Gabriele D'Annunzio -- Abruzzese Poet

I’m an admirer of the poetry of the Abruzzese poet, novelist and dramatist Gabriele D’Annunzio. He was born in Pescara, Abruzzo on March 12, 1863 and is one of the main Italian poets of the 20th century. Gabriele D’Annunzio’s birthplace in Pescara is open to the public and nine rooms on the first floor of the house have been turned into a museum dedicated to his life and works. It is well worth a visit and you can find it at:

Casa Natale di Gabriele D’Annunzio

Corso Gabriele Manthonè, 116 Pescara
                                              
Open 9:00 - 13:30 every day except Monday

You'll recognize the building when you see the flags on the balcony above the doorway.

The first five rooms are still furnished with beautiful old pieces and the walls have their original paintings.

Bedroom of Gabriele D'Annunzio and his brother

In the corner of each room look out for a caption from D'Annunzio's poem Il Nottorno, which describes the settings, objects and people the poet loved.

In the sixth room are some of  the poet's suits and accessories; in the seventh are his letters, documents and some of his original editons. In the eight room there are two casts of the poet's hands and face taken on the day of his death. Another room is arranged with panels giving information about D'Annunzio's life along with extraordinary old photographs.

Another section of the museum is dedicated to the poet's wardrobe: his suits, coats, uniforms, hats and accessories. He had a unique, elegant and eccentric style!

Listening to Italian poetry helps me to understand the language better as it is usually spoken at a slower pace. D’Annunzio’s poems include sensuous lines with a sublime musicality that paints pictures with simple sentences.

 "The Rain in the Pinewood" is a favorite of mine. In this poem the poet walks with his wife, Hermione, and invites her to listen to the melody of nature as the summer raindrops fall on the foliage in the wood.

Here is a sample verse that I have translated to English:

The Rain in the Pinewood             La Pioggia nel Pineto

Hush…                                       Taci…
On the edges of the woods            Sulle soglie del bosco
I can’t hear human words              Non odo, parole
That you say,                             Che dici umane;
But I hear newer words                 Ma odo parole più nuove
Spoken by droplets                       Che parlano gocciole
And leaves far away.                    E foglie lontane.
Listen…                                      Ascolta…
Rain falls from the                         Piove dalle
Scattered clouds.                         Nuvole sparse.
Rain falls from the parched,            Piove sulle tamerici
Burnt-out tamarisks.                     Salmastre ed arse,
It rains on the scaly,                     Piove sui pini,
Bristling pines,                             Scagliosi ed irti,
It rains on the divine myrtles,         Piove sui mirti divini,
On the broom-shrubs                    Sulle ginestre fulgenti
Gleaming with clustered flowers,     Di fiori accolti,

Orpheus Leading Eurydice From the Underworld by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, 1861

On the junipers                            Sui ginepri
Thick with fragrant berries.            Folti di coccole aulenti.
Rain falls on our sylvan                  Piove sui nostri volti
faces,                                        Silvani,
It rains on our bare                       Piove sulle nostre mani
Hands,                                        Ignude,
On our light                                 Sui nostri vestimenti
Clothes,                                      Leggieri,
On the fresh thoughts                   Sui freschi pensieri
That our soul uncovers                  Che l’anima schiude,
New,                                          Novella,
On the beautiful fairytale               Sulla favola bella
That yesterday enchanted you,      Che ieri ti illuse
That today enchants me,               Che oggi m’illude…
O Hermione…                               O Ermione…

 Have a listen to this YouTube clip to hear the poem read in full and with feeling by Roberto Herlitzka. In the background is a gorgeous piece from the soundtrack of the movie Amélie and beautiful images accompany the words …



Which of Gabriele D'Annunzio's poems do you like?

Mid-August Lunch in Capestrano

Italians have perfected the art of eating al fresco. I think that food eaten outdoors always tastes so much better. Our friends have relatives who live on a farm in Capestrano in the fertile valley of the Tirino River (about 30k west of Chieti)  and we had a most memorable lunch there to celebrate Ferragosto. This post demonstates the generous hospitality of the people of Capestrano. Here’s how it went:

A small three-wheeled vehicle known as an Ape (pronounced ah-pay), along with a tractor and trailer provided transportation from the farmhouse for the food, water, wine, extra chairs, (lovely) tablecloths…and the children! They chose a perfect spot for the lunch under the shade of a large old olive tree, surrounded by the majestic Gran Sasso mountains, the crops and the vineyard. The trailer was used as an extension to the main table as there were 18 of us. We helped set the table and lit citronella candles to keep the flying bugs away.Ubaldo is a small farmer and also tends a vineyard where he produces enough wine for everyday use for his family and friends. One of the wines for the lunch was a crisp, white Trebbiano that went well with the starters. The other was a robust red Montepulciano d’Abruzzo that complimented the meat dish perfectly. Everything we ate was either grown on the farm or homemade (apart from the rice salad that our friends brought along). The people of Abruzzo have ancient food traditions; their dishes are simple and characterized by genuine foods, rich in taste and aroma.

