“Abruzzo is a fascinating region. It lies 70 miles east of Rome, between the Apennines and the Adriatic Sea. This mountainous region of Italy, covering 700,000 squared miles, has a population of 1.3 million. An astounding variety of flavors and aromas, with the products of the unspoiled mountainous areas, added to the rural tradition of its hilly pastures and the abundance of freshly caught fish along its sandy coastlines make Abruzzo a rich and generous land.”

…at least that’s what the guidebook says.

But I learned to love Abruzzo the hard way. Culture shock hits when you first arrive and are met by the austere landscapes, the severe mountain backdrops that circle valley towns, and when the proud Abruzzesi first lay eyes on you. In the Abruzzo, nature is as untamed as its tradition is undiluted. Only here, and in the snow-white marble peaks of Tuscany, do the Apennine massifs assume truly alpine proportions. It is a land of silent valleys, vast upland plateaus and forest-cloaked mountains. Wolves, wild boars and bears still roam. You feel the rugged terrain will be inhospitable. You fear the unforgiving climate. You can’t see warmth beyond that first inquisitive stare. And you are virtually cut off from the rest of Italy, away from loved ones, frozen in time and scared of the constant aftershocks.

And then suddenly it happens.

You wake one crisp morning, and a bird chirps its buon giorno!, and your gaze loses itself in the veil of fog shrouding the valley below. You are won over by Abruzzo’s stark beauty and the simplicity of life. The friendly smile of the Signora making breakfast downstairs and inviting you to join her for coffee adds to the infatuation. The gentleman tipping his hat as you stroll by on your way to work. The total absence of traffic on the cobblestone alleys, the adopted stray dog that comes up to you like an old pet, the sound of my footsteps as I climb millions of stone steps to meet friends for dinner in some exquisite tavern. Not to mention the bold and towering line of jagged peaks with snow-capped tips and the starry skies above, the winding country roads and steep hills, which close in to form sheer-sided gorges; the explosion of autumnal colors – Abruzzo’s auburn Fall welcome; and the magical silence that each night would ring loud in my ears as I closed my eyes under the covers. As I think back to Castel del Monte, as well as Sulmona, Cocullo, Calascio and Santo Stefano di Sessanio, I clearly recall images of tendrils of smoke curling up from the houses. Arches and narrow flights of steps leading to welcoming doorways high up, and odd-shaped courtyards squeezed in small tan-colored stone churches.

You wake one crisp morning, and a bird chirps its buon giorno!, and your gaze loses itself in the veil of fog shrouding the valley below. You are won over by Abruzzo’s stark beauty and the simplicity of life.

Above all I associate my personal Abruzzo experience with an aroma. I cannot forget the evocative smell of burning wood that permeates the cold mountain air. Some of my clothes, yet to be unpacked from working 9 weeks on location, still smell of log-fire. I don’t think I will wash them out just yet. I like to let the olfactory memory of those peaceful days in the quiet of my own private Abruzzo paradise linger on my jumper, as I slip it on and reminisce of fireplaces reflected in ruby glasses of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.

I’m back on board the Wednesday Wine column, and I ask forgiveness for my long silence. The assignment in Abruzzo–my new love–has absorbed far more time and energy than I had predicted, but I am once again Roman now. And I am eager to continue sharing my wine stories and knowledge with you.

Ciao!

Would you like to find your relatives that are still living in the Abruzzo and throughout Italy? Contact us today and found out how italyMONDO! can help connect you with your Italian roots!

Photo Courtesy of “gigi62” at Flickr

Carnevale in Cicciano, Napoli

It’s just about Carnevale time in Italy, the fun days of celebration for Carnival leading up to the 40 days of fasting during Lent. Already the traditional coriandoli, or confetti, are being strewn about the old stone streets of small towns. Behind closed doors, excited voices can be overheard as the large, colorful floats that appear in the parades are receiving their final touches. Around the corner a group of locals are rehearsing the traditional music for the big celebration on homemade instruments. These are the winter days before Carnevale in southern Italy.

