The Mystery at the Roman Colosseum

What Kids Say About
Carole Marsh Mysteries . . .
“I love the real locations! Reading the book always makes me
want to go and visit them all on our next family vacation.
My Mom says maybe, but I can’t wait!”
“One day, I want to be a real kid in one of Ms. Marsh’s
mystery books. I think it would be fun, and I think I am a
real character anyway. I filled out the application and sent it
in and am keeping my fingers crossed!”
“History was not my favorite subject till I starting reading
Carole Marsh Mysteries. Ms. Marsh really brings history to
life. Also, she leaves room for the scary and fun.”
“I think Christina is so smart and brave. She is lucky to be
in the mystery books because she gets to go to a lot of places.
I always wonder just how much of the book is true and what
is made up. Trying to figure that out is fun!”
“Grant is cool and funny! He makes me laugh a lot!!”
“I like that there are boys and girls in the story of different
ages. Some mysteries I outgrow, but I can always find a
favorite character to identify with in these books.”
“They are scary, but not too scary. They are funny. I learn a
lot. There is always food which makes me hungry. I feel like
I am there.”

What Parents and Teachers Say About
Carole Marsh Mysteries . . .
“I think kids love these books because they have such a wealth
of detail. I know I learn a lot reading them! It’s an
engaging way to look at the history of any place or event. I
always say I’m only going to read one chapter to the kids, but
that never happens—it’s always two or three, at least!”
—Librarian
“Reading the mystery and going on the field trip—Scavenger
Hunt in hand—was the most fun our class ever had! It really
brought the place and its history to life. They loved the real
kids characters and all the humor. I loved seeing them learn
that reading is an experience to enjoy!”
—4th grade teacher
“Carole Marsh is really on to something with these unique
mysteries. They are so clever; kids want to read them all.
The Teacher’s Guides are chock full of activities, recipes, and
additional fascinating information. My kids thought I was
an expert on the subject—and with this tool, I felt like it!”
—3rd grade teacher
“My students loved writing their own Real Kids/Real Places
mystery book! Ms. Marsh’s reproducible guidelines are a real
jewel. They learned about copyright and more & ended up
with their own book they were so proud of!”
—Reading/Writing Teacher
“The kids seem very realistic—my children seemed to relate to
the characters. Also, it is educational by expanding their
knowledge about the famous places in the books.”
“They are what children like: mysteries and adventures with
children they can relate to.”
“Encourages reading for pleasure.”
“This series is great. It can be used for reluctant readers, and
as a history supplement.”

By Carole Marsh

Copyright ©2006 Carole Marsh/ Gallopade International
Third Printing January 2010
Ebook edition Copyright ©2011
All rights reserved.
Carole Marsh Mysteries and its skull colophon are the property of
Carole Marsh and Gallopade International.
Published by Gallopade International/Carole Marsh Books. Printed in the
United States of America.
Managing Editor: Sherry Moss
Cover Design: Michele Winkelman
Editorial Assistant: Jacqueline Arnold
Picture Credits:
The publisher would like to thank the following for their kind permission to reproduce the cover
photographs.
© 2006 JupiterImages Corporation Roman Colosseum; Spooky Hand; Pantheon Dome; Trevi
Fountain
Gallopade International is introducing SAT words that kids need to know
in each new book we publish. The SAT words are bold in the story. Look
for this special logo beside each word in the glossary. Happy Learning!
Gallopade is proud to be a member and supporter of
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National Alliance of Black School Educators
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be
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30 Years Ago . . .
As a mother and an author, one of the fondest periods of
my life was when I decided to write mystery books for
children. At this time (1979) kids were pretty much glued to
the TV, something parents and teachers complained about the
way they do about web surfing and blogging today.
I decided to set each mystery in a real place—a place kids
could go and visit for themselves after reading the book. And
I also used real children as characters. Usually a couple of my
own children served as characters, and I had no trouble
recruiting kids from the book’s location to also be characters.
Also, I wanted all the kids—boys and girls of all ages—to
participate in solving the mystery. And, I wanted kids to learn
something as they read. Something about the history of the
location. And I wanted the stories to be funny. That formula
of real+scary+smart+fun served me well.
I love getting letters from teachers and parents who say
they read the book with their class or child, then visited the
historic site and saw all the places in the mystery for
themselves. What’s so great about that? What’s great is that
you and your children have an experience that bonds you
together forever. Something you shared. Something you both
cared about at the time. Something that crossed all age
levels—a good story, a good scare, a good laugh!
30 years later,
Carole Marsh

