Tales from the (Plague) Crypt: A Lake Como Halloween Story

Once Upon a Time in Lake Como (just two weeks ago), under a half-moon sky when it was closer to midnight than not, Belinda, Wendy, and Maria were walking back to the hotel after a lovely dinner. They were lagging behind the rest of the group who, because of the lateness of the hour and a chill in the air, had hurried on ahead.

But Belinda, Maria, and Wendy lagged.

Suddenly, Belinda spied an illuminated church steeple up a side street and wanted to go check it out, sure that it was the same steeple she had heard earlier from the hotel rooftop (the chimes playing Ave Maria). They could not tell how far away the church was, and a quick Google search simply confused matters, so the three of them decided to walk uphill on that side street with the hope the church was nearby.

Other than an occasional car or motorbike, the streets were deserted; other than their echoing footsteps, it was deathly quiet.

And then things got confusing because they rounded a corner and …  WHERE WAS THE STEEPLE? They could no longer see it, even as they continued to follow the street. But they had seen it! Bright and tall and unmistakable. Still, the church steeple had completely disappeared from view.

Then, a few blocks ahead, they saw part of an old building that maybe was the church? As they drew nearer, Maria stopped in the middle of the road.

“Oh my gosh! I know what that is. It is a chapel built to commemorate those that died during the plague,” she whispered.

And she was right. The plaque about the plague read: CHAPEL OF THE PLAGUE DEAD, 1630

It was a tiny, one-room chapel, built of ancient stone. The entrance was a locked gate which offered a view of the offerings on the altar and a single flickering candle. It was a little spooky because … the PLAGUE! And the deserted street! And how did that flickering candle get in there?

Wendy and Maria were discussing all this when they realized Belinda was no longer with them.

WHERE WAS BELINDA?!

“Belinda, where are you?” they hissed. And because of the ancient stone streets and ancient stone walls and a 1630 Plague Chapel that provided a spooky echo, it was a very loud hiss.

“I’m up here,” Belinda hissed back. “I thought I’d run up this hill to see if the church is here.”

Wendy and Maria scrambled to catch up. Belinda was not going alone.

They walked uphill, alongside a cemetery behind a low, stone wall. The tombstones and crypts cast long shadows and, imagining all the plague victims buried there, Belinda, Wendy, and Maria picked up their pace.

And found the church! And a tiny grotto with a statue of the Virgin Mary!

But still no steeple.

Whatever. Belinda and Maria paused to pray a Hail Mary (in Italian) while Wendy (the non-Catholic) waited patiently. Truthfully, it was a very hurried prayer because, leaning against the front of the church and illuminated by a single streetlight, was a man. And given the deserted streets and lateness of the hour, a very suspicious-looking man.

“Drug dealer,” said Belinda.

“Doesn’t look good,” said Maria.

“I think we should get back,” said Wendy, the wisest of the three.

So, they walked back down the hill, past the cemetery, past the Plague Chapel, and back to the hotel where they discovered more than one text asking: WHERE ARE YOU??????!!!!!

Well, not in bed. Instead, Belinda, Wendy, and Maria took the hotel elevator to the rooftop. They had to see for themselves.

The church steeple.

It really did exist.

CHAPEL OF THE PLAGUE DEAD, 1630

(P.S. For those wondering … earlier, Maria mistakenly identified the church as the Church of St. Nicholas when it was, in fact, the Church of San Leonardo. She was right about the Plague Chapel but wrong about the church name. She was 50% right and 50% wrong, but still receives an A- because she is a big supporter of Funny Math.)

Under the Shade of an Olive Tree

In Italian there is a beautiful word, meriggiare, which means to escape the heat of the midday sun by resting in the shade.

I love the word because it sounds like marinate, which conjures up images of languidly reposing, too relaxed, satiated, sun-warmed to do anything other than to be cocooned within your thoughts. Slow thoughts, that float and hover, within reach, but just barely. 

And then you come back to yourself, changed. 

