BIDEN INFLATION —NOTHING TO BRAG ABOUT

…“Republicans may have to find something else to criticize me for now that inflation is coming down…”  President Joe Biden, Auburn, Maine, July 28, 2023 

 Inflation is a general increase in prices and a corresponding fall in the purchasing power or value of money. 

In 2019 I secreted a one-hundred dollar bill in the deep, dark, end-pocket of my bill fold…just for emergencies.  Recently I happened upon that bill.   As I drew  the bill out of the leather compartment, it appeared to me just like any other $100 dollar bill of today.  The familiar blue-green engraving of Ben Franklin peered out over the edge of the leather bill fold. Ben’s characteristic stern look, and his tightly pursed lips made me pause. As the wrinkly image of Franklin slipped beyond the leather, Ben’s  lips seemed to move.  I imagined him saying: ”Watch out citizen, I am not worth what I was three years ago!”   

Franklin, understood inflation. His business was printing and he was also a strong advocate for printed paper money. In 1739 he and his partner produced thousands of bills for the colonies. All went well at first. But Ben, perhaps too eager for business, printed up too many bills, and the result was the predictable threat of too much paper money chasing too few goods and services—rampant inflation. 

Prior to 2021, the USA average inflation rate over the last ten years has been calculated at only 1.9%. (See: Forbes.com Money 1/02/23 “Is Inflation High compared to Years Past? ).    In the 1930s during the Great Depression we even experienced  a period of deflation, when our paper money actually grew in value when demand collapsed and goods and services became cheaper.  Then in the 1970s and 1980s, inflation spiked to unprecedented levels.   After that frightening inflationary period ended, US governments carefully shunned policies which would increase inflation. They were successful.  For the last 40 years inflation has remained very low, often less than 1%. That is— until 2021 when under the Biden Administration inflation reappeared with a vengeance—all as a result of unwise irresponsible and intentional Administration polices.

Recently, as we move into the hyped up political season, we have been hearing from the present Administration  politically driven reassuring noises regarding the economy.  

One of these “reassurances” includes the oft-repeated but misleading statement that the rate of inflation has slowly come down.  But a falling RATE of inflation does not mean that somehow prices of goods and services are falling, or that our devalued bills are worth more.  Inflation is cumulative!  Even when the rate is declining prices continue to rise.  Inflation reduces your money’s buying power each year it occurs. It does not go away!

Current US Inflation Rates 200-2023  (See: forbes.com) 

From 2013 to 2020, annual inflation rates were low, ranging from 0.7% (in 2015) to a high of 2.3% (in 2019) and a near long time average of 1.4% in 2020.  

But after 2020 rates surged under policies instituted by the Biden Administration . 

  

2021 —Inflation = 7%

2022—Inflation = 6.5%

2023—Inflation = 3%

Total year-over-year inflation is now 16.5%.  That is how much buying power you lost. 

But the inflationary policies and practices which produced high inflation (topping 9% in June 2022) have not changed.  Pumping cash into every nook and cranny of the economy, spending wildly and recklessly, and instituting irresponsible policies which caused higher fuel prices— all generated intense inflationary pressures.  Even the so-called Biden  “Inflation Reduction Act” reduced no inflation— it only pumped more dollars into an overheated economy— increasing the dollars chasing goods and services— which only added fuel to the inflationary fire.  The Biden Administration polices caused a near 17% increase in inflation over their years in office that continues to harm American citizens with sky high prices, which resulted in higher mortgage rates (5.5%) which have chilled 

home sales. Inflation has generated citizen anger and discontent, labor unrest, and general malaise. 

So if you have not had a salary increase in the last three years, you have lost 16.5% in buying power. If you did get a raise of 5%, your are still in a hole, having lost buying power of “only” 11.5%. If you are on a fixed income, or you are living off of savings, your income and savings have shrunk by nearly 17%.  That is what Biden’s economic policy has caused.  

In 2021 the USA median income was just about $70,000.00.  By 2023, that median wage earner lost  close to $12,000  in  purchasing power as a result of inflation.   ( $70,000 x 0.165 = $11,550).    In the real world of purchasing power that “median” $70 k wage earner was only  ($70,000-$12,000=$58,000) about $58,000.  

That is why we all feel so economically “pinched” when we pay our bills at the grocer or gas station.  

