San Benedetto in Perillis
On September 23, we took another of Anna Swan’s tours of small Abruzzo towns. This time, it was a town called San Benedetto in Perillis, which is about an hour and a half drive from us. Total population is less than 100 people. Our friend and neighbor Cathey, who recently moved here from Arizona, joined us.
The town dates back to the eighth century, founded by the Lombards. It is known for its complex underground caves. The caves were created by excavating stones to build houses. But in the cold of winter, the habitants lived in the caves. Their animals kept the rooms warm. Some people theorize that the caves saved many of the houses from collapsing during earthquakes.
The town also is known for its use of wooden locks. The lock has a horizontal bolt, with vertical sliding of the latches, and is identical to Egyptian locks of the 3rd millennium BC. It is a lock made up of a "bolt" that can be locked or slid using wooden stops. They also are found in Puglia, but nowhere else in Italy.
We visited the museum, which displayed an assortment of prehistoric tools, and were given a demonstration of how a wooden lock works.
Then we toured the town and were escorted through the caves. One woman read (in English, translated from dialect) a story that was probably read to the residents of the caves. We were served a wonderful meal of local foods.
As usual on these trips we enjoyed the group lunch and listening to our fellow Expats. One couple is focused on their cooking hobby and shop at multiple stores to get what they think is the best items from each. Considerable discussion about the poor grape harvest with too much rain then too little. We compared notes about what us Americans brought back from Costco and Costco-sized Tylenol, Skippy peanut butter, Crest and Dawn products were popular.
Photos are Here
Comments