San Martino is celebrated on November 11, the day of his burial in Tours, France. But San Martino also refers to the unseasonably warm weather that Italy usually enjoys in the first half of the month! Which, according to folklore, is due to a good deed performed by this Roman saint. The Story of San […]
Everything I know about cooking I learned from my Italian mother-in-law! (Wouldn’t that be a great title?) Except it’s not true. 🤔 I already knew how to cook and didn’t need any lessons from Mamma Anna. But she did teach me about menu planning, albeit second-hand. And I learned a lot about cooking from living […]
We have a saying in Italian. Non c’è niente di nuovo sotto il sole. (There is nothing new under the sun.) And yes, I know it’s from the Bible. But I also know that King Solomon, who wrote it, didn’t live in a foreign country. Otherwise, I wonder if he would have changed it to: “There is something […]
Adapting to different cultures is usually difficult and confusing, and quite challenging. Take the standard Italian greeting of a kiss on both cheeks. It’s really not as standard as you might think. Because many people here only touch cheek to cheek while kissing the air. And in many business or formal settings, a kiss on […]
As a child, I remember my father poring over the Daily News, our local newspaper. Every evening, since ours didn’t have a morning edition, he’d sit in his easy chair, newspaper in hand. Slippers on his feet. For some reason, red flannel plaid slippers come to mind. Although I’m sure he had other kinds over the […]
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. And I think it’s true. But here in Italy a gesture is also worth a thousand words! Because Italy has a second (unofficial) language – hand gestures, and there are dozens of them! So if you come to Italy you don’t necessarily have to learn Italian, […]