Grateful for the Dead Italy Tour
September 2010
Four Day Piedmont Tour
Wednesday, September 15 – We flew from USA to Milan (but arrived the next day).
Thursday, September 16 – Everyone arrived in Milan by early afternoon. We then headed toward Torre Pellice in rented minivans. We spent the next three nights in this region. On the way to Torre Pellice we stopped at a Castle, then proceeded on to Ristorante Saraceno Pizzeria for a bite to eat. This restaurant/pizzeria is owned by an LDS family.
Friday, September 17 – We began the day with the goal of visiting the Cardon Borgata (Cardoni). On the way to the Borgata, we stopped at the graveyard in Prarostino. Five-year-old Louise Cardon, daughter of Philip and Martha was buried in the Prarostino cemetery according to the church records on the 25th of July in 1841. At the time no one knew to search for her grave marker, however we learned that graves are not permanent in the cemeteries. As the decades and centuries past, the sites are recycled. Click here to see some photos from the graveyard. notice the photo of the grave markers behind the fence? Are these from recycled plots? Next we traveled up the mountainous road, arrived, and parked in a parking lot adjacent to the Trattoria Piani.
Prior to walking the road to the Borgata, we posed for a group photo near the road sign pointing the way. Click here to see photos of Cardoni.
One person in our group carried a GPS which left a track of the trails we wandered in and around the Borgata. To see the GPS track, click here. From Cardoni, we wandered down the hill to Cardonera Superiore and on to the Waldensian temple and graveyard at Roccapiatta. We climbed back up out of the valley and had lunch at the Trattoria Piani. Optional afternoon activities included Shopping in the Waldensian Bookstore and free time to stroll the streets of Torre Pellice. The night’s activities included a group dinner.
Saturday, September 18 – We started the day with a guided tour of the Waldensian Museum in Torre Pellice. From there, we traveled to Angrogna Valley. Sites we saw included: Chanforan Monument, the Beckwith School, Gueiza d’la tana (the cave where worship services were held), museum of Waldensian women, Old Church in Pra del Torno and the school of the “Barba”. For photos of this days activities, click here.
Lux Lucet In Tenebris
One of the prominent decorations that adorned the tops of many homes was the eternal flame. We saw this in Cardoni, Torre Pellice, Par del Torno, …. As you enter a Waldensian temple you often see the flame with the words “LUX LUCET IN TENEBRIS” above it. This is a Latin phrase that translates to “The Light Shines in the Darkness”. For several hundred years the Waldensians were like a small light shining in the darkness of apostasy. It is representative of the emerging Waldensian Church.
Sunday, September 19 – Today we attended the Waldensian Church service in Rora. It was a very old temple, build in 1846. It is built on the site of the prior temple where Philip and Martha would have been married. Of course we visited the graveyard. We saw markers for many Tourn family members which is significant since Martha Marie was a Tourn. Click here to view photos of Rora. We returned early evening to a hotel in Milan in order to fly home the next morning, continue touring on our own, or begin our group 8-day guided-tour with Globus Tours.
Eight-Day Guided Tour
For those that continued on with the group, we boarded our motor coach the morning of Monday, September 20 for an 8-day Italy guided tour. We first traveled to Venice, Cinque Terre, Lucca, Pisa, then Florence. Next we went to San Gimignano, and finally to Rome. The tour ended in Rome on Monday morning, September 27, 2010. Some chose to fly home, some continued on with the group on a 4-day extended guided tour.
Four Day Extended Guided Tour
Our 4-day extended guided tour began the morning of Monday, September 27, 2010. We continued from Rome in our motor coach to Pompeii, Sorrento, Capri and the Amalfi Coast before returning to Rome for our flight home on Thursday morning. September 30, 2010. What an incredible trip. Many thanks to Becky and those that helped her to pull it off.