To welcome spring, a group of Spello’s ristoranti and trattorie feted wild greens, offered two days of tasting menus highlighted with the goodness growing on the slopes of Mt. Subasio and in the fields fanning out below. The menus for the Spello festa were posted on the Net, each tasting menu just 20 Euro per…
May is the month of festivals in Italy: euphoria reigns in Gubbio every May 15th for la Corsa dei Ceri. Narni brings alive Renaissance splendor in mid-May. Food festivals, le sagre, animate small villages all over Umbria in May (and not only). Each of these festivals brings out the locals’ passione for their history and…
Only the facade of the Basilica dedicated to St. Benedict still stands in his Norcia following the earthquake of October 30, 2016: a sobering backdrop to the celebration of his feast day this year. Declared “Patron Saint of Europe” by Pope Paul VI in 1964, San Benedetto, founder of western monasticism and born in Norcia…
This year, Calendimaggio, Assisi’s stunning medieval festival, animates our town with splendid pageantry on May 3, 4, 5, 6. Scroll to see the wonders: [slick-slider design=”design-2″ category=”49″ show_content=”true” dots=”true” arrows=”true” autoplay=”true” sliderheight=”580″ autoplay_interval=”5000″ speed=”1000″] But preparations enliven the winding medieval backstreets for weeks (months!) before – with culmination of the feverish preparations just a…
If you truly wish to experience the region of Umbria, “Italy’s green heart,” head with me to our (green!) countryside to meet our rural friends. Just ask Nancy (from San Francisco) about the experience. …and enjoy her photos: [lcaption]Nancy meets Peppe – and his prosciutti![/lcaption] [lcaption]…and of course, she must taste his wine….[/lcaption] [lcaption]Next: a…
How do the Umbrians start Easter? Feasting, logicamente: before Mass, a breakfast of a glass of robust red wine, savory cheesebread topped with homemade (if possible) salami or prosciutto or capocollo and hard-boiled eggs drizzled with the family olive oil and perhaps a bit of lemon juice squeezed on top. Sweet cakes with sprinkles on…
In June, strawberries will be in our garden – and strawberry tiramisu will often be dessert for dinner guests. In July, peaches come along and this dish is also buonissimo using peaches instead of strawberries. A main ingredient of traditional tiramisu is espresso coffee: might keep you awake at a night, but not this strawberry…
It’s not just the delectabler rural feast she cooks up that makes a meal in Giuseppa’s farmhouse near Deruta memorable: it’s her obvious joy as she serves up the foods the family has grown and raised. [lcaption]Cindy and Jim enjoy Giuseppa’s homemade tagliatelle with meat sauce (all meats, theirs)[/lcaption] When you enjoy a rural feast…
The tiny village of Cantalupo near Bevagna is famous for snails, in fact there’s not much there except the Ristorante L’umaca D’Oro (“The Golden Snail Restaurant”). Most food festivals – le sagre – take place all over central Italy from springtime to fall but Cantalupo’s Sagra della Lumaca has a winter version as well as…
Somewhere near the main piazza of any Italian town – no matter now small – il monumento ai caduti (literally, “the monument to the falllen”) – pays tribute to those townspeople who died in World War I and World War II. [lcaption]In tiny Collepino (pop. about 25) near Assisi, pink limestone memorial to the six…