This week our book club met to discuss Frances Mayes' book, Women in Sunlight. This is the third book I have read by Mayes and, like the others, it was as so achingly beautiful that it left me wanting, like having the need to take a big gulp of water but forced, instead, to sip through a straw. By the end of the book, I was a little sad, more than a little melancholy, but also infused with a deep joy and a reminder to embrace the basics: family, friends, food, and faith, blended with tradition, swaddled in the seasons, and served with a glass of vino rosso. 

And during our Book Club meeting, gathered around a table littered with wine glasses and dessert cups of homemade gelato and sorbetto al limone, all of us friends discussing a book about friendship, I realized that meriggiare also describes what it is like to read Women in Sunlight: the feeling when language, poetry, food, and the Italian countryside offer respite and wonder, all while sitting under the shade of an olive tree. 

A Sense of Wonder

It’s been a week since I returned from Italy and I am still not fully unpacked, something I tend to do after any big trip, mainly because I am still reliving the experience and my bags, bundles, and souvenirs keep it all tangible.

Currently our dining table looks like an Italian mercato due to all the wrapped packages and souvenirs. Last night I was looking over everything when I came across a stack of receipts in my travel wallet. There were receipts for food (gelato, espresso), souvenirs (jewelry, linens, art), and entrance fees (the Abbey of Monreale, the Royal Palace in Caserta).

Those receipts filled me with wonder: Last week I ate a margherita pizza outside the Galleria in Naples! Purchased a painting from a street vendor in Taormina! Ate an arancina with seppia (cuttlefish)! Drank an Aperol Sprtiz on the rooftop of our hotel in Rome!

This sense of wonderment is something I experienced often during our time in Italy. When I was walking among the Greek ruins in Agrigento, meandering through the small streets and alleys in Ragusa, throwing a coin in the Trevi Fountain or gazing at a Caravaggio, I wasn’t so much struck by the beauty of everything as I was by the fact that I was there . . . physically there. Pinch me, I am dreaming! Then, every night when I summarized our adventures in my journal, when I read through everything we had done, I again felt that wonder as I asked myself: Did we really do that?

Traveling in a foreign country is an adventure, and every day we headed into the unknown armed only with a map, some guidebooks, and a spirit of adventure … all enveloped in an abiding sense of wonder.

And it is an overwhelming sense of wonder—both during and after our trip—that is the reason I still haven’t fully unpacked.

Bones and Ancient Whispers: an Italian Halloween post

On our 2015 Girls' Trip to Italy, our first day full day in Rome began with the Pope's Angelus Blessing in St. Peter's Square, after which we visited the  Catacombe di S. Domitilia featuring 15 km of catacombs, an underground church, and a 2nd century fresco of the Last Supper. 

The catacombs were both beautiful and somber. As we walked through those ancient passageways, we could hear the whispers of those early Christians who not only escaped to the catacombs to secretly practice their faith, but who may have also been secretly buried there in a Christian ceremony.  

Catacombe di S. Domitilia

2nd century fresco of the Last Supper

ancient passageways and ancient whispers

After the catacombs, those ancient whispers became a little more spine-chilling when we visited a Capuchin Crypt where walls, furniture, and chandeliers were decorated (or built) with ancient human bones from Capuchin brothers. 

Evidently, in the early 1600's Pope Urban VIII, whose brother Antonio Barberini was a Capuchin brother, ordered the remains of thousands of Capuchins excavated from a nearby monastery and had their bones placed along the walls of the crypt like works of art and symbols. The crypt houses the remains of about 3,600 brothers buried between 1500 and 1870.

While seemingly macabre, the Capuchins believed that ossuaries are a silent reminder of our own mortality and the passage of life on earth. 

But what did we think? Yikes! This was one of those places where we could say, "Been there, done that. No need to go back."

 And then, like the final BOO! at the end of the Haunted Mansion ride, we encountered this sign upon exiting the Crypt:

"What you are now we used to be; 

what we are now you will be."

