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—home only to sheep and goats during much of the year—come alive with activity as nets are spread out under the 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 you may encounter, and the chance to see it with your own eyes offers a moving connection to the past. And, if you’re lucky, you’ll even be able to sample some of the season’s freshly pressed olive oil!

The production of olive oil—from harvesting by hand to pressing—is a labor intensive and delicate process. Beginning in October and November, Italians patiently and passionately begin the olive raccolta (harvest). To create the highest quality olive oil, it is important to time the harvest perfectly. Olives begin to ripen in the crisp autumn air, and the best time to harvest is just when they are beginning to change colors from green to black. This is when they contain the most high quality oil and are most valuable.

Yet olives don’t mature at the same time—sometimes not even on the same tree. Since many small, family-run olive farms can’t afford the expense of harvesting multiple times, the trick is choosing the moment when the largest amounts of olives are mature. In the past, olives were often left to mature until they began to fall to the ground. This caused the harvest to be pushed off until the winter and sometimes early spring. It’s now known that this method doesn’t produce the highest quality of oils, and in this case it turns out that man is actually better than nature when it comes to deciding when the harvest begins.

Although olive producers know that the best oils come from picking early in the season, each swears by their own harvesting method—a process which plays an important role in the quality of the olive oil they produce. There are two main techniques for harvesting olives; either the traditional harvest by hand picking, or using newer mechanical methods. Both have their advocates, but in the end it is Italy’s rough terrain that usually decides. Using the “tree-shaking” machinery and power brushes is only possible on level ground where the trees are adequately spaced apart. In the mountainous mezzogiorno—the term used to describe Southern Italy—this is rarely the case! The rocky, terraced hillsides of many olive groves in southern regions such as Abruzzo, Calabria and Sicily has ensured that manual harvesting remains the most common method through much of the south—and even in the more industrialized north as well.

The rocky, terraced hillsides of many olive groves in southern regions such as Abruzzo, Calabria and Sicily has ensured that manual harvesting remains the most common method through much of the southern Italy.

Olives are removed from the trees using different methods, depending on the size of the tree and the lie of the land. The ideal harvesting method is to hand pick the ripe olives from the trees, which is an intensely physical job from beginning to end. Nets are carefully spread under the trees, and the olives are stripped from the trees in a number a ways, including by hands, with special rakes or with long sticks. Hand picking the ripe olives, called brucatura, is the simplest, but most time consuming, method. More often olives are harvested following the pettinatura method, where olives are stripped from the branches using bare or gloved hands and special rakes. For tall trees, long sticks or canes are used to beat the branches until all the olives have fallen into the nets below, a method that the Italians call bacchiatura.

Where mechanical harvesting is possible, tractors are used to power rotating brushes that are used to carefully strip the olives from the trees into the nets waiting below. Also becoming popular are “tree-shaking” machines that grabs onto the truck of the tree and literally shakes the ripest olives right off their branches! However, no matter the method, harvesting always continues until the trees have been stripped of their prized fruits.

But the work isn’t over yet. Once harvested, the olives are packed into airy harvest trays and must be quickly taken to the frantoio, or the olive pressing mill, within 36 hours after they’re picked. The sooner the better, because once picked heat and humidity can cause molds to form easily, contaminating the oil’s delicate flavor.

So now that the olives are off to the presses all across Italy, be sure to stop by The italyMONDO! Blog next Friday to learn all about the frantoio and the production of Italy’s fine olio d’oliva.

Buona Raccolta!

Photo Courtesy of “scanavacca1986” at Flickr

Believe it or not, Halloween—the traditional spooky day of costumes, fright and eating too much candy—is starting to catch on here in Italy. Throughout Italy you will often see carved pumpkins, costumed kids running through the piazzas and signs for Halloween themed parties at local restaurants or clubs. In some areas you’ll even find Halloween tours of medieval towers, castles and creepy catacombs lined with mummies and bones. Celebrations are now widespread enough that it’s safe to say Halloween has been adopted into the Italian culture.

Halloween falls just before two important religious holidays in Italy that come at the beginning of November. The first day of the month is Ognissanti or Tutti i Santi—called All Saints’ Day in English—and is a day dedicated to honoring all of the saints and martyrs who have died for the Catholic faith. In Italy, Ognissanti is a national holiday, and you’ll actually find most businesses closed. The faithful attend mass and celebrate the day together with family, a tradition often forgotten in American culture.

