Urbino Project 2011

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Father Aurelio is a man of God, but several times each week he sits down with Satan.

FOSSOMBRONE, Italy – Father Aurelio Gino Pela is a man of God, a Roman Catholic priest who tends a flock of the still-devout in the central Italian province of Le Marche.

Father Aurelio Gino Pela

But a few times each month he sits down with Satan.

“The other day it happened that a person knocked me on the ground, and I was lucky that her husband and another lady held her because she would have jumped on me,” said Aurelio, 73, recalling a recent exorcism he conducted.

Aurelio isn’t a character from a Hollywood film, or a rogue priest straying into the bizarre. He’s a Vatican-appointed exorcist, one of hundreds in Italy. Commissioned by the Church in spiritual warfare, Aurelio and his colleagues extract demons from those plagued by unexplainable behavior.

Exorcism isn’t a hidden rite here, but an accepted part of spiritual life. The Vatican oversees an exorcism bureaucracy – a structured, organized system with official exorcists appointed by local bishops. And in a country where a study published by the Italian Catholic magazine Famiglia Cristiana and Jesus revealed  34 per cent of the residents believe in demonology, it’s not surprising exorcists like Aurelio stay busy.

Aurelio alone claims to perform an average of 15 exorcisms week, a rate that amounts to more than 2,000 during his three-year career.

It wasn’t a job he applied for — he was recruited by an old friend, the bishop of Fano, a city on the Adriatic Sea.

“I was appointed exorcist by the bishop of Fano because as a rule the exorcist of a diocese is the bishop, and then it’s the bishop that appoints someone to substitute him or aid him with this duty,” Aurelio explained.

“Initially I didn’t want to be an exorcist, because it’s a heavy sort of duty, it involves risks, even personal ones.”

But Aurelio accepted the responsibility, and today he goes about this most unusual calling with an almost business-like daily routine. Driving a purple car, he arrives every morning at the gates of the Beato Benvenuto monastery, a castle-like brick structure resting on a daunting hilltop overlooking Fossombrone. His mornings are set aside for prayer, but his evenings are reserved for Satan.

Like a highly sought-after therapist, Aurelio limits his exorcism appointments to hourly sessions, and always has a clinical physiologist at his side. His clients, he said, fall into three general categories – the mentally ill, those who fear they have been cursed by members of the occult and those truly possessed by demons.

To the first two groups, they offer prayers and advice.

“After listening to the person I decide if a prayer of liberation or an exorcism is to be done,” he said. “It depends on the necessities of the person.”

Some are simply mentally ill, he says.

“They need to be cured by a psychiatrist because many of them have problems of this sort,” he said. “So I tell them that a prayer of liberation is important but maybe it’s at least as important for them to be followed by a psychiatrist.”

Major exorcisms are for cases of true demonic possessions. “Diabolic possessions — these cases are really rare,” said Aurelio.

Aurelio claims to observe approximately two major exorcisms each month. The afflicted often react violently to holy objects, prayers or just his presence – all symptomatic of demonic intrusion.

Aurelio, citing privacy issues, refused to allow media at his exorcisms. However, the Church published The Rite of Exorcism which details exorcism rituals and, is available on the Internet.

He encourages the patient’s family or friends to attend — not only for his subject’s sake, but for his own.

“In some cases it has been necessary to hold a person still with more than a man, in some cases even three,” he said.

He recently observed a patient collapse to the floor and begin to slither about the room like a snake.

“He’s a good Catholic, a practitioner too, but he’s disturbed,” Aurelio said. “When I perform the exorcism on him he shakes on the floor like a snake and it’s impossible to hold him still. After the exorcism he’s exhausted — he lacks the strength even to get up.”

He has never witnessed a patient’s head do a complete 360, like the iconic scene from the movie The Exorcist, nor has he seen one break spontaneously into foreign tongue.

One of the discrepancies between Hollywood and Italian exorcist rituals lies in the use of water. Aurelio said he uses salt-water rather than holy water during an exorcism. This way, clients of Aurelio’s are able to bring back the salt-water to their house for future use. Holy water can only be used for blessings within the church.

“Exorcised salt is used to make the Enemy flee from an environment and the water does the same. I exorcise salt and water so that the people can use it around their homes in order to free them from this negative influence,” elaborated Aurelio.

Minor exorcisms comprise most of Aurelio’s work. These are less complex than major exorcisms. Aurelio recites a series of brief prayers — known as a prayer of liberation — to bring release to those subjects.