2019 Girls' Trip to Italy (Trip Recap, Days 9,10)

This week La Dolce Vita Travels is publishing a series of posts recapping our Girls' Trip to Italy. I do this for several reasons: as a means of transcribing my travel journal, to share our trip with all those who have been asking how it went, and to plant seeds of interest for our next trip (and there will be another one). 

The series will be five parts, corresponding to the five cities in which we stayed--Pistoia (Tuscany), Santa Margherita (the Italian Riviera), Stresa (Italian lakes region), Bolzano, and Venezia. Today, we leave the shores of Lago Maggiore and head toward Bolzano.

Day 9: Stresa-Franciacorta-Bolzano (Sept. 27)

After one last breakfast served by waiters straight from Downton Abbey, we said arrivederci to our three night stay in Stresa and headed for Bolzano, stopping first at the Bellavista Vineyard in Franciacorta, a region known for their white grapes and the wines they produce. At Bellavista we learned how the owner, Vittorio Monetti, turned a small family-run wine making activity into a full-fledged business, keeping to tradition by using an 8-step process that begins with harvesting and ends with packaging. The heart of their method is perlage (the process whereby bubbles are introduced) and Bellavista is proud that the bubbles in their wines develop naturally (as opposed to in a factory) and therefore do not cause headaches; additionally, unlike champagne which is aged 15 months, Bellavista sparkling wines are aged for 36 months (3 years), and 90,000 bottles are turned daily by hand during the aging process. After the tour we were treated to a wine tasting of two different Bellavista wines, both of which were absolutely delicious. 

After leaving the vineyard we drove a short distance to Agriturismo Bertola for lunch. An agriturisimo is a working farm that has opened up part of their property for lodging and dining. The best part of an agriturismo is the food since everything they serve—produce, eggs, meat, and wine—is either produced on their farm or sourced from the surrounding area; hence, everything is fresh. At Agriturismo Bertola we had a delicious lunch (with even more wine!) and then continued our journey toward Bolzano. 

Just in case you missed it, wine mid-morning and wine for lunch ... we were a happy group when we  got back on the bus for the drive to Bolzano. Poor Rocco. 

We arrived in Bolzano by early evening. Some people took taxis to go eat downtown, while others shopped at the Italian grocery store across the street and pooled their purchases for an impromptu picnic back at the hotel. 

Our waiters spoiled us.

When I got home I had to make my own cappuccino.

Darn it.

Bellavista Wines overlook the Franciacorta region

known for growing white grapes.

At the entrance was this very intriguing sculpture.

Bellavista wines. 

All of the 90,000 bottles are turned daily by hand. 

Gathering for a wine tasting.

Salute! 

Bellavista wines are light, refreshing, and sophisticated.

Thirty minutes later, lunch at Agriturismo Bertola with

even MORE wine.

Boarding the bus for Bolzano.

Poor Rocco ... all these women.

Our lovely tour director, Jane, as we checked into our hotel

in Bolzano. The hotel brought the outside inside with a forest of trees

and a pumpkin patch. 

Day 10: Bolzano (Sept. 28)

The morning began with something totally different: a visit to see Otzi, a 5,300 year old glacial mummy whose body was discovered by hikers in 1991. Our tickets for the Museo Archeologico allowed us to enter 30 minutes before the museum opened, so we were able to get up close and personal to Otzi. As amazing as it was to see Otzi, the science behind his discovery was even more fascinating as it revealed his eye color, last meal, blood type, diseases he had (such as cardiovascular disease), and a theory on how he was murdered. We also learned how the tattoos on his body were used as a form of acupuncture for pain and arthritis and that the location of the tattoos correspond to ancient Chinese acupuncture charts. 