Hey, kids! As you see—here we are ready to embark on
another of our exciting Carole Marsh Mystery adventures!
You know, in "real life," I keep very close tabs on Christina,
Grant, and their friends when we travel. However, in the
mystery books, they always seem to slip away from Papa and
me so that they can try to solve the mystery on their own!
I hope you will go to www.carolemarshmysteries.com
and apply to be a character in a future mystery book! Well,
the Mystery Girl is all tuned up and ready for "take-off!"
Gotta go...Papa says so! Wonder what I've forgotten
this time?
Happy "Armchair Travel" Reading,
Mimi

About the
Characters
Christina, age 10: Mysterious things really
do happen to her! Hobbies: soccer, Girl
Scouts, anything crafty, hanging out with
Mimi, and going on new adventures.
Grant, age 7: Always manages to fall off
boats, back into cactuses, and find strange
clues—even in real life! Hobbies: camping,
baseball, computer games, math, and
hanging out with Papa.
Mimi is Carole Marsh, children’s book
author and creator of Carole Marsh
Mysteries, Around the World in 80
Mysteries, Three Amigos Mysteries, Criss,
Cross, Applesauce Detective Agency
Mysteries, and many others.
Papa is Bob Longmeyer, the author’s reallife
husband, who really does wear a
tuxedo, cowboy boots and hat, fly an
airplane, captain a boat, speak in a
booming voice, and laugh a lot!
Travel around the world with Christina and Grant as they
visit famous places in 80 countries, and experience the
mysterious happenings that always seem to follow them!

Books in
This Series
#1 The Mystery at Big Ben
(London, England)
#2 The Mystery at the Eiffel Tower
(Paris, France)
#3 The Mystery at the Roman Colosseum
(Rome, Italy)
#4 The Mystery of the Ancient Pyramid
(Cairo, Egypt)
#5 The Mystery on the Great Wall of China
(Beijing, China)
#6 The Mystery on the Great Barrier Reef
(Australia)
#7 The Mystery at Mt. Fuji
(Tokyo, Japan)
#8 The Mystery in the Amazon Rainforest
(South America)
#9 The Mystery at Dracula’s Castle
(Transylvania, Romania)
#10 The Curse of the Acropolis
(Athens, Greece)
#11 The Mystery at the Crystal Castle
(Bavaria, Germany)
#12 The Mystery in Icy Antarctica
#13 The Rip-Roaring Mystery on the African Safari
(South Africa)
#14 The Breathtaking Mystery on Mount Everest
(The Top of the World)

Table of Contents
1 On Top of Spaghetti. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01
2 Benvenuto, Welcome to Italy! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3 Making New Friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4 Grant, Kidnapped?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
5 The Praying Trench Coat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
6 Going for a Swim! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
7 The Road to Florence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
8 The Grand Tour. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
9 Art After Death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
10 Mistaken Trench Coat Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
11 The Getaway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
12 Masquerading Carnivale in Venice . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
13 The Revelry of Carnivale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
14 S-A-G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
15 Berlini’s Obelisk—A Clue? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
16 Time is Running Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
17 No Time for Sundials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
18 Gobs of Gladiators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
19 Arrivederci! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
About the Author. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Book Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Italy

On Top of Spaghetti 1
1
On Top of
Spaghetti
“On top of SpaGHETTI, all covered with
CHEEEESE,” Grant giggled and sang in a loud
and out-of-tune key as the plane prepared to land
at the Pisa International Airport.
“Come on, Christina, join me!” Grant, seven, was
doing his best to get his sister, Christina, to
sing the song with him.
“I lost my poor meatBALLLLL when I had
to SNeeeeeeeeeZZZZE.” Kachoo-Kachoo, Grant
pretended to sneeze all over his sister’s shirt.
“Ewww, Grant!” Christina squealed as
she frowned at her brother. “You are
soooooo silly!” She flopped back in her seat
and looked at Grant’s pleading face. “Okay,
okay, I’ll sing,” she gave in with a giggle.

