May is the month of festivals in Italy: euphoria reigns in Gubbio every May 15th for la Corsa dei Ceri. Narni brings alive Renaissance splendor in mid-May. Food festivals, le sagre, animate…
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Only the facade of the Basilica dedicated to St. Benedict still stands in his Norcia following the earthquake of October 30, 2016: a sobering backdrop to the celebration of his feast day…
This year, Calendimaggio, Assisi’s stunning medieval festival, animates our town with splendid pageantry on May 3, 4, 5, 6. Scroll to see the wonders: [slick-slider design=”design-2″ category=”49″ show_content=”true” dots=”true” arrows=”true” autoplay=”true” sliderheight=”580″…
How do the Umbrians start Easter? Feasting, logicamente: before Mass, a breakfast of a glass of robust red wine, savory cheesebread topped with homemade (if possible) salami or prosciutto or capocollo and…
The tiny village of Cantalupo near Bevagna is famous for snails, in fact there’s not much there except the Ristorante L’umaca D’Oro (“The Golden Snail Restaurant”). Most food festivals – le sagre…
Week-end ballroom dancing, kaleidoscope parades of floats topped with costumed and masked ebullient children and adults – and myriads of enticing sweets – tell you Carnevale (Mardi Gras) has arrived in Italy,…
The names of Assisi’s traditional Carnevale sweets are a whimsical, playful symphony to the ear: castagnole, brighelle, frappe’, zeppole, panzerotti. Savoring them is poetry to the palate. You’ll find them at the…
An area newspaper summed it up recently, coining this winter in Italy of snowfalls, earthquakes and avalanches, “a never-ending nightmare.” As I write, 50,000 are without electricity and have been for days…
For the twenty-fourth year, Orvieto – splendid medieval hilltown perched on a volcanic rock plateau – sweeps in the New Year with five days of jazz (mostly), blues, soul and swing. We’re…
Like many an Umbrian mountain village, the townspeople of San Pellegrino di Norcia generally celebrate Christmas by bringing it to life – literally! – enacting a “living manger scene” (presepe vivente) on…