In the Umbria countryside, our rural neighbors still bake even more than a dozen cheesebreads in their outdoor bread ovens…or nowadays, in their indoor gas ovens. Our dear rural friend, Peppa –…
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As you enter the 13th-c. Cathedral of San Rufino in Assisi, head to the right to see the baptismal font where St. Francis and St. Clare were both baptized; following this tradition,…
In mid-March, the Umbrian city of Foligno becomes an open market – il Mercato Europeo – as over 80 vendors offer cuilinary goodness and artisan creations from their booths lining the Foligno…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…