For the Feast of Corpus Domini – sixty days after Easter – floral splendor carpets the medieval alleyways of hilltown gem, Spello, for their stunning festival, le Infiorate. Depending on the year’s climactic conditions, la fioritura (“the flowerings”) of Castelluccio di Norcia explodes near the lentil fields on the Great Plain (at over 1300 m) at the end of…
When I first took Pino to see the small apartment in the Assisi backstreets, he exclaimed, “Mamma mia! Perche’ mai vorresti questa piccionaia? (Why would you ever want this pigeonhole?)” I grinned and replied, “ah, you just gave me an idea for the name: a ‘nest’…but this will be a ‘tranquil nest’. As our guests…
Before you leave for a few days on paradiso, aka. the island of Ventotene, you’ll probably want to jot down a list of what to take: sunscreen, mask and snorkel, swimsuits, towel, good walking shoes, books, books and more books (this is a “literary island”, after all). And take note, too, of “not-to-miss experiences” while you’re there:…
When here in our splendid Umbria, “Italy’s green heart”, you simply can’t miss meeting and feasting with Umbria’s rural people. Just ask young Shelby from Georgia, here in June in one of our apartments with her mother and grandfather. How about that lasagna bianca of Chiarina, served up by lovely daughter Rossanna, Shelby? Other dinner…