 Or another way of looking at this is that the Biden administration dipped into your pocket book and your weekly salary envelope and took away nearly 17%, or (for the median wage earner) about $12,000, of hard earned purchasing power in the few years he was in office.  You should be very angry.   

As a result, we should not feel any sense of reassurance that all is well with our economy, and certainly no reassurance at all regarding the probity and wisdom of those who control the levers of power of the state.

      

EL NINO SUMMER BRINGS UNUSUAL WEATHER

 The summer of 2023 so far, has been unusual. “Warm and sticky” might be a two word description. The unstable air created  beautiful cloud patterns reminiscent of Puerto Rico, or Ireland, but very unusual for Long Island. The white cloud masses rose up each day into giant towering thunderheads, (Cumulonimbus ) then the sky darkened and heavy showers followed. This is a sure indicator that the air is heavy laden with moisture.  

Looking back, winter was very mild too, except for one record shattering cold day, that froze my friend Gus’ beloved fig trees. Spring also arrived early, and was brief—someone called it “ephemeral”.  Spring season quickly morphed into deep summer—but it did so in late May.   Calendrical summer did arrive on June 21, but it was hot and humid, more like August than June.   Each day opened with persistent 99% relative humidity which fed the daily  thunderheads.  Other unusual occurrences: the Goldfinches never arrived, nor did the hummingbirds. Our sticky, red and drippy “hummer” feeders dangled in the hot sun as ignored as was our our well-planned and tediously tended flower beds, now burgeoning with red blossoms—planted just for this species.   Where are they?  With this weather the hummingbirds probably found so much nectar sources further south, they never bothered to come north to our place. 

So what’s going on? 

Climate fanatics love to mix up climate and weather.  Some continued  to blame the summer’s heat and humidity on “Global Warming”, a climatic phenomenon.  But climate and weather are distinct and very different sciences.  Weather is highly varied and that variability is still poorly understood.  Are the weather phenomena we experiencing simply natural variability in weather—or is it related to a warming planet? We do not know.  Smudging up the difference between the two simply ignores actual causes—aspects of the atmosphere that must be understood to be addressed.  

Though human-caused climate warming is real —it is not the sole cause of every unpleasant event in our universe.  Meteorologist conclude that our  strange summer of 2023 is 99% a weather phenomenon——called the equatorial oscillation  or El Niño!

So we are experiencing an El Nino event  of the equatorial region.  Over a period of from 3-7 years La Niña weather tends to cycles through to El Nino.  El Nino weather is generally shorter, sometimes lasting only about a year.  La Nina events last longer. 

The last El Nino we experienced here was in 2014 -2016 when records were set for the warmest years on record. A “neutral” period intervened but, since 2019 we have had three successive La Nina years.   But 2023 has arrived with what seems a strong  “El Nino”. 

https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/june-2023-enso-update-el-niño-here.

The term El Niño (“the little one”) is derived from observations Peruvian and Ecuadorian fishermen made concerning their fishing success. They noticed that on some years,  around Christmas—(the birth of Jesus when “El Niño” arrives) Pacific sea water temperatures rose sharply..and fishing went bad.   

In most years cold water up wells from the deep, off the the Pacific east coast of Ecuador and Peru. The upwelling of cold deep water brings nutrients from the depths and microscopic sea life to feed on it. Fish follow. But some years around Christmas (or the arrival of “El Nino”) the ocean was capped with warm sea water, no upwelling, and  no fish. 

What caused the warm water arrival? What are the weather impacts of El Nino? 

El Nino event of this year began with the arrival of a great flood of equatorial warm water which pooled up off the west coast of Ecuador and Peru close to the equator.  

Today (7-15-‘23) sea water surface temperature in that equatorial region where the Galapagos Islands occur is exactly 78F.  That temperature is about 5 degrees higher than it was last year on the same date.  Seventy-eight degrees Fahrenheit (78F) is a pleasant  temperature for human swimmers and desirable pool/water level, but is not good for sea water, or fish.   The oxygen content of water, or oxygen saturation, drops off as water temperature rises. Since warm water is less dense than cool water, warm water at  the surface creates a stable temperature situation which inhibits mixing of the top warm layer with cooler layers below. 

