Here in Roma fall is starting to settle in. The leaves are just starting to change and the temperature has dropped nicely. We still have many sunny days in the 80s but the nights are down in the 60s. We are also starting to get a sporadic periods of rain (one very bad). Here are a few photos of the floods some experienced...
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| 1 meter of rain in 1 hour... |
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| ...many stayed home... |
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| ...some tried to get to work, as you can see... |
Other current events:
As many of you may have heard we, here in Italy, have had a few disturbances dealing with the Italian and world economy. About a week ago they scheduled a peaceful protest in the center of Rome to protest some of the changes the government is putting in place (a raised VAT (tax) and many cut-backs). Unfortunately, a group of anarchists (known as the Black Bloc) decided to impose their 'less peaceful ways' on this protest. Things got a little nasty. We were safe - but many in the center of Rome were not as fortunate. A good number of businesses, cars, and people were damaged/hurt in this uprising. Again - I must say that we were safe in our area but it was a good day to stay home... Honestly, we did not even know anything was happening until we went out for dinner and noticed a large caribanieri and polizia presence with riot gear.
Ok, enough Mother nature and politics - on to our latest weekend trip!!!!
We were looking for someplace new to go. We have been north, south, and west of Rome - so we decided to try east! We drove to an amazing yet sad little town called L'Aquila. L'Aquila (meaning the Eagle) is in Abruzzo Italy and is the capital of the region. The city formed in 1254 by the Holy Roman Emperor (and King of Sicily), Frederick II. The city was put together by combining many of the local villages - 99 according to local tradition.
The sad part of this city occurred on April 6, 2009 - it experienced an earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale. There have been more than 1000 aftershocks, 30 of which measured over 3.5. This earthquake caused thousands of building in this Medieval town to be destroyed and over 300 people were killed. But this did not stop the inhabitants of L'Aquila - they will rebuild...
You might say - why? Why visit this city when there are so many beautiful things to see in and around Rome. I have to say, because it is a part of local history - for good or for bad.
Not sure what exactly to expect... the city was Profoundly Amazing! I am not sure if the pictures will say what they said to me when I took them. I found the life among the destruction and the architectural ingenuity just stunning. While we were there they were having an International Chocolate Festival. Not many people were roaming the streets and many of the shops were closed but there was still a great amount of beauty and determination all around us.
Most every building that we walked past had a scaffolding or structural brace attached. A few building looked like they were being held together with Bungee cords. There was a fence along the main road where poeple effected would hang their house keys - no longer of use to them - sad!
Well enough babbling about the city - let me show you some of the sights:
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| Fence of Keys... |
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| A local... |
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| An effected building... |
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| Fountain in the main square... |
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| Town Square... |
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| Scaffolding... |
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| The Chocolate Festival... |
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| "We Will Soon" - rebuilding... |
Rereading through the blog I guess I should to apologize - it seems to be a rather somber/depressing entry (in total). I hope you can take the beauty out of what is going on and what I have shown - I have!
Remember life is good and we should always make the most of it!
On the homefront - Tom & I are well. I had a recent bout with a cold but it is behind me know.
Well, until the next entry I wish peace and happiness to all our friends, family, and anyone who may be reading this.
Abbracci a tutti (hugs to everyone)
We love you and miss you -
Enjoy - Ron & Tom
