copia24ya, originally uploaded by KenEKaplan.
I see these fruity sweets in windows in every town in southern Italy. Today, my wife is making them herself for the first time. She has the molds, but only “half” molds. If she fuses them together will they look as good as these?
Deruta, Italy, originally uploaded by R.o.b.e.r.t.o..
What a majestic photo of a place I’ve seen in real life. My wife took a great ceramics course in Deruta. We visited Deruta together in the late 1990s. A few years later, we got married near Deruta and Perugia…in Assisi inside the Basilica of San Francesco. That was magical and sometimes it all seems like a dream.
In March, on another cultural quest to visit towns throughout Calabria, we went to the top of Tiriolo, which overlooks two seas — the Tyrrhenian to the west and Ionian to the south and east. Our first stop was at Restaurante Due Mari for a hearty lunch with views of both seas. Then we used our new, TheFlip video cam (super small, easy to use and makes nice quality) created a video as we raced down the spiral streets down to the piazza, where we had a coffee before visiting the church. It is a quiet town with beautiful sweeping views and amazing colors.
Here’s a collection of photos.
March Sunset in Pizzo, Calabria 1, originally uploaded by KenEKaplan.
Marzo e pazzo. March is crazy in Italy — spectacular days followed by bluster winds. Misty mornings that stay hazy all day with sun sliding through slivers of cracked gray cloud cover. A sunrise that paints everything yellow from the sea to the cliff hanging old city of Pizzo. It’s about unbridled change and the mystery the moves the cosmos.
In March we leap ahead one hour — now that’s progressive. And March is the birth month some of the craziest, other worldly, creative, spirited, intelligent people I know: my wife, dad, father-in-law…
Then March closes with an uplifting sent of spring, mustard and fruit tree blossoms…and my own birthday.
See more photos of the sun dropping into the Tyrrhenian Sea, while the island of Stromboli slumbers, smoking above the watertop horizon.
Alberobello, il paese dei trulli!, originally uploaded by mery mellivora.
I’ve visited Martina Franca a few times and see why Martina, Alberobello, Locorontondo (great wines) are treasures of the southern heel-region of Puglia. The mozzarella, roasted meats, white painted everythings and the Trulli.
In this picture I found on Flickr’s photo feed by Mery Mellivora you can see how the old round, coned Trulli houses blend with modern homes in Alberbello. There is a historic strip of Trulli lined with excellent restaurants.
I rang in the new year 2008 at Martin Franca. I’ll upload my photos and share on Flickr. If you go, check out the killer antique furnature store Bruni Arte
The southern Italian region of Calabria is framed by 800 km of coast line, touching two seas — the Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas. In between, a dramatic, lush landscape is dotted with cities celebrating rich historic heritages worth preserving and exploring. So, that’s what we’re doing during my sabbatical…weather and family needs permitting.
When Latin was the mother tongue — it can still be detected in some Calabrese dialects — the region was called Brutium. From my dozen or so years of visiting Italy, there is no comparison to Calabria. It has an abundance of rich culture introduced by ancient Greece, Roman and Baroque periods. The dynamic, helpful and sometimes mysterious people are keeping alive or reclaiming family traditions of art, food, music that makes each seaside, cliff hanging, valley wide and mountain nestled city special and different from one another.
Upon first glance, each town has a familiar look and feel. The more you see, hear and eat you see that each city boasts distinct characteristics: architectural design and colors of homes; town squares or piazzas where locals meet; specialty foods like sweets, fish, cheese or cured meats; and treasured remains…some dating back centuries, even back to Greek
and Roman eras.
Here are a few:
Pizzo Calabro has tuna and Tartuffo, the gelato made with black cherry smothered in chocolate syrup wrapped in dark chocolate and hazelnut ice cream blackened with cocoa powder. Learn how the Pizzitani created Tartufo, “the king of gelati” about Bar Gelateria Ercole, the best place in Pizzo to get one.
Serra San Bruno’s mushrooms — and almost everything else you can put in your mouth
Close by the famous monastery called the Certosa of Saint Bruno of Cologne. This is where my mother-in-law is from, and where we escape Pizzo to spend time visiting family and taking in medicinal air and water.
Bagnara Calabro and Taurianova make great torrone.
Reggio Calabria makes amazing sweets of all kinds.
Ciro — my maternal great grandmother is from Ciro Marina — makes great wines. My favorites are simple, strong vino biano o rosso.
Seminara is known for its hand crafted ceramics and olive oil — in a separate post, I’ll share more about our trip to Seminara.
Locri has a seaside Roman villa rich with floor mosaics. It dates from the first century BC to late antiquity (around 400AD).
I’ll keep adding photos from Calabria here.
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Tags: Italy, Calabria, Pizzo, 2007, Seminara, ceramics, olive oil, Italian Culture
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