by Maureen | Oct 20, 2024 | Apartment, Blog, Church, Discoveries, Featured Articles, Food!, Introspection, Italy, Milano - Milan
Ahh, Milano… She enchants me still… after 17 years. Though I’ve now been in all 20 regions of Italy, what keeps me going back to Milano? So much stimulation, inspiration, satisfaction. It’s one of the design capitals of the world, so, as a designer, it thrills me that even the curb-cuts are beautiful. There is history, architecture, design, art, culture, cuisine… and companionship. Milano “checks so many boxes” for me and fills me up.
After doing a southern and island tour (Bari, Matera, Napoli, Sardegna), I went back to Milano for two-and-a-half weeks, to enjoy some of my all-time favorite people, places and meals… and to discover new ones. I had a lovely, spacious apartment in a classic, Milanese Casa di Ringhiera, with its interior courtyard and outer balcony walkways. This was in “my neighborhood”, the Zona Navigli – Canal Zone.
I always make a “pilgrimage” to the Trienniale Design Museum, and this year I (finally) discovered the ADI Compasso D’Oro Design Museum. It ignites my mind to see concepts, drawings, mockups and final products of all sorts. Italian design!
For the first time, I heard about, and then traipsed across town to gawk at the Sanctuary of San Bernardino alle Ossa (Bones)! This sanctuary is filled wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling with skulls… and femurs stacked like cord wood, creating patterns on the walls.
And every year, when in Milano, I go to the Monumental Cemetery and spend several hours. One could make this cemetery the focus of their studies of architecture, sculpture, typography. It’s a marvel! I went into a section I hadn’t visited before, and discovered some striking graves amidst the more traditional, religious-themed graves.
Of course, I just had to dine at my favorite restaurants, owned by friends: Carlotta Cafè, Trattoria Ponte Rosso and Al Coniglio Bianco.
There is so much I could say about each moment that caught my eye and forced me to stop for a quick capture. But I’m now back in Seattle (Burien, actually) having returned mere days ago, and I’m rushed right back into the flush of life here. So I’m posting random photos here before they slip away into the “I remember when…” moments. Enjoy… and imagine.
You can read my other blog posts about travels in Italy HERE.
(Click on any photo to enlarge it, and then you can progress through the series of photos.)
The “obstacle course” bathroom.
My little balcony, looking out to the Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie.
The enchanting light coming into my bedroom at 4:30 AM.
The Casa di Ringhiera inner balcony walkways of my apartment building.
Wonderful exterior floor tiles outside my apartment door, on the right.
My third-floor balcony (second floor in Italy) is above the large door in the center.
The nighttime view from my balcony.
Naviglio Grande – Grand Canal – as the sun is setting.
The grand canal at night.
My secret utilities markings on the curbs.
Ewa, my first friend in Milan, since 2009.
Vintage dress at the antique market along the canal. (It wouldn’t fit me.)
Edvard Munch painting at his show at the Palazzo Reale.
Ravioli with black truffle. Mmm.
The pastry shop proprietress, serving me a Babà, rum sauce-soaked sponge cake.
Creative display in the window of the vintage shop.
My sister Patti always wanted to open her own Bakery.
Wooden product prototypes at the Triennale Design Museum.
One of many old, wood-lined tram cable cars.
I will never tire of coming up out of the subway and seeing the Duomo.
A figure on the front of the Duomo, the construction of which started in 1386. Hmm. Looks reminiscent of the Statue of Liberty, which was dedicated in 1886.
The Madonna (little Madonna) at the top of the Duomo.
The vending cubby with beer, wine, cannabis and cash.
My breakfast at home, with pear, olive bread, soprassata and parmigiano.
Making it easier for bikes to go up and down the stairways.
Sanctuary of San Bernardino alle Ossa
Sanctuary of San Bernardino alle Ossa. Skulls and femurs.
Sanctuary of San Bernardino alle Ossa. Skulls polished by people putting their fingers through the wire cage over many years.
This woman is straight out of “central casting”.
The central building at the Cimitero Monumentale – Monumental Cemetery.
Such a massive, blocky tomb at the cemetery.
One of the most curious tombs at the cemetery, with its science/math-based decorative inscriptions.
A head-turning sculpture on one of the graves at the cemetery, with faces emerging from all surfaces.
An unusual, yet pleasing rendition of a family (of three?).
One of the design displays at the ADI Design Museum.
Around town, one finds these markers embedded in the sidewalk, out in front of homes where Jews lived. These two men were arrested in 1944, deported to Mauthausen.
White truffles. That bowlful is worth a small fortune!
Tajarin pasta with white truffle freshly shaved over the top, at Al Coniglio Bianco.
Luciano, Simona and their son, at the Trattoria Ponte Rosso.
With high school classmates Dan and Ron, who happened to be in Milano.
Incredible, artisan gelato flavors.
My favorite, the Carlotta Cafè.
Fresh Anchovies at the Carlotta Cafè.
by Maureen | Oct 6, 2024 | Blog, Featured Articles, Food!, Incredible Locations, Italy, Matera, Milano - Milan, Napoli, Nulvi
My number one recommendation when in Italy is to find out what the hyper-local food specialty is and choose that! There are foods you’ll find in one town, that are not available 50 kilometers away.
Why do I post pictures of what I eat? It’s to let you know that “Italian Food” is so very, very much more than “pizza, fettuccine and ravioli”! When you look at a map, you see that Italy is surrounded by the sea, thus, seafood is a very big component of what’s offered, in many different forms, both cooked and raw.
Also… be curious. Order something that you have no idea what it is. You might discover something that becomes your new all-time favorite… or not. But at least you tried it! I’ve ordered deep-fried brains, diaphragm tartare, kidneys, tripe, etc. Try it at least once.
And it’s great to be eating with another adventurous eater, “un buongustaio… una buona forchetta”, egging each other on about what to order from the menu and sharing plates. In my travels this year, I’ve had David and Hannah accompanying me at meals, one and then the other. We sought the most local, traditional foods… and relished them. With them, I traveled from Milano, to Bari (Puglia), Matera (Basilicata), Napoli (Campania), Nulvi (Sardegna) and back to Milano. A WORLD of ingredients and flavors!
In Italy, in Europe, some of the food and agriculture regulations are very different, banning some components that are still allowed in the U.S. So I trust the food in Italy more than I do back home. (I would never eat raw beef in the U.S. unless I personally knew the producer!)
So, eating here is very different. And, besides the food itself, I’m walking A LOT when I’m here, therefore, I don’t impose constraints on what I consume.
When you come here, I invite you to arouse your adventurous nature and try something new and wonderful. Order something for which you have no translation, and revel in this big, wonderful world of “Italian Food”.
Check out these other food posts:
Milano – Vitello Tonnato. Thin-sliced veal with a pureéd tuna sauce, tomatoes and capers.
Bari – Cavatelli con gamberetti e gorgonzola. (Cavatelli pasta with shrimp and gogonzola cheese.)
Bari – Orechiette con cime di rapa (Orechiette pasta with broccoli rabe.)
Bari – Pugliese potatoes and rice.
Bari – Traditional Barese foods.
Bari – Local meats, cheeses, rice and breads.
Bari – Omelette (with lettuce?), bread, focaccia and coffee for breakfast.
Polignano a Mare – Focaccia Capricciosa and a stuffed focaccia.
Leuca – Mixed, fried “frutta di mare”, seafood. Squid, shrimp, anchovies, red mullet.
Leuca – The little, fried anchovies really are tiny.
Leuca – Anchovy “meatballs”. Mmmm
Bari – We returned home late and could only find a pizzeria open. We got some slow-roasted meat, a meat pastry, and house white wine in a plastic bottle, looking like a large urine sample.
Bari – The roasted meat, and meat-filled pastry.
Cerignola – Sausage, potatoes, greens and freshly-picked olives that burst in the mouth!
Matera – “Meatballs” of bread, in a tomato sauce.
Matera – Stuffed cabbage leaves.
Matera – Sauteéd greens on a bed of mashed potatoes.
Matera – Spaghetti alla Chitarra. With pesto and chopped pistacchios, with burrata cheese, and tuna tartare, with lime.
Matera – Regional, amaro digestive drink.
Matera – Breakfast of pastry with prosciutto and cheese (rather than sweet), with taralli and coffee.
Bari – Capuntini pasta with beans and local sausage.
Bari – Pork cheek with Aglianico sauce.
Bari – Pork cheek with Aglianico sauce. So tender!
Matera – Meat and cheese platter.
Matera -Ferricelli al peperone crusco. Fericelli pasta with crusco peppers.
Battipaglia – Smoke scamorza affumicata cheese and bufalo soppressata.
Battipaglia – Meats and cheeses from the water bufala.
Battipaglia – Fried dough pieces while waiting for our pizza.
Battipaglia – Margherita pizza.
Battipaglia – N’duja pizza. (Spicy Calabrian meat/pepper spread.
Napoli – Dough balls, fried with “friarielli” greens inside.
Napoli – Cozze e gamberi. Steamed mussels and prawns.
Napoli – Frutta di mare. “Fruit of the sea”: mixed seafood.
Napoli – Four flavor pizza.
Napoli – Pizza with mushrooms, olives, prosciutto cotto.
Napoli – The ricotta-filled sfogliatella pasty was literally unfurling.
Napoli – Ricotta cheese-filled zucchini blossoms, deep-fried.
Napoli – Octopus on a bed of potato.
Napoli – Stinco di Maiale con Spinaci. Pork knuckle slow-roasted, and served with spinach.
Napoli – Fried balls of rice, peas, meat, cheese, etc.
Napoli – “Savory” breakfast (not sweet) of pastry with prosciutto and cheese.
Napoli – Potato and sausage pizza.
Napoli – Octopus on a bed of potato.
Napoli – Triglie. Deep-fried Red mullet fish.
Napoli – Little fried fishies: Fresh anchovies brought from the sea that day.
Napoli – Deep-fried pizza. (This one was disappointing and lacked flavor, but we had so much fun watching the crazy activity on the alleyway as we sat there.)
