Crumbs and Beans

Crumbs and Beans

Today I was invited to celebrate St Joesph's day. In England, I have to admit pay little attention to Joseph, apart from acknowledging he played a part in the story of Jesus.

However, I discovered that here in Molise he is treated with a great deal of respect and reverence. 

There is a special service at the church for him and a number of people build altars in his honour in their homes.

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Joseph was a carpenter according to the bible so homage is paid to his simple origins in the feast which on March 19th  is prepared in his honour. 

Although simplicity plays a part this particular feast to celebrate his humble origins there is certainly nothing lacking in the quality, presentation and quantity of the ingredients. Any festival celebrated in Molise requires one to consume a lot of food,  and today was no exception.

In Lucito, my adopted village they celebrated with an enormous lunch of six courses

cakes

 getting the table ready

Everybody eating

fruit tart

fava beans

more cakes

and more cakes

lima beans

oranges

risotto

fennel

   

                                                                                                                                                                                      

                                                                                                                                                                     Baccala

and of course, wine in copious quantities with coffee to finish... 

This afternoon we sat on the terrace of a house in the countryside laughing, chatting and eating in the afternoon sunshine, Mothers, daughters, sons, wives, fathers, grandfathers, grandmothers, aunts, uncles, friends and neighbours,...

There is no doubt about it the Italians know how to eat and how to party

Cheers 

Molise loved but lost

Yesterday afternoon I  meandered through the streets of Torella del Sannio, below the towering castle walls with the Elena Cammarano.

She holds in her hands the responsibility to see that this magnificent monument, which has been in her family for generations does not once again become a pile of rubble. Built originally in the 1500s it has stood stalwartly towering over the sweeping landscape which surrounds it. Despite being severely damaged in WWII  when it was bombed it still remains largely habitable unlike so many other castles in the Molise region which have fallen into total disrepair.

The castle houses a huge collection of paintings created by her grandmother Elena Ciamarra. She has remained virtually undiscovered, despite the fact that she was a very talented and accomplished artist. Her paintings adorn the walls of the castle, along with a vast collection of books on art and literature.

Now, granddaughter Elena is battling to secure funding to enable her to maintain the heritage of her family, her village, and the region. This is a huge problem here in Molise, not solely for Torella del Sannio.

Travelling around extensively around Molise in the last few months I have fallen in love with the region, and am heartbroken to see it disintegrating into dust.

With the words of this song by Jimmy Ruffin resonating in my heart I have already seen that is so much that needs to be done, and now.

I am of course a foreigner, and will always be so.
Why do I care?
Let me tell you why, it is because Molise is not in a war-torn area in the Middle East, or in a desolate region of Africa. It is HERE now in EUROPE and as Europeans, and we have a collective responsibility to protect our heritage before it is too late. 

It is important too, to find the families of those who left Molise  to Canada, the USA or elsewhere and whose heritage is being reduced to tatters..

Torella del Sannio is trying it's best thanks to people like Elena but it is not enough.

I do not have any Italian ancestors, my mother's family hail from Yorkshire in the north of England, and my father's from Wales, but I am nothing if not a tough and resilient optimist.  I am prepared to spend countless hours trudging around the region taking photographs, talking to people, to show the world MOLISE DOES EXIST and MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO CRUMBLE INTO DUST

YOU CAN HELP TOO

•  By becoming a member of the MADE IN MOLISE group.
• Visiting the region for a holiday, which will boast it's ailing economy
• Read this blog and spread the word
• Offering to make donations to projects being set up to restore the buildings and art in the area
• Taking part in Art, photographic, music and literary competitions
• You can buy a property and lovingly restore it.
• AND LAST NOT LEAST ... TELL THE WORLD so we CAN DO SOMETHING NOW 

Thank you ...
Grazie Mille .....................................