GSE 5970 to Italy: Tuesday, May 26 – Gavi-Libarna & Valenza’s 10th Anniversary Gala

We began with breakfast outside again. We knew it would be a long day with a Gala at the end. We arrived in Gavi and were met by the president of the club and her English speaking friends Sally and Susan. We took a circuitous route through some streets, looking at a church and architecture, before arriving at the small Libarna museum. Gavi sits on what was once the Roman crossroads town of Libarna. Many of the ancient houses there have foundations including stones taken from the ruins of Libarna. There are very few artifacts in the museum as those that survived the ages were taken to museums in Rome and other parts of the world. They are working to bring more back to Gavi.

Houses in Gavi.

Joined by some more Rotarians, we then toured the excavated ruins, which include the ampitheatre, theatre, and entertainment district and one beautiful mosaic. We learned about why the foundations are still so solid (all that remains of the Libarna ruins). Our guide gave us a peek at part of the sewer system that is still intact thousands of years later.

The group getting a tour, with a poppy in the foreground, growing out of a Roman street.

Standing in the center of the ampitheatre and learning about it all.

Getting the history translated. The Gavi-Libarna club president is on the right.

Our guide explains the history, while standing in the former theatre.

Our guide's dog.

Jim and Stephanie stand onstage.

Next, we drove through Gavi and up to a beautiful vantage point by a church, overlooking the Fort of Gavi. Then it was onto a great lunch in a rustic restaurant. Although lunch was not an official meeting, the club told us about their many service projects and we exchanged banners.

Me fighting the wind and looking out over the Forte di Gavi.

Gianni leaves the bus open to the view.

The parking lot of the restaurant.

Before heading to Valenza we had 3 hours to wander around an outlet mall complex. I found a game about Italy and then spent the time in reading at an outdoor table. It turns out there was miscommunication and we were only supposed to have 2 hours, so our drive to Valenza was very FAST. We arrived at the castle for the 10th Anniversary Gala and changed for the event. The castle was fascinating because it was only partially restored, but had many artifacts around still. Giuseppe, one of our district GSE organizers, was in charge of the event – a beautiful evening!