While Venezia is the reigning queen of Carnevale in Italy, with its famous masked characters, celebrations and masquerade balls, Carnevale is a holiday celebrated across the country. Even the smallest villages will have parades of carri, or floats, often featuring oversized figures made out of cartapesta (papier–mâché). Viareggio, located on the coast of Tuscany, may host one of the most famous Carnevale parades, but the carri and other festivities found in the mezzogiorno (Southern Italy) will not cease to amaze. Capua, one of the most storied cities in the region of Campania, offers an enchanting (and wild!) night of celebrations complete with scenes of world-class carri back-dropped by medieval monuments and buildings. Each region has its own unique traditions as well. In Sicily, where the warmer climate brings flowers earlier in the year, the local custom in many cities and towns is to decorate the traditional horse carts with brightly colored floral decorations.

Yet, like so many things in Italy, if you want to experience the true spirit of Carnevale, it is often easier and more intimate in the smaller towns and mountain villages located in southern Italy and Sicily. Even smaller towns, such as Cicciano in the province of Napoli, spare no expense when it comes to carri and other Carnevale festivities. So, while seeing the grand Italian celebrations for Carnevale in the cities of the north is quite an experience, to truly immerse yourself into la vera carnevale, skip the cities of the north and head south. While the coriandoli will still fly and the carri will circle around the piazza, you’ll also see children dressed up in cute costumes and maybe even catch a glimpse of the deep religious roots of this century-old holiday.

Carnevale, like many holidays in Italy, has ancient traditions and religious roots deeper than one might expect. Behind the parades and costumes is the reminder of the Roman Catholic traditions leading up to the Easter holiday. The period of Carnevale lasts two weeks and ends on Martedì Grasso, Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday, the final and biggest day of celebrating before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of la Quaresima (Lent). The 40 days of Lent before Easter commemorate the Passion of Jesus, and is a period traditionally associated with sacrifice and fasting in the Roman Catholic faith.

While the religious significance, elaborate floats, parades, confetti and candies are a thrill—especially for kids and kids at heart—what really defines Carnevale for many Italians is the food. In fact, one thing you can count on when celebrating a traditional Carnevale is a grand, Italian family meal. (As is so wonderfully the case in Italy, it always comes back to food)!

One thing you can count on when celebrating a traditional Carnevale is a grand, Italian family meal. (As is so wonderfully the case in Italy, it always comes back to food)!

The traditional Carnevale meal often begins with a rich lasagna made with salsiccia (sausage) and cheese, usually mozzarella and sometimes also with ricotta. After the lasagna, which is a meal-in-itself for most, the secondo (second course) often includes more salsiccia, more cheese and winter vegetables, such as broccoli rabe. As Carnevale is the last hurray before Lent, the Carnevale meal is often full of rich foods and sweet desserts.

The traditional connection between salsiccia and Carnevale tells an interesting story about rural life in much of Italy. Before refrigeration, which is some areas didn’t arrive until the 1970s, the cold winter months of January and February were the time of the pig slaughter, especially in southern Italy. Salsiccia, therefore, was only eaten during these cold winter months when it was possible to produce and store it for a short period of time. Fatty and rich, it was also needed to help survive the harsh mountain winters of the snowy regions such as the Abruzzo and Molise. Over time the tradition of serving salsiccia on Carnevale became the norm, and it continues despite the fact that sausage can now be bought any time of the year. While Martedì Grasso is the big feast before the fasting of Lent, you might be wise to do a bit of fasting in preparation for the Carnevale meal itself!

So get your costumes, coriandoli, and bombolette of silly string ready – Carnevale is almost here! But, of course, no Carnevale celebration would be complete without a few sweet treats. Stop by The italyMONDO! Blog next Friday to read about the traditional and special desserts of Carnevale in Italy.

Would you like to celebrate carnevale in the village where your ancestors came from in Italy? Contact us and found out how italyMONDO! can help create this vacation of a lifetime for you!

Welcome to a special Saturday Spotlight here on The italyMONDO! Blog where we are turning the floor over to Michele Carbone, author of Venerdì Sera, Friday Evening: Creating La Dolce Vita, one bite at a time. Michele was pleased to sit down and answer a few of our questions and share with italyMONDO! readers about her love of Italy, travels in the bel paese and how she plans on bringing La Dolce Vita in her home for this Christmas season. Welcome, Michele!