A walking tour of Bolzano introduced us to a city that had us asking: Italy or Austria? Indeed, throughout history that area has belonged to both countries, but after WWI it was officially declared part of Italy. But today, with most of the locals speaking both Italian and German, with the street signs written in both languages, and with apple strudel and tiramisu offered as dessert options, it's a little disorienting knowing we are in Italy but feeling as if we are in Austria. (In fact, when Maria and Thalia were hiking on Soprobolzano and stopped to ask directions to a church, the elderly gentleman spoke no Italian at all!) 

After our guided city tour, we had some free time for lunch and shopping, then later that afternoon the group boarded the Renon cable car for a 15-minute ride to the sun plateau of Soprabolzano where we hiked, had a gelato, photographed the views, and enjoyed the crisp, mountain air. 

At dinner that evening we enjoyed an Italian-German meal at Ristorante Wirtshaus Vogele—ravioli for a first course, goulash for the second (unless you ordered the polenta), and for dessert we had a delicious apple strudel with a vanilla cream sauce.

Downtown Bolzano.

Otzi, the 5,300 year old glacial mummy, was discovered by

hikers in 1991. At first treated like a modern-day crime scene,

it wasn't until three days after the discovery that an archaeologist

was called to determine the real age of the body.  The science

community was all abuzz with excitement. (And it was still considered 

a murder since Otzi died after being shot in the back with an arrow.)

The Mercantile Museum

Founded in 1635 by Archduchess of Autstria, Claudia de Medici, the purpose

of the merchant court was to settle commercial disputes.

Going up, up, up on a cable car.

Soprabolzano: Maria, Gayle, Mary

Beautiful views, crisp mountain air.

Exploring Soprabolzano.

Ristorante Wirtshaus Vogele

Our last dinner in Bolzano.

A little Italian, a little German. 

A quick story about the last photo above: In Bolzano my sister-in-law, Mary, and I had lunch at a sidewalk cafe. I ordered the stuffed potato dumplings (soooo good, similar to pierogies) and a glass of Fanta. Now, the Fanta in Italy is NOT like the Fanta in the States (which is too sweet and too orange). I don't drink soda, but when I am in Italy I do like their Fanta. When our waiter walked away with our order, I regretted not ordering a beer since our local guide that morning and gone on and on about the beer in Bolzano. But when the waiter brought our drinks, he served my Fanta in a large beer glass and with the color of the drink and the foam on top it LOOKED like a beer (kinda, sorta). When I thanked the waiter for my fake beer, he laughed. 

Tomorrow: Venezia and Verona. 

2019 Girls' Trip to Italy (Trip Recap, Days 6, 7, 8)

This week La Dolce Vita Travels is publishing a series of posts recapping our Girls' Trip to Italy. I do this for several reasons: as a means of transcribing my travel journal, to share our trip with all those who have been asking how it went, and to plant seeds of interest for our next trip (and there will be another one). 

The series will be five parts, corresponding to the five cities in which we stayed--Pistoia (Tuscany), Santa Margherita (the Italian Riviera), Stresa (Italian lakes region), Bolzano, and Venezia. Today, we leave beautiful S. Margherita Ligure and head toward Stresa in the Italian lakes district of northern Italy.

Day 6: S. Margherita Ligure-Milano-Stresa (Sept. 24)

As difficult as it was to leave the Italian Riviera, I knew we were heading to the Italian lakes district and the Dolomites ... and glacial lakes and mountains are my happy place. We left early in the morning for Stresa, stopping first in Milano for a half day tour of the city. Located in northwestern Italy, Milano is the second largest city (after Rome) and is widely regarded as a global capital in industrial design, fashion and architecture. It is also a major national and international center for the performing arts, most notably opera.

We began our tour at the 15th century Sforza Castle, after which we toured the famous La Scala Opera House (founded in 1778 by Empress Maria Theresa of Austria). We then walked to Galleria Vittorio Emanelle II (referred to as La Galleria), Italy's oldest active shopping mall and a major landmark of Milano. The floor is covered in mosaics, and Thalia did the traditional three turns on the dancing bull's eh-hem private parts for good luck.

