Category: Life in Italy

We visited Bagno di Romagna recently, a small village near here known for its thermal springs.  Bagno di Romagna is a Roman town and became an important stop on the route between Rome and Ravenna.  The thermal springs are a cozy 116 degrees year round.  I can imagine that...

We’ve had many great meals that I would like to share with you.  Some of them have even been at home.  We’ve been cooking a lot as we start our winter hibernation.  Hope you enjoy! Dinner at Michelangelo and Rossella’s This is always a treat, but this time was...

Last weekend Anghiari hosted a great celebration of the food of the area, called the Centigusto, or One Hundred Tastes.  As part of the festivities, there was a nature walk through the forest and countryside around here.  We joined our friend Rossano, who guides these walks, and three other...

One of the things I love about living in Anghiari is that it’s a small town with a big city vibe.  It’s rare to go for more than a few weeks without some event or celebration.  And they almost all center around food, which makes it even more appealing...

Germans and Italians have a history.  Well, Germans and a lot of people have histories, but the one with Italy is complicated.  They’re neighbors, but completely different in their worldview.  They’re both European, but with very different sensibilities.  They both flirted with Fascism, then took very different path forward. ...

Late summer and fall are prime festa times in Italy.  This year, however, COVID has put an end to the festas.  It’s very sad for us, but I’m glad they’re taking things so seriously here.  Festas are celebrations, usually to mark the harvest of some crop or to honor...

Few things are as iconic of the Italian landscape as the cypress tree.  This is especially true in Tuscany, where you see them lining curving drives and punctuating even the most humble vistas.  Their neat, columnar shape make them ideal for wedging into a garden to provide vertical structure. ...

It’s grape harvest time here.  We’re really not in wine country, but everywhere you look you see rows of grapes.  We even have some in our backyard.  Ours are white grapes and are very sweet.  Almost like a muscadine. I don’t know grape varieties, but would like to learn...

Birthdays roll around every year to remind us that as much as we don’t like to think so, we are getting older by the minute.  They provide us with the framework we need to mark time.  I can watch other people age, but I live my life not through...