For over ten years, Assisi has celebrated the newly-pressed olive oil with the UNTO festival, lasting this year from October 31 to December 1st (the period of picking and pressing of olives). Olive mills in the area open their doors and countless UNTO festival activities celebrate l’olio nuovo: guided olive-oil tastings in local olive oil mills,…
Not just Giuseppa’s generosity abounds – as Doug and Wendy wrote after lunch with her – but so does the goodness! Let Becky and Marcello’s group tell you about the joy of feasting with Giuseppa in her Deruta countryside farrmhouse:: “Giuseppa welcomed us into her home and provided us a meal that was cooked with…
A rural feast with Giuseppa in her farmhouse in the Deruta countryside is one of the highlights my Deruta tours. Simply ask George and Michelle. And here’s Michelle’s comment on our Deruta full-day tour: “….what an incredible day! We thoroughly enjoyed Annie’s tour of Deruta, showcasing the process of producing maiolica pottery. Afterward Annie pointed…
During an Assisi guided tour, tour guests often ask me if San Francesco is the patron saint of Assisi. Per niente! (“For nothing”, ie., “no way”). San Rufino, 3rd-century martyred bishop, is Assisi’s patron saint and San Francesco is the much-loved patron saint of all of Italy. If you’re ever in Assisi on his feast…
On September 8th – Festa della Nativita’ della Beata Vergine Maria (Nativity of the Blessed Viirgin) – the locals of the area of “upper Assisi” (near the Cathedral of San Rufino) join together in a procession as the Beata Vergine is carried on the shoulders of members of a medieval confraternity from the Cathedral of…
How do Italians celebrate important events? By joining together and feasting, logicamente. In the Assisi hills, the Feast of Santa Anna on July 26th, is celebrated for 10 days with passione – and gusto. Up in the hills – not far from Assisi – in an area called “Paradiso,” locals unite in an evening food…
During a recent jaunt to Lake Fiastra (in the Marches region), we discovered that gem, the Rifugio di Tribbio, thanks to a tip from our daughter Giulia. Even if you are not seeking a stay in a mountain refuge (rifugio) during a trekking trip, do drop in to taste the goodness at the ristorante of the…
Recently, we headed to that medieval fortified town, Castiglione del Lago, on Lake Trasimeno, on an outing of nostalgia: Pino wanted to see again the medieval wall restored by his team in 2013. But lunch first: right across the street from the lake, just outside the town: We headed to La Capannina (“The Little Shed”…or…
Many a summer week-end, we’ll head to Lake Bolsena, in the region of Latium, not far from the southeastern border of our region, Umbria, As we approach the town, vineyards span out along the road: Lake Bolsena – once a volcanic crater – soon appears, the medieval fortress, Rocca Monaldeschi, perched on the hill above…
Lake Bolsena has its own Eden: the Hotel Eden, right on the shores of that lake, once a volcanic crater. Pino and I often spend a week-end there or simply stay overnight on Saturday – as we did recently, arriving not too long before dinner. Luckily, we were in time for that sunset splendor: As…