CHAPTER 24

Nature and Nurture

There have been more comings and goings at Casa Camilleri in Puglia, and now that everyone has returned to their own Casa, or are continuing on with their travels, Casa Camilleri is left more and more feeling like a home. Some rooms have even been named for reference. My favourite, even though technically my hobby room, is now Gianni’s/Carla’s room. Having them here sealed the deal. We put in a lot of time and effort to make Casa Camilleri a home, but nothing beats making a home as much as the humans that inhabit it from time to time and nothing beats family, especially if can get on like a house on fire! Having them both here, under the same trullo has been simply wonderful.

And Autumn is back. With it the olive harvest, wine-making (not us), the changing colours, falling temperatures, the longer walks, the shorter days, the burning woodfire, the mushrooms. We have as yet to find someone trustworthy to kidentify the edible ones, and how to tell one from the other. All those ‘expert’ curious people we ask, after a long nosey ramble on our property, consistently end their visit with a HUGE disclaimer, and a non committal clause. irrevocably ending their unending ramblings with ‘no, no, no, ‘I’m not an expert signora, best ask an the expert’. We understand they don’t wish to kill us by divulging mis-information. Their interest is tangible as is their willingness to help. It does make one wonder whether all they really want is a nosey stroll round the property, mentally marking the luscious edible mushrooms, dropping pins and marking bearings for reference, to return when no-one is looking. But there must be someone out there (and not google lens) who can help us decipher the ‘which is which’. Thankfully, we should be getting a visit from Nonno Curri, previous inhabitant of Casa Camilleri/Curri up until 2 years ago. As far as we can understand, he is alive and kicking and as far as we can gauge is not Ga-ga. He must have survived the Russian roulette of mushrooms!

The Olive harvest was not great this year due to a variety of factors which I will not go into except to say nature and nurture were, as always, at play. It still offered Gianni, the opportunity to see the process from start to finish, and we can proudly say, our 2025 oil has just landed in New Zealand!

Thanks to the human comings and goings from Casa Camilleri we have been able to explore other parts of Puglia, one of which is the city of Taranto on the Ionian sea. I must admit, I hadn’t previously bonded with the place (except briefly through the intercession of one large Neapolitan pizza) nor appreciated the archeological, historical and anthropological significance of this Puglian city until this last visit with Gianni. Part of the Magna Grecia (Greater Greece) Taranto was settled primarily by Spartans, known as the Partheniae, ‘sons of virgins’, so called because they were the illegitimate children of ever-faithful Spartan women and their helot (serfs) partners. According to legend, they were the offspring of unions made during the Messenian Wars, when legitimate love-making was not possible since husbands left for years on end to fight the enemy, and the Spartan population risked a serious dwindling. Like what is often predicted in these warmer Mediterranean climates, when distances are halved, work-completion shortened, appointments ignore, the war would be done and dusted in a year……max. Ten years later, the husbands still had not returned. Between us, they must have found new excitements and distractions, totally satisfied with the spoils of war me thinks. Although these extra marital shenanigans between the spartan ladies and the helots were initially condoned and elevated to the status of divine in order to produce offspring, and not at all regarded as hanky-panky while the cats were away, these offspring, especially the males, were shamelessly illegitimated when the legitimate men returned, and quickly exiled from Sparta before the wrath of the husbands befell them. They then founded Taranto in Magna Grecia around 706 BC.

And so, centuries later, we are very fortunate to be close to one of the largest Museums with the very a well-preserved and curated collection of Greek artifacts and archeological sites, centred around the necropolis (city of the dead), where lavish burials took place, each telling a story about the person, their achievements, life-style, and life in those days. A must-visit. I learnt a lot …… (and not just about ancient shenanigans). The old town is ancient and intriguing. Apart from its history, Taranto is renowned for its sea food, mussels especially and in 2026 the Mediterranean Games will be held there. Fingers crossed, these will fire up the incentive to give it a both a good spruce up and increase its ranking in appreciation and study of human history. Unfortunately, Taranto, like other cities and towns in Puglia has been left to its own devices. Due to the presence of powers that be, including those of organised crime and deep deep corruption, the righteous and those of good will, battle continuously to uphold their city’s good name. What a shame.

On the other side of the Puglian peninsula, this time the Adriatic sea, lies Brindisi which we also visited with Gianni. Again we hadn’t yet appreciated much of what it offers and its history. Brindisi is the end point of the Via Appia, marked by two columns, which the Romans built stretching all the way from Rome, across fields, mountains, valleys and countryside to facilitate the transfer of armies and goods towards the East. Brindisi is the port from which the galleons carried men, armies, goods and trade to conquer their Eastern colonies. Brindisi remains the port where one can catch a ferry to Croatia, Albania or Greece. Some of you will have travelled this ancient route to the orient on your great OE!

And so, life in Puglia continues. We look forward to experiencing living in a house which is now better insulated, warmer, more comfortable, one from which we will not be evicted into the cold, due to the dust clouds or gangs of men. Looking back over a year, we are amazed at what we have achieved and less overwhelmed by what still needs to be done. I wish I had more time to plant and sow, but events of the last couple of months have distracted me from the vegetable gardens. In the meantime, because of the rain, the meadows flourish with wild flowers lighting up carpets of white and yellow. Our clowder has a new addition, Alieno who is triggering a new dynamic in the family group especially in the two male cats, who are for now, holding on to their testosterone and the echoing threat of chop chop. Another couple of cats curiously stand on the side-lines, wondering if they too will become part of the clowder, something we cannot allow unless we win a sponsorship from Whiskas. I now go for walks with five cats in tow! Quite the spectacle. Curious observations and comments from friends, family, together with my sense of self awareness and deep insight into such matters, confirm I am well and truly on the way to becoming the crazy cat lady!

I want to thank those of you who have stayed in touch, written emails, sent messages. Please know everything and everyone is appreciated. I love getting your news, which is consistently a reminder that life goes on for everyone. We experience joy, sadness, loss, gain, uncertainty, concerns, worry, fear of the unknown, fulfillment. Hardly ever do these come ordered in a single file; that would be too simple. No. Often they march up in twos, or threes or fours, erupting together like a boiling porridge. They rollover us and our lives, large entangled balls, impossible to disentangle….. much like my attempt at re-cycling yarn for knitting!

Life is this hotchpotch of events and emotions. Some nature, some nurtured, but that’s the only life we have. So take your time, breathe, laugh and knit!!

Abbracci.