Napoli – Ziti Lardiati. This was disappointing, because it’s ziti pasta prepared with lard, tomato, onion and cheese, but there was so little evidence of the lard.
Napoli – Spaghetti alla Carbonara. Spaghetti with eggs, guanciale, parmigiano, black pepper.
Napoli – Cuoppo di pesce fritto. Paper cone of mixed, deep-fried fish.
Napoli – Un cuoppo of little fried fishies.
Napoli – Snack in the apartment: some Castelvetrano olives, bufala sopresatta, scamorza affumicata and remaining wine.
Napoli – Mixed seafood plate, both crudo (raw) and prepared. Tuna, salmon, octopus, swordfish, cod.
Napoli – Three “meatballs” of different content.
Napoli – Pasta con Olive. Pasta with a tomato sauce and olive tapenade.
Napoli – Airport panino of mortadella and mozzarella.
Castelsardo – Malloreddus Pasta. Typical Sardegnan pasta.
Castelsardo – Deep-fried calamari.
Castelsardo – Grilled veggies, eggplant, zucchini, peppers.
Aggius – Hannah and seafood risotto.
Aggius – Seafood risotto.
Aggius – Grilled veggies.
Aggius – Maureen and Hannah relished the seafood risotto!
Aggius – Panna cotta with wild berries.
Nulvi – Breakfast of melon and soft-boiled eggs.
Nulvi – Snack of Nulvese cheese and bufala sopresatta.
Martis – Amanita cesarea mushrooms with shaved cheese, dressed with home-pressed olive oil and lemon juice.
Martis – Breaded, deep-fried porcini mushrooms.
Martis – Grilling sausage and other meat cuts.
Martis – Grilled sausage and other meat cuts.
Martis – Flatbread, split and filled with cheese, grilling.
Martis – Pastries for dessert.
Nulvi – Calamari antipasto.
Nulvi – Shrimp antipasto.
Nulvi – Frutti di Mare crudo antipasto. Seafood tartare.
Nulvi – Tuna and swordfish crudo… “raw”.
Nulvi – Shrimp and sunflower seed “salad”.
Nulvi – Pasta with burrata and sauce.
Nulvi – This must be baked Orata.
Nulvi – Maureen and Hannah enjoyed their last dinner in Sardegna together.
Olbia – Mirto tasting at Sannia Distillery.
Olbia – Frozen myrtle berries at Sannia Distillery.
Olbia – Mirto poured over gelato.
Olbia – Airport dinner: salad of a whole bunch of veggies!
Milano – My “haul” from the Saturday Market here in Milano.
Milano – Castelvetrano olives. mmmm. Each one a mouthful.
Milano – Borlotti beans, onions and celery (from the Saturday market) on the stove to simmer.
Milano – Beef cheeks, slow-cooked and oh-so-tender, on a bed of polenta.
Milano – Sauteéd greens with olives.
Milano – Lunch from the fridge.
Milano – Paper-thin prosciutto crudo, di San Daniele.
Milano – Gorgonzola “Dolce”. Who needs butter?
Milano – Squash-filled ravioli with butter and black truffle.
Milano – Serving me a small “babà”, a rum sauce soaked sponge cake.
Milano – The Babà, showing the flush of rum sauce as my spoon cuts the soaked sponge cake.
Milano – Tagliatelle with black truffle. Mmm.
Milano – Sauteèd greens and tomato.
Milano – Rolled eggplant with cheese and tomato sauce.
Milano – Aperitivo of chips, peanuts, olives…
by Maureen | Oct 4, 2024 | Blog, Featured Articles, Food!, Incredible Locations, Italy, Meals, Sardegna - Sardinia
Open-hearted people. I was welcomed with warm smiles and home-cooked meals… and they didn’t even know me! Sardegna. (Sardinia, if you speak English.)
I flew out of Napoli (Naples), with a sight of Vesuvius, to Olbia, in the northeast of Sardegna along the Costa Smeralda – the Emerald Coast. Then I drove a combination of “main roads” and narrow lanes until I arrived in Nulvi. (My friend Hannah later told me that, driving in Sardegna, you go as fast as you can/want, drive wherever you want in the “lanes”… and just don’t hit anyone! I slowly adopted this driving practice during my few days there.)
Hannah bought a place this year in the small town of Nulvi, not far east of Sassari, up in the north of the island of Sardegna, only about 20 minutes on one-lane-ish, winding roads from the northern shore. Nulvi is surrounded by pastoral green fields and grazing sheep. Hannah opened her newly refinished space to me to stay for a few days, and I relished seeing her new life, and meeting her new friends.
The first night, we drove on squiggly roads and ate with a view of the Castelsardo, high on the hill. We had fried calamari and Sardegnan pasta. When we left the restaurant late that night, our eyes did not see, but our phone cameras did clearly register a heart cloud in the sky! (Really!)
For lunch the following day, we drove more narrow, winding roads to “the risotto place”, Le Nuove Ginestre, for over-the-top seafood risotto, while we sat in the sun and the breeze in our sunglasses. “Tutto assolutamente buonissimo!” “Everything absolutely delicious.”
The next day, I drove east to Martis and went to a wonderful, small vineyard and had wine-tasting with Sara and Walter at their Cantina Binzamanna. Even though grape harvest was in full-swing, they welcomed me, chatted, gave me generous tastings of their wines, and we warmly shared stories of farming. I bought wine to contribute to the feast with friends, planned for that evening.
…And a feast it was! Ten long-time, local friends were gathering in Martis and invited Hannah and me to join them. A roaring bonfire was building hot coals in a little courtyard next door, awaiting the grill for sausage and meat cuts. Another courtyard had a pot of oil for deep-frying breaded, fresh porcini mushrooms. Italian chatter, always full of energy, filled the house as we filled our bellies. There was no counting the number of bottles of wine opened and poured. A “salad” of other mushrooms – thinly sliced and dress with home-pressed olive oil and lemon juice – started as an appetizer, eaten between pieces of flatbread. There was much laughter, singing and conversation as these friends relished each other’s company. I felt honored to have been included – “La Signora” – a warm example of Sardegnan hospitality.
The day after our feast, I drove more curly, winding, squiggly roads to the town of Perfugas, to see Dalila for a perceptive and relaxing massage. (A great addition to any vacation.) Floating away from my massage, I returned to the one-lane, winding roads to get to the town of Sedini, meeting more friends of Hannah’s, Liliana and Fabio. They invited me into their home for a lovely lunch prepared by Fabio, and Liliana gave me a walking tour of the town, with its many homes built into the looming rocks.
Leaving Sardegna the next day, Hannah and I stopped for a few minutes at Pozzo Sacro Irru, a holy well and archeological site from the X – VII centuries B.C. The whole island of Sardegna is dotted with ancient nuraghi, often-cylindrical structures of massive stone blocks.
One of my favorite restaurants in Milano is owned by a family from Sardegna, the Carlotta Cafè. I’ve been going there on every visit since 2008, and always finish my meals with the classic Sardo digestivo drink, Mirto. How could I not go to a Mirto producer for a tour and taste-test? On the day of my departure, I reserved such a tour at the Sannai Distillery, started and run by Antonio Castelli. He produces artisanal Mirto liqueur, from the leaves and berries of the myrtle shrubs he planted high on a hill, up a rough dirt road, next to his beautiful home, looking out toward the sea. We talked about farming and Mirto production. He served me a small dish of frozen, raw myrtle berries to chew. Then came the sampling of his 5 different Mirto liqueurs, and his Mirto-based Gin. Each was accompanied by proper pairing of cheese, lardo (thin-sliced, aged lard), salami, or chocolate. Antonio was a warm and gracious host.
Upon leaving the Mirto tasting, I drove to the airport in Olbia, arriving very early at 2:00 PM for a 5:30 flight to Milano. There must have been 500 people in the security line (and TSA Pre-Check doesn’t work outside the U.S.) After security, I waited, and waited through the flight delays. Eventually, my flight left at midnight, and we arrived in Milano just before 1:30 AM!! I took a taxi from the airport into town to my apartment for €120, since the train and subway were not operating at that hour. I arrived at the nearest intersection (in this pedestrian-only zone) and was greeted by my Airbnb landlady’s son, at 2:30 in the morning, and was escorted to my apartment. Such kindness.
Yes, the food here in Italy is absolutely fantastic… but I’m always touched by the warm-hearted, dear people that I meet along the way. They are very much a part of what brings me back here every year.
Flying out of Napoli, with Vesuvius in the distance.
The Island of Sardegna, with Nulvi in the red spot.
Hannah’s home, apartment (above) and gallery (below).
“Welcome to Nulvi, Maureen.”
Nulvi – Church bell tower next to Hannah’s home.
Pastoral lands surrounding Nulvi.
There really WAS this heart-shaped cloud up in the night sky!
Candelieri mural in Nulvi.
Detail from the Candelieri mural.
Candelieri of Nulvi, new and old.
Maureen and Hannah relishing seafood risotto.
Sara and Walter at the Cantina Binzamanna.
Lunch on Hannah’s balcony.
Buffalo salame, Nulvese cheese, wine from Binzamanna.
Grilled meats and sausage.
Salad of thin-sliced mushroom with shaved cheese, dressed with home-pressed olive oil and lemon.
Breaded and deep-fried fresh porcini mushroom.
Friends grilling flat bread stuffed with cheese.
A fraction of the wine corks from the evening.
Affection and good humor.
A dozen long-time friends gathered.
Former prison in the massive stone… now a museum.
At the Pozzo Sacro Irru, holy well.
A rosary over the doorway.
Antonio Castelli of Sannai Mirto Distillery.
Myrtle berries to be harvested at the end of the year.
Frozen myrtle berries to eat.
Olbia – The Sannai product line, and view of the sea.
Olbia – Mirto tasting at Sannai.
