by Dianne Hales | Mar 24, 2020 | Books, books on Italy, coronavirus, culture, Current Affairs, Health, history, Italy, Language, Rome, San Francisco, Social behavior, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
These touching excerpts from my friend Sheila Pierce’s blog posts testify to the deep bond between Italy and the United States–especially the city named for St. Francis. by Sheila Pierce On the first morning of the coronavirus lockdown, San Francisco Bay...
by Dianne Hales | Mar 3, 2020 | Books, books on Italy, cars, culture, history, Italy, Language, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs, women
During Women’s History Month, I’m dedicating my March blog posts to Italian women who inspire us with their passion. Italy’s first female race driver lived up to the title of a biography of her extraordinary life by Luca Malin: Indomita (Indomitable). At...
by Dianne Hales | Feb 18, 2020 | Books, Carnevale, culture, food, Food and Drink, history, Italy, Language, Romance, Sayings and expressions, Social behavior, Travel, Venice, Web/Tech, Weblogs
For centuries the pre-Lent festivities of carnevale sumptuously celebrated carne, a word that translates as both “meat’ and “flesh,” in every sense. However, the name comes specifically from the Latin for meat (carnem) and “take away or...
by Dianne Hales | Jan 28, 2020 | art, art history, Books, books on Italy, culture, Florence, history, Italy, Language, Rome, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
This year marks the 500th anniversary of the death of a Renaissance painter hailed for achieving graziosissima grazia, the most graceful grace. Raphael of Urbino, born in 1483, was talented, affable, kind and drop-dead gorgeous. Raphael’s artistic genius sprang from...
by Dianne Hales | Jan 21, 2020 | Books, books on Italy, culture, food, Food and Drink, Health, history, Italy, Travel
I first tasted aceto balsamico tradizionale when a friend from Modena arrived for dinner with a tiny bottle a quarter filled with a dark liquid. After cutting a chunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano for each of us, he tilted the bottle above my plate. I waited, and waited,...
by Dianne Hales | Jan 14, 2020 | Books, culture, Film, history, Italy, Language, movies, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
January 20 marks the 100th birthday of the legendary director Federico Fellini. In a business built on dreams, he may have been the biggest dreamer of all. As a boy, Fellini kept a sketch pad and colored pencils by his bed so he could record his vivid fantasies when...