He says as “many are affected by psychological illnesses.” Aurelio also acknowledged an equal portion of people have an active interest in the occult in Italy and are under the influence of “Tarot readers, magi, witches and black masses.

“Witches use things like puppets with needles, chicken heads with needles,” he said. “They use particular cushions for curses and many other things. Those cases are pretty frequent. So they need to be freed.”

In an occupation defined by the unusual, Aurelio is always prepared for the surprises – such as when a recent client was referred to him by a witch.

“He said the reason was that ‘the witch I used to go to told me she cannot do anything more for my problem and she gave me your number.’” Aurelio recalled. “This is strange — really strange — but sometimes these people [witches, wizards, warlocks might feel powerless and this is what happens,” he said.

A grin spread across Aurelio’s face as he added:

“In fact I do ask them, ‘Why is a tarot reader sending you to me?’

“ Magic practitioners work for the Enemy, so for someone who works for the Enemy to send his customers to an exorcist is certainly weird.”

African immigrants find a niche as street vendors in Urbino. Although it’s a tourist town, it’s not an easy place to survive that way.

URBINO, Italy — Against the light-colored stone of the piazza and the almost entirely white population of Urbrino, Frank Sunday does not blend in well.

As he gets closer, his voice further separates him from the crowd with his African accent. He leans toward a group of students with a soft, “Ciao, ragazzi.”

They smile, shake their head and wave him off with a “no, grazie.”

Sunday is a 29-year-old Nigerian immigrant who first came to Italy four years ago. Every day, he sells merchandise on the streets of Urbino. He swings colorful bracelets, small books and socks in his outstretched arms as he saunters down the cobblestones in his worn Puma tennis shoes.

Frank Sunday catches the bus just outside the city walls back to Pesaro, where he lives with other Nigerian immigrants.

He is one of about half a dozen North African immigrants who live in Pesaro on the Adriatic and take buses daily to Urbino to sell merchandise. With a political science degree from University of Benin in Nigeria, he has a different story than most of the other sellers. But his struggle to make a little money is the same.

Sunday said most immigrants come to Italy to make money and send profits home to their families. He is earning money for himself, hoping to obtain a higher education degree and then re-enter the political world in Nigeria. Sunday, who lives off of the wages he earns by selling small items on the street, is a self-described politician and refugee.

He said the best chance to make a sale is in the late afternoon when most stores close and local activity slows for “pausa.” That’s when the most tourists will be in and around the piazza.

This small window of opportunity seems to be an unprofitable time for foreigners like Sunday to be hawking saint bracelets and brightly colored crafts in the main square.  Widely ignored by the locals and snubbed by the student population, these street sellers are admittedly reliant on sympathy in order to make a sale, Sunday said.  “I say maybe the people who buy this, they make no use of it, but they see me and they buy something out of the goodness of they heart, because they are a Christian people,” he said.

Mid-conversation, Sunday looks on warmly at a graduate celebrating with friends, wearing a laurel corona and cheering loudly. Sunday pauses and smiles to himself, taking in the scene. He says the spectacle reminds him of his days in Nigeria at school with his friends.

Some immigrants have their papers in order. But Sunday says he spent eight months in a Libyan prison after a failed attempt to cross the Mediterranean in a small boat. Now, he is on his way to being a legal citizen and has begun to pay taxes in Italy. Other street vendors refused to discuss their immigration status.

“Urbino is the same as every other city in Italy,” Sunday said. “I have lived many places and it is no different.”

While Sunday is ambivalent about the city he relies on, the citizens of Urbino are just as ambivalent toward the immigrants’ plight.

Urbino locals have observed a change in the street vendors’ presence over the past few years. The unemployment rate in Italy was 8.5 percent as of 2010, according to the U.S. Department of State Website.

But even with economic recession and the loss of jobs, Urbino Mayor’s office spokesperson Gabe Cavalera said the Africans do not compete for locals’ jobs.

The State Department Website agrees, saying that those of a lower social status, like the African immigrants, are forced into the jobs no one else will take, with minimal pay and without social benefits or protections.

Sunday’s future remain undetermined, but he is confident his political ambitions will one day lead him into public office back in Nigeria.  He hopes one day to change his home country for the better. He plans to be the President of Nigeria.

Until then, Sunday said he will continue to live wherever his Christian life leads him “by the grace of God.”

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Italy has long held the secret to creating a relaxed environment where guests can feel like family – agriturismo, farm-based vacations.

