Good Friday was a Good Day

This just in from Ben Venuto!

…Good Friday was a good day for The Art Monastery Project — a stark contrast to the morbid memorial that it is in the Christian faith. Mystophur awoke at an entirely irrational hour in order to finalize the formatting and put the finishing touches on The Art Monastery Project’s application for the Bando. Having discovered near midnight the previous evening that we had — in typical timely fashion — run out of black ink for the printer, he then emailed the finished documentation to our Calvese Angel, Santa Frenchie, to be printed. After the rest of the crew arose and prepared for the day ahead (much coffee was required given the late-night team effort of the day before), we departed for S. Frenchie’s house to retrieve the printed documents and walk them over to the Comune for triumphant delivery and official submission.

Without our two colleagues gifted with fluency in Italian and their monumental efforts in translating page after page (and then re-translating re-worked pages!), all of this would have been entirely impossible… it was only right, then, that they have the satisfaction of handing over the finished product.

JuliaCesare, The Bando, and SistaFlav at the Comune door.

The moment of truth!

Following a brief pause to revel in the soothing sense of pride (and relief!) accompanying our accomplishment, we piled into the Kangoo and made haste for the seaside city of Civitavecchia and our next appointment — no rest for the weary! Actually, to be perfectly honest, it was rather relaxing… rarely does a business meeting in the United States involve so much food, and almost never such delicacies as fresh, home-made fettucini con salsicce e funghi, prepared by none other than the most revered figure in this culture: Mama!

The coastal town of Civitavecchia, literally “ancient town,” is built atop an Etruscan settlement and is surrounded by ruins, tombs and necropoli, such as those at nearby Tarquinia. These days, however, Civitavecchia is mostly known as an industrial, factory town and a port city for ocean liners and freight ships. Judging by the break of the waves on this windy afternoon, I would guess that it also has a lively surfing scene (a theory strongly supported by the presence of a classic CA-style Surf Shop).

We were there to visit a young maestro of furniture building and restoration who has expressed great interest in lending his talents to our enterprise… and his workshop did not disappoint: beautiful woodwork was in great abundance — as well as a few pieces awaiting miraculous transformation into restored treasures — along with such rarities as a bicycle featuring wooden wheel-rims!

We were greeted at the entry to the property by some peppy little piglets, eagerly engaged in a feeding frenzy only briefly interrupted by curiosity about the unusually-impressed guests.

And, upon entering the workshop, we discovered a large table strewn with all kinds of tempting foods (including prosciutto wrapped around the end of breadsticks — the Italian version of “meat on a stick”!) and a feeding frenzy of our own commenced immediately. A short while later, Mama’s fettucini arrived — and was quickly consumed. Some time (and great quantities of food) later, there was a discussion on the myriad possibilities and potential relationships between The Art Monastery Project and our skilled woodworking friend.

After a long day of eating and talking, we returned to Calvi just in time to attend the processione… which had been moved indoors due to inclement weather, and was transformed into an elaborate stations-of-the-cross ceremony. At the conclusion of the service, there was a minute or two of awkward silence… and then — perhaps to remind us all that there is a happy ending to this gruesome crucifixion story — we were all treated to a couple rousing accordion numbers! For such a small, quiet, country town, this place never ceases to surprise me. Buona Pasqua!This just in from Ben Venuto!

…Good Friday was a good day for The Art Monastery Project — a stark contrast to the morbid memorial that it is in the Christian faith. Mystophur awoke at an entirely irrational hour in order to finalize the formatting and put the finishing touches on The Art Monastery Project’s application for the Bando. Having discovered near midnight the previous evening that we had — in typical timely fashion — run out of black ink for the printer, he then emailed the finished documentation to our Calvese Angel, Santa Frenchie, to be printed. After the rest of the crew arose and prepared for the day ahead (much coffee was required given the late-night team effort of the day before), we departed for S. Frenchie’s house to retrieve the printed documents and walk them over to the Comune for triumphant delivery and official submission.

Without our two colleagues gifted with fluency in Italian and their monumental efforts in translating page after page (and then re-translating re-worked pages!), all of this would have been entirely impossible… it was only right, then, that they have the satisfaction of handing over the finished product.

JuliaCesare, The Bando, and SistaFlav at the Comune door.

The moment of truth!

Following a brief pause to revel in the soothing sense of pride (and relief!) accompanying our accomplishment, we piled into the Kangoo and made haste for the seaside city of Civitavecchia and our next appointment — no rest for the weary! Actually, to be perfectly honest, it was rather relaxing… rarely does a business meeting in the United States involve so much food, and almost never such delicacies as fresh, home-made fettucini con salsicce e funghi, prepared by none other than the most revered figure in this culture: Mama!

The coastal town of Civitavecchia, literally “ancient town,” is built atop an Etruscan settlement and is surrounded by ruins, tombs and necropoli, such as those at nearby Tarquinia. These days, however, Civitavecchia is mostly known as an industrial, factory town and a port city for ocean liners and freight ships. Judging by the break of the waves on this windy afternoon, I would guess that it also has a lively surfing scene (a theory strongly supported by the presence of a classic CA-style Surf Shop).

We were there to visit a young maestro of furniture building and restoration who has expressed great interest in lending his talents to our enterprise… and his workshop did not disappoint: beautiful woodwork was in great abundance — as well as a few pieces awaiting miraculous transformation into restored treasures — along with such rarities as a bicycle featuring wooden wheel-rims!

We were greeted at the entry to the property by some peppy little piglets, eagerly engaged in a feeding frenzy only briefly interrupted by curiosity about the unusually-impressed guests.

And, upon entering the workshop, we discovered a large table strewn with all kinds of tempting foods (including prosciutto wrapped around the end of breadsticks — the Italian version of “meat on a stick”!) and a feeding frenzy of our own commenced immediately. A short while later, Mama’s fettucini arrived — and was quickly consumed. Some time (and great quantities of food) later, there was a discussion on the myriad possibilities and potential relationships between The Art Monastery Project and our skilled woodworking friend.

After a long day of eating and talking, we returned to Calvi just in time to attend the processione… which had been moved indoors due to inclement weather, and was transformed into an elaborate stations-of-the-cross ceremony. At the conclusion of the service, there was a minute or two of awkward silence… and then — perhaps to remind us all that there is a happy ending to this gruesome crucifixion story — we were all treated to a couple rousing accordion numbers! For such a small, quiet, country town, this place never ceases to surprise me. Buona Pasqua!