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…
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″…
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…
On an early February jaunt with Pino to L’Aquila to see a restoration job for his crew, we pulled off the road at a small hut, La Baita, near Rieti. La Baita…
No better way to “live Umbria” fully than to “cook Umbria.” Let’s do it in our farmhouse – and before we cook up the goodness, we’ll head out to shop. First stop?…
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…
The Region of Emilia Romagna – famous for tortellini, balsamic vinegar, il bollito, cotechino, prosciutto, mortadella – might well be christened “the region of good eating.” Enjoy an overnight at Agriturismo La…
We just had our second feast at Ciro’s ristorante near Jesi. How did we ever discover such a Marches region culinary treasure? Just a dash of buona fortuna. We’d headed to San…
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,…
“I won’t paint subjects guaranteed to earn me money: I have to paint the memories of my rural childhood,” Nino told me with a grin as he held up the painting of…