FOGLIO, Italy – Check in. Find room. Swipe key. Enter.

From arrival to checkout, the American hotel experience can seem impersonal. But Italy has long held the secret to creating a relaxed environment where guests can feel like family – agriturismo farm-based vacations.

The Renaissance Era church was restored into a restaurant.

Give guests more than a waffle maker and bad coffee for breakfast, and they’ll feel more at home. Give them the chance to ride in a tractor instead of a taxi cab, and they will start to think they’re part of your family.

Hidden amongst the scenic Italian countryside, they keep guests away from the hustle and bustle of city life, yet allow for convenient travel to nearby destinations. To be considered an official agriturismo, a facility must be certified as one by the government. They are subsidized to create a secondary income for farmers who aren’t making enough money from crop sales. Other agritourism vacations range from country homes to resorts, all surrounded by fully functioning farms.

“You cannot find this landscape anywhere else,” said Giorgia Stocchi, director of one of the Marche region’s most appealing country homes.

And she is right. The Urbino Resort is about eight miles from the historic city of Urbino and boasts a landscape of beautiful rolling hills pocked by fields of bright yellow sunflowers, an aromatic herb garden, grape vines, and pathways lined with vibrant flowers, giving you the chance to see it all.

Unlike an official agriturismo, The Urbino Resort’s main source of income is generated by the rooms they rent out to guests, services offered at their wellness center and the wine and meals served at the restaurant.

“What makes us so special is the history,” Stocchi said. “This resort was a village 300 years ago.”

The wellness center, which offers a number of different massages, bath and relaxation therapy sessions, was restored from an 18th century barn. The restaurant that serves food and wine from the resort’s 890-acre organic farm was once a church, while the beautifully restored bedroom originally housed Renaissance Era artisans and farmers.

“Si, si!” responds the head chef when asked about foods grown on the farm.

Fausto spends his morning at work on the farm.

He explains in rapid Italian that everything he used, the flour to the zucchini, came from the fields of grain, sunflowers, fruits and vegetables viewable from the restaurant’s kitchen window. Their wine comes straight from the vineyard adjacent to the reception foyer, and their honey comes from hives kept a safe distance from the guest rooms.

All of this can be seen by roaming freely through the expansive gardens or simply sitting beside the infinity pool to take in the view.

But a conventional agriturismo offers very different services than massage therapy and poolside cocktails. This more traditional option can be found at Fausto Folgietta’s “Casale nel Tufo” just three miles from Urbino.

As an official agriturismo, Folgietta decided to create apartment style accommodations to supplement his income as a farmer. He began by opening his home to guests for completely homegrown and prepared meals three years ago and eventually built five bedrooms from the finest crafted materials available.

When guests arrive, they will feel a completely different atmosphere than that of a typical hotel or bed and breakfast. Rather than travelers renting a room for the night, they are guests in Folgietta’s home.

Unlike the Urbino resort, the restaurant here is nothing more than a long, sturdy table beneath the vaulted wooden ceiling of the kitchen. The menu consists of seasonal foods prepared by the Folgietta family. And the spa and pool at the resort are replaced by his cattle and tractors.

But being a part of the farm is what makes guests feel at home, and gives them the chance to appreciate the simple life. The serenity achieved from a massage at a resort can be attained by simply experiencing the tranquility of nature at work.

Guests can follow Fausto on his daily activities. With warm hospitality he enthusiastically shows anyone interested around his farm. Regardless of whether you can keep up with his Italian, his smile is welcoming and communication is simple.

Agritourism is a growing industry, and one that is unmatched in giving guests a unique vacation. Leave the cell phone and stress of day-to-day life behind, but be sure to grab the kids. Agritourism provides an alternative get away for every traveler.

“It does not matter- age,” Stocchi said. “Anyone can come here and enjoy this kind of stay; it is beautiful and ideal.”

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URBINO, Italy – As important as food is, most of us know little about where it comes from.

A family of organic farmers outside this Renaissance city is trying to change that.

“Children think that when you take milk of the cow, it is cold, not hot, because they always take cold milk from the fridge,” says Monserrat Podgornik, the mother of the family. She believes children should understand that when a calf drinks milk, “it has to be hot in the natural way like your mama, no?”

Concerned about this disconnect in today’s culture, the Podgornik family has created La Fattoria Dei Cantori, or “The Farm of the Singers,” an eclectic 15-acre operation that is not just a producer of quality food and art, but a center of learning.

