Archive for 'Uncategorized'
Santa Lucia Posted by Serena on Dec 12, 2010
Here in Italy, the 13th of December is the festival of Santa Lucia, a day which, in many countries of the northern hemisphere, used to be considered the shortest of the year. Many cultures still celebrate the winter solstice at this time with ‘festivals of light’. This brings back a memory from my childhood, when…
Mario Monicelli Posted by Serena on Dec 8, 2010
The film director Mario Monicelli was born in Viareggio (Tuscany) in 1915, began his cinematic career in the early Thirties, and directed his last film in 2006, aged 91! He is considered to be one of the fathers of la Commedia all’Italiana (Italian comedy), and amongst his greatest films are "I soliti ignoti", "L’Armata Brancaleone" …
Barolo Posted by Serena on Dec 5, 2010
I recently had an e.mail from Lorien, our Social Media Manager at blogs.transparent.com, saying that she’d just discovered Barolo wine, fallen in love with it, and would like to know more. Well firstly I must admit that I’m not a wine expert. I knew that Barolo was a strong, heavy red wine from Northern Italy…
La Storia della Pasta part – 4 Posted by Serena on Nov 23, 2010
Gragnano – Città della Pasta No journey through the history of pasta would be complete without paying a visit to Gragnano, ‘Città della Pasta’ (‘pasta town’). Located in Provincia di Campania, just 33 kilometers south of Napoli, Gragnano has long been famous for its large scale production of excellent pasta. Gragnano took its first steps…
Occhio all’Etichetta Posted by Serena on Nov 2, 2010
Le etichette dei cibi (food labels) have become increasingly detailed in recent years. In theory we should all be better informed about what we consume. In practice though, we are bombarded by a plethora of symbols and terminology which often mean little or nothing to us. Le informazioni sulle etichette. Information found on food packaging…
Crostata di Mele Posted by Serena on Oct 30, 2010
After many days of cold, rain, and wind, today is a beautiful warm sunny day. Le montagne, coperte da un mantello dai colori autunnali, si stagliano contro il cielo perfettamente azzurro (the mountains, cloaked in autumnal colors, are silhouetted against a perfectly blue sky). We decided to go out for a walk in the hills…
Tenersi Caldi Posted by Serena on Oct 27, 2010
With the onset of winter we begin, once again, the daily ritual of il caminetto (the fireplace). Sometimes, I can’t help but think back with nostalgia to the time when Geoff and I lived in Nottingham, England. The nostalgia, though, is not for Nottingham, but for our lovely gas central heating which switched itself on…