Rolling out the flower carpet...
An annual event in Città della Pieve is the festival of the flowers. It is celebrated by closing off the main street leading to the old historic center and creating images on the pavement using seeds and crushed dried petals of all colors. Some of the images are quite intricate and they extend several hundred yards up to the main square where vendors wait to sell their locally produced goods. After the long weekend, the streets are swept and it’s business as usual. Città della Pieve is a medieval city in Umbria eight kilometers from the border with Tuscany. It's mostly known as the birth place of Il Perugino (a famous Italian painter) and for the Italian TV series Carabinieri (or cops).We made many friends in this city. (It's not hard to be noticed when you're an American family of nine.) The Italian bar/pastry shop/ice cream shop, is a great place to "rub shoulders" with the people. Usually there are tables outside where you can sit and people watch. The social interactions are very entertaining (especially the old guys sitting around talking about whatever). I learned a lot of Italian traditions and Italian customs just by watching and listening. Interesting fact: only Americans will order a Cappuccino after 11am. Since we don't drink coffee, we never made this social faux pas. Our Italian friends just thought we were more "cultured" than typical Americans.
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