Security line in Olbia’s airport.
by Maureen | Oct 2, 2024 | Blog, Featured Articles, Incredible Locations, Italy, Napoli, Napoli - Naples
The plan was to be in Naples in mid-September… so how could that plan NOT put us there for the the
Feast of San Gennaro, the climax of which fell on September 19?! We missed the early morning mass and arrived in front of the Duomo, the
Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, at about 11:00. The hopeful, adoring crowd filled the
piazza and street. It was THE place to be. (Even the Archeological Museum was closed, because, after all, who would want to be at the museum instead?)
It seemed that only cardinals, bishops, priests – and maybe a “deserving” few nuns – were allowed to enter the church. A large-screen monitor display was set up outside, so we could watch what was happening inside.
Essentially, San Gennaro was beheaded in the year 305, and they have an ampoule of his dried blood held in the reliquary. Almost every year, on his Feast Day, the blood turns to liquid again. When it does, the church bells ring and the Napolitani feel hopeful for their city. (The church bells did ring this year.)
I was across the street and zooming in to photograph the large display, thus the image quality.)
Here’s an overview from Italia.it:
“In Naples, the 19th of September is the Feast of San Gennaro. This very special day for Neapolitans is an explosion of popular devotion to the city’s patron saint and a fascinating synthesis of tradition and spirituality. The ampoule containing his blood is taken from the Reliquary and the miracle of liquefaction is repeated every year. Being in Naples on this occasion is a unique experience when you can take part in the full program of celebrations and the genuine, boundless enthusiasm of the Neapolitan people.
The cult of San Gennaro: between history and legend
“Gennaro lived in the second half of the 3rd century and became Bishop of Benevento. Gennaro was martyred in the wake of Diocletian’s persecutions when he refused to recant and was sentenced to death along with other exponents of the Catholic faith.
“According to historical reports, he was beheaded in Misenum on 19 September 305, and legends sprang up from the very beginning. One of these legends says that, although he was condemned to be mauled by beasts in the amphitheatre, the beasts bowed at his feet and became tame, so he was beheaded instead. According to another widespread belief, the stone where his blood fell, which is still preserved in Pozzuoli, turns red on the anniversary of his martyrdom.
”The cult of San Gennaro and his relics, shrouded in mysticism and sustained by deep faith, began well before his sanctification in 1586.”
Read more HERE.
Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta with the expectant crowd awaiting in front. Note the large monitor seen to the right of the entry.
The cathedral altar, with the bust of San Gennaro near the center.
Holding up the protected ampoule of blood to worshippers inside the church.
The congregation of worshippers inside the cathedral.
Gathering with the ampoule.
“Blood always alive, a sign of hope” banner at the cathedral entrance, and the ampoule of blood held aloft.
Holding up the ampoule for all to view.
The projected image of the ampoule framed within the ornate monstrance.
Crowd demonstrators protesting against the many evictions to make way for the proliferation of BnBs and Hotels.
Official pomp and cell call.
Religious fervor on display.
Where to buy your vestments, right next to the cathedral.
by Maureen | Oct 1, 2024 | Blog, Featured Articles, Fine Art, Incredible Locations, Italy, Napoli, Napoli - Naples
It inspires awe in me to stand before a stone, carved with text, from the end of the 4th century B.C. To envision the people that crafted this work, who they were, what their lives were like.
And to see sculpture so masterful, from the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D. Rigid marble carved to appear like supple, draped fabric. Bodily proportions so observant and accurate, yet on a grand scale.
Or imagine taking chips of multi-colored stone and glass, some hardly a millimeter square, and rendering a painterly portrait.
These works must make you marvel! I invite you to seek out such inspiring pieces when you travel.
(Click on any photo to enlarge it, and then you can progress through the series of photos.)
Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli
We visited the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (MANN) – National Archeological Museum of Naples – and spent hours admiring the collection gathered there. What a grand museum, on the order of the Met in New York, and the Louvre in Paris.
There were so many pieces that caught my eye, but I’m only showing some of the most unusual here.
Il Cristo Velato – The Veiled Christ, at San Severo
There are masterful sculptures in the world… and one must surely be the “Il Cristo Velato“, (the Veiled Christ) by Giuseppe Sanmartino, 1753, in repose at the San Severo Chapel Museum. There’s the impression of a thin, sheer fabric draped over the body of Christ, the form of his face and his wounds “seen through” the seeming transparent fabric. I had to keep reminding my eyes that this is marble, this is hard stone, NOT gossamer fabric over a man’s body! Truly incredible.
Disinganno – Disillusionment
Perhaps equally impressive, is the sculpture “Disinganno” (Disillusionment) by Francesco Queirolo, 1753-54. Sure, many of the details are remarkable, but the burly fishing net is carved from marble, and the figure’s body – his hand, arm and leg – are entangled in and beneath the net. To carve that, Queirolo had to envision the final sculpture and remove everything that was neither arm nor net… and not break any of the delicate marble connections! Stunning, truly.
(Tickets for entry to the San Severo Chapel Museum must be purchased in advance. No photos are allowed, so I pulled images from their web site.)
by Maureen | Sep 30, 2024 | Blog, Design, Featured Articles, Fine Art, Graffiti & Street Art, Graphics, Italy, Journal, Napoli, Napoli - Naples, Photos
Naples filled me to the brim in all the most satisfying and stimulating ways. My mind is still awhirl a week after having left that buzzing, frenetic place.
One of the ways I was most captivated was from the visual stimulation. Every step, every corner turned locked my eye onto a bit of bold graphic, something subtle or outrageous, provocative or beautiful, both crude and refined. BAM! Grab me.
“Graffiti”. “Street Art”. “Urban Graphics”. Whatever you want to call it, Naples yields an eyeful for one that is willing to see. One day we happened into a particular alley that seemed to be a magnet for the boldest pieces. I swoon at the rawness, the power, the imagination, the freshness.
Take a look. BAM, to you, too!
(Click on any photo to enlarge it, and then you can progress through the series of photos.)
La Bellezza Nascost – The Hidden Beauty
To conspire means to breathe together.
You ate too much Paccheri.
Would this image be accepted in the U.S.?
A horseshoe embedded in the sidewalk?!
Love the one that makes you feel loved.
Cigarette Vending Machine
Banksy. (Note the pistol)
Maradona Socks, of Course
Pulcinella. Rub that Nose!
This skull has been rubbed so many times, the top has worn through.
A real woman gets pissed off when she’s menstruating.
THIS is the alley so full of great graffiti!
Why were tomato cans hanging on the wall?
I hope this water is good because it’s all I have.
A real woman must have beautiful legs.
Let the wind blow in my hair.
A real woman must stand straight.
Creator of the Provocative Posters: @jeannedaheuiller
A real woman must not swear.
Mathematics of the Street
by Maureen | Sep 29, 2024 | Blog, Featured Articles, Incredible Locations, Italy, Napoli, Napoli - Naples
Go.
In 2009, I was in Naples for just a 45-minute taxi ride, from the train station to the marina, catching a boat to the Island of Ischia. Not nearly enough time! This time, FIVE NIGHTS in Naples, a LOT of wandering on foot, much exploring and enjoying.
Naples. There aren’t enough adjectives. Go, and find your own ways to exclaim over this city, the third largest in Italy.
Intense. Bustling. Jaw-dropping. Proud. Crazy. Complicated. Historic. Both beautiful and weighty. Convention-defying. Challenging and rewarding.
I didn’t stay in the recommended “polished” area, where I could have close access to Dolce & Gabbana and Swarovski (I don’t want that!), but rather just off the “Spaccanopoli”, the street that cuts right through the city’s heart, not far from the Spanish Quarters. People. Life. Food. Intensity. Fully vibrant and “pienissimo di alma”- full of soul.
I’m SO very content that I wandered the narrow streets of Napoli, that I followed my heart in the crazy, crazy, wonderful city of Napoli. Just go!
(Click on any photo to enlarge it, and then you can progress through the series of photos.)
Tripe and other organ meats… Oh, and a Church.
Bronzing along the waterfront.
Naples… just a few Roman Ruins.
Black and rainbow laundry day.
Street artist rendering a Caravaggio in pastels, on the sidewalk.
Naples Galleria Umberto, much like Milan’s Galleria.
One of the umpteen many domes of the umpteen many churches in Naples.
Curious Window Frame. Hmm.
Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli – MANN.
Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli – MANN.
by Maureen | Sep 21, 2024 | Blog, Featured Articles, Incredible Locations, Italy, Matera
Matera, Basilicata, at the “instep” of the “the boot” of Italy. It’s been on my list for several years since I saw an article and my jaw dropped. Now, having visited, I’m still agog and without sufficient words.
Ten-thousand-year-old caves, carved into the rock and fortified with further building blocks, have yielded a natural, curving amphitheater full of stacked buildings, stairways, small courtyards and rabbit warren-like paths that are now polished smooth by the millennia of feet trudging over them. Few homes have address numbers, few paths have names. How does one navigate? Our BnB owner sent us a video showing our path, step-by-step.
My friend David muses that the architect must have been M.C. Escher. Certainly, there could have been no other. How do they manage public utilities, such as water, sewer and electricity? How is it possible that there is WIFI in updated, 10,000-year-old cave dwellings? How do the restaurants receive deliveries of food and fresh linens? The whole place is an incredible marvel.
(Click on any photo to enlarge it, and then you can progress through the series of photos.)
The evening sun illuminates Matera.
Find your way around the maze of Matera’s “Sassi”.
Just try to find your way in Matera!
Are there addresses in the “Sassi” of Matera?
Matera’s many layers, up and down the cliffside.
Matera’s paving in a former grotto church.
Matera, illuminated in the afternoon.
Matera, built upon and into the rocky cliffs.
Matera’s adjoining, cave-pocked cliffs.
This Matera restaurant has 5 subterranean levels.
High Matera balconies from which to watch the sunset light cast a glow.
Glossy worn paths in Matera, have insets for bikes and carts.
Matera’s stack of every-which-way buildings.
Matera, as the lights come on.
Matera’s Chiesa di San Rocco.