What is the Italian connection in your family? What part of Italy does your family come from?
My husband’s family live in the Val di Non near Trento in Trentino/Alto Adige (his grandmother and grandfather on his mother’s side emigrated to the US) and in Piana degli Albanese outside of Palermo in Sicily (his grandmother and grandfather on his father’s side emigrated to the US). We have a family tree that goes back many generations on both sides, and includes the Italian-American descendants here.

Where have your travels in Italy taken you? And do you have a favorite place to visit?
We have been to Milan, Venice, the Val di Non, Florence, Rome, Sicily. I think if I would come back to Italy to live I would pick somewhere in the north, perhaps the lake country or the Italian Riviera. I like to be near water. I love Florence and Venice because of the history, culture and art. I would like to be a few hours away from our relatives. But Rome, all roads lead there…

How have the different landscapes, regional cooking and travels in the bel paese inspired your cooking?
One of my most inspirational moments is when I asked my cousin what kind of cheese we were eating, and he answered, “Our cheese, from here.” It really made me realize that Italian food tastes so incredible because it is always fresh; it doesn’t need to travel anywhere but directly to your table. Once, I saw a open pickup truck filled with lettuce driving in the hot sun. I thought to myself, “I can’t believe they are not using refrigerated trucks.” They didn’t need to preserve that lettuce; they were going to eat it that night! The other thing is, they take the time to make things from scratch, so their food is always better. We asked where could we get a good bottle of Grappa to bring home, and they told us, “You can’t buy good Grappa, you have to make it.” Here, in the States, we are tending to buy everything prepared. (Not me, of course.) The quality is always sacrificed if it is made ahead of time.

What aspects of la cucina Italiana are the most important part of your family cooking?
Striving to create perfection…making the dinner an art form…spending time at the table with my loved ones, sharing great food, a glass of wine, a cold piece of melon, and stimulating conversation…and chocolate.

How will you bring la dolce vita into your daily life and for your family for the Christmas and holiday season?
In a nutshell, enjoy fewer things, but make them of the best quality we can. We will give up some of the frenetic pace items that we often feel compelled to do even though we don’t want to do them. We will slow down, take long walks, catch up with our younger daughter who is returning from college. We will spend more time in conversation, bake something together, enjoy popcorn, prepare many feasts and savor them. Use the crystal and the china.

How would you describe the perfect venerdì sera?
The perfect venerdì sera starts at 8:15 am with friends and dogs; followed by a trip to the farmer’s market, the butcher, cheese shop and bakery. Around 3 pm, I’ll start prepping the food, with anything roasted being slow cooked in the oven. When everyone else arrives between 5 and 6:00 pm, I’ll pour them a glass of wine, too, and I’ll start preparing the antipasto. We’ll sit at the table around 7 pm, starting with soup, a pasta course, the piatto principale, insalata, and finally the dolce…Somewhere around 10:00 we will leave the table and I’ll start the dishes; luckily, I can see the TV from the kitchen. Some Grappa, Porto, or Vin Santo…

Tante grazie, Michele!

To purchase your copy of Venerdì Sera today, please visit Pentola Press.

One chilly venerdì sera (Friday evening) not long ago, the mailwoman with her friendly yellow Labrador helper buzzed at my gate. She had a special delivery for me that evening, which I eagerly unwrapped. I couldn’t help but smile as I read the title of Michele Carbone’s book: Venerdì Sera, Friday Evening: Creating La Dolce Vita, one bite at a time. It couldn’t have arrived at a more perfect time.

Beautifully illustrated, Venerdì Sera is just as much as mouth watering to look at as the menus described within. Before you think you already have a stack of cookbooks in your kitchen, read on. Rather than a list of recipes to follow, perhaps with a bit of commentary thrown in, Venerdì Sera is a book sharing Carbone’s unique way of bringing La Dolce Vita into everyday life. It isn’t for those looking for detailed recipes and it doesn&rsquot pretend to be your one stop Italian cookbook. It is instead something else entirely, which is both the book’s strength and also what makes it a delightful read.