The warm top layer soon becomes deficient in oxygen. Nutrients quickly get used up, and can not be replaced.  And in a  very short time  the sea off Ecuador and Peru becomes almost barren of life.  

Why does the water warm arrive? 

In the eastern Pacific off the coast of Peru and Ecuador,  the North East Trade Winds and South East Trades,  major elements  of the Earth’s global winds circulation pattern,  flow west toward Japan.  See Trade Winds  The constant flow of air over the water “pushes water in that direction” and tends to create a surface current which moves Pacific surface water at the equator west toward Japan.  This flow of water toward Japan causes the desirable upwelling of cold deep water along the coast of Ecuador and Peru.  This upwelling is the source of those nation’s  wealth in fish resources.  Simply stated it is the Trade Winds which  push warm surface water toward Japan. 

During the last three La Nina years we have had strong Trade Winds or northeasterly winds near the equator. These winds have effectively pushed warm equatorial water WEST over these last years to accumulate and “pile up” IN THE EAST PACIFIC OCEAN off of Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia. Warm water has accumulated  there for three years now.  

During the La Nina years  2014 -2016 these constant northeast winds have caused sea levels to rise off Japan by 20 cm, or almost 8 inches.  

During a La Nina years warm water piles up in the western Pacific.  Eight inches in height seems a very minimal slope when measured over the 9,000 mile wide Pacific but even small forces can move liquids like water very effectively. As a result of less powerful Trade Winds and this higher level of warm water on the Japan side of the Pacific and lower on the Ecuador side…warm water has flowed back east this year…and brought on an El Nino.  The Trade Winds push water west toward Japan, cause upwelling and La Nina effects, then when the winds weaken the water flows back to produce the El Nino effect.   

 During an  El Nino  annual event very warm sea water collects  off Ecuador, SA and surrounds the Galapagos Islands. It stagnates there, warming the air and raising the level of moisture in the air.  

This pool of warm water has a great effect on the global wind circulation. Global winds generate the jet streams which initiate and guide cyclonic mid-latitude storms. See: Jet Streams

                                            

During an El Nino event the warm water pool in the Eastern Pacific tends to drag the Mid Latitude Jet Stream (MLJS) south closer to the equator, displacing it from a more northerly position. https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/enso_impacts El Nino’s displaced jet also causes higher temperatures in some places, floods in others and severe  droughts in other areas.  Weather patterns are responding to a jet steam that is out of its “normal” pattern or where we would expect it to be.   

Under El Nino circumstances the Mid Latitude Jet stays more southerly. In this location it picks up moisture from the Pacific and moves it east. The result is higher temperatures and more moisture in the air over Texas, the Gulf States, southern USA and parts of the Mid Atlantic States.  As the jet swings out over the Atlantic it also tends to suppress Atlantic Hurricanes.   But its effects in the west, is to intensify Pacific hurricanes or typhoons.   

In the USA we should expect  wetter than average conditions all along the Gulf Coast and possibly along the east coast. And expect  the Pacific Northwest and the Ohio Valley regions to be cooler and drier than normal. 

If El NIno hangs around till winter, we will discuss the weather effects of a winter  El NIno.  

https://www.climate.gov/news-features/featured-images/how-el-niño-and-la-niña-affect-winter-jet-stream-and-us-climate

OSPREYS (PANDION) APPEAR TO TEACH YOUNG TO FLY AT SELECTED LOCATIONS

 Ospreys may bring their young to a particular site to teach and practice flying. 

The Osprey or “fish hawk”,  Pandion haliaetus  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osprey has returned to our local area in force. At the present time (July 2023) there are two successfully occupied nests at the shores of Mount Sinai Harbor on L.I., Suffolk County, New York. (https://earth.app.goo.gl/PW3giC)  One of these nests was located on a post and platform affair constructed by the Town several years ago in the Harbor’s extreme west end, and another was chosen and constructed by Ospreys on the top of a wooden utility pole along the road-side of Harbor Beach Road. 

An avid Osprey observer of these local nests close to water I was quite surprised to see an Osprey family (adult male and female with a single immature bird )frequenting the top of a high tension electric utility pylon, more than two miles inland from known nest sites and similarly distant from the ocean, Long Island Sound, or large bodies of water where these birds are normally observed. 

