends) picked us up and we went into the piazza (town square). Once again it was beautiful, the streets and buildings were everything I thought Italy would look like and more. The town is quite small, with a population of only 13,000, everyone knows everyone. As we were walking the streets every 5 minutes I'd hear "Ah Mari!" the girl from the big city had returned and everyone was so excited to see her. I would just smile, shake hands and say "Ciao, Rob. Piacere" Some spoke English, but most didn't, that didn't bother me though as I just loved being surrounded by the language and I can honestly say that as the days go by my Italian is really improving. Met up with some more friends and drove up into the mountains where we sat on the grass and admired the beautiful views. Sat underneath one of the many watch towers in the region, that in the old days were used to send signals by fire to the neighbouring villages. That evening
Watch Tower
A view of one of the many towers scattered around the countryside at a bar called Juno, I discovered the wonders of 'aperitivo'. Basically if you go to a bar in the evening, usually between 5 and 9 and order a drink, the waiter then brings out a platter of food. Sort of like tapas, but for free! The more you drink, the more food you get. And then most people eat dinner afterwards! Gee I could really get used to this lifestyle.
Later on we went back to the piazza which had been transformed into a mini football field for the summer. Teams from the village and around would come and play every night in a friendly competetion in the spirt of the world cup. The piazza is the centre of social activity so the whole town was out enjoying the weather and watching the games. Giacomo was playing, and I could see how he got the nickname "Ronaldini", I think he scored about 5 goals! He was brillaint, and only 17! Once again every second person stopped to say hi, and I was starting to remember familiar faces so this time I could initiate the Ciao, I still couldn't go any further then that but Marianna played the role
Numana Beach
Mari, Sandra and Martina sunbathing, or as Mari calls it sun-bedding... of translator very well. We drove around a bit at night, Marianna showed me her old school and I saw a firefly! I was so excited, Marianna just said they were ugly and gross, I though they were cool.
The next day we decided to hit the beach, so we drove to the coastal town of Numana. I hadn't been to the beach in ages so I was looking forward to relaxing in the sun. The sea was really salty and the current was strong but I didn't care, I was loving it. Later we had a delicious seafood platter for lunch. Every kind of seafood you could imagine arrived on this platter, oysters, mussels, salmon, prawns, crab, sea snails (eww, but yum!) and I just devoured it all. It was great! Marianna's friends and brother came along too so once again I just sat and smiled. Its funny though coz most of the time I knew exactly what they were saying, its just that I couldn't respond. But somehow we managed to communicate. Marianna forced Giacomo to talk to me in English rather then go through her. His English isn't great but he wants to learn, and it
made me realise how difficult it must have been for people I know in London when they first arrived and couldn't speak the language.
Got back red, and burnt but feeling refreshed. Marianna wanted to take me to a neighbouring village which is famous for its wine so we headed out into the country, but after driving for half an hour we discovered it was closed. So instead we went to a restaurant called Luchella, which actually means Firelfy, and although we didn't see any we had the most delicious meal. Brushetta, pizza and red wine. Perfecto!
My final day in San Severino Marche and Marianna, Giacomo and I headed up into the countryside for a picnic. They took me to this small village where only 4 families live, and we sat in the grass baking under the hot sun, surrounded by old crumbling buildings and beautiful green hills. After a while it got too hot and Marianna was freaking out about the bugs so we drove around some more then made our way back to town. My last night was a great night to be in town. Italy vs Germany in the world cup. We went to
a friends place out in the country and watched Italy beat Germany by two goals in the last 5 minutes. Watching it with a group of Italians was infectious, I found myself yelling at the screen "Che catso fai?" and various italian obscenities when someone screwed up. After the final whistle blew we all jumped up and cheered. Within seconds we could hear the noise coming from the piazza. Horns blowing, people cheering, we had to get down there. As we drove down there, cars and mopeds zoomed past with people hanging out windows waving flags. We got down to the piazza and were amazed at all the cars and bikes driving round and round, with people screaming "Forza Italia!". We saw Giacomo in the back of a dumptruck going round the piazza with 30 other people who were almost in tears at the victory! The passion these people have for football was amazing and I couldn't help but be swept up in the celebrations.
It was a great way to end my time with Marianna. The next day she drove me to Ancona where I boarded my train to Venice. As the train took off we did our
Here we go
Eating a sea snail, suprisingly good! token movie moment, her running past the train waving, me with my faced pressed up against the glass in tears. The truth was I had a great time in San Severino Marche and I was sad to leave it, knowing that I may never go back there. But to be totally honest I was also sad I had lost my translator...
Advertisement
Tot: 0.125s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 11; qc: 61; dbt: 0.0604s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Ryan
non-member comment
Damn you
Thats fantastic Rob. Sounds like so much fun. Looking forward to reading more.