Lumaca

After our day of rain I encountered this cute lumaca or snail. I was later told that this is the type that is good to eat. I have always thought escargot to be a delicacy.

After huge rainfalls in Italy I have occasionally seen older farmers walking around with their pails collecting snails. Even though lately they have not been found in abundance as once before, many people still collect and eat them as a tradition.

One has to have vast knowledge in their preparation, some of the contents of their stomachs can be toxic to humans. Therefore it takes days to properly prepare them for a meal.

Snail shells have been found throughout archeology to have been eaten since prehistoric times. The Romans considered escargot as an elite food.

They are low in fat and high in protein. But, I think I will pass, I like my image of the cute lumaca!

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A Fountain

The garden is called, L'orto dei Fruitti Dimenticati or The Orchard of Forgotten Fruits. My son and I have been avid fans of this garden since we have lived in Italy.

It contains fruits, flowers, trees from around the world that have been placed together in this orchard.

This orchard is my favorite spot for two reasons:

When we first moved to Italy as Fabio (my husband) worked , Giovanni (my son) and I would spend hours laying on the grass under the tree planted by the Dali Lama.

Second, the orchard contains a bronze statue of a mother snail with her child on her back. As Giovanni has grow, I have taken pictures of him with the statue. The stages of his growth have been documented with this statue.

The pictured fountain had never contained water. It has just been a structure made of wood in the shape of a fig leaf, with metal pipes as veins. Yesterday was the first time I had seen it with running water.

It was a beautiful sight!