AMHS ROAD TRIP
We’ve all known various sports teams and athletes who’ve had “losing streaks.” Our Society seemed to have its own breed of bad luck when it came to trip-taking lately. After several travel attempts to Philadelphia’s Little Italy and Virginia wine country, we “reversed the curse” with a bus trip to St. Anthony’s Italian Festival in Wilmington, DE on June 14, 2015.
Our group met at the New Carrollton Metro Station and enjoyed coffee and pastries prior to boarding a 28-passenger bus for the two-hour trip. Our bus driver’s name was serendipitously named Anthony. Upon arrival, we were greeted with a beautiful church complete with a courtyard, water fountain, and statue of St. Anthony. People were free to roam the festival grounds and explore, shop and eat for the next several hours. Many folks opted to attend the bi-lingual Mass in the church at 12:30 pm. (The week prior, the church held the funeral Mass for Beau Biden, late son of U.S. VicePresident Joe Biden and his wife Dr. Jill Biden). The church also featured a reproduction of the altar of the Chiesa dei SS. Nicola e Clemente (Church of Sts. Nicholas and Clement) in the town of Lama dei Peligni in Abruzzo. The Mass concluded with three annual traditions: the singing of “Va, Pensiero” (more commonly known in English as the “Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves” and featured in the third act of Giuseppe
Verdi’s 1842 opera Nabucco), the distribution of St. Anthony’s bread to the public, and an outdoor street procession with the church’s statues, religious and civic associations, and area marching bands.
The festival itself was an 8- day event, which began the Sunday prior. The focus region of this year’s festival was Abruzzo.
The festival grounds were organized into several sections including the outdoor cafés Antonian and Nona Strada, La Piazza, and Chef Giuseppe Furio’s Abruzzo Café. There was even a carnival! Musical entertainment options ranged from traditional Italian to contemporary pop music. A local choral group, Coro Gabriele D’Annunzio, performed folk favorites in the church at 4:00 pm. At 5:00 pm we departed to have dinner at Bella Napoli, an Italian restaurant by chef/owner Biagio Carannante, located in Pasadena, MD. Strong thunderstorms delayed traffic on Interstate-95, which made us 45 minutes late for dinner but also afforded us the opportunity to see beautiful rainbows along the way and to savor our food, wine and company all the more.
AMHS President Emeritus Lucio D’Andrea offered a sweet, heartfelt toast at the restaurant. Special thanks and appreciation go to my husband, Sergio, for taking the lead on this labor of love; AMHS Treasurer Jeff Clark for overseeing reservations and payments;
AMHS 1st VP – Programs and Travel Chair Nancy DeSanti for her publicity, marketing efforts and optimism; AMHS President Maria D’Andrea for her support, guidance and correspondence for this trip, especially the information sheets/schedule of events she created for our participants; Lucchesi nel MondoTuscany Club President Tricia Maltagliati and members for their support and participation; Beltway Transportation;
Biagio Carannante and wait staff Amanda and Steve; my parents Natale and Luisa Caminiti for their support and accommodations for this trip; and my fellow attendees with whom we would not have had a successful trip in the first place. With members’ ideas and suggestions, the Society looks forward to planning more local trips like these in the future.
