Umbria’s “liquid gold,” olive oil, is world-renowned and celebrated by the umbri in glorious festivals. These feste celebrate the olio nuovo (the “new oil”, that olive oil just pressed) at harvest time which takes…
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Since ancient times, man has used resinous substances for lighting and the pressing of woodland berries and animal and vegetable fats as a means of illuminating the darkness. As of the 4th…
People in the eastern Mediterranean have been grinding olives for oil for the last 6,000-8,000 years. and wild olives, which originated in Asia Minor, were collected by Neolithic people as early as the 8th…
For my October 31st ZOOM talk (my twelfth!), olives and olive oil in Italy’s art, history, cuisine, medicine, folklore – and not only! – will take the stage. I’ve decided to write…
Standing proudly like a stately sentinel, a medieval tower welcomes you to Spello, ancient olive trees sprouting out of the top of the tower. What better welcome to la Citta’ dell’Olio? Even the…
Logicamente, lustre maiolica wine goblets, flasks, plates with the wine and Bacchus motif figured in my October 20, 2020 ZOOM presentation, “Italy’s Wine Mystique in History and Art.” But my “wine motif” subject…
Although now nearly extinct in the wild, grapes (vitis vinifera) grew throughout the Mediterranean world and in Italy, grapes were cultivated both in northern and central Italy by the Etruscans and in the south…
My October 17, 2020 ZOOM presentation, “Italy’s Wine Mystique in History and Art” included – logicamente! – an exploration of the cult of the Roman god Bacchus, so often depicted in triumph as…
I hadn’t seen Giuseppa in many months, for I haven’t been guiding visitors through the wonders of Umbria in many months due to global travel restrictions. Perugia/Deruta was always a much loved…
The mystique of wine originates in pre-historic times as the fruit of the vitis vinifera – the Euro-asiatic grapevine cultivated in all continents except the Antarctic – was first turned into wine…