The pylon where these observations were made is situated  at: 40 56’ 37’’ N, 72 59’ 20’ W, at the intersection of Miller Place Road, and the former LIRR right-of-way (recently developed as a bicycle and pedestrian pathway, and locally known as “Brookhaven Town, Rail Path”).  The high tension electric pylon with an array of wireless nodes or repeaters which encircle the top is well over 150 feet above ground.    This pylon is approximately  1.5 miles from Long Island Sound, 2.2 miles from Mount Sinai Harbor Osprey nests, and 2.1 miles from a large artificial lake near Middle Island, and 3.3 miles from “Twin Ponds”  two small, inland, natural ponds. This Osprey family was far from their normal fishing and nesting sites.  So why where they there? 

On at least four occasions, this summer I have observed what I assumed to be a mated Osprey pair and a juvenile of that species, occupying the area over one particular pylon.  The three were observed soaring over the immediate area near the pylon—where summer thermals are common. The immature bird often lands on the top of the pylon and calls plaintively and repeatedly to its parents, who then fly over the top of the pylon and continue on into in a spiral soaring flight. When they pass they call to the juvenile. On several occasions they landed on the top of the pylon among the many microwave and wireless nodes installed on this particular pylon to join (and calm?) the complaining juvenile. I can not be sure that the observations were of the same mated pair and their young on each occasion. The parents do not often perch, but appear to swoop down and encourage the juvenile to fly.  The group remains at the site around the pylon for a period of time, then all depart together..to areas unknown.  

The Pylon they have been seen to visit on these occasions is distant from any water sources. However, several large parking lots and shopping plazas in the immediate vicinity may encourage the formation of local thermal currents. Perhaps they visit the site, with their young to practice flying. The area of observations is two miles inland from the Sound shore, where cool water and sea breezes retard thermal activity and tend to minimize their strength. On warm clear days abundant thermals near this site with its elevated comfortable perch provides adequate up ‘lift’ for these magnificent flyers to soar, and circumstances where they can “teach” their youngsters to fly—and perhaps to build adequate wing and breast musculature for the fall, when they will have to migrate long distances to southern latitudes.  In addition, the large array of wireless equipment at the top permits many places to perch…another possible advantage. 

Update: On July 28, 2023 this author observed a single juvenile Osprey flying to and perching on the pylon described above.  The juvenile made a few plaintive calls as if parents were near, but no other osprey were present. I observed the juvenile for about 1/2 hour. The time was about 10 AM, light winds, clear sky.  

CASA GROTTOLA, AN ADVENTURE IN HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURE: PUGLIA, ITALY

 

BITONTO AND THE CASA GROTTOLA

Casa Grottola,

Via Maggiore, Bitonto, Puglia, Italia 

https://it.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Bitonto#/media/File:Butuntum.jpg

BITONTO

Bitonto is a small city of about 50,000 citizens in the Apulia region, or  the “heel” of the Italian “boot”, located on the Italian Adriatic coast .   See map of Mediterranean:  https://earth.app.goo.gl/84aeb8

 The Apennine mountains form a central spine coursing down the Italian peninsula. In the south, the mountains devolve into the Murge plateau, a limestone massif which slopes gently to the Adriatic Sea.  It is on this gently  sloping limestone terrane that the commune of Bitonto was settled  close to the Adriatic sea shore. Today the region is a gently sloping coastal plain with rich lime soils, surrounded by olive groves.  Olives, wheat, corn, grapes, figs and other produce were in ancient times a major source of income for “i Bitontini”. And they continue at present as well. Bitonto’s nickname is:  “la citta degli Ulivi” (the City of olives)  an indication of the importance of olives and olive oil production in this area. See: https://www.britannica.com/place/Puglia.

The Ofanto River drains the Murge Plateau and courses toward the Adriatic along the southern border of the City, flowing past the town in a meandering pattern. The looping course of the river may have been an important consideration to the ancient settlers who sited the city near the river, very likely  to make use of a fresh water supply, and as well to take advantage of the river as an element of the city’s defenses so important in its early history.  

