This article originally appeared in the June/July 2019 issue of Dream of Italy. Once upon a time, a Chinese-Canadian girl met a tall, dark, and handsome Italian boy at a bar in a classic meet-cute worthy of a 90s sitcom. Fast-forward thousands of airplane miles, bottles of wine, minutes on Skype and that girl now calls Bergamo her adopted home. …
This article originally appeared in the June/July 2019 issue of Dream of Italy. This recipe is such a family favorite that over the last 50 years, my aunt’s fingers have morphed into the perfect shape to stuff the small Roman zucchini. Her index fingers are slightly twisted and curved and make for the perfect tools. As a kid, I ate …
This article originally appeared in the June/July 2019 issue of Dream of Italy. I was raised in Manduria near Taranto in Puglia in a masseria built by my great-grandparents in 1881. My great-grandfather Tommaso was rich although not aristocratic, but nonetheless he asked to marry the daughter of a count, Rosina. Rosina brought as a wedding gift to Tommaso some …
This article originally appeared in the June/July 2019 issue of Dream of Italy. Nothing in this world tastes more like my nonna’s kitchen than Minestra e Pizza, a staple dish of Castelvetere sul Calore in the mountains of Irpinia in Campania. The dish is made of vegetables like wild greens or swiss chard or dandelion greens; whatever is available at …
This article originally appeared in the June/July 2019 issue of Dream of Italy. This traditional cake, which is filled with custard, is a Tuscan favorite known as Torta della Nonna. As with most Italian classics, everyone’s nonna has their own secret recipe… but here’s ours! As far as we are concerned, my mother Maura’s Torta della Nonna is the best …
This article originally appeared in the June/July 2019 issue of Dream of Italy. Parma is a city full of bicycles with a luscious and loved green park dedicated to the Duchess Maria Luigia, the second wife of Napoleon, at its center. Huge cuts of ham and mammoth wheels of cheese decorate shop windows. If by chance your eyes are too …
This article originally appeared in the June/July 2019 issue of Dream of Italy. Olive all’ascolana (Ascoli style stuffed olives) are the specialty of Ascoli Piceno and the Southern Marche region, they are always present on the table during Holidays and special occasions, as a second dish or as an appetizer. They can be served by themselves or with other fried …
Someone neglected to tell Rome’s Colosseum that there’s a tower in Pisa that has cornered the market the whole “leaning” thing. Italian officials announced Tuesday that the south side of the Colosseum may now be 15 inches lower than the north side of the 2,000-year old monument. “The concrete foundation on which the Colosseum is built is an oval-shaped ‘doughnut’ which is 13 metres …
The video for Madonna’s new song “Turn Up the Radio” was filmed in Florence and Mugello, in the Tuscan hills above the city. She shot the video just a few weeks ago while staying at the St. Regis Hotel in Florence. BFF Debi Mazar and her Tuscan husband Gabriele Corcos may have helped inspire the film locale; they have a house nearby. The megastar stopped …
In honor of Dream of Italy’s new issue on Puglia, I’ve put together a few reasons why the region of Puglia rocks. There could be thousands of reason but here are seven to start… 1. The Trees: Each of Puglia’s millions of gigantic, ancient olive trees seems to be as unique as a thumbnail, growing and contoring each in its own shape. …
