Among ancient stones

One rainy November afternoon in Nepi, Italy, as we ducked under the portico of the striking Palazzo Communale with its baroque 18th-century architecture, school let out and the piazza in front of us exploded with activity.

Buses quickly filled with running, shouting children. Girls wore white smocks under their coats; boys wore blue. The line of children walking home came a bit later, and the waiting moms or, more often, grandparents greeted their charges with extra umbrellas and hats, kisses and snacks.

Visiting these small, unpretentious towns with their ancient accoutrements brings home to us the fact that real people doing real things live among these ancient stones, live among such history. . . and, in a sense, are oblivious to it, as they should be. Who wants to live in a museum? Life goes on.

DOROTHY DeVOTI
Sheffield, MA