Rather than one recipe after another, Venerdì Sera introduces us to the Friday evening family meal in the Carbone family. The book was born out of a tragic upheaval in the family when Michele transitioned from a corporate engineer to a full time caregiver for her daughter. Life dramatically and suddenly slowed down for Michele, and soon cooking became both a creative and nurturing pastime for her and her family. She tells us: “I decided to write down what I’ve learned. My hope for you is that no matter what your kitchen is like, and no matter how busy your lifestyle, you’ll realize that living La Dolce Vita is an achievable reality, not just reserved for dreams and vacations.” By sharing her family’s Friday evening meals over the past years, she shows how she creates La Dolce Vita for her own family by focusing on the hallmarks of Italian cooking – freshness, simplicity and family meals surrounding the dinner table.

“My hope for you is that no matter what your kitchen is like, and no matter how busy your lifestyle, you’ll realize that living La Dolce Vita is an achievable reality, not just reserved for dreams and vacations.”

Michele Carbone

A few chapters in, Michele’s inspirational writing starts to get inside you, bringing reflection on our own kitchens, shopping and cooking habits, and the role of food in our daily life. It is an inspiring read in numerous ways – encouraging us to think creatively when it comes to cooking. But above all to think! With family stories and beautifully crafted words and images, Michele encourages you to think about each meal you prepare. In today’s hectic lifestyle where multi-tasking is how we making it through the day, how could we possible have time to prepare a 7-course family meal? Think. How can we buy both the freshest, healthiest ingredients and create the least impact on our communities and environment. Think. Michele reminds us that being conscious of what we are preparing and the time we can enjoy on a daily basis with our families are the first steps to bringing La Dolce Vita into our lives.

Michele also inspires readers to think creatively as well. She tells us how her Venerdì Sera menus are based on the freshest ingredients picked up at the local markets, and when she can’t find what she’s looking for, she improvises! She encourages us to step outside our recipe boxes and take a look around the local market and pay attention to what is fresh. This is how people shop in Italy, but it doesn’t have to happen only in Italy. Michele also encourages us not to be afraid to substitute ingredients if some are not available or you have things waiting in your kitchen to be used up. The more you create and think creatively, the more aware you are of what you’re doing. For Michele, this is the secret to “cooking your way to the good life.”

La Dolce Vita comes quietly. It is in those moments when you enjoy the little things – a fresh mandarin shared with family members after dinner, the glass of wine friends and the laughter. Venerdì Sera, Friday Evening: Creating La Dolce Vita, one bite at a time is truly an inspirational account of how food can bring people together and bringing La Dolce Vita into your own home.

To purchase your copy of Venerdì Sera today, please visit Pentola Press.

For this week’s Saturday Spotlight, we’re heading all the way down the boot and into Italy’s “toe” to shine the spotlight on a fellow admirer of Calabria’s charms. The italyMONDO! Blog has introduced us to an entire world of Italian blogs as well as the enthusiastic and passionate writers behind them. It has been a wonderful experience to meet so many people—both online and in person—who share our deep passion for Italy and Italian culture, and as a result it has been equally rewarding to be able to introduce you to our new friends through this new weekly column. Stop by again next Saturday as we shine the Spotlight on yet another fellow Italophile!

Way down south in Calabria you might not expect to meet a Texan, but that is just one of the delightful surprises of Cherrye Moore, a freelance writer who lives in Catanzaro. Also called the “City of the Two Seas” for its location between the Ionian and the Tyrrhenian Seas, Catanzaro is the capital of the region of Calabria and the province of the same name. Cherrye write about her bella vita in bella Calabria at her aptly named blog, My Bella Vita.

With her charming Texan accent and sweet nature, Cherrye is the picture perfect example of southern (Italian!) hospitality. In fact, she and her husband keep busy managing the Il Cedro Bed and Breakfast, which they opened together in 2007. Surrounded by a citrus garden (by the way, a cedro is a type of citrus fruit that looks like giant lemon!), the four-bedroom bed and breakfast is located right in the heart of Catanzaro. Cherrye loves how the bed and breakfast offers the chance to meet new people and to introduce them to the treasures of Catanzaro and Calabria.

