On April 25, 1945, Allied forces liberated Italy from Mussolini’s Fascist government and the Nazis.  May 25th is now a national holiday which is celebrated with marching bands, music concerts, festivals, political rallies, and other public events around the country.  Government buildings, schools, and most businesses are closed for the day.

Chad and I had a very interesting Liberation Day holiday.  In the morning, we took a leisurely walk out of the village into the countryside.  It is spring here, and the wildflowers are in full bloom.

While walking on a country road, a car stopped next to us and it was Danilo, a younger guy we met a month ago.  We chatted for a while and then he said, “I’m going to a music festival this afternoon.  Do you want to go with me?  Great!  I’ll pick you up in the piazza after lunch.” 

When we returned to town and were walking through the piazza, we were waved over by Vincenzo, an older gentleman whom we had met a couple of days before.  He said, “Let’s go for a tour” and ushered us into his car.  We drove a couple of blocks and stopped at his granddaughter’s house.  There were several people milling around in her yard. 

It turns out that there is a traditional bread that is made on Liberation Day, and she makes a ton of loaves and hands them out to people in the village.  Chad and I were each handed a loaf, and then we were back in the car with Vincenzo.  I honestly had no clue where we were going.

We drove up, up, up the mountain, and we parked at Vincenzo’s friend’s house.  Now, it was getting close to lunch time, and I didn’t know if we were about to have lunch with his friend, but his friend wasn’t home.  Vincenzo just wanted to show us the view from the terrace.

Then he asked if we like rosemary and sage, and he harvested some wild herbs out of the yard for us.

Then we got back in the car and went up and over the mountain and then came back around and down into Guardialfiera.  We parked in front of Vincenzo’s house, and he told us to come inside.  I thought, “Okay.  Are we having lunch here?”  Nope.  He took us down into his basement and gave us a jar of dried oregano that he had prepared.  Then he asked, “Do you like wine?” and gave us a bottle of red wine from his favorite region.  And then Chad and I went home for lunch.

Danilo met us in the piazza after lunch, and we hopped into his car and headed to the music festival in Montenegro di Bisaccia.  We parked at the edge of town and then walked down a path into the countryside. 

I was captivated by the views of the hills and their folded textures.

The path widened out into a clearing where the music festival was happening.  Some people were standing, some were lying on blankets, some were having picnics.  We each had a glass of wine and listened to music.

The path ended at a grotto with a religious shrine inside.

We left the festival and returned to Guardialfiera and had an aperitivo at the bar before going our separate ways for dinner.  All in all, it was a spontaneous and fun day.  And I will leave you with some more photos of spring flowers.