The following day, November 2nd, is called Il Giorno dei Morti or, as is often the case in Italy, simply “Tutti i Morti.” (In America we call it All Souls’ Day, probably since “The Day of the Dead” doesn’t have a good ring to it!) It is a day dedicated to remembering all of our loved ones who have passed away. Cemeteries are crowded on both Ognissanti and Il Giorno dei Morti as Italians pay respect to their ancestors who have since departed by cleaning and decorating their graves with flowers, wreaths and votive candles. Both days are customarily spent with family, and the sense of community is tremendous as people gather to share family stories and memories. In Southern Italy, many who have immigrated to the more industrialized north often return to their native towns and villages to celebrate these two religious holidays.

Historically, Halloween, or All Hallows’ Eve, was just the beginning of the celebrations of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. While these are still the main holidays recognized in Italy, Halloween is certainly gaining in popularity. For many Italians, the origin of Halloween matters less than the chance to celebrate another festa (party). Much like in America, children here in Italy enjoy dressing up and walking from store to store through town asking, “Dolcetto o scherzetto?” (Trick or treat?) The wonderful chocolates, candies and traditional treats they take home might just make you want to dress up and join in the fun!

In some areas of Italy you’ll even find Halloween tours of medieval towers, castles and creepy catacombs lined with mummies and bones.

While many of Italy’s Halloween traditions are similar to America, there are some that are uniquely Italian. To experience a distinctly Italian Halloween, head to the small medieval hill town of Corinaldo in the Marche region for La Notte delle Streghe – The Night of the Witches. This year Corinaldo, called the Halloween Capital of Italy, will celebrate the 12th edition of their Halloween festival with music, dancing, and the Miss Strega (Miss Witch) competition—a fun and lively witch–themed fashion and talent show. Frightening!

As Halloween grows in popularity here in Italy, shops are beginning to sell decorations and even a variety of Halloween costumes (although the selection is still often limited to bat, ghost or witch). However, the holiday still remains refreshingly free of the commercialism often associated with it in America—especially when you travel through Italy’s rural hilltop villages. These authentic—and often spontaneous and informal—celebrations are the real treat of Halloween in Italy.

Buon Halloween!

Photo Courtesy of “Andrew & Suzanne” at Flickr

This week I’d like to introduce you to another member of the italyMONDO! family. Christine Cantera has a marvelous way with words, and she has been adding her inspiring touch to the italyMONDO! website since early 2009. (Check out the all–new Our Services page and see for yourself!) In her writing Christine shows a sincere passion for what italyMONDO! does for its clients, a passion that comes from growing up in an Italian-American home and her own adventures discovering her family’s Italian heritage.

Continue to visit our blog in the coming weeks as we begin to introduce other members of the italyMONDO! family and learn more about what inspired their love of Italy, their backgrounds, their talents, and what makes each one a unique addition to our family. But without further ado, it is my pleasure to introduce Christine—whose love of travel and the Italian way of life are an inspiration for all.

One cannot earn a name like “The Internet’s Leading Enabler of Travel Addition” without being a passionate traveler and writer. Meet Christine Cantera, a freelance writer and author of the popular travel blog Miss Expatria, where she has been tempting readers with luscious travel tales from Rome and the South of France since 2002. She often delves into the philosophy of travel and focuses on inspiring people to pack their bags and “follow their dreams to the arrivals gate at their favorite destination.”

Christine knows something about following dreams, the challenges of making them happen and just how nice the view truly is from the other side. Italy was calling, and in 1999—while working at an ad agency in New York—she visited Rome and fell in love suddenly and completely with the Eternal City. But this was no small case of wanderlust. Christine felt at home the moment she arrived in Italy, and knew it was where she belonged. With epic doses of gumption she set out to make it happen, at first by taking her job remotely and eventually making the jump into freelance writing. While Venice holds a magical place in her heart, “Rome is home” for Christine, and is where you’ll find her a healthy portion of each year.

Growing up in an Italian–American family on the Jersey Shore, Christine was raised on family stories. She has especially fond memories of her great–grandmother’s tales of “The Old Country,” and like many Italian-American families, life often centered on good food, family meals and monumental Sunday dinners. As a young girl she was instilled with the appreciation and value of her Italian heritage. Therefore it came as no surprise to her family when she broke the news of her plans to move to Rome, and they encouraged her to travel, experience life in Italy and to explore her family roots.

Seeing how passionate Peter is about his work has been a real inspiration. And remembering my own adventures has helped me to explain to others just how life-changing the italyMONDO! experience really is. I’m so proud to be a part of the team.”

