Verbicaro - Why we are here!

Saturday June 24 - Verbicaro 

Saturday we got on the bus at 9:00 a.m. in our matching Verbicaro Rossi reunion family t-shirts and went on a 3-hour ride down the coast to Scalea, a beautiful beach town, and ultimately ended with spending the evening in Verbicaro.

We had a rest stop about halfway and it was similar to ours!

Verbicaro is the small mountain town where My grandfather Giuseppe Rossi is from! Over the years we have heard many descriptions of this quaint mountain town, and stories of living there from my mom and uncles, but nothing compares to seeing it in real time and tracing the steps my mom took to her school and family's houses. 

Prior to arriving in Verbicaro, my mom's cousin, Adolfo, set up a private aperitif at the museum del cedro, which he is helping to establish. Several of my mom's and Uncle Tony's cousins (cugini) met us there and it was a fun hour stop to meet, reconnect, and enjoy a Cedro cocktail and antipasti.

Cedro is a special fruit only grown in this region (Santa Maria de Cedro). It's a green, sweet citrus. The fruit is used by rabbi in religious ceremonies. The fruit is not eaten, but rather used as a symbol. Apparently, dozens of Rabbi come to Santa Maria for a few weeks and select only the best Cedro fruit to take back with them.

Christian quickly bonded with Ricardo, the 14 year old son of Enzo, and they bonded over soccer and racing (Xbox).

Following this refreshing stop, we then went to Moka Coffee, where another cousin (Vincenzo) is a Coffee roaster! He has contracts with Nestle and others making special blends, and ships to 18 countries! (He actually had a meeting in Rome on Sunday with distributors in LA, so hopefully soon we can be drinking his coffee back in Redlands! Today, his coffee is only shipped to the Chicago area). Our other cousins (Claudio, Sandro, Ferdinando) own a window company in Scalea, and we saw their vans around town! (The legend is their mom wanted to have all girls, so she used the Masculine name of the girls names she loved). Notes for the family tree: These are the sons of Arturo Rinaldi's brother  (Uncle Tony's dad). Ida's sister still lives in Verbicaro at 91 on her own.

We the dropped our bags off at our hotel in Scalea, and had a free hour until we boarded our huge 50 passenger coach bus up to Verbicaro…I mention this because I am 1) unsure how the bus made it up the mountain on the tiny roads, and 2) everyone was staring at us with shocked faces as we drove by. I think we were local celebrities - with the town being so small and our cousins having prominent businesses, i will venture that our visit has been (and will continue to be) the talk of the town for some time! 

Out hotel was a across the street from the beach, so James, the kids and I used the hour wisely and went to the beach! Like most beaches on the Mediterranean this one was very rocky (sand, pebbles and small rocks). Christian ran into the water and had run body surfing. I still don't understand how the salt didn't bother his throat or eyes!! Cecilia was happy to sit on beach and throw rocks into the waves. The water was a very comfortable temperature and the waves were small, so it was a nice reprieve from the bus ride and humid heat. 

Ascending to Verbicaro during sunset was so beautiful! My mom and Uncle Mil recognized the newer part of the town built in the Last 40 years, and had fun pointing out different sights from afar. We were dropped off in city center, where it felt like everyone greeted us! We had drinks and more antipasti before going on a walking tour, learning about the history (an old castle, farming town known for its food, and wine production). We stopped in the beautiful church, and tried water from the natural spring water fountains. The original church is applying to be a UNESCO heritage site. The town, like many, we're built around this church.

We met Zia Rina (my Grandfather's sister in law/ 82 still living in her own on the 4th floor!), and several other people on the street who remembered my mom and uncle. Unreal experiences! At its peak,  the town had close to 6000 inhabitants, and now it's down to 2500, with many of the younger people leaving after high school for college and bigger cities. The town has 3 local doctors and 2 dentists that come up 2-3 days a week. The hospital is 30 minutes away, and there's no local businesses there now. My paternal great grandfather (Adolfo Rossi) owned the bar in town. The only two names we have to know are Adolfo and Giuseppe 🤣 as everyone is named after their grandparents. (My oldest uncle who has since passed was Adolfo!). 

The most special part of the walking tour was going back to where my mom lived from 1965-1969. It was a flat on the 3rd story. My mom said that "back in the day" the kids would each get a flat as they got married and had kids. When they moved from Colombia (another chapter in the story) to Italy, they lived with her Nonna Angelina (😉).  We saw the house from the outside, and my mom decided to walk up and ask if she could see. She was our queen waving from the balcony! 

The outside of the buildings look worn and somewhat dilapidated so we asked and the cousins quipped "we live on the inside not the outside" Indeed, the inside of the homes are beautiful - Zia Rina's had marble floors and stained solid wood doors, and my mom said her former flat was all renovated and modern. One would never expect this from looking at just the exterior. I appreciate that mindset of priority, sorta reminds me of Don't judge a book by its cover. 

It is hard to take pictures because they just don't do it justice for all that's happening in the scene…just eyes is not enough, it's the sounds, smells and touch that bring it all together.

The town is also known for a few religious ceremonies: 

Maria de la Gracza (Virgin of grace) - they cook and spread colored rice along the streets and it takes place on July 2nd. 

Easter - a pretty brutal penence of slapping their thighs until they bleed as they walk around the churches 3 times. 

After our walking tour, which ended around 8pm, we went to one of the 2 town restaurants -  U'Catuv (an old building where they stomped grapes.

U'Catuv Experience: In one word - Unforgettable! It was a gastronomic fairy tale! We had 15 courses over 3 hours with a never ending barrel of red wine built into the wall. Never before had I been served pitchers of wine, but I may make it my new serving approach. This was the ultimate dining experience with 45 (ish) of us eating, bonding, and enjoying stories of the past. The cousins and wives on both sides (Rossi and Rinaldi) joined us for this meal. There was no menu, just delicious local item one after another. Peppers cruschi we're a favorite! Tingy has the full list of our 15 courses that I will add later. They drink wine out of small (just larger than shot sized) glasses, so we have no idea how much we consumed, but it was so delicious! 

We ended dinner around midnight (both kids fell asleep at dinner about an hour in) and walked back to say goodnight to Zia Rina. This might be my favorite part: as we buzzed on her doorbell in the lobby she threw down a basket tied to yarn with a key inside ourselves in! The definition of a creative long living Nonna! 

Folks don't eat dinner until 830, and go to bed around 1-2am. As we were walking back from dinner to our bus there were dozens and dozens of families, groups of  teenagers playing soccer in the streets, and older couples on benches, just out and about on the Piazza's. Everyone just enjoying the evening, playing, and talking. A comforting scene that we just don't have in America. 

We all fell asleep on the bus ride down the mountain and back to Scalea (30min?).

Other notes: 

Museo del cedro - It was a castle in 1500s, and 2015 this was purchased and now being restored. Adolfo is in tourism, set up an aperitif.

Cedro is a fruit that's only grown here, it is used by rabbi in Jewish ceremonies

Moka  coffee ☕ coffee roaster, Nestle special blend 

Calabria - known for being hard headed