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Blaise DiPronio
d_pronio@execpc.com
Cemeteries
In small Italian towns like La Rocca and Lu Lette, cemeteries play an important and inherent role in everyday life--both for the living and the dead. Like piazzas and fountains, cemeteries are gathering places; not for groups but rather for individuals and their departed.
In order to appreciate the impact of cemeteries one must first try to understand the historical and religious mentalities of the people involved. The planning and money involved in building the vaults are mind boggling. Maybe it is a remnant of the pharaoh and pyramid mentality and the belief in a comfortable after life. Or maybe it also involves the Italian's penchant for showing off or making a "bella figura" even after dying. Thus, the bigger the monument, the better. Even the poorest families spend money they don't have to create these monuments to themselves! As the pictures show, expense is not a big concern but the perceived comforts are. Comforts not only for the dead but also the visiting living. Some of the vaults are really tiny marble chapels with altars and seating.
The building, in effect, becomes an extension of one's house--like a house in the country!
What is even more fascinating is that the 'house' is put to great use. Visiting the cemetery by the survivors is almost a daily part of life in thes tiny towns. It's as if the departed family member is still there and an ongoing participant with the family. The common ritual of visiting, conversing, praying, cleaning, arranging flowers and candles can be witnessed at all times. Widows visiting husbands and children visiting parents.
It appears that this phenomenon is only seen in the very small towns. The cities are very similar to the U.S. where people are buried in nondescript places and soon forgotten. Maybe the intimacy and confining nature of the small town and lack of other diversion lead to the inclusion of the cemetery in the monotonous lives. Or maybe the loneliness of those left behind.
Whatever the reasons, small, isolated towns and cemeteries go hand in hand in the mountains of Abruzzo and they cannot be ignored in any discussion of the traits, habits and lives of our ancestors living there.
Blaise DiPronio
d_pronio@execpc.com
Legend of Madonna Delle Grazie
The following is a short history of the legend of Madonna delle Grazie in Roccamorice. Literally the name Madonna delle Grazie refers not to 'grace' but to a madonna who makes your prayers come true and for which the recipient is grateful; that explains why she was specifically implored as explained below and not some other saint or patron. During WW II, the people of Roccamorice implored the Madonna delle Grazie to save their town from the retreating German occupiers....
THE LEGEND:
The date: January 19,1944 at Roccamorice near the tail end of the war and German infiltration. The order: Evacuate!
It had been a bitter winter and the mantle of snow obscured all. And now the town was to be levelled and destroyed by the departing Germans. The people came out of their houses wandering and murmuring. Where do we go and what do we do? Young, old, prosperous or poor with a scarcity of men as they were off elsewhere taken by the misguided dreams of their Duce.
As if called by a mysterious voice, the population found itself heading toward the little church at the edge of town
treading slowly in the deep snow covered by rags, broken shoes and a mantle of hope--muted by the cold, speaking only in silence.
At the church of Madonna delle Grazie, candles were lit, incense perfumed the cold and the image of the miraculous Lady was lifted. A slow, steady procession left the church while an antique hymn lifted to the sky: "Queen of heaven show mercy on us and protect your children...."
Hidden in their lairs, German commanders, with their penetrating eyes of glass, could not avoid the line of hopelessness and despair. These miserable souls, singing or crying, trailing in the snow. Some among them even casting a glance and a hidden salute toward that image on their desperate shoulders.
A sleepless night followed. Fresh snow fell in abundance. A morning full of uncertainty arose. As the sun began filtering through the night clouds, church bells began their beautiful song announcing the lifting of the order--saving the town and its hope. And the mothers cried.
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