Step back in time with a visit to a small town in Molise. On our journey to Mirabello Sannitico we encountered this notice board, a small town tradition that dates back decades, if not centuries.
Pre-dating electronic communications, this is a lovely way to tell the community of a death so that all may know of the details and arrangements. Italian funerals are traditionally open to the community, and all in the village or town are welcome to attend.
We are highlighting two of the posters as examples.
Luciano D’Imperio’s funeral Mass was to be held at 1700 hours (5:00 pm) on Martedi (Tuesday) the 26th at the Chapel of San Rocco.
In the lower position on the right, the notice is one of sympathy rather than a notice of the funeral service. The co-workers of Emilia posted this notice to express sympathy to Emilia on the occasion of the the death of her Padre.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this bit of Italian culture as another look at life in the small towns of Italy. While we were touring this small town near Campobasso, at 4:45 in the afternoon, we noticed a quiet gathering emerging from a nearby building. We were told there was a chapel in that building and that all had just come from a funeral. The town had been very quiet and a gentle hum returned after the funeral service.
