A Final Blog: Looking Back–and Moving Forward

b.                 The start of a new year is a good time to follow the example of the Roman god Janus, whose two faces allowed him to look back to the past and ahead to the future. As 2022  begins, I  recall 2009, the year when LA BELLA LINGUA was published and when...

Christmas in Italy: Three Days of Feasting

Most families in Italy begin celebrating il Natale on the evening of December 24 (la vigilia di Natale) with a big dinner. Because Christmas Eve is a vigilia di magro (a day of abstinence on which the Catholic Church prohibits the consumption of meat), the centerpiece...