– Christine Cantera

Christine brings a passion to her writing for italyMONDO! that comes from having discovered her own family’s story among the dusty registry books of the town of Città Sant’Angelo, located on the coast of the enchanting Abruzzo region. She arrived in her family’s hometown, framed by mountains on one side and sweeping views of the Adriatic Sea on the other, with only a few details about her great–grandfather’s family. There at the comune (town hall), with the help of a friendly man, her family story came to life as they dug through the old books uncovering one Cantera after another. She later returned to Città Sant’Angelo with her cousin, and it was then she realized just how important this connection to her family’s past was for her. Meeting people in town who knew members of her family, she felt an immediate bond and loved watching how their interactions with her changed. She felt the bond that connects all Italians and Italian Americans, and quickly understood that comes from our shared past. The questions are always the same—“Where is your family from?” or “What is your story?”—and as tales are recounted there is an instant bond, a similar history, and an understanding that only comes from a shared way of looking at the past.

While writing the new Our Services page, Christine was reminded of how powerful her own experiences in Città Sant’Angelo had been for her. Discovering where her family came from put everything in perspective. Christine knows firsthand how life changing this experience can be, and this shines through in all her writing for italyMONDO!.

All 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.

As la vendemmia (wine harvest) winds down, October marks the beginning of the olive harvest season in Italy, which lasts through the end of December and stretches as late as February in some regions. Olive groves are easy to spot this time of year. The first sign of harvest is the web of nets that are spread out under the trees to collect the olives as they begin to be gathered. Harvesting is still routinely done by hand, as it has been for centuries, and is a yearly ritual often as old as the trees themselves.

The olive culture has deep roots throughout the Mediterranean. Since ancient times the olive tree has been a symbol of wisdom, purification, glory and peace—and has been used for medicine, beauty and religious practices as well as in the kitchen. In ancient Greece, olive branches and oil were offered to deities, important figures and the deceased in elaborate rituals. The precious oils anointed the skins of athletes and the noblest heads of antiquity, and the branches crowned the victorious of both athletic games and wars.

Not native to the Italian peninsula, it was the Greeks who introduced the olive tree to Italy when southern Italy and Sicily were thriving parts of the Magna Graecia. The Romans were quick to recognize the virtues of olives, and became massive producers and consumers of olive oil. The Greek writer Homer referred to olive oil as “liquid gold,” and the Romans capitalized on it by turning Rome into an important center of oil trade. By the 1st century AD, the Roman historian Pliny wrote that Italy’s olive oil was the best in the Mediterranean. Today Italy is still the world leader in the production of top quality olive oil.

The Greek writer Homer referred to olive oil as “liquid gold,” and the Romans capitalized on it by turning Rome into an important center of oil trade.

Nowadays, olives are grown throughout the length of Italy, from Liguria and Tuscany, down through Abruzzo and Molise, and into southern regions of Campania, Basilicata, Puglia and Sicily. There are countless varieties of olives that grow throughout Italy, with each of the 20 regions having a specific climate suitable for numerous different cultivars. Olive trees are evergreen and they can live for hundreds or even thousands of years, growing wonderfully twisted and gnarled with time. The olives are either green or black, but the black varieties are green until they begin to change color as they ripen.

The beginning of the olive harvest in the autumn means that this season’s fresh, aromatic oils will soon be available throughout Italy. Whether drizzled over bruschetta, a salad, or warm pasta dishes (and that’s just the beginning!), olive oil is the ultimate symbol of La Cucina Italiana. Now that the olive harvest is taking place all over Italy, stop by The ItalyMONDO! Blog on the Friday’s to come to learn more about la raccolta (the olive harvest) and il frantoio (oil pressing mills)–and to savor the many flavors of Italy’s olio d’oliva.

Photo Courtesy of “Carnaval King 08” at Flickr

As you may have noticed, a lot of new things have been happening here at italyMONDO!. From an all–new theme for the Our Services page to compliment our unique menu of services to the redesign of the About Us and Contact Us pages, there’s an air of change at italyMONDO!—and this is just the beginning! As our company continues to grow and prosper, it seemed only natural that we add a blog to our homepage. However, I envisioned something more than just a standard “service” blog to boost search results. I envisioned a single online publication that would bring together some of the top Italian writers from the blogosphere so they could write about what they love most—Italy.

