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Scuola Media Statale "Enrico Fermi", Reggio Emilia, Italy
Teacher: Silvia Palmia
Class 3^E
Rubiera is a small town (about 10000 inhabitants) near Reggio Emilia, in the North of Italy. It was built on Via Aemilia which is an important road started under the Roman consul Marco Emilio Lepido in 200 B.C. during the Roman Republic; it links Rimini, on the coast to Piacenza in the middle of the Lombard Plain.
The place was originally called "Corte de Herberia" in reference to the numerous grassy fields found in the territory. The town of Reggio built there a castle in 1190. Today Rubiera is an important business link between Reggio Emilia and Modena. It is a town where industrial activity and good living conditions co-exist in a well- integrated whole.
In Rubiera there are a lot of big factories which use the clay from the Secchia river to produce different kind of tiles to be sold all over the world.
Well, are you ready?! Then wrap up well and enter with us in the heart of our pretty town whose most ancient part stretches along via Emilia. In the centre of Rubiera you can find the old arcades and the houses and monuments built along via Emilia. The houses have green shutters and the doors under the arcades are usually dark and old with shining brass door handles. Under the shade of the arcades there are several shops with smooth and polished shop windows. The shops and the monuments tell us that this was a really old trading centre. A very old building is the church and its bell tower .
When you pass opposite the old baker’s shop, you can smell freshly baked bread.
Among teenagers it is quite common to buy chips in the rotisserie, especially on Sunday; their smell is really mouth-watering.
If you want to cut your hair here are several barber’s shops whose prices are really competitive.
If you are a lover of the antiquity you can have a look at the antique shop.
Near the bar there is a boutique where you can buy some dresses. Opposite the Annuziata church there is the entrance of the Sacrati building that is the head office of our municipality .
In front of the municipality there is Don Andreoli’s statue. In the nearby there is also a restaurant known all over Europe: Arnaldo. Actors, singers and sport people sleep and eat in this famous place. In winter the area around via Emilia is very nice, because there are a lot of lights and advertising signs. When Christmas is coming a lot of decorations and lights adorn our Medieval streets and sometimes the snow arrives and covers all monuments.
During the cold and foggy winter, people prefer staying at home and relax.
So, the heart of Rubiera is always rather empty. During the cold season people
crowd the cinema, the theatre, the pubs or the pizza place. On a cold winter day
if you want to drink a coffee, a cup of tea or a lovely cup of thick chocolate with
cream there are some bars and pubs. In the bar you can eat chips, ice- cream and sweets as
well. Especially in the morning or on Sunday the bars are full of people and you can
hear them
chatting and shouting, usually the topic of their conversation is sport. When you stroll
under the arcades you can smell chimney smoke, pizza, chips and most of all roasted
chestnuts and in a short while you’ll meet the old woman who roasts them.
The old lady, Maddalena, looks very nice and sweet and her chestnuts are
really good but very expensive!!!!
In summer, people of all ages stroll along Via Emilia and the narrow, cobbled lanes which depart from it. They can reach the parks where there are many trees, a lot of flowers, fountains, games for children and benches. They can wander through the library or they can buy something at the nice and colourful open market which is held every Saturday morning. In summer there is a market on Wednesday evening and early night.
The real magic moment in Rubiera is the night, when the stars and the moon shine in the sky. Solitary passers-by walk along the medieval streets and their steps resound in the silence.
During the day you can hear the noise of the traffic, the chatting of people and the shuffling of shoes which echoes under the arcades. When the streets are empty and there is silence, you can hear the singing of birds and even the flash of their wings and the only inhabitants are stray dogs looking for food in the litter boxes.
On wet days you can touch and smell the wet of the rain and when you touch the cool and ruined walls you can feel the emotions of the past.
This is our town, Rubiera, and according to us is a very nice place!!! Did you enjoy your tour? If so why don’t you come and visit us? We are waiting for you !!!!!
Teacher: Silvia Palmia.
Class 3^E: Alberto P. Alberto Z., Andrea, Arianna, Chiara Bo., Chiara
Ghi., Carmine, Davide, Deborah, Elisa , Jessica, Laura, Luca, Manuele,
Margherita, Sara, Sonia , Stefania,
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