travel
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Pilgrims-in-training
We are getting our legs in shape for an eight-day pilgrimage through rural Tuscany. It’s a small part of the 2,000 km route that an obscure Archbishop of Canterbury logged by foot or horseback in 990 A.D. from his English… Continue reading
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Learning Italian
The language we learn from infancy to childhood, from classrooms to books, becomes the water we swim in. That’s a good metaphor. We swim in our language, not caring how it keeps us afloat. Like fish, we don’t need to… Continue reading
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The Story of Time
Of several museums we have seen in our three weeks in Italy, none moved me so much as the one with the least variety or clutter. The Museo Provincial Sigismondo Castromediano, or simply, the Provincial Museum of Lecce, is a… Continue reading
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The Disappeared Diaspora
The first stop on our tour of Lecce yesterday was the underground Jewish Museum. It is underground because a private palace and the huge Baroque complex of the Basilica of Santa Croce were built over what was believed to be… Continue reading
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Italian Church Art
Through an ancient stone portal in the Adriatic city of Polignano a Mare, in the boot heel of Italy, you walk into a small piazza and then enter the 730-year-old Church of Saint Mary of the Assumption – Santa Maria Assunta.… Continue reading
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By the Sea
It’s time to talk food and drink. This is Italy, after all. I’ll introduce you to one local dish and one high-octane Fanese coffee drink. Both relate to the Adriatic fishing that has been the lifeblood of Fano since before… Continue reading
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With Us
Huge old echo-y churches are all around. In the historic districts in the heart of Italian cities, where cars are virtually banned, you walk into dim sanctuaries that hold you in a silent awe. There’s some kind of awesome mystery… Continue reading
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Looking for Marconi
Before “wireless” meant a Wi-Fi router in your home or office (the “Wi” is for wireless), it meant “radio” in radio’s early days, in the 1920s. “Turn on the wireless, Sweetie.” And before that, it was the word that a… Continue reading
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Portichi di Bologna
Bologna feels old, older than Florence. A mere 37-minute train ride from the touristy Florence, Bologna had its heyday a couple of centuries before the Renaissance. But arriving in Bologna from the U.S. late yesterday, we are swept up by… Continue reading
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Italy as Middle-Earth
Leaving for Italy in four days, we’ll be looking for a world with older layers of time underfoot. We’ll begin in Bologna, which claims the oldest university in the world (started 1088 C.E.). Then to Fano, a much smaller city on the… Continue reading
An American journalist heads for Italy to see his country changing from afar. 