The Joys of Italy’s Food

  A guest post by Andrea Gelfoso Eating Italian food in Italy made me cry. The first time I had pizza during our year in Modena, tears ran onto the perfectly crisp crust. I’m a vegetarian, so vegetables rule. Pizza offered toppings from all over the produce...

September in Italian

In the ancient Roman calendar, the year began in March. September, the seventh month, took its name from the Latin septem. During this pivotal month, the hours of sunlight diminish and those of darkness increase. As an Italian proverb puts it, in settembre, la notte...

Summer in Italian: The Moon

One summer night on the island of Capri some friends told us to meet them at a popular restaurant at precisely 9:35 p.m. When we arrived at the bustling eatery, they escorted us away from the crowded main dining room to a quiet alcove and insisted that Bob and I take...

Summer in Italian: Sailing

For years we sailed San Francisco Bay in a boat called Canto del Mare (Song of the Sea). When we started sailing in Italy, we had to master a new maritime vocabulary, starting with the names for various Italian boats (imbarcazioni italiane): *Rowboat — barca a remi...

Celebrating Fathers in Italy and around the World

On Father’s Day I cherish a special memory: the last time I danced with my Dad, at an Italian-American banquet in Northeastern Pennsylvania.   My mother had died a few months before, and I decided to bring my broken-hearted Dad along with me on a book tour that would...