The island of Ventotene has just two beaches: Cala Rossana and Cala Nave. And then there’s “the last beach”: the bookstore on the main piazza, “Ultima Spiaggia.” It’s often the last stop…
You’re drawn into a symphony of flavors, a chorus of colors when you push open the door of Bar Gardenia in Cardillo, humble borgata on Palermo’s outskirts. Even the entryway display greets…
August 24, 2016 will be a birthday to remember, in many ways. Although we did not feel it there on the island of Ventotene, an earthquake rocked central Italy at the start…
As you exit the upper level of the Basilica di San Francesco, look left at the salt-encrusted, wounded blue boat, paint peeling off like scabs, faded life jacket stretched out on the…
Ristorante Il Vecchio Molino on the outskirts of Lubriano remains a “sensory overload”: for the stunning view from the terrace, for the enticements to the palate. Not far from Orvieto, it’s even…
The day following the Amatrice/Accumuli earthquake on August 24th (my birthday), Pino and I were enroute home to Assisi after yet another memorable vacation on the island of Ventotene. Although Ventotene, too,…
Not just here on Ventotene but all over Italy, cuisine is always a poetic palate-teaser. And not only: the appeal is to the eye as well. A visual work of art, each…
When you get off the ferry or the hydrofoil at the Ventotene port, you’ll see a landmark: mustached Vincenzo in carefully-ironed cotton shirt and shorts near his Ape (literally, “bumble bee”), piled…
Yesterday afternoon in the main square of Ventotene, a police car and a couple cars of local officials were parked in front of the crenellated ochre Municipio. A group of firemen gathered…
In Ventotene’s port, sailboats and yachts rock at anchor and swim-suited vacationers stroll the curvy walkway serpentining alongside the boats, dotted with umbrella-covered outdoor tables for lunchtime or dinnertime snacks. Often during…