The day is November the 2nd, Commemoratio Omnium Fidelium Defunctorum, commonly known as the day of the dead. The weather has been abysmal for the past five or so days, constant rain, everything is wet and muddy, and this morning there was a thick fog covering most of the valley. But dogs don’t care about bad weather and so out we went.
Aside from its wetness, I enjoy foggy days. There’s something magical about seeing familiar landscapes disappear into a thick wall of grey. Driving around, though? Not as fun. Thankfully, the roads here are all but crowded, and I saw precisely zero cars this morning. One thing I did see was a church. Not because I wanted to go to church—I am not a religious person, I am not even baptised—but because I quite like this place and I wanted to see how it looked this morning with the fog and all that.
This is the church of San Nicolò, and you’ll likely see it again on this newsletter at some point because it’s part of a trail that I do want to walk that is designed to touch 44 votive churches scattered around the valleys. The church itself is nothing special or spectacular. Originally built in 1294, it started out as a small chapel, then expanded in 1450 and subsequently rebuilt in 1525. A few centuries later, a pronao was added, and that’s the structure that has resisted to this day.
The church was restructured in the 1950s because it was damaged during WW1, and that brings us to the most interesting aspect of this place. A battle took place on the 27th of October 1917, between German and Italian troops and the church and the surrounding area were converted to a field hospital. At least 30 German soldiers were buried around here at the time, and traces of this fact are still very much visible.
Those bodies are no longer here. After the war, they were moved and likely brought back to Germany, but those crosses are still here as a reminder of the events that took place. As I wrote at the beginning, the day is November the 2nd, and it is the day of the dead after all, so I thought this was a fitting story worth sharing.
Until next time
— M.
Manu, I think this kind of impromptu newsletter is really great, and I look forward to every issue. It reminds me a little of what Craig Mod is trying to do with his Ridgeline newsletter.
A few years ago, I tried something similar. In my case, it wasn't remote locations and nature, but a kind of barista tour. The conditions of my newsletter were a) to write on site and b) to publish in the same place. Coffee house thoughts, spontaneously taken from life and as creative and fringed as the hissing sound of the espresso machines allows.
Your photos are great, they express exactly how I feel right now. Very atmospheric. I look forward to more. Greetings from 48°03'09.6“N 11°06'02.9”E
Ciao Sebastian! Yeah i'd be happy to be half as good as writing as Craig. Also half as good as a photographer. Honestly the main reason for me to do this is because I'm starting to feel a lot of digital fatigue when it comes to the topics I engage with. Too much tech talk in my life and so I wanted to try find a bit of balance.
Plus it's nice to share snippets of the world that's around me. I personally love to learn about places through other people's eyes and maybe others do as well.
Greetings from 48.052548, 11.100728 Correcting, as I'm unable to edit my comment. 🙃