Meryl Feinstein is charming and humble and a clever, creative, accomplished pasta maker and cookbook author. In just five years from when Meryl first created the Pasta Social Club she's moved on to write her delightful Pasta Every Day cookbook, with a fresh approach to pasta recipe creation. The book is full of exquisite photographs that transport you to another delicious place, page after page. I first connected with Meryl through her Pasta Social Club Instagram profile back in 2019 and...

Recently one of my Substack newsletter subscribers, a wheelchair user, asked if I'd do a podcast episode all about Italy accessibility information for wheelchair users and those with a mobility/physical disability. So here it is! This episode is a deep dive into wheelchair accessible hotels, tours, trips, guides, travel packages, mobility equipment, accessible bathrooms - everything you need to know if you're a wheelchair user traveling to Italy.

You've probably wondered about the importance of a wine glass, and whether it really matters which glass you choose. I know I have! The short answer is yes – and no. Today sommelier Cynthia Chaplin and I delved into wine glasses, an apropos topic during the holiday season and with New Year's Eve right around the corner! The bottom line is the best all-purpose wine glass shape is the tulip - perfect for your red wines AND your New Year's Eve festive bubblies. And there's one tulip glass...

Jeannie Marshall's new book, All Things Move, opens the door to a thoroughly new way of experiencing the Sistine Chapel, and the magnificence of Michelangelo's work. All Things Move: Learning to Look in the Sistine Chapel "tells the story of Marshall’s relationship with one of our most cherished artworks. Interwoven with the history of its making and the Rome of today, it’s an exploration of the past in the present, the street in the museum, and the way a work of art can both terrify and...

The perfect Christmas holiday Day Trip from Rome is a visit to the northern Lazio hill town, Greccio. It's a tiny little town but this year it's the central focus of the Christmas holiday season worldwide. Why? It's where Saint Francis of Assisi created the original Nativity Scene (Presepe in Italian) in 1223 exactly 800 years ago. My husband and I visit Greccio frequently, and have for many years: it's in the Sabine hills just above Contigliano where our family is from. If you decide to...

Bologna is the city of porticoes, Europe's oldest university, amazing towers and culinary delights you can't even imagine. If you're hankering for something different and unique to do while visiting Rome then this is the day trip you'll want to make! Add magical Bologna to your bucket list and listen now for all the details. Are you interested in a culinary walking tour of Bologna? Then I’ve got you covered! Contact me at [email protected] to book your Culinary Walking Tour of Bologna!

Everything you need to know this Thanksgiving! * Thanksgiving Recipe Ideas & Pro-Tips: Truffles, Turkey, Pork Belly!  * How to ditch holiday cooking stress * My HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE with a focus on truffles  * Combatting holiday loneliness if you happen to be alone this Thanksgiving  

The Piedmont Region is Italy's overlooked, "hidden" gem! This is a region overflowing with culinary goodies: Barolo and Barbaresco wine, Alba white truffles, gianduia chocolate. The landscape is magnificent and deserves exploration to uncover and enjoy the region's marvelous castles, wineries, and historic landmarks. Listen to my chat with Carlotta Prandi, the one woman business owner of Piedmont Tours. Carlotta is always available and expert at helping find perfect accommodation, and she...

Last week we took a deep dive into Piedmont and its luscious food and wine, closing our visit at the 500 year-old Tenuta Carretta for lunch. The Tenuta has several restaurants - one a Michelin star restaurant - great accommodation, and wines. Piedmont wines are world-renowned and this remarkable wine region produces more DOCG wines than any other Italian region. It also ranks sixth among the Italian regions in annual production volume. Piedmont produces all kinds of wines from sparkling...

For a dip into the past - not centuries ago, but 1,000 years ago - to the magnificent Tenuta Spannocchia in Tuscany, not far from Siena. Here you'll experience country accommodation with delicious hearty meals of homemade pasta, delicious pork products made onsite from heritage breeds. It was two years ago that owner Randall Stratton and I chatted for over an hour all about Spannocchia, and made plans to meet there soon.  Since then Randall has been diagnosed with cancer and is at home in...

Sperlonga: a secret southern Lazio coastal hill town with fabulous views, rich history, luscious seafood and wine, award-winning beaches, nearby islands for excursions - just about everything you could want in a seaside location near Rome. And Irene at Amyclae Experience has created all kinds of food and wine, and cultural, itineraries to help you experience Sperlonga to the fullest. Have a listen to find out all the details!

Trento DOC is an appellation for white and rosé sparkling wine made in Trentino, Italy. Trentino developed this appellation, the second in the world after Champagne, to ensure quality and distinction. Only Chardonnay, Pinot noir, and Pinot Meunier with Pinot blanc are permitted, and they must be grown in a well-defined area within the Province of Trento. Trentodoc sparkling wine is produced using the Classic Method, or Metodo Classico, and made only with Trentino grapes. After harvesting by...

