The evocative early morning Assisi Good Friday procession is not to be missed. The 17th-century Cristo Morto image is carried through the Assisi medieval alleyways on a funeral bier, with stops at…
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Southern Tuscany hilltown gem, Anghiari, turns into an artisan market at the end of April for the Mostra Mercato dell’Artigianato della Valtiberina. This “Show-and-Sell of the Tiber Valley Artisans” festival fills the…
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…
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…
Somewhere near the main piazza of any Italian town – no matter now small – il monumento ai caduti (literally, “the monument to the falllen”) – pays tribute to those townspeople who…
Another “along-for-the-ride” trip with Pino, off to see possible restoration projects for his crew. And this time, not very close to home but in Ferrara in Emilia Romagna. (If Pino’s restoration company…
In early February, 1998 I headed to the U.S. to lecture coast-to-coast on Assisi’s 1997 earthquake. My objective? To tell the world, that yes, two vaults of the Upper Basilica di San…
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…
Most visitors know that Deruta, just south of Perugia, has been famous for its maiolica production since the mid-14th century. But few visitors know that the maiolica wonders are not just in…
The Christmas stage is is set for you even before you enter the Basilica di San Francesco for the annual Christmas concert: a life-size crib scene – set in the Middle Ages…