Meeting Marcello

We were walking up the road to Rocca Maggiore (castle where Frederick of Swabia lived when he was two) when Uwe was stopped by a man coming out into the street. He wanted the group to come see his "presepe" (manger scene). So we entered his courtyard and admired meticulously carved figures of Mary, Joseph, Jesus, the shepherds and animals. The artist, Marcello, then invited us into his house to see his workshop [check out photos posted shortly], where, with a warm fire burning in the hearth, we saw many wood and ceramic carving projects, mainly restorations, as he explained. This man, 88 years young, is a master carver. (He said that Ruth was "professoressa" but we he was "maestro"). He has worked in all the churches of Assisi, and elsewhere, and showed us his picture with Pope John XXIII at the presentation of one of his works. Rapidly transitioning from his work, family, projects and life, Marcello made it challenging for Ruth to translate for the benefit of the group. The most amazing revelation came when he explained that during World War II he had been a prisoner of war in Germany and still recalls the joy he felt when American troops liberated him. Some were Italo-Americans, yelling, "paisan!"(countryman). This is why he stopped us: he is so grateful to Americans (for us, a refreshing reaction). Andrew Becklin in our group was particularly moved by this story, since his grandfather, an Italo-American, had liberated troops in Germany. Neither he nor Marcello could recall names and places, but nevertheless, a connection was made. We left him, waving good-bye, as he stood in his doorway, looking towards a lovely view of Rocca Minore [the smaller of two fortifications that overlook Assisi].

A few days later, after our walk down Mt. Subasio, which towers over Assisi, Uwe and Ruth were enjoying the sun at the Café del Duomo when Uwe saw Marcello and invited him for a coffee. He remembered that we were leaving the next day, asked us how our stay was, and then inquired how things were going in the U.S., commenting on the financial crises in Italy and the fact that young people can't find work, wondering why this was so. (Some of this conversation took place in German and Uwe was amazed at how well he still spoke it after all those years since his captivity).

When Ruth asked him how his diet was, he said he had no restrictions but then lamented the "junk" sold in supermarkets, and the dioxin issue in Germany (recently in the news). Bidding us a final farewell, he hopped on his moped and sped away up the steep hill to his home. [See photo below!]