Matera’s stone walks are glossy from wear and age.
by Maureen | Sep 19, 2024 | Basilicata, Blog, Featured Articles, Incredible Locations, Italy, Puglia - Apulia
We left Puglia (Apulia in English) and headed to our next destination in the region of Basilicata: Matera. We stopped to see a couple of castles, in Barletta and Andria, (there are castles at every high point and prominent, protective shoreline). We drove through many kilometers of olive groves, vineyards, barren-though-tilled farmland… and past many “abandoned dreams”, shells of homes long abandoned.
When we stopped in Cerignola for a bite to eat, we were hoping for a giant Cerignola olive sign, or a t-shirt saying “I ate Cerignola olives in Cerignola”.
(Click on any photo to enlarge it, and then you can progress through the series of photos.)
Hello Basilicata. Good bye Puglia.
Cathedral of Santa Maria Maggiore in Barletta
Google Earth view of Castel del Monte showing its octagonal form
Inner courtyard walls of Castel del Monte
David in the window of Castel del Monte
Cathedral dome in Cerignola
by Maureen | Sep 19, 2024 | Blog, Food!, Incredible Locations, Italy, Lecce, Polignano a Mare, Puglia - Apulia, Santa Maria di Leuca
For my birthday several days ago, I REALLY, REALLY wanted to dip my toes into the Ionian Sea at the tippy tippy tip of the “heel of the boot” of Italy. That meant driving from Bari, south along the length of Puglia to Santa Maria di Leuca, the southernmost spot.
We stopped along the way in Polignano a Mare, a cluster of whitewashed buildings jutting up from the cliffs, high above grottoes and crashing waves. The buildings would have been brilliant white if it weren’t for the dark rain clouds above us (and the puddles under our feet). We wandered a bit, then kept moving south… thankfully as the rain clouds remained north.
Leuca is NOT a spot of soft sandy beaches, but rather craggy, sharp rocks, which made for awkward and uncomfortable barefoot splashing. Nevertheless, I couldn’t wait to slip off my sandals and step into the Ionian Sea. Dream come true.
After a little birthday splashing, it was lunch time at a little seafood restaurant just 20 feet off the waves, tucked away and invisible from the main road. We ordered a plateful of mixed, fried seafood, and… anchovy meatballs made with mint and served in a delicious red sauce. (Yes. Anchovy meatballs.) The fried fish included teeny little squid tentacles, little fishies, whole shrimp, and some larger squid bodies. The “meatballs” were actually very mild in flavor, and we didn’t detect any mint, but rather basil. Rough, pugliese bread was ideal for sopping up that red sauce.
We marveled as the waiter came out to the table next to us with 12 tasting dishes balanced on one arm. He expertly removed one dish at a time, and placed each one on the diners’ table, again as neatly stacked as they had been on his arm.
After a lovely lunch, we headed back up north, stopping in baroque Lecce to peek at the Roman amphitheater smack in the center of town. A local cat made itself comfortable on someone’s bike seat, as tourists milled about.
(Click on any photo to enlarge it, and then you can progress through the series of photos.)
Santa Maria di Leuca, Puglia… the tippy tip of the heel of the boot
Santa Maria di Leuca, Puglia
Splashing in the Ionian Sea on my birthday
Birthday meal at the water’s edge. Cheers!
Anchovy meatballs in red sauce
Masterfully carrying 12 dishes on one arm
…And the dishes were carefully arranged on our dining neighbors’ table
Santa Maria di Leuca, Puglia
Santa Maria di Leuca, Puglia
Comfy Kitty in Lecce, Puglia
by Maureen | Sep 17, 2024 | Bari, Blog, Incredible Locations, Italy, Puglia - Apulia
This is a southern Italy tour for me, to include the regions of Puglia (Bari, Polignano a Mare, Santa Maria di Leuca, Barletta, Cerignola), Basilicata (Matera), Campania (Napoli). Sardegna will follow, then back to Milano in Lombardia. The last time I wandered around southern Italy was in 2011 and I explored wherever I could see and get to by train and foot.
This year my travel companion, David, is joining me. He’s doing the driving, I’m doing the translating. A good exchange! (The driving is pretty stressful and hair-raising, both on the autostrade highways AND in the cities!)
We met up in Bari, and stayed there for 3 nights in a crazy 2-bedroom apartment. My room, up on the roof next to a terrace, was accessed by a very steep, alternate-step staircase. Using the handrail was a must for safety.
In any town, I always seek out the “città vecchia”, the old part of town. I love the pedestrian-oriented, rabbit warren maze of narrow winding passageways. So intriguing and fun to explore.
Bari has its winding maze, its castle, its grand cathedral, and it “orecchiette street” where the older women are lining the streets making and selling the ear-shaped pasta. Orecchiette con Cime di Rapa (with broccoli rabe and anchovies) is the typical Barese dish here, and we had that on the first night.
After Bari, we planned to head south along the “heel”.
(Click on any photo to enlarge it, and then you can progress through the series of photos.)
Bari- Roman Columns in the Middle of Town
Bari- Sunnyside Buildings
Bari – David and a Big Door
by Maureen | Sep 12, 2024 | Apartment, Blog, Featured Articles, Food!, Italy, Milano - Milan
Flying into Milano yesterday evening, (after a very long day of cancelled and delayed flights) I felt emotional and got a little teary-eyed. This is my seventeenth year of making this journey, coming back for a month or more to see friends, visit new and treasured places, and eat some of my favorite dishes as well as venture untried regional specialities.
In the evening, I arrived at my rented apartment, a simple one-room studio with a bathroom and the “essentials”. Just right. This is in a classic Milanese “Casa de Ringhiera”, roughly 600 years old, in which there’s an inner courtyard, accessed by walking through a locked, wrought iron gate. I walk up a narrow, stone/wrought iron stairway to the “second floor”, (what is considered the “third floor” in the U.S.). Each floor is ringed with an outer walkway balcony. At this building, the balconies on all floors are laden with producing grape vines. It creates a beautiful effect.
I arrived hungry and way off in my body clock, so I met up with my painter friend, Loredano, for a bite to eat, and we went to Trattoria della Darsena, a lovely, warm and welcoming little restaurant run by friends. They had “Vitello Tonnato” on the menu… one of my favorites and perfect for a warm-but-not-hot evening. It’s very thin slices of roast veal, topped with a smooth pureéd sauce of tuna and mayonnaise, plus cherry tomatoes and capers. I know… roast veal with tuna sauce sounds like an unlikely and odd combination, but it’s delicious.
Having arrived late in the evening and having no groceries in the house, my breakfast this morning consisted of two crackers and a slice of cheese from yesterday’s plane flight, plus a “caffè normale” (one shot of espresso) and a few nuts. It tided me over ‘til my long-awaited lunch…
I walked up the Naviglio Grande – Grand Canal – to Trattoria Ponte Rosso, and affectionately greeted the owner, Luciano, with the classic two-cheek kiss. I’ve been eating in his trattoria for years now. I immediately ordered Carpaccio di Spada Affumicata – paper thin slices of smoked tuna, from Sicily. I had this a year ago and have been daydreaming about it ever since. It was topped with cherry tomatoes, shaved fennel and taggiasche olives (specifically from Liguria), then drizzled with a fine olive oil. I enjoyed some prosecco, then a cafè normale to finish off the meal.
A leisurely, relaxed, slow meal on an easy day. Perfect after 24+ hours of travel door-to-door yesterday. And now I’m sitting in the silence (except for the sound of the air conditioning) of my studio apartment. All is just right. Tutto perfetto. Tomorrow I fly south, to start a southern tour (last done in 2011!): Bari (Puglia), Matera (Basilicata), Napoli (Campania), Nulvi (Sardegna)… then back here to Milano (Lombardia) for two and a half weeks.
I recognize the blessing and privilege of being able to have such a sojourn in my life… and to do this every year!
As I sit here, 7:00 PM on my first day, the church bells are ringing one block away and their chiming fills the air. Home again.
by Maureen | Sep 5, 2024 | Blog, Introspection, Italy, Journal
Uh oh. Tango sees the suitcases wide open on the floor. Something’s up. “Take me with you!” He pleads. No, the Kitty Cat is not coming along, but he’ll be well-loved while I’m away eating Italian regional specialties… and doing pizza taste-tests.
This will be my 17th year of flying off to Italy and wandering around its regions. This year I’ll do another southern tour. (It was 2011 when I last explored southern Italy. That was ages ago.) On this year’s itinerary: Puglia, Basilicata, Campania, Sardegna… then ending with time in Lombardia’s Milano!
Going “Home”. Ahhh.
by Maureen | Apr 27, 2023 | Blog, Featured Articles, Fine Art, Italy, Journal, Photos
Merging my multiple loves for expression, I have pulled from my 15 years of travel and 60,000 photos in Italy, and combined them with graphic overlays for one-of-a-kind monoprints.
Milan, Florence, Venice… Monuments and cobblestones… Manuscripts and textiles… These are a few of the lush details that I’ve combined in the 27 pieces on display.
The artwork will be available for sale throughout the show, and will also be listed in an online showcase.
View the art HERE.
May 4 – June 30, 2023
Opening Reception:
Friday, May 5 at 6:00 PM
Hosted by:
Burien Arts Association
On view at:
Highline Heritage Museum
819 SW 152nd St.,
Burien WA 98166
Museum Hours:
Thurs. – Sun. 1:00 – 5:00 PM
Free admission to the exhibition.
by Maureen | Jan 20, 2022 | Blog, Design, Featured Articles, Graffiti & Street Art, Graphics, Italy, Milano - Milan
My Designer/Artist’s eye thrills at the strong visuals of signage – old and new – graphic elements and street art that I find in Milan and beyond. Whether polished, “high design”, antique lettering, or fresh-and-funky, it excites my brain and inspires me. I swoon over long-ago, hand-painted typography when I find it. Am stirred by powerful messaging. And am amused by juxtapositions and contrasts. These elements are personal draws that bring me back to Milan.
by Maureen | Jan 20, 2022 | Blog, Design, Featured Articles, Italy, Milano - Milan
Milan – one of the fashion capitals of the world – has some knock-out, incredible, no-concept-or-cost-barred window displays! Walk along Via Monte Napoleone and Via della Spiga, the posh shopping streets, (especially during the holiday shopping season) and you will see imaginative, over-stated, grand, illuminated window dressings that make it worth the walk just for the show.
