L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 10 THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2018 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE I 've led an extraordinarily lucky and somewhat charmed life. During my working career, I was privi- leged to have been posted to European worksites for a total of 6 years -- three years in London and three years in France, just across the border from Geneva. My wife Pat and I consider those six years to be some of the best of our 44-year marriage. And to add to this, a few years ago, in prepa- ration for retirement, we contin- ued our European adventure by purchasing a modest flat in a small town in Italy, where we now spend a few months each year. All of this is perhaps a bit off-subject, but I thought that I needed to establish a basis for making comparisons below. Ah, the English and the French landscape, culture, and people. There's fairly universal recogni- tion about the high quality of the first two of those determinants, but you'd have to admit, there are decidedly mixed feelings among most Americans about the final characteristic, not the least due to the perceived and often real feel- ing that Americans, as a whole and sometimes with good reason, are viewed with subtle disap- proval, if not downright disdain, by many of our European coun- terparts. Pat and I have treasured British and French friends whom we dearly love but have met oth- ers where the feeling was "not so much," and I am sure those senti- ments were returned. No different than in the States, right? So per- haps we, as a nation, are a tad unfair. On the other hand, if you add Italy to the mix and ask me to choose a favorite of the three - – and, admittedly, this is based on my more short-term familiari- ty — I'd have to pick the Italians. It's not because they have superi- or landscape or culture. Here's why, and, yes, I know that there have to be exceptions to the gen- eralizations I'm about to state. Well, my perception thus far is that the Italians are hard-work- ing, conservative, family-orient- ed, religious, warm, tolerant, unpretentious, non-judgmental, friendly, and -- best of all -- they seem to truly like Americans in a way that I've never before expe- rienced in Europe. But I digress from the main point of this story. Allow me to introduce you to Rita Richardson: we met her and her husband Tim a couple of years ago, as the result of their having bought a small home in the same place as we had, Castiglion Fiorentino (I'll call CF), a small Tuscan hill town of approximately 14,000 residents. The "old town" is situ- ated on the crest of a hill and sur- rounded by medieval or older walls, inside of which you can find narrow, cobblestone or brick streets, castles, ancient buildings and churches...many churches (I draw closer to the point). Back to Rita. She's the daugh- ter of an Italian post-war bride with Tuscan heritage, brought back to the U.S. by a returning G.I. from Georgia. So, love of things Italian, including the lan- guage, comes natural for Rita. Because Rita and Tim are still working owners of thriving Nashville businesses, they're unable to spend as much time in CF as we do, which makes her tale all the more remarkable. As I said, Castiglion Fiorenti- no has an impressive number of ancient churches within its walls, all Catholic, naturally. Catholi- cism and religious faith are, after all, deeply engrained in Italian culture. The walls to CF's old town have three gates or porte, and nearby each one is an exquis- itely beautiful, working parish church, filled with priceless art- work and lovely architecture. These three are the easy ones to locate. But what of the remaining ones inside the walls? Well, they're much more difficult to find, but no less of treasures if you do. And here begins the real story. Most of these churches in CF, active or not, belong to the Arch- diocese of Arezzo, a small city of around 100,000 people, a further ten kilometers from CF. They are maintained with what little money the parishioners and town can give and supplemented by LARRY C. WIESE All Americans in Europe are not Ugly the archdiocese. But, to my observation, Castiglion Fiorenti- no and other small Italian towns are, in the main, less prosperous than their American counterparts. Thus, 14,000 people are left to maintain a dozen or more church- es, all of which are made from hand-made brick and stone, each hundreds of years old and, thus, in need of frequent repair. Enter Rita. Early on, when walking on the street below her home, she noticed a small sign, which identified one of these rel- atively hidden churches: the Chapel or "Oratory" of San Filip- pino, but from the vantage of the street, all that was visible behind the sign was a huge, chained and padlocked door. She was intrigued. After some investiga- tion, she discovered that a neigh- bor and nearby homeowner was the designated custodian for the church and had the key. Rita is irresistible. She convinced the gentleman to unchain the door so she could have a peek. What she found inside was both marvelous and distressing. Rita had found a new mission. The San Filippino oratory that Rita rediscovered is a veritable hidden jewel. The beautiful, inti- mate 17th century baroque chapel was built in honor of the 16th century Saint Phillip Neri, or San Filippo Neri, a beloved Italian saint who was known for his joyful, self-deprecating spirit and who founded the Oratorians. The chapel's white walls, gilded with gold, are adorned with exquisite sculptures and the ever- present images of the flaming heart that so vividly epitomize San Filippo Neri's spirit; the chapel's ceiling, said to be the oldest in Castiglion Fiorentino, came from an earlier structure and portrays gilded frames of blue sky, accented with gold stars and central gold medallions. On a sunny day, light shines through the chapel's windows in such a way that it is easy to experience what must have been its majestic past. And yet, the opportunity to restore this past majesty and to rescue this hidden gem is relent- lessly slipping away in what had seemed to be a forgone conclu- sion of ultimate decay and destruction—that is, until Rita found it! Since Italian bureaucracy is world renowned, and not in a good way, some of us initially viewed Rita and Tim's efforts in a sympathetic yet doubting way. Yet, we "Naysayers" have now "drunk the Kool-Aid"! Rita's dream has materialized into the Friends of San Filippino, a two phase/two continent project that has been sanctioned and embraced by the Archdiocese of Arezzo, has been supported and sponsored by the citizens of Cas- tiglion Fiorentino with fundrais- ing efforts and sponsorships, and has been granted tax-deductible 501(c)(3) status for its American supporters. The first phase, based on the Archdiocese's architectural assessor's review, would arrest the decay and deterioration and restore San Filippino to its origi- nal condition so that it can once again host religious and secular services. The second phase would "re-establish the chapel's associated common areas and apartments as places where (...) people of all walks of life can gather to learn and share and help one another"(friendsofsanfilip- pino.org). So, back to my initial discus- sion of the stereotypical "Ugly American" and the way that Americans and Europeans often view one another. I conclude with this vivid example of what can happen when "Non-Ugly Americans" like Rita and Tim Richardson match their warmth and enthusiasm with the equally warm and welcoming hearts of the citizens of Castiglion Fiorentino, exemplified by the San Filippino project about which you can read more and donate to at its website, friend- sofsanfilippino.org. Of course, an even better way to find out about Castiglion Fiorentino is to visit it yourself on your next Italian holi- day, taking a few days to experi- ence the magic of this authentic Tuscan hill town. * Larry Wiese and his wife, Pat, are native Texans who have recently relocated to Lexington, Virginia. He is a retired attorney and she a retired university pro- fessor. The San Filippino Oratory is, as it often happens in a country with so much art, a treasure unknown to many. Photo: Juri De Luca Luisella Tanganelli - ready for the manifestazione del Palio dei Rioni (Photo credit: Rita Richardson)

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