2 The Mystery at the Roman Colosseum
“But, not so loud this time!”
The view of Italy was becoming clearer as
the plane began its descent toward the
magnificent Mediterranean country.
“It rolled off the TAAAAble and onto the
flOOOr,” the two crooned together, “and then
my poor MEATballlll rolled out of the dOOOr.”
“I hope we eat pizza and calzones and
meatballs and lots and lots of spaghetti while we
are in Italy!” Grant exclaimed.
“You might get lucky,” said Papa. “I hear my
good friend Mario’s wife, Isabella, is a great
cook. Isn’t that right, Mimi?”
Mimi looked up over her glittery pink reading
glasses. “Oh, she has shared some of her very
special family recipes with me over the internet,”
Mimi said. “I’m looking forward to some of her
gnocchi—they’re potato dumplings, mmm, mmm,
mmm, and Italian Wedding Soup, with the little
meatballs. Yum!”
Mimi went back to packing up the laptop she
was using to write the outline for her newest
mystery book, set in Italy. Papa was reviewing
some notes he was using to help Mimi with
her research.
Christina, ten, was thrilled to be going to
Italy for her very first time. How lucky for her
and Grant that Papa was coming to see his good

On Top of Spaghetti 3
friend and enjoy the Carnivale holiday during
their school’s winter break. As usual, Papa was
in charge of making all of the travel
arrangements. They were sure to see some
wonderful sights while in Italy in spite of all the
book research Mimi and Papa would be doing
together. For Christina, it was very exciting to
get a new stamp in her passport and to explore a
new country. She was especially looking forward
to taking the Eurostar, Italy’s fastest train.
Rome would be fun to explore, too, since she
had heard so much about the Roman Empire in
social studies class. In fact, Christina had asked
if they would be flying in to the large
international airport in Rome, but Papa had
explained the smaller Pisa International Airport
was very accessible and closer to his
friend’s villa.
Christina knew that Papa would have rather
been flying his little red and white airplane, The
Mystery Girl. She had been a gift from Mimi, and
he really loved flying.
Christina knew they would be covering
quite a bit of territory in Italy. Papa had
explained that they would travel along the
western Mediterranean side, down to Rome,
all the way north, inland, to the Baltic Sea
side of Venice.

4 The Mystery at the Roman Colosseum
It seemed like a lot of miles to travel—an
entire country during one winter break—but
Mimi had reassured her that traveling the
country was like visiting one entire state
in America.
“Italy is 116,300 square miles, just slightly
larger than the state of Arizona,” Christina
remembered Mimi saying.
We went to Arizona one spring break, so I
guess we can cover all of Italy in one winter
break, Christina thought to herself, looking out
the window as the runway got closer and closer
and the ground below came clearly into focus.
Mimi said that they would see many of the
important sites in Italy. They might also have
time to go shopping in Milan, another major
Italian city, known for fashion and culture. Mimi
said the best shops were on the main street, and
that splendid shopping could also be found in the
popular, enormous glass-domed shopping plazas
of the Galleria Vittorio.
It would be better than having to drive forever
to go shopping at a plain old mall—if we could
only find a way to leave Grant with Papa,
Christina thought to herself.
Maybe they could go to the Gothic Duomo,
Milan’s cathedral of many spires or to the Parco
Nazionale, the National Park of Engravings,

On Top of Spaghetti 5
home to almost 1,000 figures and prehistoric
engravings from the Ice Age.
“Dinosaur-loving Grant would love that! Yes,
that would keep both Grant and Papa busy for an
entire day of shopping!” Christina smiled as she
talked softly to herself.
“Whoa! Look at all the trees!” Grant shouted,
bringing Christina back to reality. “There are
acres and acres of them!”
“Those are vineyards,” Papa said, pointing to
rows and rows of brown vines just below and to
the side of their airport destination. “They are
dormant now, but come next fall, they’ll be
harvested and the grapes turned into wine. Fall
is the season of the vendemmia, the grape
harvest. Look over there. Those are olive trees.
They grow everywhere in Italy.”
“I didn’t know olives grew on trees!” Grant
said. “If those are the green olive trees, where
are the black olive trees?”
Papa chuckled. “All olive trees produce
green olives; the black ones just stay on the
trees longer before being harvested,”
he explained.
Mimi laughed, too. “At the rate you eat
olives, Grant, you would never be able to wait for
them to ripen to black—you’d have a tummy ache,
and the trees would be bare!”