Are people dressing like this on the streets? No, they’re not. In the winter months, I see a LOT of fur coats, puffy down jackets and scarves on women and men, both.
by Maureen | Jan 15, 2022 | Blog, Discoveries, Featured Articles, Italy, Milano - Milan
When a photo of this little building popped up on the Milano per Sempre Facebook page (Jan. 5, 2022), I thought, “I’ve got to go see that!” The age and “flavor” of the Trattoria Villetta Bar caught my eye.
The next day, I took the Metro out toward the end of the line, at Fermata Inganni, then mistakenly walked a very long loop until I finally arrived at my destination. (Google had misguided my walking direction, but in the process, I saw an area of Milan I had never been to before.)
There were several people at the bar, and we started chatting about the building’s history. Salvatore, a local, and I walked outside to chat. He has lived in the neighborhood for 50 years, and told me about his childhood memories of the surroundings.
In Italy, a “bar” does serve alcohol, but it’s where you go for a “caffè normale” – shot of espresso – as well as a pastry and fresh-squeezed orange juice. It’s often combined with the “Tabacchi” designation, where you can also buy cigarettes, add to your cell phone minutes, or get transit tickets.
Read, below, the original post from Milano per Sempre’s Facebook page,
in Italian, and Google-translated into English.
Questa caratteristica e graziosa casetta adibita a trattoria/tabaccheria è un retaggio di ciò che riconduce a Cascina Creta (“La Crea” in dialetto),un antico casale le cui tracce compiano con certezza sulle Carte del Fieno del Claricio dal 1659, e che prese il nome stesso dall’argilla che si estraeva presso le cave delle campagne circostanti.
Il complesso rurale era circondato dalle acque del fontanile Marcione che irrorandone i campi utilizzati per le coltivazioni,permetteva alle varie aree di essere raggiunte solo tramite dei ponticelli,donando alla cascina un aspetto associabile ad una rocca fortificata.
Sul finire degli anni ’30,la cascina venne spostata in una struttura più moderna, denominata poi “Creta Nuova”.
Pressappoco ad inizio del Novecento risale anche questo piccolo edificio assomigliante ad una baita di montagna,eretta su quella che era la strada per Baggio,ora Via Forze Armate 163.
Il suo impiego principale ero quello di stallo per le carrozze ed i cavalli che dovevano raggiungere le fattorie situate nella zona. Provvista di due campi da bocce,oltre che un luogo di ristoro offriva anche uno svago per gli avventori.
Negli anni successivi cadde in disuso e dagli orti limitrofi,si passò ad un lento degrado della zona circostante,in cui si trovava anche un rottamaio (“rottamat” in dialetto milanese).
Ora rimane questa immagine architettonica tra le più iconiche, nonché da salvaguardare nel bel mezzo delle case popolari, per gli amanti della vecchia Milano e di ciò che riguarda la sua storia.
This characteristic and charming little house used as a trattoria / tobacconist is a legacy of what leads back to Cascina Creta (“La Crea” in dialect), an ancient farmhouse whose traces have been traced with certainty on the Claricio’s Hay Cards since 1659, and which the name itself from the clay that was extracted in the quarries of the surrounding countryside.
The rural complex was surrounded by the waters of the Marcione fountain which, by spraying the fields used for cultivation, allowed the various areas to be reached only by means of bridges, giving the farmhouse an aspect that can be associated with a fortified fortress.
At the end of the 1930s, the farmhouse was moved to a more modern structure, later called “Creta Nuova”.
This small building resembling a mountain hut also dates back to about the beginning of the twentieth century, built on what was the road to Baggio, now Via Forze Armate 163.
Its main use was as a stall for carriages and horses that had to reach the farms located in the area. Equipped with two bowling green, as well as a place for refreshment it also offered entertainment for the patrons.
In the following years it fell into disuse and from the neighboring gardens, there was a slow deterioration of the surrounding area, where there was also a scrap dealer (“rottamat” in Milanese dialect).
Now this architectural image remains among the most iconic, as well as to be safeguarded in the midst of public houses, for lovers of old Milan and what concerns its history.
@nebulosa_simonastucchi
by Maureen | Jan 12, 2022 | Blog, Casale, Featured Articles, Food!, Italy, Meals, Monferrato, Ozzano
Still dark, we headed out early to the flea market at Assago. One can find “good stuff”, plus a lot of junk, by flashlight. From there we headed on the country roads southwest to Casale Monferrato for their flea market/antique market, with “higher end” good stuff and junk. By the time we got to Casale, it was sunny and a little warmer, so we could peel off a couple of our winter layers.
The booth that captured my attention was full of old metal: tools, measuring devices, instruments, kitchen implements, and some wood, as well. It was hard to tear myself away from the seller’s several laden tables. A few things came away with me as “pensieri”, mementos.
Early morning flea market entry
Chiavarine chairs, delicate in appearance
Snow-dusted country field
Cemetery out in a country field
You, too, could buy this place for just 1€. Ha ha ha
Art Nouveau “Liberty” market entrance in Casale
Dante Alighieri Books, 1865
Dante Alighieri Books, 1865
Fur stoles, ruffs, hats, plus not-fur
Old tools, instruments, measuring devices
Old tools, instruments, measuring devices
Old tools, instruments, measuring devices
Old tools, instruments, measuring devices
Old tools, instruments, measuring devices
Nut and crab crackers. So sculptural!
We had 1:00 reservations for our Sunday meal in nearby Ozzano Monferrato. That was the simple part. FINDING the place required Loredano to stop four times to ask for directions. (Imagine if a non-Italian-speaker had tried to find their way?!)
We finally arrived a little after 1:00 at Agriturismo Cascina Imarisia, high on a hill, just south of Ozzano, even further south of Casale. Beautiful views along the way, and once we got there.
There is no menu here. You specify your water (sparkling or still) and your wine (from their own production), and then they begin serving you… and serving you…and serving you, until the point when you ask, “How many more plates are you bringing?!” because you’re already to the point of bursting.
- Salume
- Pancetta
- Soppressata
- Lardo
- Carne Crudo/Tartare
- Verdura Cardo con crema di parmigiano
- Risotto con noci (with walnuts)
- Tagliolini con carne (with meat)
- Faraona con Patate (Guinea Fowl with Potatoes)
- Brasato (Pot Roast)
- Bonet Piemontese (traditional Piedmont chocolate bread pudding)
- Vino (Both Barbera and Bianco, their own production)
- Acqua Frizzante (sparkling)
- Caffè
- Grappa
The total for two people, for all of the above, was 68€, ($77)!! We suggested they have not just the rate for the meal, but a rate for the meal-plus-a-room to sleep for 3 hours afterwards.
This would be an amazing place to bring a group of friends for a stay and a meal.
Agriturismo Cascina Imarisia
Deregibus Mario di Pietro & Mauro Deregibus
Ozzano Monferrato (AL)
Tel: 0142.488.279
By reservation only
View to Treville from Ozzana hill
View toward Casale from Agriturismo Cascina Imarisia
Agriturismo Cascina Imarisia
Inside Agriturismo Cascina Imarisia
Salume, pancetta, soppressata
Enjoying my slices of lard and soppressata
Lardo – Unusually meaty pieces of lard
Loredano and an unusually meaty piece of lardo – lard
Carne cruda – Steak tartare (chopped, raw beef)
Cardo – Wild artichoke in creamy parmigiano sauce
Risotto con noci – Risotto with walnuts
Bonet Piemontese – like a steamed, chocolate bread pudding
Maureen at Agriturismo Cascina Imarisia
View toward Casale from Agriturismo Cascina Imarisia
Agriturismo Cascina Imarisia
Agriturismo Cascina Imarisia
View toward Casale from Agriturismo Cascina Imarisia
by Maureen | Jan 11, 2022 | Blog, Design, Featured Articles, Italy, Milano - Milan
In one of the fashion capitals of the world, what better sight is there to see than a show of eighteenth century clothing, and modern-day clothing it inspired. The show at Palazzo Morando is titled “Sette Cento” – literally “seven hundred”, but referring to the 1700s, thus the eighteenth century. (This is a common way of referring to the centuries, dropping reference to the first thousand years. I hear this often when speaking of antiques.)
Several of the garments had construction details that wowed me: a modified princess seam, adjustable back waist belt, detachable collar, pre-angled sleeves, uncommon gathers, over-embroidered prints. (The blue-on-white Vivienne Westwood Jacket from 1996 was particularly intriguing to me.) Seeing both the old and the new, the textiles, the details, the forms, made me itch to get in front of my sewing machine.
by Maureen | Jan 5, 2022 | Blog, Discoveries, Featured Articles, Incredible Locations, Italy, Milano - Milan
What an incredible, jaw-dropping collection of mineral specimens from around the world! Such size, color, geometry, variety, complexity/simplicity. Wow.
In all these years of coming to Milano, I had never been to the Museo di Storia Naturale di Milano – The Natural History Museum of Milan – though I had passed it many times. Due to Covid precautions, I’m not traveling beyond Milan much this time, so I’m doing more exploration right here in town.
I looked up the museum online and saw that they have the mineral collection, so I went specifically to see it. (I’ll save the rest of the museum for another visit.)
When I first entered the collection space, I faced handwritten ledgers documenting the collection, plus illustrations and beautiful instruments. Then I walked into the grand hall and marveled at the stones in front of me.
I found Opal, Quartz, Flourite, Beryl, Topaz, Gold, Silver and Copper. The Zolfo – Sulfur – is brilliant yellow, and the specimens are huge, wonderfully-formed crystals. Schorl-Elbaite is Tourmaline. Impressive!
The museum visit was a great way to spend one of the few rainy afternoons we’ve had in the last few weeks.
