Jason's parents, Leslie & Bob were in town, we were filled with guests, day trips to Tuscany & Rome and even an Easter miracle! All in one week!

Where to begin...

On Good Friday we met up with our good friend Giulia & joined in the procession in Urbania for the living stations of the cross, a moving evening (religious or not) - the town is lite by candle-lite as locals re-enact 7 Stations of the Cross in still scenes along the procession path.

Everyone joins in & walks together with a wooden statue of Jesus is carried amongst the crowd, speakers crackling & blaring, the barely audible prayers from the local priest echo through the streets .... and then there is the music - it is haunting & magical - it truly sets the tone & its straight out of the Godfather!

Now here comes the miracle part...
Saturday night before Easter at about 12:30am (note: the house is full of guests) ....NO WATER! The well is dry, the pump is broken, unconnected electrical wires & no solution in sight....NOOOOO!
So, the next morning we call good ol' Fusciani & start calling tecnico's to come out. Now not only is this a Sunday (hard enough to get a tecnico to the house) but the holiest of holy Catholic holidays - Easter! How are we gonna pull this off!

The normal tecnico is on vacation - in America, so that's out. The plubmer doesn't want to come out & tells us to think of something (what does that even mean!), so that's out. One last hope - Massimilliano (can a name get any more Italian?!) a nice electrician whose wife was in the English lessons we taught in town...but his phone was off, so that's out. Or was it?! Jason & Fusciani jumped in the car (mind you, it's only 9:00am) & head to town to find him. First stop - Crazy Bar (the local cafe for the oldies & kinda the "guys hangout") - Jason asks anyone who is listening, "Where does Massimilliano live?"
- "Up the road, on the hill. "
Ok - that was easy. So they head up - there is an old woman gardening & again they ask,
"Where does Massimilliano live?"
"Here!"
Wow - could we really be that lucky...
Sure enough - they knock on the door, he's eating Easter breakfast with his family & in a heart beat - jumps up & is out the door to help us!! How in incredible!!

We ended up with a full squadra (team) of workers - from Jason & Bob, to Fusciani, Massimilliano & the reluctant plumber showed up after all! About an hour later the water was back on, toilets flushed, showers taken! I still can't believe all these people dropped their family celebrations to come out & help us on Easter Sunday (& they all did it for free!) - we are so lucky to have the wonderful neighbors & friends we have!

After all the confusion & craziness we shared a big lunch with Dottore Gaggi & his family where Rossana (the doctor's wife), with a steady eye (like a old pro) karate chopped the biggest easter egg I've ever seen (seriously it was bigger than her) - perfectly in 2 - with one -POW!

Then Pasquette or Lunedi di Pasque - little Easter or Easter Monday. Another big festival day - its a day for a picnic or a big lunch - a feast of some sorts! And Jason delivered!!
Here's just a few highlights from the fabulous menu - all made by hand, at home by Jason.

Limoni cotto al forno - lemons cooked in the oven
Frittata with wild greens
Artichoke Risotto
Slow Roasted Duck with little onions
Tiramisu

No one left hungry that's for sure.

Whew that was a lot to catch up on! Check back for the next posts of our day trips to Fano, San Sepolcro, Anghiari & Rome!

Ashley Bartner is the Living in Italy Editor for Wandering Educators.

La Tavola Marche Agriturismo & Cooking Holiday

http://www.latavolamarche.com