A southern Italian Christmas would be incomplete without a few rounds of Tombola with family and friends. Tombola is a board game that looks like Bingo, and in some ways, is quite similar to it. This game is so easy to play that the whole family can get involved. Tombola consists of: le cartelle or...Read More
Halloween is usually associated with evil spirits, ghost stories and witchery. But, just because Halloween isn’t celebrated in Italy, that doesn’t mean that the Italians don’t believe in bad luck and superstitions. In fact, the day to day lives and general culture of Italians is very heavily revolved around many different superstitions, some stranger than...Read More
Newsletter recipients and Facebook fans will remember my recent Limoncello Challenge – where I took two extreme steeping rules and put them to the test. And I have to say … the results were surprising. To fully tell this story, I need to go back to when I first tried the homemade limoncello that knocked...Read More
In the 700s BC, Greeks migrated across southern Italy and settled the land known as Magna Graecia. The first of these settlements – where 100,000 of the wealthiest and most prosperous congregated – was Sybaris. The Sybarites, whose name is now synonymous with opulence and luxury originated la dolce vita for which Italy is famous....Read More
If it wasn’t for this brilliant Calabrian you and I wouldn’t even know what day it was, but unfortunately, his great contribution bears someone’s name. As Michele Connors explains, Luigi Lilio, one of the greatest minds in Calabrian history, changed the way we see the world. Welcome, Michele. How much Calabrian history has been lost...Read More
The culmination of a year of collaboration with my Calabrian Table Tour partner-in-crime, Tania Pascuzzi (In Italy Tours), paid off last week as we welcomed seven bright-eyed adventurers into our favorite little corner of Italy. I met the group at the airport, along with our handsome guide/interpreter Andrea (who all the ladies tried to squeeze...Read More
Many people want to know how they should dress when they are visiting a new country and yes, the answer depends on where they are going and more importantly … when. I’ve written tips for what to wear in Italy in the winter and the spring and today, I’m helping you prepare for the summer....Read More
I’m gearing up for my first Calabrian Easter celebration with my new bambino. Yes, my husband and I have done the traditional American Easter Basket vs. Italian Chocolate Egg thing in the past and we’re planning on continuing our Easter traditions, plus one. The weather is warming up and if it holds, we’ll spend an...Read More
Some of the most common questions I get-and the most-searched terms I see through Google Analytics-deal with what travelers should wear when visiting southern Italy. In January I wrote a post featuring five tips on what to wear in Italy during the winter, but if you plan to blow into the bel paese with those...Read More
Most people who read this blog wouldn’t mind having a few new Italian words and phrases in their vocabulary. However, if they are anything like yours truly, actually studying those words-or worse yet, practicing the grammar-isn’t their cup of espresso. But listening to funky Italian songs might be. A couple of months ago I admitted...Read More
