#MediterranenDoors | Valentina Expressions

Mediterranean Door

It’s one o’clock, businesses are closed, schools are closed, and everybody goes home for lunch. In the Mediterranean basin, life stops from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm every day. The main purpose of those four hours of pause is to have lunch with the family. After lunch, people have different activities, take a nap, read, talk on the phone, do house chores, help kids with homework, go out to exercise and many others. At 4:00 pm, all the businesses start again until the evening at 8:00 pm. This is the Mediterranean life, summer and winter.

The balcony above a business, as in my photo, often says the owner of the business lives above. In the Middle Age, it was a custom to live above the business to care for the family easier without having to walk or take the carriage to go home. Today, in Europe, the same work/living arrangement is still valid, unfortunately, there are only a few examples left.

The shutters of the French door on the balcony are real, meaning they have a real function, versus the decorative types I often see on houses in America. In the Summertime, the shutters are kept closed to let the fresh air in through the slats and keep out the ferocious sun. Behind the shutters, inside, the glass panels are always open.
If you are visiting Italy, make sure you eat during the hours Italians eat. Restaurants are closed for a good part of the day, as Italians love to eat under the moon and not under the sun. Lunch in restaurants is served between 12:00 and 2:00 pm, and dinner doesn’t start until 8:00 in the evening until the smallest hours of the night. In some areas on the coasts, restaurants have a full house even at 3:00-4:00 am.

I am happy to participate in the Thursday Door Challenge organized by Dan Antion, I am learning so much about doors in the world.

Ciao.
Valentina
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Copyright © 2022 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant, author of 6 published books, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking and travel.
Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble

Gossiping By Ancient Doors in Polignano

Across the pond, on this side of the world, we network in offices, pubs, and various social places to talk about business. In Italy, networking is about neighbors and families coming together, to sit at the doorsteps of someone’s home to enjoy a bit of time out from daily chores, not to engage in talks of business.

People meet outside their homes, in the street, or in a courtyard to talk about their problems, challenges, kids, life in general and gossip about someone they know is the practice of the day. Each person brings a chair, no need for an appointment, no need for a schedule, nothing is planned, and whoever shows up will be the support or the leader of the conversation at that moment.

Men, women and often kids show up at these daily meetings with the neighbors. Kids play with kids the usual soccer in the streets, chasing a ball from corner to corner, men talk to other men or play cards and women stay with the women. There is always an exchange of food and drinks, nothing complicated to prepare, local snacks, homemade focaccia bread, pretzels, olives, cheese, fruits and nuts, accompanied with wines or beer, just to keep the conversation going.
This is an ancestral society where everyone knows the rules and their own roles.

Doors in this part of the Mediterranean seem to be built the same way, they follow the orderly classic style of architecture, travertine arches, usually with a keystone in the center, pillars on both sides and heavy metal or wood doors with a horseshoe or lion head doorknocker.

Private courtyard in Polignano a Mare, Italy

When doors are not that great, courtyards, exterior stairs and balconies are made up cute and cozy. Courtyards attract tourists and visitors for their simple beauty. These are private little areas, where the locals living there meet to be social and of course help each other in case of need.

I am participating in the Thursday Door Challenge hosted by Dan Antion

Ciao,
Valentina
Amazon Author’s Page

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant, author of 6 published books, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking and travel. Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble