Anyone got a good recipe? Something simple? Something different? I’m going to be homebound a while. No, I don’t have Covid. I’m not in quarantine. But I’m retired in Italy where our latest Covid numbers pushed the cautious government to up my Lazio region’s restrictions Sunday from yellow to orange. It’s the second highest in […]
I’m very thankful I survived one year of the Covid pandemic. I’m even more thankful I made it seven years in Rome. That anniversary is today. Yes, on Jan. 11, 2014 I landed in Rome on a one-way ticket with three bags and many dreams. The dreams have been fulfilled and the nightmare that is […]
So through this long, oppressive year, has that picture of the Amalfi Coast remained on your computer or is it bent beyond recognition from too much fondling? Is the postcard of a Tuscan vineyard at sunset still on your refrigerator, teasing you daily as you mark another “X” on your lockdown calendar? Relax. Rejoice. […]
For all the evil in the world, Santa Clausini in Italy is here Never has the world needed Christmas gifts more than this year. Too bad hardly anyone can afford them. That’s where I come in. This time of year I change my name to Santa Clausini, grow a long white beard and hammer out […]
The man selling roasted chestnuts on the corner near the Spanish Steps looked as bored as a stuffed reindeer. He glanced at his watch. He looked at me. I looked at his pile of smoking, browned chestnuts and smelled the glorious aroma that always makes Christmas in Rome so sweet. But no one was buying. […]
(Editor’s note: Annamaria Borelli is an American woman with Italian roots who left her New Jersey home for the dream of Italy 10 years ago. She recently moved to Bari, Puglia, where she works as an English teacher when she isn’t blogging or singing opera and jazz. She offers advice to anyone moving to Italy, […]
When you live in Rome, you’re surrounded by 3,000 years of history. Benito Mussolini built much of my neighborhood. I live two miles from the Forum and Colosseum. I’m eight miles from ancient aqueducts that were built in the 3rd century B.C. Remnants of the most powerful civilization in history are all around me. The […]
During this pandemic, every little tweak in my health makes me wonder. Is this morning fatigue the first sign of Covid-19? No. People with Covid can barely walk to the bathroom and need a three-hour nap to recover. Is that lightheadedness a Covid fever? Nope. My temperature at the gym never went over 36.6 (97.9). […]
I saw my old friend, Tom Leitner, last week. I don’t have many American friends here in Rome but he and I have bonded more these last four years. From afar we’ve watched our old country go up in flames like the forest fires on our beloved West Coast. Then we watched Donald Trump blame […]
The emails started arriving about two nanoseconds after the worst human being in the history of the American presidency greeted his bleating cult on that victory stage four years ago. Then came Facebook pleas as he put immigrant children in cages and defended the Alt Right. Now as Covid-19 continues ravishing American lives and racial […]
The world has turned off the neon lights on Italy. The glow has become a fog that clouds our future. Italy’s model strategy in flattening the Covid-19 curve lasted all of about three months. I no longer chortle about the World Health Organization pointing to my adopted country as Example A of fighting the virus. […]
TIVOLI, Italy — Sometimes Rome gets to me, kind of like too much fine wine. Yes, the most beautiful city in the world gets old in more than just age. A Roman outside my window leans on his horn for five minutes until the guy who double parked next to him comes out and moves […]