Museum of Natural History of Milan
by Maureen | Jan 4, 2022 | Blog, Featured Articles, Incredible Locations, Italy, Lago Maggiore, Meals
What an invitation, to spend the day with Antonio, Donatella and Loredano at Lago Maggiore, in “the Lakes Region”, northwest of Milan!
Once beyond the autostrada, and partway along the lakeshore, we stopped in Arona at the Statua di San Carlo Borromeo – the Statue of Saint Charles Borromeo – a towering figure by sculptor Auguste Bartholdi, who designed the Statue of Liberty. Although there is access up inside of the statue, it was closed during our visit. One of the local cats, however, was quite content for our attention and was a sweet highpoint.
After finishing our hour-and-a-half-long drive, winding along the western shore of the lake, we arrived at Stresa (STRAY-zuh). From Stresa, one looks north into Switzerland at the head of the lake. We sipped prosecco in the main piazza before catching the wood-lined transport boat to the small island of Isola Pescatore.
Wandering rabbit-warren, pebbled paths so satisfies my desire for exploration! We walked until we found the entrance to a restaurant serving the local specialty of deep fried fish: Aquadelle, “red trout” and “white trout”. I dipped each bite, head-tail-and-all, into the aioli provided and ate the fish along with the grilled veggies I also requested. Always order the local specialty!
It was a beautiful, partly sunny, not-cold winter day, and we enjoyed a shoreline stroll after lunch as we awaited the boat to take us to the next island, Isola Bella. We had our wanderings here as well, though the island was mostly shuttered for the season.
We caught the boat back to Stresa as the sky was darkening, and returned to town with the holiday lights ablaze. A wonderful day away from the city with dear friends.
(Click on the map below for a better view.)
La Statua di San Carlo – Statue of St. Charles
La Statua di San Carlo – Statue of St. Charles
La Statua di San Carlo – Statue of St. Charles
La Statua di San Carlo – Statue of St. Charles
Maureen with Tango’s Cousin
Piazzale del Monte San Carlo
Antonio checking email in the main piazza of Stresa
Donatella and Antonio wearing their new masks
Loredano on the piazza in Stresa
Signage in the main piazza of Stresa
Along the shore of Lago Maggiore
Tickets to the islands on Lago Maggiore
On Isola Pescatore (Note the Santa Claus)
On Isola Pescatore: “Alms for the needs of the church”
On Isola Pescatore: same church
On Isola Pescatore: same church
On Isola Pescatore: Deep fried “red trout”, “white trout” and aquadelle fish from the lake. (Always choose what’s local.)
On Isola Pescatore: Panna cotta with raspberry sauce and shortbread
Lago Maggiore, with Switzerland at the north end
Lago Maggiore, with Switzerland at the north end
Pebbled piazza on Isola Bella
Painted details on Isola Bella
On Isola Bella, looking north to Isola Pescatore
Chain and pebbled pavement on Isola Bella
Stresa Ticket office for Lago Maggiore boat trips
by Maureen | Dec 31, 2021 | Apartment, Blog, Featured Articles, Introspection, Italy, Journal, Milano - Milan
“Che splendido!” How splendid!
New Year’s Eve. 1:14 on a sunny afternoon. My tall doors open to the cool, 43-degree air, sun and the canal view streaming in. How delightful to sit here, cat-like, enjoying this bright winter day.
I crave light and this south-facing balcony satisfies my yearning. Doors wide open, I’ll warm the house back up later.
The bubbling chicken stock has made the house smell good, though I now realize I’m flushing all the scent out with this fresh air. A fine trade.
This moment is a perfection and I made the choices to create it. I recognize my good fortune to be able to do so.
I could sit here all afternoon just feeling the sun transit the sky!
by Maureen | Jan 12, 2022 | Blog, Cheese, Featured Articles, Food!, Italy, Meals
Oh, how I love to eat here in Italy. What is it that makes it all so delicious? Unlike the misconceptions, “Italian food” is NOT all “pizza and pasta”. There’s so very much more!
The freshness of the ingredients is a big part. Also, the regional traditions and specialties, changing every 50 kilometers, makes exploration so tantalizing.
And, my trust in the food origin and quality makes a huge difference (…but perhaps I’m naive and mistaken?). I can’t remember the last time I’ve eaten raw beef in the U.S. I wouldn’t trust it! But it was absolutely delicious yesterday, and I had no hesitation. The provenance of the meat is important and known here. I don’t find that in the U.S. except in very refined restaurants or meat sources.
Part of my reason for posting images of what I’m eating is to inform about the very broad world of what constitutes “Italian Food”. If you come to Italy, I encourage you to order the regional specialties… order something even though you don’t know what it is. It’s a great, wonderful, edible world here.
After you’ve devoured the images below, here are a few additional food smorgasbords to drool over:
Italian Food: Eating in Italy
Pizza con nduja, provolone, cipolla caramellata e pistacchi
Ravioli stuffed with squash, topped with just-shaved white truffle
Aperitivo platter at Bugandè
Warm “salad” of octopus, potato and taggiasche olives. My favorite
Squash pudding with porcini sauce
Mozzarella knot “nodino”. Yes, it can be untied.
Baked orata with bottarga (dried roe)
Lightly sweetened lemon ricotta
Macchiato at Cioccolat Italiani
Salad of thin-sliced, grilled octopus, with avocado, corn, cherry tomatoes, basil and lime
crostini topped with warm goat cheese, shaved beet and sun-dried tomato
Homemade chicken soup, with bok choy
On Isola Pescatore: Deep fried “red trout”, “white trout” and aquadelle fish from the lake. (Always choose what’s local.)
On Isola Pescatore: Panna cotta with raspberry sauce and shortbread
Arancini, filled with speck and pistacchio
Arancini, deep-fried rice balls filled with meats, cheese, sauce
Chicken Mirabella for New Year’s Eve dinner
Chicken Mirabella prepped for New Year’s Eve dinner
Tortelli filled with squash, with black truffle
Papardelle with fresh porcini mushrooms
Il tris di Carne Cruda di Garronese
Argentine beef, with cod “in umido”
Pickled onions and “chiodo” mushrooms
Tortelli di zucca (squash) with butter and sage
Mirto and Sardegnan pastry
Pane carasau, octopus and potato, smoked tuna, scallop
“Alici”, fresh anchovies with lemon juice and EVOO
Shrimp, tomatoes, pane carasau
Mirto, Sardegnan liquore of myrtle leaves and berries
Gnocchi with black truffle
Cauliflower. Foamy, and neither soup
Bread platter at Al Pont de Ferr
Linguine with teeny, tiny “seppiolini”, little squid
My Christmas breakfast of sautéed veggies, egg, cheese, pears, taralli
Salame, pate and egg-crab bites
Bread with zabaglione spread
Filet with roasted brussels sprouts
Tajarin al ragu with quail and black truffle
Gorgonzola dolce with walnuts
Octopus tentacle with garbanzo puree
Escarole with pine nuts and raisins
Grilled scamorza affumicata cheese with zucchini
Eggplant parmigiana to-go
Risotto con Tartufo Bianco
Orecchiette, cima di rapa, burrata
Caponata – Eggplant, olives, capers
by Maureen | Dec 27, 2021 | Apartment, Blog, Design, Featured Articles, Italy, Milano - Milan
“How does one use a bidet? Is it for washing your feet? Is it for chilling your prosecco?”… Many American friends have been puzzled about using a bidet, and have asked for an explanation.
With a bidet, one can use far less water than with a shower. Naked, plop your butt down on the bidet and wash your pits, your privates and your pretty little face. Poof! All freshened up!
I really like having a bidet, standard in homes here in Italy. A few years ago I got bids to remodel my one-and-only bathroom in my 70-year-old house. I would have to redo much of my plumbing, including moving the toilet. I’ve put it off… for now. (And no, I don’t want a computerized, body-sensing add-on to my toilet.)
As we face water shortages, I think all new houses should include bidets, AND we’d have to educate people about their use. (Retrofitting a house is complex, but new construction could start with a bidet in the plan.)
by Maureen | Dec 27, 2021 | Blog, Featured Articles, Food!, Italy, Meals, Milano - Milan, Piacenza, Shopping & Markets
Early Sunday mornings, (not bright-and-early because it’s pitch dark out at 6:00 a.m.) are flea market times. Loredano has been a “regular” for decades, and I’ve got the bug when I’m here. Yesterday, the day after Christmas, we headed to the flea market at Assago, on the southwest edge of Milan. The sellers’ stalls were sparse, post-holiday, but we found a few things nonetheless. I got an old, leather-bound, very heavy, blank ledger (€20) which may yield fodder for art projects. That book is so big and heavy, it’ll require a suitcase all on its own! And I brought home a beautiful boxed set of handmade paper stationery, labeled “London” (€5), each bundle of envelopes tied with a white silk ribbon. I will use these papers for special letters, and maybe even do some painting on that gorgeous paper.
From Assago, we tried for San Donato, this time on the southeast edge of town. Also slim pickin’s at that flea market, we browsed, and walked away empty-handed. Up for a drive, we decided to head east, to Caorso, in the Province of Piacenza, Region of Emilia-Romagna. (Like driving to the next state over.) Caorso is almost halfway between Milan and Bologna, not far from Parma. It was a foggy drive in the countryside, with farmlands and abandoned buildings from long ago in the muted, roadside scenes… plus a giant Amazon warehouse.
We arrived in the little town of Caorso, stopped to ask a couple of locals where the flea market was, and they told us that because it was the feast day of Santo Stefano, there was no flea market. Hmm. Now what? In the historic center of town, we stopped across from the Piazza della Rocca Mandelli, a renaissance castle; the theater that caught my eye, Cine Fox; and Casa La Madonnina, an elder care residence.
It was almost noon, a little early by Italian standards to stop for lunch. We saw a man walking along the street, stopped and told him we’d like to find a restaurant serving foods typical to the region. Where would he recommend having a meal?