The meandering Ofanto  river protected the southern side of the old city and its “centro antico” or ancient center, from enemy attack.  Early settlers built limestone protective walls around the sides of the City away from the river.    Sadly, as the town grew into a modern city much of the old wall structure and the old towers were not preserved. Today as well, the flow of Olfato river is very  limited or non existent.  But its old course remains visible. https://earth.app.goo.gl/91DFWs

The bedrock of this region is 200 million year old marine limestone. This rock is the source of Bitonto’s  fertile soils. The limestone is also the source of a widely available building stone used extensively in the city for construction of public buildings, private homes, roadways and the city walls. The walls are almost all of  ashlar type construction: https://earth.app.goo.gl/NpxaME    See the still existing city walls built of this local limestone.  See: https://earth.app.goo.gl/brVYZP.    

The “centro antico” or oldest part of the City is built around a center piazza, occupied by the Duomo or Cathedral of Maria Assunta (built 1175AD-1200 AD). The  Duomo was constructed over the site of a much  earlier 8^th Century BC Christian church. 

A radius drawn from the piazza of the Basilica to the ancient city walls is only about 250 meters (1/4km) or 800-900 feet) . Thus,  the old city, protected on its southern border from invaders by the river, and elsewhere  by tall limestone ashlar block-walls, covers an area of only about 0.2 sq km, very typical for a small Roman, or a Medieval walled city. (Ashlar construction: stones cut into uniform blocks to fit together without mortar).

During the Roman Republic of the 6^th to 3^rd centuries BC, Bitonto was a formal “municipium” or incorporated community important for its agricultural produce and known as “Butuntum”. As a municipium of Rome the city’s inhabitants were all considered Roman citizens. 

In 146 BC Rome defeated and incorporated the City States of Greece into the Republic. The Republic expanded to the east and thereafter..the region of  Apulia and its roadways became important routes for transport and travel to the eastern parts of the Republic and later the Roman Empire.  

The most direct way east from Rome was through Apulia to the port of Brundisium—the city on the tip of the Italian“ boot heel”. Early in Roman history, Brundisium was a critical port city connecting Italy with the East.  As the Republic grew in weLth and power more direct roads connections were needed.  

To improve travel, military connections and trade the Via Appia or “Appian Way” was built in 312 BC and completed through to Brundisium, the trade and  transport  gateway to Rome’s far flung possessions, and distant parts of the eastern Empire such as Greece and the Middle East.  

Trade with the east must have had a positive economic impact on all of south eastern Italy during this period. Though not on the direct route to Brundisium, (the Appian Way passed far to the west of Bitonto) but the entire Apuglia region must have served travelers moving though this region to reach the East.  Coins dating from 6^th to 3^rd century BC are often found in excavations in Bitonto. 

However, by the First Century AD when the Empire was at its greatest extent to the East, and so much traffic and trade was carried by the existing Via Appia, that a more direct route from Rome to Brundisium was needed.  Emperor Trajan commissioned the construction of the Via Trajan (or Via“Traiana”) to meet the military and economic needs of the Empire. The new road, completed in 109AD, branched away from the old Via Appia at Benevento, from there, it turned east,  bypassing the mountainous passes of the Via Appia, to course along the gently sloping Murge Plateau and coastal plain of Puglia where its route  passed directly through Bitonto (Butuntum ) on its way toward Brundisium—only 70 miles further south.   See shorter route of Via Traiana. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_Traiana#/media/File:Via_Appia_map.jpg

Travelers heading east would follow the Via Appia to Benevento then turn east on the Via Traiana, After a trip of about 225 miles and taking at least two weeks, travelers from Rome coursing along the Via Traiana from would arrive at Butuntum,.  Roman soldiers are claimed to have marched a rate of 4 miles per hour—for over five hours per day—completing 20 miles of travel per day.  Others on horseback, or walking, may have taken longer. Thus arrival at Butuntum from Rome was a long and arduous journey. The port of Brundisium would be another 70 miles further or at least two to three days more.  

Travelers reaching Butuntum from Rome or other points north would enter at the west gate or “porta” near the present day intersection of the old Via Traiana and modern day Via Solferino.   From the Via Traiana, a traveller turning right onto Via Maggiore would pass the site of the Casa Grottola only a few hundred feet further south on the Piazza da Margherita Durazzo.  The Piazza Margherita Durazzo was established sometime in the 14th or 15th century in honor of Queen of Napoli Margherita di Durazzo (1348-1412).  Thus the site of the Casa Grottola was in a well traveled, significant  part of the city, even from ancient times.   The Piazza Durazzo is in the southwest corner of the ancient city.  See image of Ancient Roman Via Traiana : https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Remains_of_the_Roman_Road_at_Egnazia.jpg

In the late Roman Empire Butuntum no doubt served as a critical way-point along the Via Traiana for transit to the port of Brundisium or modern Brindisi and as a critical transit stop for food, water, animal feed, stable services and lodging for travelers. 

