Day 23: Thursday, May 29. Our final Marche excursion took us to three destinations - two really - one was more of just a brief stop.

We loaded up the bus at 8:15 to head first to Loreto, only about 20 miles away. Loreto is home to an important basilica, built around the house of the Virgin Mary. I know what you're thinking: she was from Nazareth, not Italy.

It seems that Christians about 800 years ago worried that the place might be destroyed by non-believers and so they moved it to a safer place. Legend said it was brought by angels, but it was the Angelli family that financed the Crusade to save relics. The structure is now protected by a marble enclosure inside the church. Inside the marble box is Mary's house (no pictures allowed).

The structure has been tested and is from the correct time and place.

After visiting the inside of the basilica, we went to see the outside - fortified to prevent invasions by pirates (only a couple of miles from the Adriatic). This is a favorite spot for a class photo each time I've been here. 

After we loaded up the bus we took another short drive, this time to Sirolo, a sea town. As we drove along we saw lots of places setting up umbrellas, chairs, etc. Monday is a holiday here, so lots of people will see this 3-day weekend as the start of summer. The stop was just so people could take pictures - a scenic park above the sea, with Mount Conero nearby. We can actually see Conero from Macerata, but this was a much closer view. 

Unfortunately we were delayed leaving because some in the group decided to try to descend from the terrace to the beach below - my wife among them. It is very steep, and much harder to do than they realized. Getting down was one thing, but getting back up was a real challenge. One of the students was really struggling and was rather embarrassed by it. Of course I was frustrated that because they chose to go down there, the others who stayed put were made to wait. 

Off to lunch. I remember this meal from six years ago. I told the students that the pasta would be a handmade pappardelle (wide egg pasta) with a pork sauce. I didn't tell them the pork was wild boar until after they ate it. They all liked it. A few were grateful that I didn't say anything until later, but most said they would have been open to trying it. 

Then it was time for Frasassi Caves. No photography is allowed inside the caves, so you'll just have to click on the website and see the pictures there. A few of the students asked me the reason for the restriction. I told them that my cynical view was that it made it so visitors would have to buy postcards, DVDs, etc. 

It was after 7 p.m. when  we got back to Macerata. Kim and I had a dinner appointment at 8:30. We were invited to go to our favorite Macerata restaurant by the visiting professor from U of Oregon and his family. Galen is here teaching for 10 weeks. His students are studying food and sustainability. We had a nice dinner and conversation. Galen, Karen and their two children had a complete meal while Kim and I weren't really hungry after our big lunch so we ate less. Of course I still had a homemade pasta :)