Absolutely the best choice, he said, was Osteria del Morino. (@osteriadelmorinocaorso) He was right. A half block away, we called to check availability. Yes! There was space for two. (By the time we left two hours later, the place was packed. Amazing that we had gotten a table.) (Of course, named “Morino”, how could we go wrong?)
From the outside, the place looked small and worth little mention. But inside, we found the place expansive, charming, and comfortably-yet-beautifully decorated. We were seated in the upstairs balcony.
Always choose from the local specialties. In Italy, you can go 50 kilometres and find a completely different food culture, each area with it’s own traditional recipes. Ask for those! (Please don’t fall back on what you “think” is “Italian Food”, what you’re accustomed to ordering back home in the States. I often don’t know what I’m going to get… but that’s the whole point!)
Loredano and I chose, and shared:
- Il tris di Carne Cruda di Garronese – Three different raw preparations of very special, high quality Garronese beef.
- Pisarei e Fasò – “Pasta and beans”. Borlotti beans with bean-sized rounds of firm pasta, in a smooth, tomato-based sauce.
- Melanzane marinate – Marinated Eggplant – Pickled in wine vinegar with olive oil and herbs.
- Il Ganassino – Pig’s cheeks, stewed in Barbera wine, served on mashed potatoes.
- Vino Gutturnio – A lightly bubbly red wine, typical of Piacenza Province.
- Un Caffè Normale – Every meal is finished with a sip of coffee.
Beautiful, handmade writing papers
The “laid” finish of the handmade writing papers
Casa Residenza Anziani La Madonnina
Osteria del Morino exterior
Il tris di Carne Cruda di Garronese
Osteria del Morino antipasti
Osteria del Morino secondi
by Maureen | Dec 23, 2021 | Blog, Design, Featured Articles, Graphics, Italy, Milano - Milan
Mestiere di Grafico Oggi – Professions in Graphics Today: Always energising, thought-provoking and inspiring to see a round-up of what’s happening in the design world. So many expressions of design that weren’t feasible when I began 45 years ago… and so many that remain still.
It tickled me to see my friend Alta Price featured in the show, with the book Alfa-Beta, she created with Enrico Tallone and Tomaso Tojani.
I was also pleased to recognise acknowledgement of the 25 year anniversary of the Tipoteca Italiana Fondazione, where, a few years ago, I was fortunate to learn and practice with masters in their letterpress studio.
by Maureen | Dec 23, 2021 | Blog, Design, Featured Articles, Italy, Milano - Milan
Roberto Capucci: Italian fashion designer.
“He creates unusual, sculpted dresses in original materials and has been featured in shows representing most talented and renowned designers.” Wikipedia
I enjoy the playful innovation, sculptural forms and elegant craft.
by Maureen | Dec 23, 2021 | Blog, Design, Featured Articles, Graphics, Italy, Milano - Milan
Ettore Sottsass: A design great, so always an honour to see his sketches, his thinking, the fruition of his ideas.
“(14 September 1917 – 31 December 2007) was an Italian architect and designer during the 20th century. His body of work included furniture, jewelry, glass, lighting, home objects and office machine design, as well as many buildings and interiors. His style was defined by bright color choices, statement pieces and decoration. Ettore Sottsass was an iconic figure in design history.” Wikipedia.
INSTALLATION
Ettore Sottsass – Casa Lana
Triennale Design Museum, Milano
by Maureen | Dec 23, 2021 | Blog, Design, Featured Articles, Italy, Milano - Milan, Photos
Raymond Depardon: A grand exhibition space filled with images of even grander, great outdoor spaces. Printed tall and soaring, taking the viewer directly into the broad expanse of landscape.
Then come around a corner, and there are intimate captures of bustle on the streets of New York. Real, fresh, unhidden faces and sidewalk interactions.
Around yet another bend in the show is an affectionate embrace of quintessential places, their signs, their exteriors, their “faces” to the world.
One could get lost in exploring the rich meat of this exhibition.
EXHIBITION
Raymond Depardon – La Vita Moderna
Until 10 April 2022
by Maureen | Dec 23, 2021 | Blog, Design, Graphics, Italy, Milano - Milan
Giovanni Gastel: Powerful, dramatic, moody photos, made all the more striking by the very large size of these digital prints.
Interesting that most of those photographed are Italian, yet the show is opened with a portrait of Barack Obama.
And there’s disparity in the portrayal of the men and women. (Are we surprised?) There’s a broader age range in the men shown, and they are presented as serious, introspective and enigmatic. There’s not much variation in the presentation of the women, their age, their mood, their strengths. Their beauty is highlighted. Where are the elder women?
Strong portraits. Moving. But they leave me questioning.
EXHIBITION
Giovanni Gastel – The People I Like
Until 13 March 2022
READ MORE
by Maureen | Dec 23, 2021 | Blog, Design, Featured Articles, Graphics, Italy, Milano - Milan
Saul Steinberg: Masterful. Genius. Witty. Broadly talented. And there must be hundreds of his works in this show!
EXHIBITION
Saul Steinberg Milano New York
Triennale Design Museum, Milano
Until 13 March 2022
The exhibition, curated by Italo Lupi and Marco Belpoliti with Francesca Pellicciari, and put on together with the Electa publishing company, celebrates the city of Milan, where Steinberg lived and to which he dedicated many of his works. The display includes a series of pencil, ink and watercolour drawings, paper masks, objects, and sculptures, as well as documents and photographs, selected with the assistance of the Saul Steinberg Foundation and other important institutions, as well as Steinberg’s friends and collectors.
READ MORE
(Since all pieces were encased in plexiglass, I had to angle enough to reduce glare and reflection in the photos, but this yielded distortion and some “self-portraits with Steinberg.)
by Maureen | Dec 23, 2021 | Blog, Design, Featured Articles, Graphics, Italy, Milano - Milan
The current selection of shows at the Triennale Design Museum is reason enough to come to Milano right now! Knocked my socks off! Inspiration. Ideas. Things to contemplate and marvel over. Wow factor. During every visit to this city, a pilgrimage to the Triennale is an absolute must for me, and always a high point.
In addition to the permanent exhibit of Italian product design (incredible!), there are always multiple, relevant, rotating shows. There’s also the best design bookstore I’ve ever seen, and a Caffè for when you need to refuel in order to keep perusing the shows.
Current Highlight Shows:
Triennale Milano
Viale Alemagna 6, 20121 – Milano
T +39 02 72434245
by Maureen | Dec 19, 2021 | Blog, Christmas & New Year's Eve, Featured Articles, Food!, Milano - Milan
Assago Flea Market
It was 32 degrees outside this morning at 6:00 and we were going scrounging for junk. I put on two pairs of pants, two sweaters, a down jacket and wool coat, two hats and gloves. Bundled. As ready as I could be. My long-time friend, painter Loredano, picked me up and we drove south into the thick fog to the crude, rough, full-of-junk-with-occasional-hidden-pearls flea market.
We arrived at 6:15 in dense fog. Sellers got there even earlier. The “sharks” – voracious buyers – perused with flashlights and headlights as merchandise was pulled from vans and trucks. There’s a lot of JUNK out there and I wonder why people bother carting it around, arranging it on the pavement or tables … and now and then, there’s a “gem”. But it’s all relative. I think of a quote from grocer Morris Manischewitz who said, 40 years ago, “People buy anything.” It’s true. They do.
If I see something that interests me, I motion to Loredano, who knows all the sellers and has been buying “antiques” for decades. He negotiates the price as one of “the regulars”.
In the U.S., if something is 50 years old, we call it an antique. Here, the antiques are 200, 300, 400+ years old. THOSE are antiques. We don’t even see such things at “antique stores” in the U.S.
As the fog lifted, the overhead lights cast a golden glow, and slowly we could begin to see without flashlights and cell phone lights. We bought a couple of old books, stayed for 2 hours, then headed back to the center of town.
Milan Mercatone Antiquariato Along the Naviglio Grande
The BIG antique market in Milan, along the Naviglio Grande (Grand Canal), is always scheduled for the last Sunday of the month. In the summertime, there’s barely standing-room-only, and the sellers’ stalls stretch out in all directions. But Christmas is next weekend, so the market was a week early. On a frigid, foggy, winter day, the stalls and buyers had room to spare, but there was still plenty to look at.
Prices are much higher than at the little flea markets scattered in small towns near Milan. Sellers know the market draws tourists, and they allegedly offer a more curated selection of goods. If nothing else, it’s fun to look.
Back in Milan, the fog had lifted, the sun was shining, and it was a 40 degree, pleasant winter day. Ahh. I bought a piece of twill-weave, “canapa” (hemp) fabric from which I want to make a couple of bath towels. It’s heavy and dense and SO absorbent!
Sunday Afternoon Lunch in the Countryside
After I had a brief nap (still catching up from jet lag), Loredano and I headed south. As we got away from buildings and solid pavement, the fog enveloped us. It was white-grey everywhere. Some of the trees at the roadside were thick with hoarfrost, and snow from last week remained in the fields.
We took so many back roads, roundabouts, turns and farm-field paths that I could never give directions to Ristorante Mulino di Limido in Zerboló. You have to know it’s there, and how to find it. We warmed ourselves by the big fireplace when we got there.
We ordered appetisers to start, and received cipolle sott’aceto (pickled onions, yum!), funghi chiodi (little mushrooms), insalata Russa (Russian Salad) and a meat plate of salame, coppa and speck. (I could have stopped there!)
There was no written menu, and though I speak only Italian when I’m here, it just doesn’t work for me to have a server rattle off the offerings for the day and expect me to pick one. Admittedly, I was flustered. (I’m such a visual person that I need to read the name and description, visualise the dish and THEN decide what I want.) The server was too impatient for me to do my visualisation. I ended up with a hunk of Argentinian beef sitting all by itself on a plain white plate. Loredano ordered merluzzo in umido, cod, kind of simmered with potatoes. We shared our dishes.
We ended our meal with Tiramisù (I had one bite), limoncello and un caffè. We then made our way northward, in the fog, to the city where the sunny sky opened up.
