Doug Cumming
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Both / and
Sabine Rollberg was the perfect interpreter for us in Germany. When we were at the Saturday market next to the 13th century Gothic cathedral in Freiburg, she recommended and ordered “The Big Red One,” translating the name for a popular… Continue reading
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Last stop, Venice
And so, finally, Venice! A full day here is like one of those Italian meals where you realize you’ve eaten too much. And then you have a dolce, and a shot of limoncello. One full day in Venice between two… Continue reading
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Santo Antonio
The gigantic church of Saint Anthony of Padua, the “Basilica del Santo” in the city of Padova, can intoxicate an Episcopalian from the Protestant U.S. South. Its multiple domes and bell tower loom humongous over its piazza. You barely notice… Continue reading
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In a green shade
I am sitting on a bench facing the giant trunks of two tall trees twice my age – a Norway spruce and a Ginkgo. The Norway spruce, native as far south as the Italian Alps, was called picea excelsa (very… Continue reading
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Hymns to Life
There are some stunningly beautiful people in Italy, women and men you pass in the streets. But the beauty of two women we encountered recently included something else in addition, a real joy that you could feel around them. It… Continue reading
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Magnificent humanity
Twice, we have walked a circuit of ancient Catholic churches in Fano when they were not having Mass. We admired the art, the architecture and the emptiness, from one to the next: The 1140 A.D. Cathedral, the 14th century Church… Continue reading
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A cup of coffee
Italians don’t just drink coffee. They administer it. A barista like Daniele, the man who runs Caffè Dell’Arco in Fano, administers what we call espresso – the drink they call un caffè. Some regular customers stand at the counter and… Continue reading
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The Liberal Tradition
I found a book titled “The Light of Italy” in a bookrack facing the very piazza where that “Light,” Duke Federico da Montefeltro, had grandly expanded his Palazzo. This was at the height of Montefeltro’s rule before he died in… Continue reading
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The human factor
Here is continual spring, and summer in unseasonable months,the herds breed twice, the trees are good, twice, for fruit.And raging tigers are absent, and lions’ savage young,no aconite deceives unlucky foragers,no scaly serpent slides his huge segments over the ground,or… Continue reading
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Statue of Limitations
Do you know about the Lisippo statue? I didn’t. Luca tried to explain this object of local pride. No, not just local. Italian! No, bigger than that. European pride. The Lisippo statue was sold from here for almost nothing, Luca… Continue reading
An American journalist heads for Italy to see his country changing from afar. 