As Italy is traditionally a Catholic country, November 1 is a national holiday, All Saints’ Day. It is also a holy day of obligation (i.e. required attendance at mass) for Roman Catholics. All schools and government offices are closed, many of the shops are shuttered and public transportation is on a curtailed holiday schedule. If the weather was nice, an excursion to a nearby village would have been on the agenda. But a steady rainfall dominated the morning and most of the afternoon, so it was a stay-at-home, do some laundry and just relax kind of day. Despite the holiday, Bar Rosa was open for business and the rain was no deterrent to the morning ritual and caffeine and sugar jolt of cappuccino and cornetto .
I certainly will miss the faces behind the counter.
And the selection of breakfast pastries have no rival! They also have a nice selection of pastries to satisfy any sweet tooth.
Before heading back to the apartment, I stopped in at the Duomo during the mass. The pews were not filled but there was a decent amount of parishioners in attendance. 
At the end of the service, the last musical selection was “As the Saints Go Marching In”!
The rest of the day dragged on as it was too miserable outside to take a walk, especially since my umbrella was mortally wounded in the rainstorm of last Monday. A couple of hours of Italian homework and a book on Italy in the years 1939-1940 filled up the time until dinner. I joined Freek and Ines for a lovely dinner at a new (to me) restaurant where I had an appetizer of fried ricotta and entree of fish topped with shredded potatoes and a dessert with Nutella.
Tomorrow is my last class day at L’Accademia Italiana. After four weeks there, I shall miss the friendly faces of teachers and staff as well as all the really nice students from all over the world!
Camino Musings 