Yes, our olive oil just back from the mill certainly is “green gold.” And this gold is more precious than ever: olive oil production in our region of Umbria is down 28% and our own yield is about 1/3 that of last year, reflecting the overall statistics. The situation could be bleaker: in Emilia Romagna,…
It’s still un vino giovane (“a young wine”) but buonissimo. Pino had assured me that it would be when he’d offered me a first sip late September, after pressing the grapes. Pino’s talents go beyond stone restoration: he’s a creative chef and an adept wine-maker, too. Using a small press in an improvised “wine cellar”…
Today, as an elderly Umberto served me his famous cioccolato caldo con la panna (hot chocolate with whipped cream)….. ….what memories of nippy November mornings in Perugia in 1969. I had studied Italian in Perugia for three months that fall and my roommate Margaret and I had found a “deal” on a double room in…
I’ve written many times on one of my favorite Italian cities, Naples. A city to celebrate. A city always celebrating. A city of infinite pleasures. A city rich in human interactions. A city of life, of joy: transmitted in the lively, foot-stomping musica napoletana of the ebullient street musicians in the photo above. I once…
There’s no doubt that most people head to Il Ristoro for the succulent organic meats – and not only – but now I wonder if a few diners had booked the restaurant hoping to see the owner, Italian TV/film star, Roberto Farnesi. When there recently, cards we picked up at the entryway featured Farnesi with…
Pino’s creativity has moved into the kitchen, now that retirement from stone restoration is (partially) underway (though not quite fully in action). His artistic bent lives on in his stonework masterpieces. Like the meticulous restoration work on the medieval tower in Spello…. ….and the medieval guard towers and walls of the lakeside hilltown, Castiglione del…
A recent dinner in our Assisi farmhouse cooked up for Mary and friends – Pino doing most of the dishes – actually started in Orvieto. The Orvieto Saturday outdoor market is a panorama of colors backdropped by the stately medieval city hall …. ….and while wandering there on a recent visit to our son Keegan,…
Vicky, Mary, Dorothy and Christina, such pleasure to have you in our Assisi countryside apartment, sharing Umbria with you all. Mille grazie for your note, Vicky, letting us know that this pleasure was mutual: – “Dear Anne and Pino, It has been our great pleasure to share your magnificent home and family…. We have enjoyed…