My father had a crackpot theory that all American popular music really came from Italy. But on further thought, maybe he had a point, particularly in the mid-century pre-Beatles music scene. There were the Elvis hits "It's Now or Never" ("O Sole Mio") and "Surrender" ("Torna a Sorrento") that took classic Italian songs and gave … Continue reading 150. Bobby Ridarelli
149. Untold Italy
I have finally found the one person in the universe who is more into Italy than I am: Katy Clarke. Katy is a young(ish) Australian woman who is married to an Italian-Australian, and has built an empire of mostly free resources all about travel to Italy. There's her Untold Italy podcast, where she and other … Continue reading 149. Untold Italy
148. New Orleans
I finally got my chance. I’m a fairly frequent traveler to New Orleans, and I’ve always been intrigued by its American Italian Cultural Center and Museum. But whenever I happen to pass by it for one reason or another, it’s been closed. The Piazza D’Italia outside the museum So yesterday was my lucky day. I … Continue reading 148. New Orleans
147. Art in Venice
An article in this morning's New York Times caught my eye. It seems that Florence's legendary Uffizi Gallery, chock full of Botticelli, Michelangelo, Caravaggio and the like and easily one of the top ten classical Western art museums in the world, is trying to jazz things up and appeal to a younger, more diverse crowd … Continue reading 147. Art in Venice
146. The Feast of the Two Fishes
When I moved to Philadelphia, I started hearing Italian-Americans talking about their Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes, a tradition with which I was not familiar. Of course, I do remember Christmas Eve, like Fridays, as a Catholic sacrificial fasting day, on which one was required to forgo meat. But my father never spoke … Continue reading 146. The Feast of the Two Fishes
145. Scenes of Italy
One of the beauty parts of travel is that it stays with you, even long after you return home. The sights, the sounds, the smells -- the adventures, the triumphs, the unexpected -- are all to be savored in the months and years that follow. Even the catastrophes (one hopes) are not too catastrophic, and … Continue reading 145. Scenes of Italy
144. More Food
If you ever needed to win a debate as to whether Italy is the greatest food country in the world, you could do it with just one word: Autogrill. The chain of highway rest stops has reliably excellent sandwiches, pastries and pizzas, great coffee, and the larger ones have pasta, salads and entrees, too. Italians … Continue reading 144. More Food
143. The Taste of Bologna
It quite a feat to be known as the best food town in a country world famous for its cuisine. But Bologna, a city of 400,000 in the heart of Italy's Emilia-Romagna region, would give some of its better-known competitors a run for their money. So we decided to investigate this for ourselves. I normally … Continue reading 143. The Taste of Bologna
142. The People of Venezia
Venice is a place of such singular and breathtaking beauty that one just wanders about, awe-struck. I'm amazed I didn't walk into a canal, I spent so much time watching everything but where I was going. I was particularly interested in how people navigate the place, both figuratively and literally. How do people go about … Continue reading 142. The People of Venezia
141. Searching for Stanley
I have always been a big fan of Stanley Tucci. But I must confess that over these bleak eighteen months of lockdown, he has loomed especially large in my consciousness. It began with his CNN show Searching for Italy that was must-see TV at our house and many others. For company, I learned to make … Continue reading 141. Searching for Stanley
Gigi's Italia 