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Notizie di Torricella
Maggio 2008
Antonio Piccoli
Domenica 11 maggio, a Torricella è stata una
bellissima e calda giornata di sole. Da sopra "Le Coste" era uno spettacolo
della natura, senza una nuvola, con le campagne verdi smeraldo e la Maiella
con le cime imbiancate.
La Pro Loco l'ha azzeccata proprio giusta per fare la
prima giornata ecologica. Indovinare una giornata così a Torricella ci vuole
proprio fortuna. Sono circa una cinquantina fra ragazzi, ragazze, giovani e
anziani. Tutti ben attrezzati, guanti da giardiniere, randelli, scope,
decespugliatori. Si sono dati appuntamento alle 7 di mattina per dare una
bella "ripulita" a "Le Coste", il quartiere più antico di Torricella, quello
che purtroppo porta ancora le ferite dell'ultima guerra e quello che ha
subito di più lo spopolamento degli anni 50 e 60. Il progetto prevedeva di
dare una ripulita ai numerosi angoli verdi dislocati fra le pareti di roccia
calcarea, le vecchie case e i muri in pietra, togliendo sterpaglie, reti
metalliche, ferri arrugginiti abbandonati chissà da quando e trasformando il
tutto in piccoli e graziosi terrazzamenti fioriti e colorati. E già dopo le
prime ore di lavoro il risultato era evidente.
Non so come si sia compiuto perché sono dovuto andare
via, ma il programma prevedeva di lavorare almeno sino alle due e poi andare
nei locali della scuola elementare a rifocillarsi con panini, porchetta,
fave e pecorino offerti dal Comune.
Questo è stato il primo intervento della neonata Pro
Loco. Nata nei primi di aprile e che conta già 183 iscritti. Un vero e
inaspettato successo di adesioni. Una dimostrazione ancora, se ce ne fosse
bisogno, di quanto i torricellani amino il proprio paese e di quanto sono
generosi nel mettersi a disposizione per interventi che possano ridare
lustro e vitalità al luogo nativo.
Il sentimento che anima questi ragazzi è quello di
rendere la vita più gradevole per chi ci vive ma anche rendere il paese più
accogliente per chi decide di venirci d'estate e durante l'anno. Durante la campagna elettorale dell'anno scorso, il sindaco Tiziano Teti parlava di un percorso da intraprendere al fine di ottenere la "Bandiera arancione[1]" e sicuramente questo è un buon inizio.
Approposito, chi vuole iscriversi e vuole dare una
mano a Torricella, basta che faccia richiesta al presidente Antonio Di
Fabrizio (di tup) o al tesoriere Giose Di Iorio (di la casette). La tessera
annuale costa 15 euro. La sede è ovviamente a Torricella e in Via Michele
Persichetti, 1 .
La pulizia delle Coste aveva comunque anche un altro
fine:
Quest'altra notizia mi riguarda personalmente: Il 27
di luglio ci sarà la festa dei nati nel 1948. Compiamo 60 anni, un bel
traguardo. La stanno organizzando Pietro D'Ippolito (di carrare) e Peppe Di
Paolo (di marcunette).
Sapete in quanti siamo nati nel 1948 ? ben 97 !!!, e
pensare che ora i nati sono 7-8. Certo la popolazione era di circa 4000
abitanti mentre adesso sono solo 1500, ma ciò non giustifica abbastanza la
grande differenza. Penso di più che si era appena dopo la guerra e bisognava
"ricostruire" il paese. Qualcuno se né andato appena nato o nella prima
infanzia, perché la mortalità infantile era ancora abbastanza alta, un altro
motivo delle numerose nascite, ma molti sono sani e vegeti. Mi ha riferito
Pietro che ha spedito ben 70 lettere di invito, in tutto il mondo, dal
Canadà all'Australia oltre che naturalmente in Italia.
La festa si svolgerà al ristorante Capè e sarà
allietata da musica e ballo.
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Note dalla traduttrice: _______________________________________
La Bandiera
Arancione
è il marchio di
qualità turistico ambientale per l'entroterra del Touring Club
Italiano.
