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You’ll see this divine image all over Italy: The Annunciation. The moment when Mary gets the Announcement from the Angel Gabriel: The Divine Is Within You! Florence is full of them…The city celebrates its birthday on The Feast of The Annunciation, March 25…nine months before Christmas. Renaissaince painters wore down their paintbrushes capturing the action packed scene.  The most famous is the one above, by Fra Angelico, that you’ll see in San Marco. Here’s a favorite of mine by the Mannerist Pontormo, in Santa Felicita, where Mary looks like a runway model. Every painter wanted to capture this wonderful idea: the divine presence in aRead More →

Buon Anno! Tanti Auguri! Let’s eat lentils like the Italians do for the New Year, to bring in a Golden Year of Prosperity, Good Health, and Joy! I’ve had lots of memorable New Years Eves in Italy with my husband and friends, all revolving around spectacular meals…There was one in Rome that started at Ristorante Tullio, near the Piazza Barberini, where we ended up walking from fountain to fountain until the wee hours of the morning. There was one in Paestum, in the agriturismo of the wonderful Baronessa Cecilia Bellelli, where we’d joined Arthur Schwartz’s culinary tour, and made a timballo to add to the feast—where weRead More →

I was a fan of Judy Witts-Francini long before we met face to face. I got to know her through her fantastic Divina Cucina web-site, the best guide to the food of Florence out there. Judy’s a native California gal, who moved to Florence over 25 years ago, and now is a central part of the town’s culinary scene. I finally spent time with her in person last year, just before her wonderful first cookbook was published: Secrets of My Tuscan Kitchen.   Just like her Divina Cucina Logo (an angel holding a wooden spoon), when I’m with Judy–whether it’s in the Central Market of San Lorenzo or just walking through the streets, IRead More →

Here’s one of the many places in Florence you come upon and gasp: Santa Croce–Holy Cross–a Gothic masterpiece that holds inside the glorious tombs of Italy’s superstars: Michelangelo, Gallileo, Machiavelli, etc… Stepping inside is a more peaceful experience than visiting the Duomo–it’s less crowded, you can take a seat, have quiet time to absorb your surroundings. Such incredible surroundings with masterpieces by Giotto and this stunning Annunciation by Donatello:   And out the doors are the cloisters, an escape from the hub-bub of Florence, created by the Franciscan monks, followers of Saint Francis, that genuis whose philosphy was to live simply… On your way out, to the left,Read More →

That glorious historic center of Florence, where every door you open is like flipping up the cover of  an exquisite jewelry box–is not the most pleasant place to stroll about. Sidewalks are narrow, vespas roar. Once, across from Santa Croce, to my horror, a pigeon showered me. So when I have the craving to really WALK, I cross the Arno and wind up a curvy route to Piazzale Michelangelo. Early morning or sunset is best.  You catch your breath as you look down upon the domes and red roofs of this beloved place. Take the extra steps to walk behind you and find the Church of San Miniato–one of Italy’sRead More →

In honor of BLACK FRIDAY, let’s go shopping in Florence with my friend-of-exquisite-taste, Rosanne Cofoid. Rosanne is one of those Italian-American women who has a flair for style–in that simple, elegant, eye-catching way. We met on a group trip to Abruzzo years ago, and I immediately got a girl crush,  just from her ensemble. Rosanne has poured her passion for Italy into creating a tour company, La Dolce Via Travel, that customzies tours to Italy–meticulously creating itineraries where hotels, restaurants, and sights are chosen, so you feel as if a fairy godmother designed the whole vacation to fulfill your dream-of-a-vacation. Since Rosanne’s such an expert, I asked her to clue us inRead More →

After devouring Dianne Hales’ book, “La Bella Lingua, My Love Affair With Italian, The World’s Most Enchanting Language,” I finally got a chance to meet the lovely author last week when we were on a panel together at the San Francisco Italian American Museum, talking about what makes Italy especially attractive to females. Dianne’s book (released last May), is an enticing, entertaining, and passionate story about her adventures studying Italian. Naturally, she’s traveled to Italy often, and when I asked her to describe to me one of her Golden Days, she said… I would begin my golden day watching the sun climb over Florence and its hillsRead More →

YES, moving on from Rome!   My husband and I sometimes fantasize about this quintessential Florentine day: We’d go to the UFFIZI, spend a very long time in the Botticelli room, taking in such masterpieces as Birth of Venus (ABOVE), Primavera, the Annunciation (TO LEFT) and for dinner have a bisteca at SOSTANZA. Or he’d have the bisteca, I’d have the chicken, and we definitely would have the meringue cake dessert. That’s solid, glorious Italy! Because the whole challenge in Florence is not to overload. This would be keeping it simple. Is it possible??? What about the doors of the Baptistery…the Tomb of the Medici…DAVID, ETC FLORENCE, ETC!!! What if… you blockedRead More →

If you can split it into two days (Saint Peter’s one day, the Vatican Museums another), even better. You could spend a year here, everyday discovering something amazing. One guide told me that as far as the Vatican Museums, if you spent one minute looking at every piece that was there, you’d be in there for TWELVE years! So you are there for a day–to see the masterpieces that have filled your art history books: Saint Peter’s Square, The Pieta, The Sistine Chapel. Take a deep breath, relax, enjoy. The key: AFTERNOON!!! The tour groups flood V.C. in the mornings. If you get to the Vatican MuseumsRead More →

Thanks to my Roman friend Gioia, I got to spend a Sunday in Calcata a few weeks ago.  She’s an adventurous gal, helped me out with advice for my book, and thought it would be a great idea to go there on a Sunday for lunch–it’s a 45-minute drive from Rome. I’d been hankering to go to Calcata since 2007–ever since I read travel writer David Farley’s story from the Sunday New York Times’ Travel Section about it. He began with: WHETHER you arrive in Calcata by car or by one of the buses from Rome, it is impossible to remain unfazed when the village first comesRead More →