It must have also served the Empire as a valuable source of agricultural products, such as grains, wine, figs and olives. Transport of grains, oil, food, bulk products and other goods must have been a major part of the local economy.  Military units on the march to parts of the eastern Empire no doubt stopped there, as did merchants and freight carriers going east, seeking rest, food, and water for themselves and their beasts of burden. See old map of Bitonto; https://www.dabitonto.com/share/uploads_news/3d169-fb_img_1547368810866.jp           

In the west, Rome fell to barbarians by 476 AD, and the first Saracen invaders enter Europe by 700 AD. By 711 Spain is conquered and called Andauls by the Moslem invaders. By late 10th century AD, Norman invaders came as well.  

NORMANS

The Normans probably first arrived in Italy in the 10^th century as pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem, or returning to Europe from the east.  Some may have arrived in Italy while on a pilgrimage to the shrine at Monte Gargano in Puglia (where a famous shrine dedicated in 490 AD to the apparition of Archangel Michael was located).  Some of these pilgrims remained. Others were asked to remain as mercenary troops to protect against the persistent raids and invasion of Moslems. 

The actual  Norman conquest of Puglia (and much of southern Italy) lasted from about 999AD to 1139 AD. Normans were pious and devout Christians as well as fierce warriors.  To establish their credibility as overlords, and as well, to underscore their deep devotion to Christianity, which separated them from the Moslem or Saracen unbelievers with whom they competed for control of  southern Italy, they built many imposing structures.  After the  conquest, Normans rapidly built many massive stone fortifications, crenellated towers, castles, churches, abbeys, nunneries and bell towers.   They also built stone ‘keeps’ to pacify and control their newly won territory.    Church structures were a way to differentiate the Normans from the Moslem threat facing the entire Christian west at this time in history. Free standing bell towers were one of the more common Norman structures, they  stood along side of a church or abbey to house bells which were rung to measure out the canonical hours, and call parishioners to prayer.  

 In Bitonto hey built the imposing Basilica of Maria Assunta over a smaller church, and a short distance away, they  built an abbey and a bell tower that would later become part of the lower floor of the Casa Grottola an imposing residence of 17th century to recent times in Bitonto. 

The Italo-Normans were the Italian-born descendants of the first Norman conquerers. While continuing to maintain their distinctly Norman piety and customs of war, their language and culture was  altered by the Greeks, and local Italians with whom they came in contact. The Italo-Normans were to dominate the character, religious conservatism and devotion, and militaristic independence of southern Italy for more than a millennia. 

CASA GROTTOLA 

Casa Grottola was designated as a national historic site in the 1930s.

https://earth.app.goo.gl/CXVMwn

Casa Grottola is an historic residence with a complex history and architecture which include elements  which date from the 11^th century AD. https://earth.app.goo.gl/Xf13HM

 

The structure itself is  located in the “antico centro” part of the city, close to the Ofanto River (at:41°06'20"N16°41'17"E ) and faces upon the Piazza Margherita Durazzo. The three story residence on Via Maggiore, in Bitonto, Apulia, Italy occupies the west corner of the city block. Casa Grottola is close to the central Piazza of the Duomo which is only a short 500 foot (0.1 mile) to the SS Maria Assunta, and in the opposite direction only about 400 feet from the Ofanto River. 

Casa Grottola  was built on the site of an 11^th to 12^th century AD, Norman bell tower, or the gate house to an abbey, parts of which remain as the lower floor of the eastern end of the structure. https://earth.app.goo.gl/8v5CvF    Bell towers were built to house the church bells and call parishioners to prayer. Norman bell towers are found throuhout Europe. See similarity to St Edmonds tower in the UK below.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Norman_Tower_%28Bury_St_Edmunds%29.  

The Casa Grottola bell tower is of typical Norman 11^th to 12^th century construction and  perhaps may have during its long history also served as part of a military,  defensive, or other religious structure.  The fact that it is only a short distance from the Ofanto River and within about 300 feet (@ 100 meters) of the 8-9^th Century protective walls of the City, suggests the possibility of a defense or military function, but it is also a similar short distance from the Duomo  religious center (and could have well served that function also.) 

