It all started with a celebration of roast suckling pig, la porchetta. As of the 1970’s, the Sagra della Porchetta had gathered the local bevignati in a convivial sharing of an Umbrian culinary specialty. In…
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During World War II, which Italian town was saved from devastation by a German commander? Assisi. The German occupying forces in Italy, had placed Werhmacht commander, Colonel Valentin Müller, a devout Catholic…
During World War II in Assisi, the Bishop of Assisi sometimes had to double as a stonemason; that is, when it was time to hide the valuables, torahs, and documents of the…
Ironically, just steps away from Assisi’s Museo della Memoria, 1943-1944 recounting the story of the salvation of Jewish refugees in Assisi in World War II – you’ll pass the entrance to one of…
I first met Don Aldo Brunacci in 1975 shortly after Pino and I moved into our Assisi countryside farmhouse. At that time, I had started teaching English to children – as a…
When I think about Graziella Viterbi, I always remember that bright twinkle in her eye, that spark. That spark was there when she met Pope Francis in 2016 during his Assisi visit,…
Best known as birthplace (in the late 5th-c A.D.) of San Benedetto, founder of western monasticism, and his twin sister Scolastica, Norcia’s history weaves back through the centuries. Most likely ancient Nursia was…
January can be icy cold in Umbria but a month of warmth, too: the warmth of the locals celebrating January festivals. An Umbrian winter festival absolutely not to miss is the late-January…
For many in Umbria, Christmastime is inextricably linked to visits to the presepi viventi (“living crib scenes”) of medieval villages surrounding Assisi. The first to bring the Nativity scene alive was San Francesco in…
Glorious Naples is not only the Italian capital of pizza but also of espresso; in fact, here in Umbria if we wish to compliment the coffee of a local coffee bar, we…