Traditions

When in late October 1929 Wall Street collapsed, contributing to the Great Depression of the 1930s, a rural village of Piedmont started to thrive. In 1929, a picturesque land of plenty called Alba opened the first edition of the international …

We’ve been living in a new decade for almost two weeks, and so many things have already happened. Yet, the month of January is, more often than not, a time when we look back at what  we did and  set …

There is a bit of Giovanni della Casa in every Italian, you know. What do you mean, who’s he? Della Casa, that dude who wrote the Galateo, in 1558. Not because we’re more courteous and well educated than others, but …

The Italians enter the Christmas spirit with a fragrant, yeasty slice of panettone — Christmas isn’t Christmas without it on our festive tables. We can never get enough of it, especially for us who are Milanese. We have a near-cultish …

During a recent visit to the Museo Teatrale della Scala I admired many antique prints of commedia dell’arte situations. Commedia dell’arte was a theatrical genre that evolved in the latter part of the sixteenth century. It was a popular  reaction …

Winter is such a fantastic time of the year. It’s my favorite season and I just love it. The snow, the chilly air, the color of the sky. Everything is just perfect.  Winter is also a season that lends itself …

Oh the delights of Christmas in an Italian village with all its endearing traditions! Twinkling lights, carols floating on air, the revered nativity crèche, spiced aromas of mulled wine tickling your nose…so much to delight the senses and wrap you …

There is a bit of Giovanni della Casa in every Italian, you know. What do you mean, who’s he? Della Casa, that dude who wrote the Galateo, in 1558. Not because we’re more courteous and well educated than others, but …

The time has come to uncork those jars and taste the “red gold.” What are we talking about? Of the ch’nzerve (a huge pantry that contains bottles of sauce) of tomatoes. Readers from Puglia will immediately recall that yummy memory: …

Cervia, the ancient city along Italy’s Adriatic coastline was once called Ficolce, and as legend has it, the name derived from Ficol, the mighty Etruscan leader who was eager to overthrow the tyranny of Ravenna. Its thousand year history has …