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 | 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...
by DHales | May 4, 2017 | art, Books, culture, history, Italy, Language, Rome, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
“Was your trip for business or pleasure?” asked the customs agent at the San Francisco airport on my recent return from Italy. “Business,” I replied. Then I paused to...
by DHales | Mar 27, 2017 | Books, history, Italy, Language, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
Ricordi di tempi passati Memories of Times Past A guest post by Roberta Niccacci When I look at this photo of a country home (una casa colonica) in Umbria, my memories go back to my grandparents’ house, which looked the same, although it extended more toward...
by DHales | Oct 28, 2010 | Education, Italy, Language, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
One Family, Two Languages Una famiglia, due lingue by Rebecca Winke I fell in love with the bel paese during a high school foreign exchange summer in Umbria in 1986, when I met my future husband and began tripping through my first words in Italian. In 1993, after...
