Close to the epicenter of the October 2016 earthquakes, Norcia is cordoned off, a zona rossa (“red zone,” i.e., no entry to anyone due to possible danger of falling rubble – and…
As all Castelluccio has been evacuated, I wonder where Derna is staying – and if her sacks of lentils are with her, salvaged from the rubble of the October 26 and 30,…
…..and the aftershocks of the August 24, 2016 earthquake continue…..Epicenter of that shake-up: Accumuli and Amatrice in the region of Lazio. Benefit events for the earthquake homeless centered on pasta all’amatriciana. Epicenter…
…..or at least the central backbone of the Italian peninsula had a good shake-up on a recent late October evening. And coincidentally, both our Giulia and Peppa had cleaned wild woodland mushrooms…
It was time for lunch and as we pulled off the highway not far from Notaresco (tiny Abruzzo town near Teramo), a sign dangling before a two-level stone house caught our eye:…
Within forty-eight hours of picking, those olives should arrive at the mill: pressing must take place before the moisture of the fruit starts to dissipate. Pino had called the mill even before…
Our son Keegan (36) put it this way, “Well, definitely the best year since I was born.” Not only: the best olive harvest we’ve had since we first picked our olives in…
When the rains come and the air chills, it’s time to pick all the tomatoes: those few remaining red ones and all the green ones that never made it to full ripening.…
About half of our grapes went to the birds this year. Literally. Pino picked the rest, filling two crates (about 100 kilos of grapes). He bought a small press for our small…
Giuseppa gives us far more than an “Umbrian” welcome when we arrive at her farmhouse for a rural lunch. No one opens home and heart to visitors like Giuseppa. No one. Just…