6 The Mystery at the Roman Colosseum
Grant smiled at Mimi. “Do you remember my
special way to eat olives, Mimi?” he said.
“How could I forget?” Mimi laughed. “One
for each finger, then pop, pop, pop in
your mouth!”
Mimi tousled Grant’s blonde hair and looked
around their seats. She was getting anxious to
corral the kids and their belongings as the
captain’s voice came over the radio, “Prepare for
our final descent into Pisa International
Airport.”
“We’ll get our luggage right when we arrive,
kids,” Mimi reminded Christina and Grant. “We
have to hurry a bit so we can catch the next train
to Cinque Terre, where we are going to stay with
your Papa’s old friend.”
Cinque Terre, translated as the five terraces
or the five lands, is an especially hilly part of the
Italian peninsula. It is very beautiful as it follows
the Italian Riviera and partly jets out into the
water. The southern stretch of this hill country
has many fruit orchards and vineyards
as well.
“We’ll want to get our seats up front in the
forward train car, so when the train stops along
the way, we won’t be sitting in the train car
stopped in the dark tunnels!” Mimi explained.
“I want to be in the train stopped in the

On Top of Spaghetti 7
tunnel,” Grant exclaimed. “It would be really
dark and spooky and make a great hiding place.”
“True,” Mimi said, “but all of the beautiful
Italian scenery would be blocked from our view.
We might be sitting in the dark tunnel for quite a
long time. I’d much rather be looking at this
gorgeous country from the front car.”
“Me, too,” Christina said, “I’m not here to
play silly games like hide and seek. I want to see
everything I can.”
Christina and Grant gathered their books and
toys and stuffed them in their backpacks. When
Christina bent under the seat in front of her to
pick up one of Grant’s T-Rex figurines, she
accidentally pulled up a section of newspaper
that was on the floor. The Italian words caught
her eye. She elbowed Grant.
“Look, Grant, can you figure out any of these
words?” Christina asked. “Look, I see ciao, I
know that means goodbye.”
“Look for pictures. Pizza…Pizza...do
you see pizza?” Grant was being silly,
sticking out his tongue to lick his lips, and
rubbing his belly.
“No! But, look, everything’s in Italian,
except for this one big box,” Christina said as
she pointed to an advertisement outlined with a
bold black rectangle.

8 The Mystery at the Roman Colosseum
Someone had circled the ad with a red
marker.
There was a big picture of a sundial with an
eerie shadow cast across it.
WANTED: IMMEDIATELY
Must have traveling papers, able
to work undercover, and able to carry
a big sword. Meet by the Colosseum
when the first shadow is cast
upon the sundial. SAG.
“Hmmm, strange,” Christina said. “A sword?
Who carries a sword these days? Sounds
dangerous. It kind of gives me the creeps.”
Christina leaned towards Grant to show him
the paper as he pressed his nose against the
glass, fogging up the window of the airplane.
“I wonder why this is the only thing in
English in the whole newspaper, and where is
the sundial they are talking about?” Christina
said out loud, hoping Grant might offer a
solution she didn’t think of first.
“No clue,” Grant muttered while making
funny faces in the window.
“And what does SAG mean?” Christina asked.

On Top of Spaghetti 9
“Still no clue,” Grant said in a puzzled tone.
Christina sat back and wondered quietly
about the words in the newspaper ad. The
landing gear screeched as it made contact with
the runway. They were now officially in Italy!

Benvenuto, Welcome to Italy! 11
2
Benvenuto,
Welcome to Italy!
“Buon Giorno, welcome to Italy,” the voice on
the loud speaker said. “The local time is sette
ora, 7 a.m.”
No wonder I feel tired, Christina thought. At
home it would only be 1:00 in the morning, and
I would still be sleeping! She yawned a long, lazy
yawn as Grant stirred groggily from his seat
beside her.
Everyone gathered up their belongings as
Mimi encouraged them to move along quickly.
Standing up, with her backpack slung on her
right shoulder and her sweatshirt over her left
arm, Christina was still wondering about the
newspaper article. Where did it come from?
Then, she elbowed Grant as a man in a black