Walking through the glass-covered Galleria brings you right to the Piazza del Duomo and the beautiful Cathedral of Milano. The cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete and contains 3,400 statues, 135 gargoyles, and 700 figures. Over the apse, illuminated by a small red light, is a nail from the cross of Christ. Interestingly, the cathedral does not have a bell tower.

Later that afternoon we drove toward the town of Stresa on Lago (lake) Maggiore, a glacial lake that is the 2nd largest in Italy. We checked into our hotel, the Regina Palace, which was replete with old world charm and elegance ... like a scene from Downton Abbey. Dinner that evening was on our own, so we tried some of the local cuisine downtown.

The Cathedral of Milano

Two sisters shopping at La Galleria

Thalia, demonstrating the traditional three turns 

on the dancing bull's eh-hem private parts for good luck.

La Scala Opera House

and Mary Brooke, a classically trained opera singer

Hotel Regina Palace, Stresa, Italy

Dinner on the town (it was Mary Brooke's birthday)

Gayle, Brenda, Maria, Mary, and Thalia heading out to dinner

Jane (tour director) and Rocco (bus driver)

Our delicious meal: seafood roulade, bread basket,

sea bass, and a deconstructed semifreddo

Day 7: Stresa-Lago Maggiore-Stresa (Sept. 25)

Today we took a boat ride to the Borromean islands in the middle of Lago Maggiore: Isola Bella and Isola dei Pescatori. On Isola Bella we toured the 17th century palazzo owned by the Borromeo family (who are still prominent today) and then enjoyed the palazzo's lovely terraced gardens. From Isola Bella, we took the boat to Isola dei Pescatori (Fisherman's Island) where we had lunch at Ristorante La Pescheria and then had free time to explore the island.

Upon our return to Stresa, we had the rest of the day to explore, shop, rest, and dine.

Isola Bella

Touring the palazzo owned by the Borromeo family

group photo in the terraced gardens

gardens of Isola Bella

Stunning views

fishing nets on Isola dei Pescatori

Lunch and free time on Isola dei Pescatori

Day 8: Stresa-Lake Orta-Stresa (Sept. 26)

This morning we went off the beaten path to Lake Orta, often referred to as La Cenerentola (Cinderella) because it is the lesser known of the Italian Lakes. We arrived to the town, Orta San Giulio, and immediately took a boat for the island,  Isola San Giulio. The island is dominated by the Basilica of San Giulio and a Benedictine Monastery. The footpath encircling the island enables you to walk the Way of Silence or, if you turn and go in the opposite direction, the Way of Meditation. The island, in the middle of a lake surrounded by mountains, was so quiet and peaceful.

The island is also associated with a legend: During the latter half of the 4th century, San Giulio (Julius of Novara) had an inspiration to build a church on the island, but he was discouraged by the locals who claimed the island was inhabited by a fearsome dragon. Since no boatman would accompany him to the island, San Giulio prayed to God and floated to the island on his cloak. There, he defeated the dragon and the villagers converted to Christianity and helped him build the church. San Giulio was buried on the island, and his remains are still there on display. 

We returned to the town, Orta San Giulio, where we explored, shopped, and had lunch.

On the way back to Stresa, Rocco dropped off a group who wanted to ride the Funivia Stresa (a series of two cable cars and one chair lift) to reach the top of the mountain, Mottarone.

That night, we ate at Ristorante Mamma Mia to commemorate our last night in Stresa.

Getting ready to board our boat for Isola San Giulio.

I'm very proud of this photo ... I captured a bird in flight!

Isola San Giulio

On the shores of Isola San Giulio

Loving the peace, quiet, and spirituality of Isola San Giulio

2 cable cars + one chair lift =

on top of the world on Monte Mottarone

Farewell Dinner at Ristorante Mamma Mia, 

Stresa, Italy

The mountains are calling and I must go ...

Tomorrow: We leave Stresa and head for Bolzano, a little bit of Bavaria in Italy.