Christo Signore della Montagna (Christ the Lord of the Mountain)

Our priest announced a trip to the town of Cesaro to celebrate the placing of Christ the Lord of the Mountain statue on  August 19, 1996, by HC-4, the helicopter unit that served here several years ago. Flint and I were ready to go as we remember when it happened. The Catholic Women of the Chapel  travelled there on a trip shortly after its placement. Many of the HC-4 people-celebrities to the locals-were on the trip. Showing a video after a wonderful dining experience, the locals clapped and cheered those of our group who had placed the statue.

On Thursday, Flint, Don Alfonso (our priest to the locals), and I drove to the town. Don Alfonso and I sipped a caffe while Flint parked. By the time we rejoined him, he had met the mayor who served when the  7,000 pound statue was placed. They led us to the church that was already filled with the faithful. Flint and I stood in the back, and Father went to meet the local priests and get ready for Mass. The altar server moved us to the front row where we sat with some elderly men, and we were practically knee-to-knee with the town's saint statue-San Calogero. A while later the altar server moved us to the reserved area. The lady I was seated next to introduced herself as the mayor's wife-a delightful lady. (Flint may have been the first to verbalize that she looked like Meryl Streep.) The rest of the Sigonella group arrived later. Those Navy men look so sharp in their dress whites.

San Calogero

A band with majorettes and ladies with candles led the procession through the  town to the foot of the mountain of the statue.

A lady in the procession

One of the men of the town graciously showed me views of the statue and the valley that he deemed worthy of photographing. Therefore, when I arrived my Flintster was on the stage with the dignitaries. A short program with prayer, both national anthems,  and recognition of the horses that had gathered nearby followed. The handlers calmed the horses during the fireworks that were set off by the feet of the statue. As the smoke cleared, we all made our way up to the statue with another nice man from the town making sure I didn't fall....up and down.  Bless his heart! And I was probably the only one wearing real walking shoes!

Some of the horses

The Dignitaries

Not sure of what was next, we began to meander back to town. We soon learned that it was time to eat. A caravan formed, and we made our way out of town to the place where we had eaten years before. (We took company there several times, too, as the food was outstanding.) The food remains incredibly wonderful! Antipasti, homemade maccheroni, ravioli with pistachio, pasta with mushrooms, meat including black pig, a local delicacy.....all the BEST! If anything, the food tastes even better than we had remembered it. Sad thing, we don't ever remember even knowing the name of the place, but we can find it!

Christ the Lord of the Mountain embracing the town of Cesaro