For the antipasto we had grilled sweet corn on the cob. (You can see the cornfields in the background.) The primo consisted of the rice salad, with bruschetta drenched in homemade olive oil alongside grilled red peppers. The home-grown tomatoes were so flavorsome.This was followed by a traditional Abruzzo meat dish called ‘arrosticini’ for the secondo. It is probably one of the simplest and tastiest examples of Italian-style grilled pieces of lamb on skewers. You eat it in your hands and use your teeth to slide the meat off the skewer piece by piece. A special long narrow grill called a ‘fornacella’ was used to cook the lamb. It is a local invention that can only be found in Abruzzo. (Arrosticini can also be cooked on a regular charcoal grill.)To cleanse our palates after the meat we had a delicious slice of chilled watermelon. The dolce consisted of traditional Abruzzo type waffles called Pizzelle. They have a flower design instead of a squared pattern and have the excellent light taste of a crispy vanilla flavored biscuit. Two of them were sandwiched together with Nutella and they were relished by both children and adults alike. To me, one of the nicest things about long warm summer days is being able to enjoy good food, good wine and good company - all'aperto - in the open air!

My other post about Capestrano: The town of Capestrano

Update:
After writing this blog post I discovered an Italian movie about the same subject and I just had to see it; but what a very different pranzo it was! If you like Italian comedies you will love this one. It was absolutely delightful!


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Pranzo di Ferragosto in Abruzzo
Gli italiani hanno perfezionato l’arte di mangiare al fresco. Penso che quando il cibo e' mangiato all’aperto il gusto è sempre migliore. I nostri amici hanno dei parenti che abitano in una fattoria a Capestrano nella valle del fiume Tirino (circa 30k a ovest di Chieti)e abbiamo avuto lì un pranzo di ferragosto indimenticabile. Ecco com’è andata…

Un piccolo veicolo a tre ruote chiamata un Ape ed un trattore con rimorchio, trasportavano dalla casa colonica il cibo, l’acqua, il vino, le sedie, le (bellissime) tovaglie...ed i bambini! Avevano scelto un bel posto sotto l’ombra di un vecchio albero d’ulivo per il pranzo, circondato del maestoso Gran Sasso, i raccolti dei campi ed il vigneto. Il rimorchio era usato come una seconda tavola, perchè eravamo in 18. Aiutavamo ad apparecchiare la tavola ed accendevamo le candele di citronella come insettifugo.
Ubaldo è un piccolo agricoltore che gestisce anche un vigneto dove produce abbastanza vino per l’uso quotidiano della sua famiglia ed i suoi amici. Uno dei vini per il pranzo era un Trebbiano, frizzante e bianco che andava bene con l’antipasto. L’altro vino era un rosso e robusto Montepulciano d’Abruzzo che si completava con la carne perfettamente. Tutto ciò che mangiavamo, proveniva dalla sua fattoria o era fatto a mano (a parte l’insalata di riso che i nostri amici ci portavano). Le montagne abruzzese hanno una gastronomia tanto antica, quanto semplice, caratterizzata da alimentari genuine e piatti ricchi di sapori e profumi.

Per l’antipasto avevamo le pannocchie di mais alla griglia. (Si puo' vedere i campi di grano sullo sfondo.) Il primo era composto dall’insalata di riso con bruschetta inzuppava con l’olio di oliva fatto in casa, e con i pepperoni rossi grigliati. I pomodori locali avevano un gusto meraviglioso. Per il secondo mangiavamo gli ‘arrosticini’; essi sono degli spiedini di carne d’agnello, tipici della cucina tradizionale abruzzese. La preparazione consiste in carne ovina tagliata a tocchetti ed infilata in spiedini, la cui cottura avviene su un braciere dalla caratteristica forma allungata definito ‘fornacella’. Si mangia con le mani e si usano i denti per togliere la carne dallo spiedino. (Si possono arrostire gli arrosticini anche sul barbeque).
(La foto sopra e' da Wikipedia)

Per pulire i palati dopo la carne, mangiavamo una fetta d’anguria servita fresca. Come dolce c’erano le pizzelle, leggeri e croccanti biscotti d’Abruzzzo. Sono ottime dal gusto molto delicato. C’è un disegno di fiori all’esterno. Avevamo due biscotti inseriva con Nutella e li apprezzavano sia i bambini sia gli adulti.

Secondo me, una delle cose più belle dei giorni lunghi e caldi d’estate è di poter godere del buon cibo, del buon vino e della gioia di essere in buona compagnia -- all'aperto!