Feste

On the heels of Lanciano’s Medieval Festival and Mastrogiurato Ceremony, the annual Feste marks the end of the summer season, celebrates the harvest and virtually takes over the lives of the townspeople.

Two weeks ago, the harvest parade known as the Il Duono occurred in which bountiful farm produce was paraded through the town. A good portion of the produce was auctioned off that evening with the proceeds being donated to local charities.

Feste itself started early on last Tuesday morning, in fact at 4:00 a.m. It was rather hard to miss since it was announced with a thunderous, ear-shattering volley of explosions and colourful fireworks. If one slept through that, then the marching bands that started parading through the streets at 4:30 a.m. ensured everyone that the day had begun. The lights that had been set up previously... 

were lit on the corso...

as the townsfolk moved to various establishments like the Mercato (where our students eat lunch) to enjoy a traditional breakfast for that day, piazza and peppers. 

Marching bands entertained in the later afternoon.

Towards the end of the day, the piazzas were cleared of cars and tables and stages were erected for the various evening’s festivities.

The corso was crowded with people.

Each night from Tuesday until Friday was marked by dinners of suckling pig...

 prepared by many like these gentlemen...

As well as celery sold by ladies like this one. 

The piazzas were full of families, friends and neighbours eating together and enjoying each other’s company and a simple meal together. 

The Piazza Plebicito was relatively calm and empty in the early evening...

and jam packed for the concerts and shows that ranged from performances of local talent to rock bands to big band jazz groups. 

Concerts began at 9:00 or 10:00 p.m. and ended at midnight. They were enjoyed by old and young alike.

On the last night of the Feste, the Madonna, the patron saint of Lanciano was taken out of the Basilica and carried by the townsfolk up the corso in a solemn but celebratory parade - a clear expression of the centrality of faith in this community.

Each night was concluded with a fireworks display with Friday night seeing the biggest, longest and loudest extravaganza.

Soon the crews will come to dismantle the lights and put away the stages signalling for all in Lanciano a transition from summer to fall.  

The Temiti Islands

 Located about an hour south-east of Lanciano in the Adriatic Sea are the Tremiti Islands. This small group of three islands, San Nicola, San Domino and Caprara and sixteen crags are beautiful to behold and rich in history.

After an early start to the day on Saturday, we drove down to Termoli’s port to catch the ferry over. Some students managed to get a bit more sleep on 45 minute ride the way over the sea.

On our arrival, we took the water taxi to San Nicola.  

We spent the morning on the rough and rocky San Nicola. First inhabited in the 2^nd millennium BC, and still inhabited today, San Nicola has been used by the Roman Emperor Augustus to house his exiled niece, Guilia.  It was later fortified in the 7^th C. It then was transformed into a monastery first for the Benedictine monks followed by the Cistercian monks. By the 18^th C, it was used a penal colony until 1926. Since then, its prime focus has been tourism. 

After walking through the remains of the fortifications, we then hiked out onto the rest of the island.

Caprara is the smallest of the islands and is uninhabited. There is a building on it that remains today which was once used as an isolation site for prisoners and later as a farm. We could only view this island from afar.

In the afternoon, we crossed the 500 m. channel to San Domino. This island, unlike the other two, is covered in pine forests and boasts a picturesque coastline of crags, inlets and grottos. There are a number of hotels on this island catering to people who want a relaxing holiday with extraordinary views. 

We spent time on the beach and swimming in the warm water.             

By the end of the day, we were all tired having enjoyed a splendid day in and around the water.