12 The Mystery at the Roman Colosseum
trench coat and a felt fedora abruptly stood up
from the seat in front of hers and pushed his way
off the plane in a big hurry.
“He sure looked like he was in a big
hurry,” Christina whispered to Grant. “I
wonder if that newspaper belonged to him.”
Mimi hustled everyone off the plane and to
the taxi stand, where they were quickly whisked
away to the Pisa train station. Papa paid the
driver in euros and directed everyone to the
train platform while he stopped to verify the
train schedule. Surprisingly, the train was on
time today—not a usual thing with Italian trains.
Grant and Christina settled into their seats
on the crowded train. “This is going to be the
best part of the trip,” said Grant, his eyes
gleaming with anticipation.
As the train pulled out of the station,
Christina saw the man in the black trench coat
and the felt hat again. Or was that the same
man? Soon there was another man wearing a
black trench coat and a felt fedora.
Goose bumps spread across Christina’s arms
as she wondered about the words in the
newspaper again, and now saw two men in black
trench coats!
“That’s interesting…,” whispered Christina
to herself.

Benvenuto, Welcome to Italy! 13
“Did you say something, Christina?”
Grant asked.
“Never mind,” said Christina.
The train ride to Cinque Terre was amazing
and soon distracted Christina from the men in
the black trench coats. Tucked in the
countryside were clusters of villas with red tile
roofs. The landscape was speckled with clusters
of olive trees and dormant grape vineyards, and
despite the cold, lots and lots of green trees.
The sky was a bright and vivid blue and even
Grant was keenly aware of the beauty of the
Italian countryside. From the window, he could
see a nonno, like Papa, riding his bike on a dirt
road with a long, fresh loaf of bread in his basket.
Grant also spied some sheep in a cluster off the
side of the road.
“Christina, look at that funny building,” Grant
said, tugging at his sister’s shirt. It was the Villa
of a Hundred Chimneys. “There are a zillion
stacks coming out of that rooftop!”
“They look like chimneys,” said Christina.
“Wow! I wish I lived in that house at
Christmas,” Grant said, “then, maybe Santa
would come down each one of those chimneys
and I’d get 100 presents!”
“You might get more than you bargained for,”
Christina said. “La Befana, a kindly old witch,

14 The Mystery at the Roman Colosseum
visits all the kids in Italy at Christmas. I’m not
sure she uses the chimneys.”
Just then the train shifted a bit and in no time, they
were hugging the shore of the Ligurian coast. The
children marveled at the colorful houses wedged into
the cliffs, trying to imagine how they ever got there!
“I bet it took 100 men and 100 donkeys to move
those bricks up there!” Grant exclaimed. “I wonder
how long it took? I bet I could have done it in about a
week,” he said as he pumped up his arms and showed
off his scrawny seven-year-old muscles. Everyone
roared with laughter.
“You keep working on those biceps,” Papa smiled.
“You’ll get there!”
“The view is breathtaking,” said Mimi. “It’s hard
to imagine that this could make a good setting for my
next mystery book.”
“Speaking of mystery, I wish I had The Mystery Girl
with me right about now,” said Papa.
Grant and Christina knew they’d be flying low over
the waters of the Portovenere and the Riviera Di
Levante if they had flown on Papa’s Mystery Girl.
Maybe they could convince Papa to take them
sailing while they were here. Both Christina and
Grant would love to get a chance to feel the wind
whip across their face as the breeze came off the
beautiful blue water, even if they had to wear a
trench coat to keep warm.

Making New Friends 15
3
Making New
Friends
Soon wind and water were whipping across
Grant’s face, but it wasn’t from sailing. Papa’s
friends had a very old villa on acres and acres of
land in the countryside, just perfect for a Saint
Bernard to romp around.
Rigatoni was a fluffy, black and brown Saint
Bernard who nearly towered over Grant and
greeted him by lapping at his face with his huge,
wet, prickly tongue.
Grant giggled and grinned a big, wide grin as
he tickled and patted the friendly dog
in return.
A boy with dark, tousled hair and olive skin
smiled at Grant and the dog. “Rigatoni, he’s not
your supper, he’s our guest. Bon Giorno,” said

