After a long day yesterday, Kim and I treated ourselves to sleeping in. It was after 11 before we got out of the house. It was such a beautiful day today we decided we'd just get out and walk around. We bumped into a couple of the students before we even got outside the walls. We decided we'd walk about 2 km to Santa Maria delle Virgine, built in the 16th Century.
Unfortunately, it was after 1 p.m. by the time we got there, so the church was all locked up. Once upon a time Italian churches were never closed, but just like everywhere else in the world, nut cases have ruined it for everyone else, so churches close when there is no one there to watch over the place. It's a shame we didn't get in, because there are some marvelous 16th century paintings including one by famous Italian artist Tintoretto.

The walk through the countryside was nice. As always, these pictures don't do it justice.
On our way back, we decided to walk through the local cemetery (it was on the way). In ancient times, people were buried in or near churches. At some point (Filiberto has told me when, but I've forgotten), they decided to bury the dead outside the city walls because of the possibility of contamination from the corpses. Nowadays, mausoleums are a lot more common. The Macerata cemetery is lined with them. As you can see, people decorate them, some elaborately. Most have pictures of the deceased. Flowers vendors are just outside the gate, and whoever doesn't show up with flowers probably stops to get them upon arrival. The wealthy families have family crypts, and here are what the modern ones look like. Just inside
the doorway of each is a small area (about 4 X 8 feet) for visitors to stand in front of the family crypts. The ones we saw contained 15 "slots," not all of which were filled. You can't tell from this shot, but some are adorned with family names, or stained glass or even some family symbols (crest, family business, etc). Inside the doors people leave tons of flowers as well. In the foreground are less elaborate family crypts built onto the ground, again in various states of "fullness."
The cemetery clearly had newer and older sections, as one would expect even in the new world. This section contained the traditional plots but with a slight twist. As you can see, people have planted things immediately on top of
the deceased. Some are small plants or flowers, but others are more significant - like trees.

After our cemetery visit we stopped at a bar/cafe for coffee and tea. A couple came in. Lo and behold, she is American, he is Italian. She lives half the year in Maryland and half in the Marche. We must have talked for an hour or more. We exchanged telephone numbers and hope to get together at some point before we leave. The man with her was the cousin of her deceased spouse. He lives in Macerata but has a place in Bolognola, about an hour away, and has told us they will take us there someday. It's funny that we would just happen to bump into each them. It's a small world...but I'd hate to have to paint it.