The Casa Grottola Norman “bell tower” is of massive ashlar type construction and built using large cut and trimmed rectangular limestone blocks. The massive east entrance door is of low height and formed with a circular arch and prominent key stone. The stone entrance and wood door, is framed by massive, one-foot-wide, square limestone or marble blocks.   This early stone edifice may have been partly deconstructed over the centuries—as was so many hsitoric structures—simply to make use of the stone for some other structure. . But by 1629 documents indicate that a local prelate, identified as “Father Ildiris” organized the construction of a religious residence on the site. This construction phase used the old bell tower (or abby)  as part of the lower floor. 

At the completion of the residence in 1629,  the structure served as a rectory or nunnery. In is most likely that the  Renaissance style “loggia” above it was added to the lower structure after 1629.   (A “loggia” is a architectural feature of a residence comprising a gallery or room with one or more sides open to a garden or public space.) 

According to the Puglia Historical Society, Casa Grottola was “built by “archpriest” Ilderis in 1629 (i.e. head of priests in a church) . It was then temporarily donated to the Congregation of Collaretti Fathers as a residence”. Later in that century, or by 1679, it was purchased and possibly remodeled or added to then occupied by the prominent Grottola family who lived there for over two hundred and forty years.

It is very likely that the present loggia, with its graceful slim columns, two arches, stone balustrade and space which opens to the Piazza Durazzo on the east, was added above the earlier Norman structure during the 1679 Italian Renaissance Grottola family construction phase. (or “Italian Resorgimento”). .   It is noteworthy that a very similar Renaissance loggia is seen in Bitonto on the Palazzo Sylos-Calo at the Piazza Cavour, in the Borgio Vecchio region of the city.   Sadly, unlike that of the well preserved Casa Grottola. the roof of the Sylos-Calo loggia has not survived or perhaps it was never completed.  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Vista_centro_storico.jpg 

The loggia of the Casa Grottola is fully roofed over, and as with most Renaissance loggias actually communicates with the inside of the building by means of a doorway and an elegant stairway, which is known to exist in the interior. https://earth.app.goo.gl/u715bw

In the 14^th to 16^th centuries loggias were common in private buildings, particularly in urban environments. Incorporating a loggia in a private building helped to cool the interior, aided  air circulation, provided a shaded space to rest, yet permitted residents to enjoy the outside air. It also a provided a private space to view events in the Piazza below. And like the classic “American front porch” it provided controlled interaction with neighbors and others as they passed by in the more public space below. Several historic photos exist of the Casa Grottola residents photographed as they occupied the loggia.    

The lintel above the loggia  of the Casa Grottola has a partly obscured Latin inscription: 

“- - ?- SCV NOBISCVM   A?    Possibly  dating from the 1679 construction . The inscription  s likely some modification of: “Deus Nobiscum”. “God be with us” ?

Unlike the Palazzo Sylos-Calo , which is a 17^th century Renaissance period structure, Casa Grottola was built on the base of an older structure— a massive Norman bell tower. Thus the loggia’s  elegant, light, Italian-Renaissance architecture contrasts sharply with the massive, robust Norman architecture of the lower floor…which is obviously of a much earlier construction. 

The Norman bell tower with Renaissance loggia and 1629-1679 residence was likely added to in the succeeding late 17^th-18th centuries.   Today (2023) the three story elegant  structure with imposing history and credentials which faces the Piazza Margharita Durazzo  is about 54 feet wide x 90 feet long. It encompasses an impressive living area of  about 14,580 ft sq or 1,355 sq m of interior space.  A interior courtyard, or air shaft, provides light and air circulation to the interior rooms.  The building occupies the corner of the city block (@60 ft long) with  its long axis oriented @ north-south (@ N 05 W) with the Norman “bell tower” occupying the east end of the structure. This structure which has been designated as an historic monument of Italy in the 1930s in a period of national growth and pride in history should continue to receive government support so that for future generations of Italians can honor, appreciate and understand their national history. 