The fifteenth century Villa Taverna, commissioned by Cardinal Consalvi. Beginning in 1933, the U.S. Embassy rented the Villa from Taverna’s daughter. During World War II the property managed to avoid destruction by serving as a convalescent home for the Italian military. Returned to the U.S. Government in 1944, the Villa and gardens were purchased in 1948 from Princess Ida Borromeo-Taverna. Throughout the 1800s Roman nobility escaped the summer city heat here. In 1824 Pope Leo XII opened the...

The fifteenth century Villa Taverna, commissioned by Cardinal Consalvi, was first rented by the U.S. Embassy in 1933.  The Villa and its historical gardens are filled with valuable art from antiquity through the Renaissance, to the nineteenth century. The Villa and gardens were purchased by the U.S. Embassy in 1948 from Princess Ida Borromeo-Taverna. The Villa has since served as the residence for 19 American ambassadors, and is protected by Italian law for cultural heritage. This property...

Nicki Storey's Positano-based debut novel, A Boatful of Lemons, takes place in Positano, the breathtaking cliffside village on Italy's Amalfi Coast. Although the book is a work of fiction it's interlaced with some of Positano's factual local characters, and historic bars and restaurants. Listen to this episode and check out the edited transcript of our chat with links to some of Nicki's and my favorite Positano spots, and places Nicki mentions in her book.

If you think Italian has been around forever, you'd be wrong: up until 1871 when the Kingdom of Italy was formed, the Italian peninsula consisted of multiple independent city states...and lots of local dialects!  And each and every city state was strongly influenced by diverse cultures that impacted each area culturally. Think northern Europe, the Arab influence, trade going through Venice. Each and every one of these impacted the Italian language, its history and the creation of its many...

No better way to understand What Italian Kids Eat than speaking to two local Italian experts… age 4 and 8!  My podcast guests today are a charming four-year-old girl, and an equally charming eight-year-old boy both born and raised in Rome, Italy. They give us the lowdown on what kids eat from breakfast to lunch to dinner, snack time (merenda), and what they eat when out at a restaurant.  Riccardo and Sofia tell us all about what can't be missed at any and every Italian lunch, plus the...

If you love hot chili peppers (peperoncini), then check out this episode all about the world's #1 hot chili pepper festival in the exquisite Italian coastal town of Diamante, Calabria. It's five days of music and entertainment, and great food...of course featuring the local peperoncino. The Festival begins September 6th 2023 and runs 5 full days. Diamante is famous for three things: its over 300 murals throughout the town, magnificent sunsets and beaches and last but not least peperoncini...

Casalvento: House of the Wind is a brand new book that tells the tale of two Tuscan wineries in the Chianti Classico wine-making area. It's the author's life story, but told through the guise of fictional characters, and it covers everything from what goes into winemaking, the passion for this renowned winemaking region, recipes and more. It's a fun way to dig into Tuscan wine blends through this Tuscan-based novel. It's easy reading with the underlying true stories of the Casalvento and...

The best Italy books that cover the gamut of exactly what you're looking for in a great summer read.  Think easy beach reading fiction, or must-read Italian classics, biographies, travel narratives and more. These books have you covered for your perfect Italian summer reads!

Rice cultivation in Italy dates back to the days of Leonardo Da Vinci and owes its beginnings to the efforts of this Renaissance genius. He developed a network of canals along the Po River and now Italy is the top rice growing region in Europe and the leader worldwide in risotto rice. Do you know what risotto rice is and which is the best risotto rice to use? What is it that makes risotto rice yield a creamy and delicious recipe? And where can you find great risotto rice outside of Italy?...

A new and vibrant take on Italy's classic bitter-sweet amaro liqueur, Amaro Santoni is at its best served as an aperitivo: think Santoni Spritz, Santoni Negroni.. Amaro Santoni Managing Partner Luca Missaglia and I dug deep into the history and bitter sweet flavor profile of the classic Italian Amaro, and Amaro Santoni's fresh and vibrant take on this classic after dinner liqueur and digestif. Amaro, the Italian word for bitter, often refers to the classic Italian after dinner liqueur, but...

How to beat the heat (and crowds) in Italy this summer! Seek out water, every way you can...fountains, pools, lakes, seaside. Rome is hot in the summer and it's also the top spot to visit when you come to Italy. The key to enjoying Rome during the hot Mediterranean summer is to seek out the water. Especially this coming week because temperatures are expected to hover around 107°F. This is way above the seasonal average, but despite the heat just make sure that water is a big part of...

I've become a fan of native Italian grapes, and I'm somewhat of a purist when I choose my wines, mostly drinking single varietal native grape Italian wines. I just recently attended a wonderful Rome rooftop dinner and we were served two Italian blends, both of which were wonderful. Although my first instinct was to discount these Italian blend wines, I was pleasantly surprised and intrigued by the deliciousness of a good Italian blend. And then the following week my go-to wine gal Cynthia...

Eliot is a sustainable and 100% Italian brand born from owner and creator Mariachiara Giacomel's vision while breastfeeding her second daughter Tea. Not satisfied with the clothes she had in her closet nor with those she bought, she started developing what she couldn't find: Maternity Loungewear that is: extremely comfortable, high quality, practical and at the same time elegant and sustainable. ​After studying, researching and touching many different fabrics, love at first touch came with a...