[2] La notte bianca è un'iniziativa di alcune grandi città del mondo che consiste nell'organizzazione di spettacoli e intrattenimenti vari durante tutta una nottata. Spesso questa è accompagnata da un servizio straordinario dei mezzi pubblici o apertura prolungata di negozi o musei. La prima iniziativa del genere fu creata a Berlino nel 1997, ma la prima "Notte Bianca" è del 5/6 ottobre 2002 a Parigi ed è stata replicata ogni anno da allora la prima notte fra sabato e domenica di ottobre. La notte bianca parigina è gemellata con quella romana, di un anno più giovane, che si tiene nello stesso periodo, verso la metà di settembre. Va comunque riconosciuto che la Notte della Taranta, nata a Melpignano, con il patrocinio della Grecìa salentina (la comunità ellenofona in provincia di Lecce) anticipò questi eventi già nel 1998. In realtà la prima notte bianca si svolse nel 1833 a Lanciano cittadina abruzzese, e tutt'ora nella la notte tra il 13 e il 14 settembre si festeggia ancora. Questa usanza non è andata persa da oltre 150 anni.
[3]
“La fornace”
è quella casa che sta
sulla destra della strada che va verso il Monastero, allo
spigolo fra la strada che va verso Palena e la stradina che va
verso il Monastero.
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News from Torricella
May 2008
Antonio Piccoli
Sunday 11th May was a beautiful, warm sunny day in Torricella. From up on the “Coste” there was a spectacle of nature, there was not a cloud in the sky, the countryside was an emerald green and the peaks of the Maiella were snow-white.
The Pro Loco hit things just right for their first Ecological Day. To foretell that it would be such a wonderful day at Torricella was wonderful luck. There were about fifty of us, boys and girls, youths and older people. Everyone came well equipped with gardening gloves, sticks, brooms and bush-cutters. They agreed to meet at 7 o’clock in the morning to give a thorough clean-up to “The Coste”, the oldest part of Torricella, which unfortunately still carries the scars from the last war and which sadly underwent the worst of the depopulation of the 50’s and 60’s. The plan was to clean the many green corners dotted about amongst the calcareous rock walls, the old houses and the stone walls, removing brushwood, metal netting, rusty metal, abandoned who knows how long ago, and to transform it all into small, gracious terraces full of flowers and colours. Already after the first few hours of work, the results were evident.
I do not know how it ended since I had to leave early, but the according to the programme they would be working at least until 2 o’clock and then would go to rooms in the elementary school to take some refreshments of rolls, porchetta, broad beans and lamb, offered by the Town Hall.
This was the first endeavour of the new Pro Loco. Founded at the beginning of April, it already has 183 members. It was a true success with unexpected support. A demonstration once more, as if there were need of it, of how much Torricellans love their own village and of how generous they are in putting themselves at the disposition of others for undertakings that can give back a certain polish and vitality to their place of birth.
The feeling spurring on these young people is that of making life better for those who live there, and also to make the village more welcoming for those who decide to come here for the summer or during the year.
During last year’s electoral campaign, the Mayor, Tiziano Teti, spoke of a pathway to be undertaken in order to achieve the “Orange Flag” (“Bandiera arancione”)[1] and this effort is certainly a good beginning.
By the way, anyone who wishes to join and to help Torricella, just needs to ask the President, Antonio Di Fabrizio (di tup), or the Treasurer, Giose Di Iorio (di la casette). Annual membership costs 15 Euros. The headquarters is obviously in Torricella, at via Michele Persichetti, 1.
There was also another motive for cleaning the “Coste”: that of starting to prepare this “location” for the great event programmed for 18th and 19th July; when the “Art, Music and Flavours” exhibition will be organised along the streets of the old quarter, with various art exhibits, from paintings to photographs, music recitals and stands with typical products of the village and of the Region. Then the highlight of the event will take place during the night between the 19th (Saturday) and the 20th (Sunday): the “Notte bianca” (“White Night)[2] with festivities such as music and many other initiatives throughout the night, continuing until dawn.
There is great activity in Torricella and there are many appointments to be organised in the programme, to be put into practice in June, July and August. For example, on 8the June there will be an ecological walk; on 22nd June there will be a track event, both a competitive 13 Km race and a non-competitive 3 Km stroll. A famous Abruzzan athlete, Alberico Di Cecco, who runs at National level, will be present for the race; on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd August the third literary festival dedicated to John Fante will be held; on 13th August there will be the award for “Torricellan in the World”, followed by the Pranzo della Tresca, (the meal of the Harvest or Threshing). There are many other events yet to be defined, such as a theatrical show, probably a concert dedicated to Vincenzo Bellini, in addition to the usual feast days for the Patron Saints, the Alpini and the walk to the Monastery that we of the Forum are organising.