16 The Mystery at the Roman Colosseum
Luigi, 14, as he greeted his house guests.
“I am so sorry about the dog,” said a lovely
female voice. Christina looked up to see Luigi’s
younger sister. “I am Maria Francesca—my
friends call me Francesca,” she smiled.
“Rigatoni loves when we have company. He
knows there will be more leftovers at supper, so
he is getting chummy with you now, hoping for
your scraps, eh?”
Christina immediately liked Maria Francesca.
She had high cheekbones, long, straight hair, and
golden, olive skin. Tall and thin, she looked
more like a model than a soccer player. And, she
didn’t look like Christina’s twelve year-old friends
from the states; she was older looking and very
sophisticated.
“Come, I will show you to your rooms,” Luigi said.
Wonderful smells already filled the villa.
Something must be simmering for supper
already, thought Christina.
The house was very different from home in
the United States. There were no screens on the
windows, the windows were open, and you could
feel the chill of the day run through the cement
house with tile floors and throw rugs. It was a
good thing the sun was bright and added
warmth, Christina thought.
Maria Francesca stopped at her room along

Making New Friends 17
the way. There was a wooden poster bed with a
beautiful cross over the headboard, and a wood
dresser with two photos in frames.
“That’s my class,” Maria Francesca said. “In
September, we were honored to go to Marostica,
near Vicenza, to see the annual chess game. It
was very funny to see all the men and ladies
dressed as chess pieces and to play the game at
night. It was very beautiful.”
“The other photograph is of my Mama and
Papa,” Maria Francesca continued. “They enter
the Neapolitan Song Contest in Naples every
year to celebrate their marriage. My Papa, he
plays the mandolin, and Mama, she plays the
castanets. They do not win, but they try. Maybe
tonight, they will play for us at supper.”
Christina wondered if they wore
special costumes.
The smell of what was soon to be dinner was
floating through the air and reminded Christina
that the day was still early and that it was not
even lunch time yet. Her stomach had not yet
settled on the new time zone.
“Children,” Mimi called, “Isabella and I are
going to zip up to the market before supper. You
get settled and feel free to explore the grounds
with Francesca and Luigi.”
Grant followed Luigi down the hall, but soon

18 The Mystery at the Roman Colosseum
dropped his bags and ran straight for the row of
gleaming trophies in Luigi’s room.
“Wow! These are cool,” Grant exclaimed. “You
must be really good! Do you get all the goals?”
“I do play fairly well,” Luigi said modestly,
referring to his soccer trophies. “But, it is my
uncle who is the star. He played in the World
Cup when it was held in Italy in 1990.”
Grant ran to the window as he heard Mimi
squeal. She and Isabella were turning out of the
grassy drive in the family’s red Ferrari, off to the
market. Grant was reminded of Mimi’s red
convertible back home.
Mario called for everyone to come to the
kitchen for some fresh minestrone vegetable and
orecchiette pasta soup.
“Or-whati?” asked Grant.
“Or-keeti,” said Luigi. It means little ears.”
Grant looked skeptically at the clam shell
shaped pasta, trying to figure out how the small
round pasta could get a name like that.
“Try some bread with it, too,” Luigi said.
The kids gobbled up their soup.
Grant and Christina then dove into the basket of
fresh, soft bread chunks. Grant proceeded to sop up
the minestrone broth with his chunk of tasty bread.
“Tastes awesome,” he mumbled with his
mouth full.

Making New Friends 19
“That should hold us until supper,” Francesca
said. “You will want to save room for the big
meal Mama has planned specially for you. Often
we eat supper now, in the middle of the day to
you, but she has planned a celebration for your
trip here, so we will wait until dark.”
Papa and his friend, Mario, were headed
outside. “Come, join us everyone,” Mario said.
The group, including Rigatoni, headed outside
across the field behind the house and down to an
old, forgotten barn.
Mario peeled open the flimsy doors and
revealed a shiny blue single-engine airplane with
a broad grin and a robust wave of his arms.
“This, this is my amore.”
“What is he saying?” Grant whispered to
Christina.
“Oh, he means that the plane is his ‘love,’”
she replied. “You know, just like Papa and The
Mystery Girl.”
Papa had a big smile on his face, too. He
knew just how Mario felt. The two men explored
the aircraft while the kids bounded out, being
chased by Rigatoni.
“Francesca,” Christina said, coming to a stop
and dropping to the grass, “You speak English so
well. Do most people in Italy speak it so well?”
“Si, well, the younger people do,” Francesca

