Prosciutto, Pancetta, Salami, Salsicce, Coppa, Barbozza: an Umbria January

Prosciutto, pancetta, salami, salsicce, coppa, barbozza. The names unite in an enticing rhythm, so appealing to your ear. Even if you’re a vegetarian. When I dropped in recently at the house of  rural neighbors Peppe and Gentile,  their daughter Paola and her husband Leandro were putting finishing touches to many of these items: “gifts” from…

At Trattoria Nennella, Tasting Naples

In the difficult years following World War II, in the working class district of Naples, i quartieri spagnoli (“the Spanish quarter”)…………many a creative napoletano became adept at the art of arrangiarsi (literally, “to arrange oneself,” i.e., invent a way to survive).  Many depended on some sort of income from the American soldiers, including Elisabetta Vitiello, who opened a…

The Spanish Quarter of Naples: Where Culture is Salvation

Crowded and colorful, bustling, energetic, and animated, gritty and crumbling – no panoply of words can ever describe Naples’ Quartieri Spagnoli. The street network of the “Spanish district” was set out in the 17th-century during the Spanish rule of the Kingdom of Naples.  The troops were quartered here in this district bordered by one of the main…