P. Buckley Moss e-newsletter

Greetings from Italy!

It’s been such a joy to spend time with my family in Cortona, Italy, before going on our Mediterranean Cruise. My son-in-law Corrado, grandson Picco, and I were the first to arrive early last week, and the rest of the family followed by the weekend. My daughter Becky lives in Cortona with her husband Roberto and their family year-round, so it’s been especially nice to have some time with them and walking around the mountain.

Relaxing in our garden. L. to R.: My daughters Becky and Patty, me, and Mary Morgan.

With Becky’s mother-in-law Enza in Cortona. Becky’s caption for this picture was: “80 + 80 = a handful!”

The family did a little sightseeing on our own before the cruise. This breathtaking view is Civita di Bagnoregio, which is a town in the Province of Viterbo in central Italy that was founded by the Etruscans over twenty-five hundred years ago. Earthquakes and erosion over the centuries have led to its decline. The population today varies from about twelve people in the winter to over 100 in the summer. It was the birthplace of Saint Bonaventure, who died in 1274. The location of his boyhood house has long since fallen off the edge of the cliff.

Mary Morgan with my daughter Mary’s Donnelly family on the bridge to Civita di Bagnoregio.

Fields and fields of sunflowers! This picture was taken from the bus on our way to the port of Rome.

We boarded the Ruby Princess Tuesday and set off for our cruise of the Mediterranean.

Sorrento is a town in Campania, southern Italy, and overlooks the Bay of Naples. Many viewpoints allow sight of Naples, Vesuvius, and the Isle of Capri.

Mt. Vesuvius is visible in the distance. This volcano is infamous for destroying the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in A.D. 79 and burying them under tons of volcanic ash and debris.

’Til next week…Ciao!

Love,
Pat

Pat Carter, with the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children’s Education, and Marianne Fickling, with the P. Buckley Moss Museum, conducted two art workshops last week for 78 children at Creative Wonders Learning Center in Stuarts Draft, VA. The children created the shape of the flowers on the trees by using the bottom of plastic bottles and using their creativity to form the flowers. They were excited to compare their trees to my black trees. Many of the children remembered Pat and Marianne from last year.

Helping Pat and Marianne to demonstrate the project was Marianne's grandson Lee Fickling, who was here from Tennessee visiting his grandmother.

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