20 The Mystery at the Roman Colosseum
replied. “We are required to learn many
languages in school. But, the Nona’s, well, they
are old and more stubborn,” she explained.
“Well, I was just wondering,” Christina said,
“because I saw something very strange in a
newspaper I found on the plane.”
Intrigued, Luigi and Francesca moved closer
as Christina and Grant took turns remembering
the words in the ad. “…and, then, there were two
men in black trench coats at the train station,”
Christina concluded.
“That is very strange,” Luigi said. “SAG.
What is this SAG? Francesca, do you ever hear
this with your friends?”
But Francesca shook her head no and
seemed very puzzled. She shivered in the chilly
air. “We should go in,” she suggested. “It is
getting colder now that the sun is setting.”
Inside the house, Mimi and Isabella were
bringing out steaming plates of food. Grant didn’t
see any pizza, to his disappointment, but everything
smelled so good, he couldn’t wait to eat.
“Here, try this,” Luigi said as he passed a large
platter of fresh mozzarella, chunks of salami meat,
lots of olives and marinated vegetables.
“Olives! Yummy!” exclaimed Grant.
“We have antipasto platter at every meal,”
Luigi said of the colorful plate of appetizers.

Making New Friends 21
Smells of fried calamari, or squid, made
Christina wrinkle up her nose as Luigi and
Francesca dove in.
There were porcelain bowls full of Risotto alla
Romana. It looked like just like rice. Christina
thought that might be a safe choice—little did she
know it had liver and sweetbreads in it.
“So, what do you think of the sweetbreads?”
Francesca asked. “I thought American children
did not like the livers.”
“Sweetbreads?” Grant asked, wondering why
she was talking about liver. “Isn’t that like
cinnamon rolls? I don’t see any cinnamon rolls.”
“Cinnamon rolls?” Francesca asked with a
quizzical look. “You must mean like panettone?
No, sweetbreads, like liver—it’s a meat.”
Isabella and Mario laughed as Christina and
Grant scrunched up their faces in distaste, and
put down their forks.
“It’s not very sweet,” Isabella said.
“But, it is very tasty,” Mario added.
“I think this time, Grant may prefer to eat his
spinach,” said Mimi, as she passed the Spinaci
alla Piemontese, made with spinach, anchovies,
and croutons.
The Ossobuco, veal in tomato and wine sauce,
was Papa’s favorite. “This is delicious, Isabella,”
he exclaimed. “I wish you could cook for me

22 The Mystery at the Roman Colosseum
every night!” Then Papa looked at Mimi and
gave her a little wink.
Finally, Grant spied the spaghetti. It had
green stuff in it, since it was made with a pesto
sauce made of pine nuts and basil, but at least
there was no sign of liver!
Everyone was laughing and sharing stories.
The sky grew darker and darker, the candles
were lit, and soon the music started.
Mario pulled out his mandolin and Francesca
ran to get the castanets for Isabella as she placed
a Torta di Ricotta on the table. This dish was a
cheesecake filled with ricotta cheese and
marsala wine. Mimi set down a platter of
gorgonzola, taleggio, and fontina cheeses, and
purple grapes and red pears, right behind
the torte.
The cappuccino and Italian sodas were
already set up on the side table for dessert.
Grant and Luigi were helping themselves to an
Italian soda made with vanilla and anise (licoriceflavored)
syrups.
Mario began to play and soon everyone was
clapping. Then Francesca jumped up and
grabbed Grant’s arm.
“Dance with me,” she said. “This is the
tarantella. Kick up your feet.”
“Where’s the tarantula?” Grant squealed as

Making New Friends 23
he pulled away from Francesca.
Everyone laughed. “The tarantella—it is a
special Italian folk dance we do at celebrations,”
she explained with a giggle. “A long time ago,
victims of the tarantula spider’s bite thought
they could cure themselves through crazy
dancing, by sweating out the poison. Now we
just dance like we are crazy. It is fun, no?”
“Grant always dances a little crazy,” teased
Christina. Mario and Papa raised their glasses
to Mimi and Isabella. “Salute! Cento Anjas!”
Isabella and Mario called out jointly in
celebration. The adults toasted the fun together.
“What did he say?” asked Grant.
“Cento Anjas,” Luigi answered. “It means
100 years—100 years of good health.”
The kids could not have known they would
soon need good health—and good luck!