Umbria’s’ mountainous Valnerina – Nera River Valley – unveils splendors at every curve in the road: And at the foot of tiny mountain village Piedivalle, a small restaurant in a pre-fab now…
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Poet Gabriele D’Annunzio (1910) called the area around Pisa’s Duomo (cathedral), a “prato dei miracoli” (“a field of miracles”). You know you’re gazing on miracles if you stroll around that piazza in the silence…
For years now, Pino and I have raised our glasses and clinked “saluti!” to each other in Orvieto on December 30th, our anniversary. We’re always there for a couple of days for…
Crispy bruschetta with a hardy red wine, tastes of pecorino cheeses, and roasted chestnuts were a buonissimo prelude to Cascia’s January song competition of rural Epiphany-time music, The groups competing in the song contest would…
You might know that Norcia, Umbria medieval mountain-town gem, is famous for its norcinerie. “Norcineria” can’t be translated with a single word: “a pork-butchery store selling other local products” sums it up. And…
To tell the truth, Pino didn’t order the homemade tagliatelle al tartufo nero to support Norcia’s post-quake economy but just because he loves truffles! At lunchtime, during our early January visit to Norcia, we found…
Often linked to black truffles, savory prosciutto, pecorino cheese and the baby lentils of nearby Castelluccio, Italians now think “earthquake,” too, now when envisioning Norcia. The August 24, 2016 earthquake shook up…
At any time of year, the town of Bolsena and Lake Bolsena beckon – but especially in the summertime. We often spend many a weekend on the Lake at the family-run Hotel…
With 90% of the elegant Renaissance buildings lacerated in the October 2016 earthquake, Marches region hilltown gem Visso awaits a resurrection. The town is now zona rossa and cordoned off: ……. and the…
Before you leave for a few days on paradiso, aka. the island of Ventotene, you’ll probably want to jot down a list of what to take: sunscreen, mask and snorkel, swimsuits, towel, good walking…