Near Pisa, Peccioli Merits a Stop

On a recent visit to friends near Pisa, Pino and I decided to head off the usual autostrada route for our return trip to Assisi. We had a full-day ahead of us so we headed south into the Tuscan countryside towards Volterra for our return trip, passing splendid Tuscan hill towns….. . ….surveying vineyards and…

In Assisi, Cimabue 13th-c. Fresco Restored to Splendor

After over a year’s work by skilled young fresco restoration experts in Assisi’s stunning Basilica di San Francesco, the late 13th-c. fresco Cimabue fresco la Maesta’ has returned to splendor: The unveiling in mid-February took place in late morning after a two-hour presentation by head of the Basilica restoration team, Maestro Sergio Fusetti ((on the…

Lovesick at Umbria Jazz Winter

For the past thirty years in late December, the Umbria Jazz Winter festival livens up the medieval hill town of Orvieto, bringing in the New Year with a musical blast of jazz, rock and country western, Pino and I never miss it. Musical events rebound in the medieval palazzi…. ….in the theater… ….in the piazzas….…

Umbria Rural Cuisine: Peppa’s Feast Warms Up January

Lately, many a chilly January day has been warmed up with lunch at Peppa’s, for she often invites Pino and me for lunch. Now over 80, Peppa stil cooks up a rural feast at lunchtime, inevitably telling us apologetically as we sit down, “Oggi, ho poca roba da mangiare per noi….” (“Today, I only have…

Ray Gelato Warms Up Umbria Jazz Winter in Orvieto

Although Ray Gelato’s surname means “ice cream” in Italian, there was nothing “chilly” about his group’s performance in Orvieto at Umbria Jazz Winter this past December. Pino and I joined in the crowd gathered for an aperitif and Ray Gelato and the Giants music in the crenellated medieval Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo. This medieval…

Assisi Christmas Magic, 2023

The illumination of medieval Assisi’s cathedral, basilicas and main square astounded visitors from all over Italy this year. Let me show you a few of the gems of luminosity….and we’ll start with the 13th-c. Basilica di San Francesco, built to house the body of San Francesco (died in 1226), patron saint of all of Italy:…

Giuseppa Rural Feast – a Memorable Moment in the Deruta Countryside

Linda and Tim and their wonderful gruppo joined me this fall for a memorable Deruta rural feast. See their enthusiasm in these photos – and taste the goodness!   All were enchanted- and not just by the rural goodness. See a few comments: Lunch at Giuseppa’s is…..a truly authentic adventure which most travelers are not fortunate enough,…

Feast of St. Francis, October 4th: Valle d’Aosta in Assisi

Every year for the Feast of St. Francis, one of the 20 regions of Italy brings the oil which will burn all year in front of his tomb in the Basilica of St. Francis – for San Francesco is the patron saint of Italy. This year, that honor went to the Valle d’Aosta (often called…

In Cascia, Saffron Stars – and Not Only

At the end of October, Pino and I headed into the bellissima Valnerina (Nera River Valley)…..  ….on our way to Cascia, medieval mountain town where St. Rita died in the mid-15th-century. Annually, the Mostra Mercato dello Zafferano di Cascia (“Show and Market of Saffron of Cascia”) animates this mountain town: As we arrived huge white tents…