olive grove, cineto romano

I wish I could bottle this air, sweet with the scents of Teresa's flowers and olive trees, bright with the laughter of the girls on the terrace upstairs as they teach Violet to play Old Maid or splash around in the pool. It is warm but a cool breeze plays through, and the sun, usually too brash for my liking, is somehow softer here. From this place we set forth to explore Rome and Tivoli, returning each evening, grateful to have a respite from the action.

Cineto Romano is a tiny hilltop town with its own rhythms. Mornings are for going to the market and taking care of business and by afternoon the streets are empty. Once the heat of the day has passed, life begins to emerge from the curtained doorways again, and everyone convenes in the town square; a large group of children, ranging in age from seven or eight to late teens, forms to play ball, old women take a corner near the church, and old and middle-aged men gather at the bar to the side of the square or sit on the edge of a fountain, chatting and watching the kids play. A young mother wheels her pram over to a bench and reads as her baby sleeps. Five or six little girls sit on a bench near us, the strangers, and stare intently at us as we watch the happenings. It is so entirely different from all that we know, and yet so taken for granted here. Nice to get out of one's own life for a while.