Over the next few Saturdays, I will be introducing our new team of enthusiastic and talented writers for The italyMONDO! Blog. Coming from all over the world—from Nebraska and Upstate New York to Rome, the South of France and beyond—the common bond uniting these writers is a deep passion for sharing their knowledge, experiences and love of the Italian and Italian–American culture, as well as Italy’s regional cuisine, wonderful wines, travel destinations and lively traditions.

So it’s with great pleasure that I get to introduce to you each new member of the italyMONDO! family. Read on to learn about what inspired their love of Italy, their backgrounds, talents, and what makes each one a great addition to our family.

Laura Thayer is a travel writer, art historian and photographer who calls southern Italy’s Amalfi Coast home. Born in Nebraska, Laura has studied Liberal Arts and Art History and has a deep love of art and architecture. While working on a Masters of Arts in Art History, Laura visited the Amalfi Coast on a family vacation and knew immediately that life would never be the same again. The warm southern Italian charm, friendly people, and, of course, those jaw–dropping views stole her heart at once. She finished her Masters specializing in southern Italian architecture of the 18th and 19th centuries, even writing her thesis on the façade of Amalfi’s Duomo that had captivated her so.

After graduating (and countless trips back and forth!), Laura made the leap overseas and settled on the Amalfi Coast. She now focuses on freelance travel writing, learning the rhythm and romance of the Italian language, and discovering all she can about Italian foods and the regional cooking of the Amalfi Coast and Campania. When not writing or experimenting in the kitchen, Laura is out walking the narrow streets and climbing the ancient stone steps between the towns and villages of the Amalfi Coast. With a curious nature—and camera and notebook in tow—she loves exploring the twists and turns of the Amalfi Coast one step at a time.

Completely smitten with the beauty of the Amalfi Coast, Laura shares her passion for her adopted home through her blog Ciao Amalfi!, where she writes about the area’s history, architecture, stunning landscapes and the adventures of daily life in Italy.

I am really passionate about what italyMONDO! does. I see how much it means to people to come here and to uncover their roots and reconnect with family, and I am deeply moved by that.

– Laura Thayer

Laura loves the little pleasures (and sometimes challenges!) of daily life in Italy, and knows that she’ll never tire of learning about and exploring Italy. Her experiences in Italy turned her life upside down, both deepening and strengthening her passions. Knowing from personal experience that a single trip to Italy can change your life forever, Laura is proud to be a part of the italyMONDO! family—where she can share her enthusiasm and love of Italy to inspire others to follow their dreams to Italy, uncover their Italian heritage, and let the wonders of Italy speak to them and change their lives forever.

The Italian love affair with food is famous around the world. From simple and fresh ingredients, to regional variations and family traditions, food is an indelible part of the Italian culture. One visit to a crowded Italian market with the shouts of the sellers and stalls overflowing with an abundance of colorful fresh foods and you’ll understand that Italian’s are not just passionate about their food, but they are also immensely proud of their culinary heritage and traditions as well. It’s no wonder why Italians say that there are three important things that make up la dolce vita: God, Family and Food. (Although no one agrees on the order!) Family and food are intricately entwined in the Italian culture, where the gathering of family after mass for Sunday pranzo is a well–loved weekly tradition for both Italians and Italian Americans alike.

Yet from the peaks of the Alps to the beaches of Sicily—and everywhere in between—the country’s cooking traditions reflect a wonderful regional diversity that make traveling anywhere in Italy a gastronomic delight. From one town to another—and even one family’s kitchen to another—cooking methods and dishes change dramatically along with the local specialties grown or produced in the area. Sure there’s pasta and pizza everywhere, but you’ll find it prepared in so many different ways that it’s impossible to choose just one favorite dish.

However, no matter where your travels take you in Italy, there are two essential universal qualities that define Italian cooking—simplicity and freshness. Here simplicity reigns in daily cooking. With a few fresh tomatoes and basil leaves plucked from the garden you can have a tasty and simple pasta dish ready in minutes. Italians shop daily for the freshest foods at local butchers, small fruit and vegetable shops, cheese makers and more. While rather modest refrigerators and kitchens might be the practical reason behind this, Italians wouldn’t have it any other way. Shopping daily for food not only ensures the freshest ingredients, but also serves as a form of socializing—especially in the small villages of Southern Italy. There the daily shopping trip to fare la spesa is like a ritual for many Italians. It’s the chance to chat with friends and neighbors, discuss lunch and dinner plans, and perhaps even to hear the latest news and gossip around town. (The latter perhaps being most important to many!) Food is a part of Italian social and cultural traditions long before it even makes it into the home and onto to the table.

