A box of Carnaroli rice in the kitchen cupboard, a pot of meat broth on our stove, a hefty chunk of orange winter squash on the table and snow flurries and biting…
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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…
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…
Why not give gold as a gift this year? “Liquid gold”: Extra-virgin olive oil of Umbria, “Italy’s green heart.” Our son Keegan is offering you some of the best, an olive oil…
Quiz for the day: what is a “trunk-shaker with a reversed umbrella interceptor”? Here it is: It’s the mechanized tool used by the Trabalza-Marinucci family to harvest the olives of their three…
When we first harvested olives here in the Umbrian countryside in an icy December, 1976, the picking was all done by hand. Basket around the waist, you’d reach up the olive branch…
For my October 31st ZOOM talk (my twelfth!), olives and olive oil in Italy’s art, history, cuisine, medicine, folklore – and not only! – will take the stage. I’ve decided to write…
Who knows when I’ll again be able to share the wonders of Italy as a guide? Due to travel restrictions, it may be a year before I can share again my passione for Umbria…
In past years in May, I’d be walking the labyrinthine Assisi medieval backstreets nearly daily, taking in the floral splendor all around….. …..as I headed to meet my tour guests for an…
All over Italy on April 25th, flags wave from balconies and windows as Italy celebrates la Festa della Liberazione – even during coronavirus lockdown. At 3 pm, people sang from open windows…