Welcome to my little corner of Italy.
When I set out to write Calabria: The Other Italy, my goal was to give a contemporary picture of the region, which like any place, included the good and the not so good. I documented my experiences as well as current and past events that had affected and shaped the people and their environment. Read More
Book signings of an unfamiliar writer can be rather awkward affairs. Patrons of the bookstore, library or other organization hosting the event may wander by to support a local initiative or they may just pass the author’s table by chance. However, without a line out the door, potential readers often find themselves at a loss.Read More
We’ve all read our horoscopes whether or not we actually believe in them. Could there really be something to the positioning of the stars, the alignment of the planets, the lunar cycle? Nowadays we have so many facts at our fingertips, but are we any closer to understanding where the individual fits in with the tides or the cosmos?Read More
Like my father with the trattoria, my experience with the tavola calda began in Rome, where I spent several months at different times studying Italian. Looking for a nutritious, economical lunch, I ventured into a number of such eateries.Read More
My father likes to reminisce about the wonderful meals he ate while living in Rome in the 1950s. Perhaps surprisingly, one of his favorite lunches consisted of a big plate of cooked spinach on which he drizzled olive oil and squeezed a lemon. He would lap it up with several slices of a hearty, crusty bread and wash it down with a glass of white wine. It was a dish he really enjoyed and he liked the fact that in Italy spinaci al limone could be ordered, eaten, and most importantly, savored as a meal in itself. Read More
In Calabria, the tarantella always seems to be present, whether formally or informally, whenever there’s a traditional town festival or religious procession. A group of musicians with folk instruments may set up in a piazza, begin playing, and a crowd will invariably gather—young and old, toddlers flailing with their characteristic, unbridled enthusiasm, and old-timers with the sort of precise, energy-saving movements that render a confident sophistication to their execution of the dance steps. Read More
Writing a book is demanding. Publishing a book is another story. I’m generally very disciplined, so setting myself in front of the computer every day for about ten months was challenging, but doable. Plus, I already had a doctoral dissertation under my belt, so it wasn’t as formidable a task as a first effort might have been.Read More
My introduction to le frittole came early in my time in Calabria when I was invited to a student’s house in the country to participate in the experience. I must say that I was impressed with the master of ceremonies and his wife. They were just regular people—a civil servant and schoolteacher—who as far as I was concerned, had impressive countrified skills.Read More
La Casa della Cultura, the complex of museums and libraries in Palmi has a good name. It certainly piqued my interest. The photos I had seen of various items in its ethnographical museum had further aroused my curiosity. Before visiting, however, I thought it best to confirm the opening hours.Read More
Arms pinned to my sides, neck craned, strobe-like lighting accompanying a vertiginous din . . . the memory of my visit to the Sistine Chapel many summers ago. An unfortunately negative experience that featured hordes of unruly tourists and their flashing cameras left me with a less than favorable association with the Vatican. So when my friend Veronika suggested that we go to the Mass on Christmas Eve at St. Peterʼs, I hoped that this would be one ticket I wouldnʼt win.Read More