The Lord blessed us with not one, but two houses, and for many years we divided our time between them. But as time passed our “summer village” became increasingly uninhabitable, and we were less able to make the journey there due to our advancing age and increased commitments.
It’s a sad fact, but most of Italy’s smaller mountain villages are dying off. As the population diminshes, so do the amenities that make them livable. Year by year, the shops disappeared. Along with them went the doctors, the schools, and the bus system. The little town began to feel increasingly isolated, overwhelming, and challenging. Yet that little village and its people are permanently embedded in our hearts. We no longer go there, but it is always with us.
Our main town
Our main town is nestled in the foothills between the Adriatic Sea and the mountains of Abruzzo. It’s a beautiful region, but economically depressed and overlooked in many ways. It’s a place where life, to a large degree still goes “a un ritmo umano” – at a human pace. This mostly laidback area is a delightful place to live and visit if you want to slow down and rediscover that quality still trumps quantity. And that the truly important things in life are people, relationships, and meaningful experiences.
Our summer area
Our summer village (Hubby’s birthplace) is hidden away in the remote and lonely mountains of Salerno’s Cilento area. An extremely depressed area, with little work, few people, fewer amenities, and still fewer Bible-believing churches. Where the people, for the most part, feel abandoned, hopeless, and beyond forgotten. We go there to show that they are neither forgotten nor abandoned, and we covet your prayers for them.
Well, arrivederci – FOR NOW! Because you see, arrivederci, literally means “until we see each other again.” So until we meet again, because I’m hoping you will join my Italian slow life adventures!
Learn more about small town Italian living! Read: Life and Missions in Small Town Italy.
📷 Images are mine.
Signora Sheila 