by Dianne Hales | Sep 29, 2020 | Books, books on Italy, creche, history, Italian language, Italy, Language, Religion, saints, Travel, Umbria, Web/Tech, Weblogs
October 4 marks the feast of San Francesco (St. Francis), born in Assisi in 1182, the son of a prosperous textile merchant. Young Francesco, the ringleader of a band of hard-drinking, carousing young men, seemed an unlikely candidate for salvation — let alone...
by Dianne Hales | Nov 5, 2019 | Books, books on Italy, culture, Food and Drink, history, Italy, Language, Travel, Tuscany, Umbria, Web/Tech, Weblogs, wine
The warm days of early November –- known as Indian summer in the United States –- are called “l’estate di San Martino” (the summer of St. Martin) in Italy. Wine producers celebrate the saint’s feast on November 11 by uncorking the vino novello (new wine) from...
by Dianne Hales | Jul 2, 2019 | Books, books on Italy, Food and Drink, history, Italy, Language, Travel, Umbria, Web/Tech, Weblogs, wine
My husband and I own a vine in Umbria. Not a vineyard, but a single vine (row 11, number 18), in Vigna Lorenzo at Monte Vibiano Vecchio. Since centuries before the birth of Christ, grapes have grown in this field, sheltered from harsh winds, its soil rich and its air...
