Settling in...

The first few days were spent reacquainting myself with Civita and settling into my new digs in il Nuovo, the newest of the Civita Institute home renovations (which wasn't even part of the properties I'd gotten to know in '84). I woke in time to have breakfast as the sun rose outside the entry.


Initially I had a neighbor in lo Studio, the house next door that had been Astra and Tony's home back then. Melissa Henry, granddaughter of one of the first NIAUSI fellows, was there for three days. We hiked down to Bagnoregio for a jazz concert under a full moon, and she snapped this photo of a full moonrise under Civita.



Melissa profited from a ride down the bridge in Tony's Ape, a little 3-wheeled truck that enables him to negotiate the bridge and remain here as one of only a handful of full-time residents left. Not a service available to most visitors, but he happened to be heading to town for some errands. The ever-present Sandro Rocchi looks on as Melissa, Tony and his Ape  head down the main street.



The Ape and new restaurants like Alma are just two of the many changes since I was last here in 2002, much less since my student days in '84. Folks like Sandro and the basic fabric of the town remain welcome constants, however. More on that in a future post...