November 10, 2024
The Truth of Olives
Pliny the Elder had olive trees in this valley. Our trees’ long-ago ancestors were tended, harvested, and their oil savored on this land. So, we...
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October 20, 2024
The joy of being l’intrepida
When was the last time you felt pure, unadulterated joy? In our village, we can schedule it for a Sunday in October, when L'Intrepida, a...
October 8, 2024
Getting to the bottom of Italian wine
"Don't worry, I wash really well before I get into the barrel to crush the grapes," Filippo told me. My visit to Filippo Volpi's winery—note that...
September 22, 2024
The Joys of Autumn
One day, everything is different. Growing up in Florida, then living most of my adult life in California, I'm used to a more gradual shift...
December 26, 2023
What the Italians don’t get about the holidays
Being in a mild state of panic seems to be obligatory around the holidays to us Americans, and we wondered if the Italians feel the...
November 5, 2023
Pregnanxiety
I love my village. And what I love the most is not the food, or the wine, or the rolling Tuscan hills, or the thousand...
July 23, 2023
Is it getting hot in here?
Yep, it’s hot. And here’s how I am coping in a land with almost no air conditioning and heat into the 100 degrees. Although we...
April 30, 2023
The Mediterranean diet
I'm doing something next weekend that really scares me. I am joining a hike from La Verna back to our village. Ten miles a day,...
March 19, 2023
Six things that are different in Italy
Observations from my recent, quick trip to the States. After ten years of living in Italy I am often amused by the cultural differences between...
March 19, 2023
Finding a castle out my kitchen window
Certain windows of our house, including the one over the kitchen sink, look out over the Valtiberina, or upper Tiber river valley. We are partway...
February 19, 2023
Life is good
The week of San Valentino has made me think of those moments when you get slapped upside the head by someone's kindness, humor or grace...
January 8, 2023
The living nativity gets complicated
Those of you who have been with me for awhile know that my favorite part of the holidays is the impressive presepe vivente, or living...
December 11, 2022
Me and Sister Ray
I have had about enough. I'd been behaving rather well making sure that between guests and life most of the critical things had been accomplished...
November 13, 2022
Five reasons why I love Autumn in Tuscany
I'm not going to even count the fact that I love orange, because that's an all-year basic for me. Going out on a limb I'm going...
August 7, 2022
Tango, Italian style
"Would you like to come and watch my wife and me dance the tango?" asked Paolo, the dynamo of a contractor and stone mason who...
August 7, 2022
Paolo’s advice for a good life
We've spent the last year improving the nest, getting around to things that we haven't tackled after being in the house close to six years....
June 10, 2022
Just another Sunday
The most important part of the Italian Sunday is lunch. Just like lunch is the most important thing Monday through Saturday, but more so. More...
March 27, 2022
When a goddess descends
In 1963, the most exciting event occurred in our village since Florence smacked down Milan in the big battle of 1440—Claudia Cardinale came to town...
March 27, 2022
The affair
When Donella was in high school one of her favorite classes was art history. This was curious to me as I’d tried to interest her...
January 23, 2022
My own private theater
Descriptions of modern high-end houses often brag about having a private theater where one can gather with friends and watch a movie. Starting in the...
December 5, 2021
The ties that bind us
The echoes of WWII are all around us here. The war is not an abstract thing—I have a friend who found a bomb in the...