My Bella Vita was born in 2006 when Cherrye first moved to Catanzaro. Like many expatriates, she was eager to keep in touch and share her new life with family and friends back home. While My Bella Vita began as a personal journal online about learning to live in Calabria, through it Cherrye also began to meet other expats living in southern Italy who became fast friends. Blogging was an introduction to a community of people sharing similar experiences across Italy, and writing about life in bella Calabria has introduced Cherrye to many people who share her interest in exploring the region.

My Bella Vita was born in 2006 when Cherrye first moved to Catanzaro. Like many expatriates, she was eager to keep in touch and share her new life with family and friends back home.

Recently re-launched with an attractive new design, My Bella Vita is where Cherrye shares her passion for writing, a job path she has really enjoyed developing here in Italy. Over the years, My Bella Vita has evolved from a personal journal to a multi-featured blog focused on sharing travel tips, tidbits of Italian life in Calabria, recipes, and fun stories about her daily life running the Il Cedro Bed and Breakfast.

Cherrye is quick to add that the friends she has made and the meetings with fellow expats were priceless in helping her as she adjusted to her new life in Calabria, and that adjusting to life in southern Italy has had both its challenging and charming moments, Cherrye now cherishes the fact that Catanzaro isn’t touristy or crowded. She relishes the “authentic Italian experience,” as she describes it, that she’s been able to experience in Calabria. There is something captivating in the fresh Calabrian air, and Cherrye says that she “loves where she lives and wouldn’t trade it for anything!” I look forward to meeting Cherrye on my next trip through Calabria, but until then I’ll continue to enjoy following My Bella Vita and reading stories of Cherrye’s life in southern Italy.

La dolce vita—the sweet life—often brings to mind images of relaxation and the quiet appreciation of life’s many beautiful moments. It is different for everyone, but for those who have experienced it in La Bell’Italia, it is hard to forget. Perhaps it was an evening stroll as the town church bells echoed through the hills, or the warm Mediterranean sun on your shoulders while enjoying a creamy gelato. In today’s chaotic and hectic world, who couldn’t use a little bit of that it their daily life? As the pace of life moves forward at an ever-quicker pace, more and more people are discovering those little secrets of enjoying moments of everyday life that the Italians have known for generations. La dolce vita comes from slowing down to savor good, fresh foods and sharing time with family and friends. In Italy, cooking is a fundamental (and delicious!) part of la dolce vita. But how can you bring that into your own home?

Personally, I know when I moved to the Amalfi Coast in southern Italy’s Campania region just how much of a challenge it can be learning to cook in another culture. Every day I learned about new recipes and ingredients, but trying to recreate them in my own home was often an adventure. Those beautiful home cooked sauces simmering on the stoves certainly don’t prepare themselves! Never mind the metric scale for measuring everything and the oven marked with Celsius temperatures, what presented the biggest challenge was learning all the new cooking traditions here in the Naples area.

What did I do? Well, after a bit of panicking, I discovered what quickly became my “secret weapon” in the kitchen, the wonderful cookbook Naples at Table: Cooking in Campania by Arthur Schwartz. There it was right in front of me, all the inside tips and tricks for preparing the local specialties. This wonderfully researched cookbook was also fun read, and it taught me about the culinary history here in the region that I now call home. It not only made me feel more comfortable cooking in another culture, but also improved my creativity and approach to cooking. Most importantly, it helped me learn how to bring la dolce vita into my own life and to my own table in Italy.

Living La Dolce Vita (v.)
1—To enjoy the moments of everyday life 2—To slow down to savor good, fresh foods 3—To share time with family and friends

A cookbook at its best is not just a written record of how to prepare dishes. It is also a place to record stories—both family and historical—and shows us that why we eat the way we do is often just as interesting as how it is made. With the increasing popularity of Italian food and the Italian lifestyle, there are now an abundance of books available on subject. From Rachel Ray to Giada De Laurentiis, the shelves of your local bookstore are lined with cookbooks to teach us about Italian cooking.

