Their conversation stumbled a bit after that, but returned to simpler subjects when Martin asked why Carlo was in Altamura.
“I am an Italian-American. I live in St. Louis, and we were raised to respect the Italian traditions. But St. Louis is so far from here, and I wanted to learn more about true Italian life. A friend introduced me to the Filomena family, and they agreed to host me for a few weeks while I learned more about life in southern Italy.” He laughed a bit and then admitted to Martin that he was also learning to make bread.
Martin laughed. “To make bread?”
“Yes, well, I would like to learn more about it, and besides, I"m also learning to make wine. But my real reason for coming to Altamura was to learn to live like an Italian, to understand why they think the way they do, and
