In honor of Halloween, our October 2016 issue features a story on seven of Italy’s spooky folklore figures including a wolf… (Updated 2018) The town of Gubbio in Umbria was, according to legend, terrorized by a fearsome wolf — until it was tamed by St. Francis of Assisi. The wolf first attacked livestock, but soon began killing and maiming humans, until …
From The TV Show: Wild Greens in Umbria
In the Umbria episode of the first season of Dream of Italy on PBS, Kathy visits a local agriturismo where grain, greens and herbs are harvested. At her family’s agriturismo in Castel San Felice, Marta Giampiccolo leads half-day (starting at 14€ per person) and full-day courses in foraging for greens and herbs. She offers saffron harvesting courses in October and …
From The TV Show: Cooking with Salvatore in Umbria
In the Umbria episode of the first season of Dream of Italy on PBS, Kathy participates in an entertaining cooking class with the chef of Arnaldo Caprai winery. Chef Salvatore Denaro is a character and cooking with him is like a party and lesson rolled up into one. He is the resident chef at Arnaldo Caprai and that’s where he …
From The TV Show: Caprai in Umbria
In the Umbria episode of the first season of Dream of Italy on PBS, Kathy visits a vineyard famous for the Sagrantino grape. In the area surrounding Montefalco, the indigenous grape Sagrantino has experienced a rebirth in the last two decades, thanks mostly to Marco Caprai and his family winery Arnaldo Caprai. Caprai has made this historic grape famous the …
From The TV Show: Carapace in Umbria
In the Umbria episode of the first season of Dream of Italy on PBS, Kathy visits a very unique sculpture/winery in the Umbrian countryside. The Carapace, meaning “turtle shell,” is the most unusual building in the Umbrian landscape. Part sculpture, part working winery, it is the creation of Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro. Located in the countryside outside the town Bevagna, …
From The TV Show: Goat-Cheese in Umbria
In the Umbria episode of the first season of Dream of Italy on PBS, Kathy visits Diego Calcabrina’s goat farm to taste some local goat cheese. Goat-cheese is becoming increasingly popular in Umbria, thanks in part to the cheese production of Diego Calcabrina and his 150 goats. Visitors are welcome at Calcabrina’s goat farm near Bevagna but should contact him in …
From The TV Show: Stained Glass in Umbria
In the Umbria episode of the first season of Dream of Italy on PBS, Kathy visits a beautiful stained glass factory in a Perugian palazzo. Studio Moretti Caselli in Perugia has been producing stained glass windows since Francesco Moretti founded the studio in 1860. Moretti was known as one of the best glass restorers of his generation, studying the lost …
From The TV Show: Perugia in Umbria
In the Umbria episode of the first season of Dream of Italy on PBS, Kathy visits the Umbrian university town of Perugia. Across the valley from Assisi, the city of Perugia has a history that goes back even further than Assisi’s. Although it was founded by the native Umbrii tribe, by the 5th century B.C., it had become one of …
From The TV Show: Assisi in Umbria
In the Umbria episode of the first season of Dream of Italy on PBS, Kathy visits Assisi, the home of St. Francis. Assisi – the hometown of St. Francis and St. Clare – is a must-visit for any trip to Umbria. Set high on the slopes of Mt. Subasio, is beautifully preserved with 2000 years of Roman, Medieval and Renaissance architecture …
Recipe: Torta al Testo from Umbria
Updated 2018. The delightful and talented Letizia Mattiacci, the proprietor of the agriturismo Alla Maddonna del Piatto in Assisi, is one of the great treasures of Umbria. The small cooking school she runs made our selective list of Italy’s best cooking schools. Her guests and students have long been asking Letizia for more of her recipes and she recently complied with …