On the kitchen table today while in lockdown… cypress cuttings from the backyard in a vase I brought back from beautiful Orvieto many years ago. (And its potter’s mark.)
I don’t know if it’s just me or if anyone else names trees in their backyard but we call this cypress, ‘Annibale’, after Nonno Anni and it’s special to me because Mum gave it to us in a tiny pot to remember him when he died and not so long after, we lost her too, so this tree feels doubly special.
(Evergreen is a symbol of immortality and in ancient times the custom was to place fresh boughs to salute the departed and console the bereaved, such a lovely tradition, especially in winter when there were no flowers and the green lay stark against the snow.)
Fifteen years on, the cypress tree, ‘Annibale’ continues to thrive, is quite tall and burly (a bit like Nonno Anni was) and home to our lovely resident possum, Tabitha and a nest of honeyeater birds. (And its fronds have a lovely fresh scent on the kitchen table!) Hope you are keeping safe and well wherever you may be, in or out of lockdown. Zoe xx
A new year stretches ahead and there is something thrilling and also sobering in not knowing where our paths may meander as the months unfold. Hope this year is a wonderful one for you that brings much happiness! I couldn’t go past this beautiful painting by L’Aquila artist, 
…this 13-metre high sculpture of the ancient amulet,
Gargoyles, in their myriad forms include being carved to represent local heretics, controversialists, rogues, or personal enemies of the architect or building owner, particularly for ecclesiastical structures during the Middle Ages.
This painting of Fossa in the Abruzzo is by artist Juan Alfredo Parisse, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and whose parents are from L’Aquila, Italy.
This picture of young priests
Born in 1851 in Tocco da Casauria of Pescara province, Francesco Paolo Michetti was an Abruzzese artist who aspired to paint ‘real life’ capturing people, animals, and local events. The Abruzzo was his inspiration and in 1883 he purchased a convent there as his home and studio. For the next 20 years, the convent was a meeting place for Abruzzo’s artists including writer Gabriele D’Annunzio. Time moves slowly in the Abruzzo and fortunately some landscapes such as in this painting remain.
Zoë Boccabella 