Friends and other characters who are making this time in the Marche especially memorable.

Fillippo Venturini, who led us through the museum in Fossombrone and then through the excavated Roman town of Forum Semprone. The archeological site is between the old Via Fluminia, or Roman road to Fano, and the Metaura river. Good pagans lived there until the 6th century C.E. The mosaic he is explaining here he helped move in three slabs from the site. It depicts centaurs (too drunk and ill-mannered to come into the party), Europa on Jupiter-bull’s back and Bacchus and wine, for those who knew how to drink at the party.

A monkish fellow and harpist atop one of the four towers of il Rocco at Senigallia. He’s reading from Dante’s Commedia, part of the time-trippy visions we ran into when we happened to hit that seaside town during its Solenne ingresso reenactment of glory days from the 15th and 16th centuries.

Students on stories I’m editing (and driving them to in my rented Fiat 500).

Kelsey Robertson, JMU, at L’albero Maestro, the outdoor preschool.

Allison Baxter, JMU, in the Duke’s Palace

Emilio Spada, the 36-year-old shepherd, being interviewed by Liza Moore, of W&L, and Alli Baxter, of JMU, with interpreter (red-head) Lisa Oliva.

Egidio Maccantoni, proprietor of Il Conventino di Montecicardo, the vast vineyard and olive oil refinery we toured and tasted June 7. A successful businessman whose easy-chair motors are made in China now, Egidio and his children run this beautiful farm with precision machinery, like this olive oil extractor.

The maremmani sheep dogs and some of the shorn sheep they protect from wolves, at Cau & Spada farm near Sassocavara.

Duke Frederico di Montefeltro

Emperor Hadrian

St. Sebastian Bunny