Here are another two items of news: Firstly, Don Peppino, Torricella’s Parish Priest, has announced that, thanks to intervention from the Archbishop of Chieti, Bruno Forte, money for the Church of San Giacomo has finally arrived, out of the 8 per 1,000 funds of the CEI, Italian Episcopal Conference. It is 80,000 Euros. It may not be much, but enough to repair the roof of the left nave. The firm Taddeo, which repaired the other part of the roof, has already been booked. The work should commence at the end of May and be finished in August. Hopefully, the money will suffice and no other work will be necessary, otherwise there will have to be a Commission to collect further funds. Secondly, this summer the picnic area near to the kiln[3] (“La fornace”) will be open again. Its management has been acquired by Massimiliano Nicolò (di lu mediche), a young married man of about thirty from Rome, whose parents are Torricellans; he has decided to live in Torricella. Rebuilding, cleaning and setting it up has already begun; there will be a five-aside football pitch; it will be like a Tavola Calda by day and a Pub by night, with beer and live music. Later, if all goes well, he intends to build some bungalows and set up places for sleeping.
With all this news, I have felt a sensation of renewed vitality; it is as if there were more people in Torricella.
Maybe this is another reason why many people are deciding to buy houses there – English and Torricellans too: Tonino Monte, Mario Di Fabrizio, Mario and Loredana Croce. After all, with 40 – 50 thousand Euros one can buy a nice little house on the Coste, rebuild it and make oneself a nice “retreat” for the weekend, for the summer and also for spending periods of tranquillity in a beautiful, revitalised, uncontaminated environment … and it is our home. Who could want anything more?
Oh! I nearly forgot that Sunday 11th May was Mother’s Day and at the ONARMO in Torricella volunteers from the AIC, the Italian Association for the fight against Cancer, set up a stall to sell Azalea plants, and, as all over Italy, to raise money for the Association. I do not know how many of them were sold but I can say that there was a very long queue and I had to wait ages to buy one. >>>>
The next item of news concerns me personally: On 27th July
there will be a Festa for all those born in 1948. We shall be 60 years
old, a nice “winning post”.
The
two people organising it are Pietro D'Ippolito (di carrare) e Peppe Di
Paolo (di marcunette). Do you know how many of us were born in 1948? There were 97!!! Yet nowadays there are only about 7 or 8 births each year. Certainly, the population was larger then, about 4,000, whereas now there are only 1,500, but the size of population alone does not justify such a big difference. I reckon rather that it was because it was immediately after the War and the village needed to be “rebuilt”. Some died at birth or in early childhood, because infant mortality was still fairly high, which was another reason for the high birth rate, but many of us are still alive and healthy. Pietro told me that he has sent out a good 70 invitations all over the World, from Canada to Australia, as well of course as to Italy.
The party will be held at the Capè Restaurant and it will be enlivened with music and dancing. I too am taking this opportunity to extend a very warm welcome to all Torricellans of my age to come and make their presence felt.
Furthermore, I would really like to have any photos from when we were young and best of all ones with all of us at the Elementary School. We can make an exhibit for the occasion.
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Translator’s Notes:
[1]
La Bandiera Arancione “Orange Flag”
is the mark of quality for the tourist environment in Italy awarded by the Italian Touring Club. It is given to localities satisfying certain criteria in the development of a tourism of quality. Evaluation of culture, care in safeguarding the environment, hospitality, accessibility and availability of resources, quality of accommodation, eating facilities and typical local products, are only some of the key elements necessary to obtaining this mark. The Orange Flag is one of the instruments with which the Touring Club offers tourists a guarantee of quality and it is an instrument for evaluating the localities.
[2] Notte Bianca is an initiative of various countries around the world. The phrase "Notte Bianca" comes from Italian and means White Night. The Night would consist of various activities throughout a whole night. Most of the time this is accompanied with late public transport and great security around the city. It is a thoroughly modern concept and only began around the World in 1997 in Berlin; 2002 in Paris, 2005 in Rome and another 5 European Cities. This year it is even in Torricella! Actually the first notte bianca was held in 1833 at Lanciano in Abruzzo and even now, after over 150 years, that still takes place on the night between 13th and 14th September.
[3] “La fornace” “The Kiln” is the house that lies on the right of the road leading to the Monastery, at the fork between the road that goes towards Palena and the lane that goes to the Monastery. About 70 – 80 years ago, there was a small factory that built tiles and bricks there. The owner was Germana Piccone’s father. The bricks and tiles were made by firing clay in a kiln, hence the name “La fornace” “The Kiln”. Nowadays that part of the land itself is called “The Kiln” “La fornace”.
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English translation courtesy of Dr. Marion Apley Porreca |