This is why we at italyMONDO! want to help you find the best and most inspiring cookbooks out there to help you learn more about Italy’s fascinating food culture, history, traditions and regional recipes. Every so often throughout the year, we will be presenting our favorite cookbooks—the ones that really wow us—that we know our readers will really enjoy. Each series will feature book reviews and interviews with the author, but also spotlights on some of our favorite recipes and other selections.

Stop back by next Friday as we begin our first cookbook series with Venerdì Sera – Friday Evening: Creating La Dolce Vita, One Bite at a Time by Michele Carbone. What a perfect way to remind ourselves, as this holiday season whirrs into high gear, about the importance of slowing down, enjoying time with our families and friends, to savor every bite, and, most of all, to remember to bring Italy’s la dolce vita into our lives!

Photo Courtesy of “jenniferrt66” at Flickr

To celebrate Italy’s autumn olive harvest and pressing, we’ve recently devoted our Friday Foods column to a series on that one essential ingredient to La Cucina Italiana – olive oil. An integral part of Italian cooking in all of Italy’s diverse regions from north to south, olive oil has become an important part of Italian culture and daily life. But what is the story behind that bottle of olive oil sitting on your counter? In our olive oil series we’ve followed the production of Italy’s “liquid gold” from the age-old harvesting traditions to the many different methods for extracting the olive oil. But with so many different types of oils to choose from, you’ll also want to check out our recent posts on choosing the best olive oils and how to keep them tasting their freshest.

If you’ve missed any of our series on olive oil in Italy, we thought it would be handy to have the articles all gathered together in one handy post for easy reference. For those of you new to The italyMONDO! Blog, we hope you enjoy reading about olive oil from harvesting to pressing to enjoying it with your favorite Italian dishes. Buon appetito!

For the Love of Olives – Italy’s Olive Culture

October marks the beginning of the olive harvest season in Italy, and traveling across the Italian countryside, you’ll find that the olive tree—that ancient symbol of abundance, longevity and peace—is just as much an integral part of the landscape as its luscious oils are a part of La Cucina Italiana. Dotting the hillsides in picturesque groves or popping up unexpectedly alongside a mountain road, the distinctive silvery green leaves and the large, gnarled forms are indelible symbols of Italian culture. The first part of our olive oil series, this article will introduce you to Italy’s ancient olive culture.

La Raccolta – The Olive Harvest in Italy

One of the most exciting times of the year to travel through the Italian countryside is during the autumn olive harvest. The hillside olive groves come alive with activity as nets are spread out under trees and family and friends gather for the harvest. This yearly event is an ancient tradition in Italy, even older than the many century-old olive trees, and the chance to see it with your own eyes offers a moving connection to the past. This article will introduce you to the traditional and modern-day olive harvesting methods in Italy.

Il Frantoio – From Olives to Olive Oil

Once harvested, olives must be pressed as soon as possible – generally within 36 hours at most. After the hard work of the harvest, the freshly picked olives are rushed to the olive pressing mills called oleificio or frantoio. This time of year the mills from the north to the south of Italy run almost around the clock. Much like the different harvesting methods used across Italy, there are just as many different ways to press oil. In this article you can read about the olive pressing process, including the best part, sampling some of the season’s freshly pressed olive oil!

Olive Oil and La Cucina Italiana

Italy is known worldwide for its distinct regional cooking traditions. But no matter where you travel in Italy, you’ll find that olive oil is an integral part of La Cucina Italiana. Without it any Italian kitchen would come to a grinding halt. This love of olive oil drives Italy’s Olive Culture, and the hard work of the yearly Olive Harvest and Pressing that we’ve talked about in the first three parts of our olive oil series here on The italyMONDO! Blog. Now that Italy’s fresh oils are coming off the (cold) presses, read on in this article for tips on how to enjoy them in your own kitchen.

italyMONDO!’s Olive Oil 101

To wrap up our five part series on olive oil, here is italyMONDO!’s Olive Oil 101, where you can learn about the many varieties of olive oil, what the different names indicate, and what determines the unique flavor of each oil. You’ll also learn how to choose the best bottle, as well as handy tips for how to store your olive oil to preserve its flavor from the first to the last drop. What better way to finish your olive oil introduction than with our olive oil Italian vocabulary that will help you find the best olive oil during your travels in Italy.