For Italian Americans, the passion for cooking has remained an equally fundamental aspect of life. “La Cucina Italiana” represents their roots, traditions, and culture.

For Italian Americans, the passion for cooking has remained an equally fundamental aspect of life. La cucina italiana represents their roots, traditions, and culture. It provides a connection back to the past, and this continuity ensures that family traditions and recipes will continue to the passed down from generation to generation just like in the “Old Country.” “Nonna’s cooking” may have become “Grandma’s cooking” in many households over time, but the warm scents of the kitchen filling the house, the gathering of family around the table, and the persistence of family traditions has continued just the same as it was a century ago when their ancestors left everything for a new life in America—and just the same as it is in Italy today.

The simplicity, freshness and deeply embedded traditions are why Italian foods are loved around the world. My name is Laura, and I’ll be your guide and companion as together we explore the pleasures of Italian food—from region to region, town to town, and season to season. Italy is rich in culinary traditions, and I look forward to discovering and sharing them with you every Friday here on The italyMONDO! Blog. So pull up a chair and be prepared to be tempted, enticed and inspired by the wonderful foods of Italy—and Buon Appetito!

A glinting glass of ruby vintage swaying at our fingertips gives us a certain unexplainable rush. Wine – its color, its aroma, its complexity of flavors – is a caressing treat for the soul. A frosted chalice of chilled vino bianco paired to a sunset is guaranteed grounds for a perfect evening. If the company’s jovial and the food abounds, all you need is a good bottle and a corkscrew.

Wine is usually sipped during meals because, at its simplest level, it complements the taste of what we eat. It is also an essential element of the Mediterranean diet, but to Italians wine has always been more than just a mere trendy beverage or accompaniment to a meal.

In fact, in Il Bel Paese, wine also plays an important role in our social lives since – as any Italian or Italian American can attest – wine is best consumed in the company of others. When shared around a table, it relaxes us and creates a sense of well–being. Wine was even inspiring elevated thoughts and profound conversations in Roman times. The Latin “in vino veritas” explains in a simple sentence the curious phenomenon of how wine loosens the tongue and inhibition, thus releasing the truth in any given conversation.

Its appeal to the senses, combined with the way it inspires the human spirit, has raised wine to almost sacred status. Both in Italy and throughout Europe, it has been an element of civilization for eras; not only one of the most sacred symbols in the Roman Catholic religion, but also a daily staple for dynasties of kings and generations of peasants alike.

Wine is as synonymous with Italy’s fertile lands as its centuries–old culinary tradition. Pour a glass of Barolo, and you’ll experience the majestic hills and mountains of Piemonte. Savor a sip of crisp Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, and you’ll be transported to the lush, green parks and mountains of Abruzzo.

But we all know wine can be consuming hobby. The vast range of wine styles, the thousands of different producers, the hundreds of grape varieties, and the apparent variance between each vintage and the next all conspire to tickle the interest of the budding wine connoisseur. But this complexity–which in truth keeps us all novices—can be intimidating to the wine newbie. Walk into any decent–sized enoteca (wine store) and you will encounter a bewildering, almost discouraging, array of wines to choose from.

However whether you’re looking for a full–bodied red to bring to a dinner with friends or a festive sparkling white for a special celebration, choosing the right wine is as important as selecting the finest ingredients for an authentic Italian recipe. With the right combination, a veritable harmony of flavors is created by the alchemy of a sip of the perfect wine as it mingles with a mouthful of its culinary counterpart – and we’ll help you create that perfection.

Oenophile

(n.) from Greek oinos (wine) + philos (beloved, dear, loving)

Someone who enjoys wine, usually referring to a gourmand rather than an expert connoisseur. See: me.

It may sound daunting, but don’t worry! This is why we have decided to devote Wednesdays to Wine – dedicated to every Italian and Italophile who has always wished to improve their knowledge of Italian wines, but could never make sense of the countless opinions and technical articles available.

It is true that Italians are very proud of their wine heritage, but this doesn’t make them all experts! Nobody should feel intimidated by history and tradition, especially when tasting a fine glass of vino. Wine understanding and evaluation can be a complex art, but the final judge is always you. So remember one thing – trust your instinct, and your taste buds.

My name is Lola, the newest member of the italyMONDO! family, and I will be your guide every Wednesday as we tour Italy – from the Alps of Northern Italy to the coasts of Sicily – transforming you from wine lover into wine expert.

So join me again next week as we continue learning. Pour yourself a glass of your favorite Italian wine, turn on your computer, and enjoy a few minutes of la dolce vita along with me.

Salute!