La Fattoria Dei Cantori has two cows to produce milk and cheese, as well as two donkeys and one horse.

Dedicated to what they call “a simple life” centered on the philosophy of  spiritual leader Mohandas Gandhi, the farm teaches classes for children, hosts “WWOOFers” and holds a long list of activities not covered by the description “agriturism, beekeeping, farm classroom, and oven goods” in its brochure.

Roberto and Montserrat Podgornik began this farm 30 years ago with just one cow, a leaky old farmhouse, and a bicycle for transportation. Neither came from farming families, but were each deeply moved by books they read about Gandhi.

“When I was 19, I was looking for something important,” Monserrat says. After living in a farming community started by one of Gandhi’s disciples in France, her quest was over—she knew she wanted that simple life for herself.

Montserrat insists the decision to start La Fattoria Dei Cantori wasn’t courageous, but that she and her husband were simply “unconscious” of the magnitude of their task. A broken roof that made the house so cold a glass of water “became gelato” was just one of their earliest challenges. But by taking those challenges day by day, Montserrat says, they were able to overcome everything.

“You have to believe in what you are doing,” she says of the difficulties of organic farming.

The Podgorniks want to teach children from the beginning about natural processes.

They feel it is important to try to take part in the entire process of everything they produce. They were one of the first farms in the region to grow their own wheat as well as bake bread from the flour obtained.

“One of our favorite things is to teach the children, [because] we can change society from the beginning,” says Montserrat’s daughter Agnese, 24, who works on the farm full time.

Classes offered to children range from beekeeping to bookbinding to simply “walking in the woods.” To educate children on the origins of food and have them participate in the farm’s manual chores, the Podgorniks built a classroom separate from the house. There the children can safely observe bees through its large windows and take part in the bread making process.

The Podgorniks believe their “didactic farm” approach is increasingly important to teach children that, as Agnese said, “food doesn’t just come from the grocery store.”

The farm is a flurry of activity all day with the coming and going of family, friends and customers of all ages. “We never know how many plates to put on the table,” said Montserrat as she cut tomatoes for lunch.

Nobody seems to come without being fed, but also, as Agnese said, “Nobody comes to this farm without doing some work,” such as packaging crackers for the market. The family believes that through this work, people gain valuable knowledge.

There is a nonstop rhythm of creation on the farm, whether a family brings empty bottles to fill with milk from the two cows or Agnese and her sister, Irene, working together in the oven room to bake three types of bread.

In the small, hot space, through clouds of flour, the sisters’ fingers work quickly and nimbly with the dough, graceful from years of practice. They work hard for hours at a time, pausing to wipe sweat from their brows and drink a glass of their homemade apple juice.

Montserrat, right, and her two daughters, Agnese, left, and Irene, not shown, do most of the bread making.

To run smoothly the farm depends on volunteers to help out with this hard labor, some from organizations like Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF).

“I know I want this way of life, but I don’t have the courage to begin,” said Serena Vegna, one of the two WWOOF volunteers. Vegna and her husband want to start their own small organic farm for her 3-year-old daughter to grow up on. Learning on La Fattoria Dei Cantori is a first step toward their demanding dream, the same one that Roberto and Montserrat had 30 years ago.

Today, La Fattoria Dei Cantori is one of many organic farms in the Urbino- Pesaro area. A co-op of 20 of these farms and local crafters banded together to sell their products directly to customers in Galleria Dell’Altra Economia in Urbino.

This shop is one of many methods these small farms must use to survive on the small amount of product they produce.

Renato Radici works at the shop’s storefront and acts as a spokesman for these local producers, chatting enthusiastically with customers while slicing fresh salami on an automatic blade.

“It’s a hard fight against the big companies—they all have help from the government, but the little farms have a lot of difficulty,” he said. He harped on these “big companies,” suggesting cheaply made food is partly to blame for health problems such as obesity, celiac disease, and digestion problems.

Radici is optimistic, though, because of the rising demand for organic, high quality food. “The big companies see that people like this, and they are afraid of the damage,” he said.

Evidently, Radici believes that even large-scale food companies are learning something from small farms like La Fattoria Dei Cantori, if simply, he mentions, to repackage their food with “greener” looking labels.

In response to this “hard fight,” Montserrat says she prefers the small-scale method of change through teaching others. “I want to fight against something of myself that I don’t like, but not against others,” she says. “Yes, those words are important, but the example is more important.”

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