Italy has so much to offer so many people, millions of visitors have no idea how many other great features fall under the radar. From fruit to Molise to Italian drinking habits, Italy is full of surprises. Here are 10 of my favorites.
PESCOCOSTANZO, Italy – I hate July in Italy. July is our dog days. La Dolce Vita is La Schifo Vita (The Life Sucks), Rome especially is steaming. It’s crowded. It’s just late enough in summer for the beaches to become packed but not late enough for the city to let out its hordes for holiday. I usually just sit in my air-conditioned apartment and eat […]
I attended Dolce & Gabbana’s exhibit at the gargantuan Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome Wednesday. The outfits on display, all from past fashion shows around the world, were outrageous. Bamboo miniskirts. Dresses made up entirely of flowers. One cloak depicted a canal scene from Venice. But it provided insight into one of the world’s leading fashion houses, one that earned €1.9 billion in sales last year. D&G also has an interesting history.
Continuing my addition of videos onto my website, I am doing my 10 Favorite Cities in the World. This comes two months after my video on my 10 Least Favorite Cities in the World. I wonder which will get a more negative reaction.
Five years ago I wrote My Five Favorite Restaurants in Italy. I’ve traveled a lot around the country since then so it’s time for an update. I picked five, but No. 1 remains the same. Check it out and take it with you on your next trip to Italy. Note: I left out Rome as I annually write My Five Favorite Restaurants in the city.
Marina and I attended Rome’s massive pro-Palestinian rally Saturday and I talked to many of the supporters. They were equally enraged by the Israeli “genocide” and Italy prime minister Georgia Meloni’s inaction. However, they were quick to point out they were not antisemitic.
Since retiring to Rome 11 years ago and getting fairly heavily into wine, I rarely get headaches. Yet I always did in the U.S. So do my readers. I sought answers at a recent wine tasting of my favorite Piedmont wines as well as wine experts in the U.S. and California. The culprit isn’t sulfites as I always thought. It’s much more complicated.
I don’t know why visitors always ask me to recommend a hotel in Rome. I don’t know. I live in apartments. But over the last few years I’ve taken Marina to six hotels in Rome for one-night “staycations.” It has given me a small glimpse at the hotel scene here. Unfortunately, two we visited have closed. For what it’s worth, here are four we can recommend.
Pesto is one of the most popular sauces in Italy and two weeks ago Marina and I went to the birthplace of pesto: Liguria. During our four days in the port town of Porto Venere, we had pesto on pasta, in paninos and even on pancakes. We also interviewed the instructor of a pasta-makìng school. I became so addicted I bought a bottle of his homemade pesto.
I had never heard of Porto Venere until Marina suggested it for our 10-year anniversary. It looked perfect. Close enough to Cinque Terre to enjoy the beautiful coastal scenery but far enough away to avoid the mobs. Well, tourists still poured into Porto Venere but it’s nothing like Vernazza in July. We also had a lovely apartment away from the Old Town right on the beach with one of the best restaurants we’ve been to in Italy almost next door.
I was one of the millions around the world caught off guard by the naming of American cardinal Robert Francis Provost as the new pope. I was not interested in writing about Pope Francis’ successor but when I saw it was the first American pope in history, I raced to the Vatican. I found optimism from a wide range of people, from American pilgrims to nuns to Carmelite priests. I like the pick, and not just because he’s an American.
Ten years ago today, I went out with Marina Pascucci for an aperitivo in Rome. We’re still going out — around Rome, around Italy and around the world. Tonight marks our 10-year anniversary, a grand feat considering the challenges cross-cultural relationships have. I discuss our journey with some learned observations from an Italian relationship counselor.