GROTTOLA FAMILY

Casa Grottola was the long-time residence of the formerly prominent Grottola family, who resided on the site from mid 17^th century.   The last Grottola owner of the Casa was a member of the Puglian judiciary—a local court judge—Giudice Pasquale Grottola,(@ 1840-1895) and his family. Pasquale Grottola was the great grandfather of this author. The author’s grandfather Ottavio, the youngest of the six siblings in the family, recalled events and his life at Casa Grottola in the latter part of the 19th century.    

The Grottola family may have had roots in a town by that name, “Grottola” in near-by  Basilicata. That town appears on the “Terra di Bari e Basilicata Carta 1647-1664” edition.  It is an ancient hill town with a history connecting it with the Greek diaspora in Magna Grecia.   After conquest by Rome in 218 BC the village of Grottola (later Grottole) continued on as a Roman city.  See a modern image of hilltop city of Grottole in Basilicata: https://earth.app.goo.gl/doH5cN

How, or if, the early Grottola family arrived in Bitonto from Grottola is shrouded in history unknown. But we do know that the Grottola family of Bitonto purchased an elegant residence in the best part of the centro antico of Bitonto in the late Renaissance, about mid 1600s. The rest Is unknown. 

What is known is only that of the lives of the last Grottola owners… 

Judge Pasquale Grottola served as a court judge in Bitonto and Apulia in the late 19^th century.  His wife, (the author’s great grandmother) Maria Grottola,  nee’ Maria Calamita ( 1848-1940) was a court stenographer, presumably in Judge Grottola’s courtroom. This was an unusual occupation for a woman in the late 19th century.   She had a formal education and was also a gifted pianist.  She was born in Bitonto and passed away in Brooklyn, NY in 1940. age 92.   Judge Grottola married Maria Calamita in @ 1860 at the Cathedral SS Maria Assunta, in Bitonto. See altar: https://earth.app.goo.gl/DS5mMS.  See interior of basilica: https://earth.app.goo.gl/Hjg6c1

Maria came to this union from a prominent and wealthy Bitonto family, and with a substantial dowery.  (See below for more on Calamita family.) The couple  had five children, all born and raised in the Casa Grottola.      

Did the couple meet at court—she a court stenographer and he the judge ?  I do not know..but it seems likely.   Pasquale died in Italy in 1890 as a result of malaria, a very common disease in southern Italy in those days.

CALAMITA FAMILY

The Calamita Family and the Duomo. 

Casa Grottola is a short 500-foot walk from the Romanesque cathedral built by Normans in 1175-1200AD. The Duomo, Concattedrale SS Maria Assunto is a local Bitonto landmark which was built in the 11th century during the Norman occupation, as a Romanesque “Norman” style basilica. The cathedral is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary  and early on served as the seat of the bishopric of Bitonto. An even earlier 8^th century church existed on the site before construction of the present building. In fact, archaeologists have identified an even older  paleochristian church (dating from 260-525 BC) site in the subsurface, almost 4 meters below the present-day Concattedrale .  See: Santa Maria Assunta, view of Main altar: https://earth.app.goo.gl/DS5mMS

Duomo di Bitonto, or Concattedrale SS Maria Assunta is  a fine example of Norman, Romanesque  architecture. https://earth.app.goo.gl/dVYN2E

The exterior of the Duomo is the site of a prominent and often photographed 10 meter tall carved Baroque stone obelisk (or “guglia”).  This 18^th century guglia is located in the Piazza Duomo on the west side of the basilica.  See:  https://earth.app.goo.gl/ExAoYE

In about 1732-1735 the Calamita family financed the erection of this prominent obelisk, known as: “Guglia dell’Immacolata” to memorialize the salvation  of the city from the  1731 earthquake  which devastated near-by areas, but as a result of prayers to the Virgin Mary, the City was spared.  History of Bitonto reveals that the “wealthy Calamita” family hired the best stonemasons in the city who sculpted the guglia or spire and enriched it with bas relief, full-relief figures and with coats of arms,  and  erected the Baroque “guglia” or obelisk on the piazza Duomo.    Today the Baroque 18^th C masterpiece of Bitonto stonecutters and masons stands in sharp contrast to the staid grandeur of the ancient  11^th C  Romanesque basilica behind it.   The Duomo was the site of the marriages and baptisms of the Grottola family for over 240 years.   

See http://www.pugliadigitallibrary.it/media/00/00/38/647.pdf