More than anything, the island of Ustica evokes images of colors: bright intense colors, muted pastel colors. First of all the blues, the greens: The translucent acquamarine and emerald brilliance of the…
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Arab influences are strong in Sicily, from the architecture to the sweets, from the underground Arab acqueducts of Palermo to the granulated-ice dessert, la granita. The Arabs brought their sherbert to Sicily,…
“A blood relative or not, he’s my relative. Pasquale’s everybody’s relative: he’s “il nonno di Ustica.” Nonno Pasquale’s blue eyes – the same color as Ustica’s sea – twinkle at friend Gaetano’s…
Fast food? Invented by the Palermitani centuries ago. Palermo’s streets have always teemed with the carts and kiosks of street vendors – the mensari – calling out their wares in Palmeritano dialect…
On a hot day, at the end of an Umbrian tour – after taking in the art and history of our medieval hilltown gems – I’ll often say to my tour guests,…
Italians relax under umbrellas on sandy Adriatic beaches in the hot summer months. Under blistering sun, Moroccans, Tunisians, Indians, Pakistanis, Nigerians, Senegalese, Bangladeshi – to name a few of the immigrant vendors…
Maybe not the last of the many castle-villages in Umbria, but certainly one of the most picturesque, pink limestone gem, Collepino, slumbers on a mountainside above Spello in almost monastic quiet. Befitting:…
“Three Ladies of Blues” had all rockin’ at the jazz aperitif last night at Hotel Brufani, one of the last events of the stupendo 10-day Umbria Jazz festival in Perugia. read more…
“Bello Spello, vero?”, an elderly woman asks me as she polishes her brass doorknob to a gleam. Above her head, fiery red geraniums and hot pink petunias overflow in chromatic profusion from…
Spello – che bello! – is becoming world famous for its magnificent flower petal tapestries – Infiorate – carpeting medieval alleyways and piazzas for Corpus Cristi. Prior to the wonders, the Spellani…