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Wild asparagus is now sprouting in our Umbrian woods. With a bit of luck, and ideal weather conditions, we’ll be foraging for the woodland goodness until late May. Our pasta at lunch today highlighted the tasty wild asparagus: spaghetti alla...

Driving through the Umbrian countryside during the week prior to Easter, you’d note whiffs of smoke drifting up from the outdoor, stone bread ovens fired up by the farmwomen. Holy Week for the Umbrian farmwomen is a busy one, an exhausting...

Perugia is not just proud of its chocolate, Etruscan artifacts and the Umbria Jazz festival. This provincial capital of Umbria also boasts not just one but three patron saints! Legend tells us that one of them, San Costanzo, first bishop, was...

A late December freddo polare (polar cold), which for Italy means anything below freezing temperature, did not deter jazz appassionati from heading to the hill town gem Orvieto for the 22nd edition of Umbria Jazz Winter. Of Etruscan origin and...

Even the holiday decorations in the medieval hilltown of Assisi – citta’ della pace – bear witness to San Francesco; simplicity is the theme. Over 25 years ago, Pope John Paul II chose Assisi as the perfect site for his peace...

In northeaster Umbria, Gualdo Tadino, of pre-Roman origins, perches like a silent sentinel on a forested hilltop. A few of the ancient town’s buildings miraculously survived the devastating 1751 earthquake: one was the frescoed 13th century...

On the last Sunday in August, Pino and I put on helmets, mounted his moto Guzzi and headed southeast into the mountainous Valnerina (Nera River Valley) towards Norcia, only about 16 kms. from Accumoli (the epicenter of the August 24...

Il piccolo borgo di Lucignano, situato sulle colline toscane tra Siena ed Arezzo costituisce uno degli esempi più straordinari di urbanistica medievale per il suo impianto a forma ellittica ad anelli concentrici, pervenutoci intatto...

Sweeping his hand across the burnished orange vineyards along the highways, Pino said, “This is Abruzzo’s wine country.” Due to an unseasonably warm fall, central Italy’s vineyards were still showing off their gold, rust and...

St. Francis' feast day, Oct. 4, is a big day in Assisi and a big day in Italy. In 2005, the Italian Parliament declared this day to be a celebration of peace, brotherhood and dialogue among all peoples of all religions. Each year, one of the 20...