by Dianne Hales | Aug 18, 2020 | art, art history, Books, books on Italy, culture, Current Affairs, Health, history, Italian language, Italy, Social behavior, Travel, Venice, Web/Tech, Weblogs
I fell in love with Venice at first sight. This luminous collection of first-person accounts of the past year made me fall in love with the Venetians — “magnificent by nature,” as a historian once put it. A guest post by Kathleen Ann Gonzalez When a...
by Dianne Hales | Jun 2, 2020 | Books, books on Italy, Health, history, Italian language, Italy, Language, literature, Renaissance, Social behavior, Travel, Tuscany, Web/Tech, Weblogs
The Medici, the dynasty that governed Renaissance Florence, blazed into the 21st century in a three-part series, now streaming on Netflix. While many dispute its historical accuracy, the lavish production captures the seize-the-day spirit of the age. Certainly...
by Dianne Hales | May 12, 2020 | Books, books on Italy, coronavirus, culture, Florence, Health, history, Italian language, Italy, Language, literature, Social behavior, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
The ruthless killer climbed walls, crossed moats, slipped through walls. So swiftly and fiercely did the disease strike that robust young men and women breakfasted with their parents in the morning and dined with their ancestors in the afterlife by night fall....
by Dianne Hales | Apr 28, 2020 | Books, books on Italy, coronavirus, culture, Health, Italian language, Italy, Language, Sayings and expressions, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
A guest post by Valeria Biancalani At the forefront of everyone’s mind at the moment is the coronavirus, which has caused a devastating pandemic throughout the world. Over the past few months, it has become the main topic of conversation for most people in most...
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 | 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,...
