Prosciutto, pancetta, salami, salsicce, coppa, barbozza. The names unite in an enticing rhythm, so appealing to your ear. Even if you’re a vegetarian. When I dropped in recently at the house of…
In the difficult years following World War II, in the working class district of Naples, i quartieri spagnoli (“the Spanish quarter”)…………many a creative napoletano became adept at the art of arrangiarsi (literally, “to arrange…
Crowded and colorful, bustling, energetic, and animated, gritty and crumbling – no panoply of words can ever describe Naples’ Quartieri Spagnoli. The street network of the “Spanish district” was set out in the 17th-century…
A stroll amidst the botteghe of the presepari (creche-scene artists) in Via San Gregorio Armeno in Naples is quite simply an immersion into a showroom of superb Italian craftsmanship. In the splendid presepi napoletani (Neapolitan creche…
Certamente, the Church of San Fortunato is to be celebrated – and not only on October 14th. the Festa di San Fortunato, patron saint of Todi. His church looks out from the…
Perched on a double-crested hill overlooking the Tiber River, Umbria hill town Todi – “the world’s most livable city” – commands distant views in every direction. Its “livable” appellation was attached to…
Bolsena celebrates in floral splendor the Feast of Corpus Domini, for after all, this feast promulgated in the 13th-century – and also known as “Corpus Christi” – originates with a miracle here…
As a child growing up in Assisi, craftsman of medieval stringed instruments, Luca Piccioni, would have been familiar with such instruments from an early age. School trips in elementary school would have…
The creative output of many Assisi artisans is owed to the inspiration of family members of past generations. And so it is for the assisano wood-carver, Rossano Rondoni, great-grandson of Domenico, art…
In Deruta, a sacred spot of the Middle Ages holds sacred treasures. In this small Umbria hilltown, a 14th-century Franciscan monastery now houses the first ceramics museum of Italy – founded in…