The 13th-c Sant’Andrea church in Spello has direct links to St. Francis in Assisi and the Franciscans. First historical reference to the church dedicated to the apostle, St. Andrew, dates to the…
Keep your eyes open as you walk through Spello so as to take in the hints of the splendor of the Roman colony, Hispellum – and they’re even in the churches. In Santa Maria…
Once again, my mantra “only in Italy” is most fitting: after all, where else might you find the splendid mosaic floor of a Roman villa when digging out a parking lot? It…
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…
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…
For my upcoming ZOOM presentation (October 10th) on the art and cultural history of wine from pre-Roman times to the present, I wanted to include a vineyard visit in the Montefalco area…
Actually, when walking through Assisi, you won’t want to “zoom” past the over fifty outdoor frescoes and small shrines adorning the walls of homes, medieval city gates, and entrances to medieval guildhalls. But…
No glorious Corsa dei Ceri in Gubbio on May 15th, 2020. Annulled. Only three times in history has Gubbio’s Corsa dei Ceri ever been cancelled and only in wartime (in 1916, 1918…
For over a century the majestic marble statues of the Apostles and beloved Orvieto patron saints were exiled from their home, the magnificent Duomo. In 1897, the sixteen Mannerist/ Baroque statues lining…
When asked to comment on the twenty works she’d donated to Todi, the ninety-seven year old sculptor, Beverly Pepper, had said, “Many of my monumental works reach to the sky, seeking a…