PRETORO: THE SAINTS, THE WOLF, THE BANDITS....THE CHITARRA & A GLASS OF DELICIOUS CRAFT BEER
To sum up our visit to the pretty town of Pretoro yesterday with a few words is nigh on impossible but I will try!
This fascinating town situated on the slopes of the Maiella mountains has so much interesting history to offer that the group I accompanied were utterly mesmerised with what they saw and learned . We kicked off the day with a visit to Giovanni who entertained us at his workshop where he makes the artisan chittara from wood. It is a pasta making machine, with strings like a guitar , and famous all over Abruzzo for producing the traditional Chitarrina pasta. He inherited his love of the art of Chitarra making from his Father and we spent a fascinating hour listening to his stories and watching him at work. Afterwards we headed up to Nicks Bar in the square for a cappuccino, an interesting fact about this bar is that it was the first in the region to offer Guinness on tap in the 1990's and if you fancy a Guinness then this is the place taste one . Here we met up with Politician and local writer Fabrizio Fanciulli who showed us around the town . Our first stop was to his Grandfathers house which he has lovingly restored into a museum recording the life of the Brigante (brigands) that were rife in the region after the Unification of Italy in the 1860's. He has written books on the subject plus other fascinating historical events that took place in this town and this little museum is a gem showing how life was during these these times.
Afterwards we headed further down the steep and pretty cobbled streets, and through another small door was the museum exhibiting the works of Master Tonino who sadly passed away just 5 years ago. Although he never left the area he lovingly created replica models in wood of historical monuments and buildings from all over the world including The Eifel Tower , The Trevi Fountain and the Basilica di San Marco to name but a few. To see the details in these reproductions is jaw dropping and nobody could believe the skill of a man that had only seen them as pictures and photographs. Upstairs on the second floor is another interesting exhibition in the museum 'La Valigia di Cartone' (The cardboard suitcase) Fabrizio explained to us that this floor holds photographs and records of the mass emigration that took place in the town after the war. It tells the story of their journey through their passports, boarding cards and documents . Many townsfolk emigrated to Ottowa in Canada In Pretoro Parish today there are around 850 residents, just 50 remain living in the old part of the town however there are around 2500 Pretoro descendents living today in Ottowa ! We recommend his book' Roots' on this subject if you are interested in historical stories like these.
Before leaving Pretoro we had one last stop, to visit the Museo Del Lupo (wolf Museum) which is of significant importance to this Pretoro. It houses interesting artefacts regarding San Domenico and the Wolf. San Domenico is the Patron Saint of the town and he is protector against wolves and serpents. Every year in May they hold a festival dedicated to him in the town with the morning spent celebrating serpents ( think Coccullo but much more intimate and without the crowds) and afterwards there is a play in the outdoor amphitheatre telling the story of San Domenico and the wolf . It is acted out by the townsfolk and uses the first baby boy born in february as the star of the show. He is taken by the wolf into the woods but is returned safely by him (the wolf) to the parents after they pray to San Domenico for his safe return.
After all the walking we headed to one of our favourite places in Abruzzo Birrificio Maiella artisan brewery where Massimiliano and Michael welcomed us with some very delicious arrosticini washed down with generous tastings of their unique and delicious beer and a visit to the brewery to see how it is produced.
What a day! and we would like to thank everyone that joined us once again for another of our fascinating calendar days out together.
Our next calendar day out will be a winery visit next Tuesday 31st, details to follow
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