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…
Si! Certamente, ovviamente, logicamente the focus of an Umbria guided hilltown tour must be the art and history of this bellissima region, aptly called “Italy’s green heart.” But what makes a tour memorable? Meeting “the locals” – and opening closed doors you might simply walk past. Like the entryway to the Bevagna 17th-century palazzo where…
Jane, mille grazie for your “arrivederci” note to us which started with “your hospitality made this trip special for us! We are fortunate to have 91-year-old dad, Will, with us – and staying here, having dinner, visiting with you made him comfortable and all of us charmed!” Well, Will certainly charmed both of us. And…
Sharing tasty food with family and friends is often a week-end outing in central Italy from early spring to late fall, the season of la sagra (village food festival). Onions take center stage at la Festa della Cipolla in Cannara, small village not far from Assisi. As you head to the food tent area, you’ll…
On October 4th, a floral tapestry depicting San Francesco and the dove of peace carpeted the piazza at the entrance to the lower level of the Basilica di San Francesco. The floral masterpiece was a gift from Tuscany, the region of Italy bringing the oil this year which will burn all year in front of…
In a past note on the Assisi’s October 4th festivities for the Feast of St. Francis, I started by summing up Francesco’s top ranking for all of the Italians. This is what I wrote: ***”Many Italians consider goalie Gigi Buffon as Italy’s greatest soccer player. But he’s only “Numero Due” in any case, in the ranks…
Walking towards Foligno’s main square in late September, you know it’s time for the “First Courses” festival showcasing Italy’s primi: everything from pastas (gluten-free ones, too) to risotto to polenta to gnocchi – and even cousin-cous (a favorite first course of the seacoast towns in western Sicily, influenced by Arab cuisine). What’s the sign that…
Eric, Marion, Prisca and Robin, mille grazie for coming all the way from the Netherlands to stay in our Assisi countryside apartment. Such a pleasure to host you – our first Dutch guests! – and we’re delighted that all of you enjoyed being here with us. We appreciate your arrivederci note to us: “Thank you…
The hills undulating down from Montefalco are laced with vineyards of the Sagrantino, a prized grape indigenous a to very limited area of Umbria. ….and mamma mia, how these wines – and not only! – are feted in Montefalco during their late September weekend festival, Enologica Montefalco (“Wine-making Montefalco”). This year, the fortieth edition animated…