Castles and Waterlands - April 30 - May 1, 2011

Click here to print the presentation
 
Like every morning, I open my email and read "Castles and Lands of Water" on one page... the title was very tempting, it piqued my interest, so it took me two seconds to sign up, with the ever-good Riccardo supporting me in my decisions.

{gallery}raduni/castelli_e_t-8787{/gallery}

Let me start by saying it was an extraordinary weekend. We left on the morning of the 30th and after about four hours we arrived in Turin with our MG, where we had our first encounters with our MG friends, some already known, some new. We visited the National Automobile Museum in Turin, brand new, inaugurated just a month ago. It features 200 vehicles, an i-tek setting for dream cars; the pavilions are each more beautiful than the last. In short, it's definitely worth a visit, especially for those of us who saw it four years ago, and the comparison becomes even more striking.
We took our MGs and headed to the hotel, very nice, well-kept, but above all we were delighted by the excellent cuisine and the evening ended in the best possible way.


Sunday morning, May 1st, the roaring engines of our MGs are revving. Thirty crews of every color, year, and model, tackling 80 km through rice paddies and verdant hills, accompanied by the clear, blue day. The wind in our hair, the scent of spring flowers, the water in the rice paddies, our smiles... priceless.


But it wasn't over, the best was yet to come!
Crossing rolling hills, we arrive at the gates of the fairytale Castle of San Genuario, where a jester welcomes us—and who was he? The great Urs, waiting for us with his sweet Sonia.
As we enter the castle park, a very particular scene awaits us: we are catapulted directly into the medieval era, among men-at-arms, ladies, princes and princesses...
A desperate man, who had undoubtedly committed some crime, was being pilloried and beheaded when the king came to his aid and pardoned him. And who was the king? Of course, Urs, who, in a flash, had shed his jester's cloak and become king.


A unique welcome, all surrounded by the enchanting landscape and relaxing atmosphere. A superb lunch featuring local products was a must (I discovered panissa, a rice dish that's not light but amazing!) and Urs's quiz on medieval weapons, where, of course, Riccardo and I got every question wrong!


Alas, the time had come to say goodbye and reluctantly say goodbye to all our MG friends.
We thank Silvio and Urs for the excellent, flawless organization!!! And we wanted to compliment Urs and Sonia, a couple who are a paragon of courtesy, kindness, simplicity, and culture. They made us feel like royalty, and there's so much to learn from them, as from the many wonderful people we met and continue to get to know through this wonderful MG family.


See you at the next meeting


With love


Patrizia Lovato Riccardo Filatondi

A RALLY…OF VINTAGE
 
 
At the gate that opens in the massive stone walls, two halberdiers and a green-and-yellow-clad jester await us. As we enter the castle courtyard, we cannot help but notice, tied to a broken granite column and surrounded by a small group of people, a poor man in blood-stained clothes loudly proclaiming his innocence. But not far away, a hooded executioner is preparing his axe and block to execute him, and a friar waits aside to absolve the sinner. Then, suddenly, the lord of the castle emerges from the tower door, imposing in his red and black velvet robe and accompanied by an elegant lady. In his magnanimity, he approaches the horse where the condemned man's neck is already resting and firmly pronounces, "Let him be pardoned!" Shouts of joy from the crowd, tears of joy from the poor man, expressions of praise and thanks for the lord of the castle...
Suddenly, someone shouts, "Photos, quick!" and analog Nikons and digital Canons bring us back to the present. It's not the 15th century, but May 1, 2011, and we're participating in the regional MG gathering "Castles and Lands of Water," organized by our talented Silvio Alberelli, director of the Piedmont regional center.
We've visited castles before, guided by expert guides. But never before have we been immersed as we were this morning in the daily life (or almost, as far as the condemned man is concerned) of a castle, where lords and workers, high prelates and friars move with ease in their 15th-century robes, in a courtyard that breathes the air of the past.
Urs organized the gathering lunch at the Castello di San Genuario, in the atmosphere of the era in which the castle was built. He cooked panissa, a local specialty made with Carnaroli rice, borlotti beans, lard, sausage, and Barbera wine, and treated us to other delicacies.
But had we really immersed ourselves in late medieval reality? We could test this by trying to guess the function or name of stilettos, daggers, and other objects lined up proudly on a table in the cellar, answering a quiz specially prepared for us (not about cars, this time) by Urs.
Of course, sitting at the table under a roof of beams and tiles under which the horses could have taken shelter but under which our MGs could just as easily have been lined up, the conversation, as always, slides onto carburetors and distributors.
But to the right of the courtyard is a narrow passageway beyond which a meadow stretches: the surrounding wall encloses it for a good stretch, and in the center, a stone fountain fills it with austere beauty, while a hundred blooming roses triumph over the castle's façade. On the opposite side, at the bottom of the meadow, weeping willows descend to a well and a canal that perhaps once fed the moat that ran around the walls. One truly has the feeling of being outside of time, in a timeless reality. When, beyond the canal, one notices a small tomb, four begonias amid river stones, with the undated inscription "Here rests Salvo, the castle's guard dog," it almost seems as if that memorial has been there since then, since the 15th century.
For those who love classic cars, living in touch with the past and its artifacts is almost a given. The hours spent here, in the Castle of San Genuario, gave us the feeling that contact with the past can also be familiar and enriched by the warmth of sincere friends.
 
 
Silvana Levi, family partner

{gallery}rallies/castles_and_t-1249{/gallery}