Back to the Mercatone
We went back to the canal, where the Mercatone was in full swing in the light of day, We wandered a bit, saw long-time friends, then split up for the day.
Fog and sunshine. City and country. Junk and treasure. Friends and strangers. Lovely, lovely.
Pickled onions and “chiodo” mushrooms
Argentine beef, with cod “in umido”
by Maureen | Dec 18, 2021 | Blog, Featured Articles, Italy, Milano - Milan
If you want fun, distinctive, vintage – or modern – eyewear, and you’re strolling the streets of Milano, head up the stairs to Foto Veneta Ottica. You might spend hours browsing!
I had been there a few years ago, and the other day I spontaneously decided to stop in for a peek. Hooked on red glasses, I asked to see what they have. They pulled out a tray full of red-wear, but what caught my eye was a pair off to the side, in another case.
Bingo! This pair, from the 70s, by Italian designer Mila Schön, is certainly “fun, distinctive and vintage”, and a bit outrageous. They put new lenses in them for me and I picked them up the next day. Fabulous. There won’t be anything like them on the streets of Seattle!
FOTO VENETA OTTICA
Via Torino 57, 20123 Milano
Tel 02.8055735
https://fotovenetaottica.com
info@fotovenetaottica.com
by Maureen | Dec 18, 2021 | Christmas & New Year's Eve, Featured Articles, Milano - Milan, Shopping & Markets
Stretched out along the north side of Milan’s Duomo, Christmas Market stalls are selling meats, cheeses, breads, pretzels, truffles, dried fruit, candies, chocolate… Also every variety of gift item, including little trinkets, clothing, ornaments, jewelry, etc.
Approaching the Christmas Market stalls.
Dried and candied fruits of all sorts.
Chestnuts roasting on a closed fire.
Meats and cheeses from Norcia.
Olives, pickled artichoke hearts and veggies from Puglia.
by Maureen | Dec 15, 2021 | Apartment, Blog, Canals, Christmas & New Year's Eve, Church, Featured Articles, Food!, Incredible Locations, Italy, Milano - Milan, Photos
13 December 2021
“Stanca morta” – Dead tired.
Just arrived this morning after complex travel prep due to Covid-19, two days of almost no sleep, and 24 hours of travel. Door-to-door.
But so content as I sit here in my canal-side appartamento, hearing the apperitivo hub-bub along the Naviglio Grande (Grand Canal) through the double-pane windows. The Christmas light decorations illuminate my apartment.
I’m on the third floor, as Americans would call it. “Secondo Piano” as Italians would say. What we call the first floor is the “terra piano“, the ground floor. The “first floor” is the floor up from that.
“Ho messo tutto a posto. Tutto in ordine. Sistemato. Organizzato.” I put everything just right. Everything in order. Systematized. Organized.
A great flat with a quite ample kitchen, dining table (desk), living room, and non-scary stairs that go up to the loft bedroom and bathroom. (Going up the stairs during the day to use the bathroom is better than having to navigate the stairs down…and back up…in the dark middle of the night.)
I’m on the north side of the canal, so I will get morning and daylight sun streaming in from the canal-side, tall, balcony doors. That thrills me.
And I’m in my traditional neighborhood: “Zona Navigli“. The Canal Zone. I’ve always been in this area and it feels like home. Only a couple of times smack ON the canal, but this has become my default spot. I have friends, favorite restaurants, grocery stores, little shops that I frequent.
Two years have passed since I was last here. It feels like ages, but also like no time at all. Feels like almost yesterday as I move through town to get “home” to my apartment.
But also, the world has changed. Milano has changed. I’ve changed. Italy… and the whole world, bore horrible onslaught from the Covid pandemic… and we still bear it, and likely will for who knows how long.
Italy has “strict regulations” in place, not wanting to endure the loss they bore when the pandemic began. But I do see caution being set aside more than I imagined. So I have to navigate and create my own personal safety as I am comfortable.
I am so glad to be here. This place…Milano…Italia…has been feeding my heart, my brain, my soul, since 2008, every year adding to the bank of inspiration, reference and memory.
I just couldn’t imagine staying away another year. My time here feeds me. Feeds my being.
My Apartment Along the Grand Canal
My “block” along the canal
My apartment along the canal, with it’s bedroom dormer
Entering my apartment, into the kitchen
My living room with high doors that open to a balcony with the canal view
My bathroom, with a big shower
Classic “ringhiera” courtyard, outside my apartment
The stairway up to my apartment
My Neighborhood in the “Zona Navigli”, Canal Zone
The view from my balcony, looking out along the “Naviglio Grande”, the Grand Canal.
Looking west along the canal, past my apartment
Market stalls at La Darsena.
Looking south down the Naviglio Pavese.
Linguine with teeny, tiny “seppiolini”, little squid
Bread platter at Al Pont de Ferr
Cauliflower. Foamy, and neither soup
Gnocchi with black truffle
Warm “salad” of octopus, potato and taggiasche olives. My favorite
Shrimp, tomatoes, pane carasau
“Alici”, fresh anchovies with lemon juice and EVOO
Pane carasau, octopus and potato, smoked tuna, scallop
Mirto and Sardegnan pastry
Tortelli di zucca (squash) with butter and sage
Around town in the evening.
Christmas street decorations
San Lorenzo Maggiore and columns
by Maureen | Jan 4, 2021 | Blog, Featured Articles, Introspection, Journal, U.S.A.
We do our shopping and choose fruits and veggies to bring home without giving much thought to those who picked that produce.
Long ago, for 21 years, I had been an orchardist in the Methow Valley of Eastern Washington with my then-husband. This was no “gentleman farmer” hobby endeavor. Though we weren’t one of the larger orchardists, at the time we grew about 450,000 pounds of pears per year, plus about 50,000 pounds of apples.
Speaking Spanish
My love of language came in handy. I had studied Spanish for 7 years in school and lived in Nicaragua as an exchange student when I was 14. I was the only orchardist in the Valley that spoke Spanish. Consequently, we often had carloads of eager workers that would drive up our dusty road for my help filling out their immigration and working papers.
In 1999, at harvest time, I wanted to introduce the individuals that showed up early every day to pick d’Anjou pears, starting on those frosty September mornings, and ending with sweltering afternoons. Each day their hands became caked with chemical residues, sticky insect “honeydew”, aluminum from the ladders, dirt and sweat.
Each full bag of pears hanging from their shoulders weighed 40 pounds, the thick straps criss-crossing their backs. Many of the men bore telltale X-shaped open wounds and scars. It’s damn heavy, hard work, climbing up and down a 10 or 12-foot ladder with a 40-pound weight strapped on front, then leaning over to carefully unload the fruit into the bin. Some men would pick 8,000 to 10,000 pounds a day! For each thousand-pound bin, they earned 8 to 12 bucks depending on the orchardist’s generosity.
Crew Boss and Camaraderie
Some years, I ran harvest while my husband was back in Burien, south of Seattle, teaching his Chemistry students. On those chilly mornings, just past sunrise, I’d walk out into the clearing next to the orchard, size up and select from those wanting to work, and tell them that I was the crew boss. “Uh huh, yeah right”… I could see them thinking… almost a jeer.
Because I was fluent in Spanish, I wasn’t an orchardist grunting orders at them. I’d hustle through the orchard, check each man’s work, inspect the fruit and chit-chat as I went. We talked about symphonic music, art, politics, religion, culture… out in the middle of the orchard rows, of all places!
After 10 days of working hard, side-by-side, from early morning into the hot afternoon and sometimes early evening… After they saw me driving tractor, “humpin’ bins” through the orchard rows, and sweating alongside of them, we developed mutual respect and camaraderie. We worked hard together and we laughed hard together.
Introductions
I wanted to introduce the men that worked for us throughout the year, and especially during the intensity of September’s harvest. The orchardists that spoke no Spanish missed out on sharing real character and humanity with those they employed. I wanted to give them dignity by sharing their stories.
I asked the men for several things:
- Name, age, birthplace
- Length of time in the U.S.
- Personal message in Spanish (which I then translated)
I received all or part of what I asked for. One man wanted to respond, but appeared sheepish; he was illiterate. One of his co-workers volunteered and wrote down his story to give to me.
At the time, the internet was still pretty new and quite limited. I told the men that I was going to put their photos and messages online, with the pie-in-the-sky idea that their families back home could see their faces and read their words. As it turned out, just the other side of the mountains from Microsoft, there were no public computers for the men to view their own stories, and their families back home in Mexico and Central America certainly didn’t have computers with internet access.
Postscript
Gathering these stories and images had always been meaningful to me. In light of the focus on immigration we’re (still) seeing today (2021), I wanted to repeat the post from 1999. It offers a brief intro to 15 of the men, (in random order), that I’m proud to have worked so closely with over the years. Their messages were copied from their own handwriting on September 15, 1999.
Read their messages. Some are so profound… some so touching. Armando Rodriguez Castillo “looks like” someone you “wouldn’t want to mess with”, yet read his message! It just about knocked me off my feet when I first read it:
“There is no greater loneliness
than that in which there is no God.”
Armando’s written message was a lesson against stereotyping.
I look at these photos now, at the beginning of 2021, and realize that these men are now 21 years older. Where are they now? Eligio was 17 years old; he’s 38 now! And Baldo was 59; he’d be 80 now. I hope they are well.
(Only in the first two years of my involvement with the farm did we have even a couple of non-Latinos show up wanting to pick pears. And it was only once or twice that a woman showed up with her husband so they could pick together. Thus, I am introducing all Latino men.)
CLICK EACH PHOTO TO ENLARGE IT.
Armando Ruiz Tovar
38 Years Old.
Born in Uruapan, Michoacan, Mexico.
1 Year in the United States.
“Con mucho carino. Escribo estas cuantas palabras para mi esposa, y hijos deciandoles lo mejor del mundo. Por que de casado tengo 16 anos y pienso de lo agusto que bibo como que fue ayer cuando me case.
“Con mucho carino para todos mis hijos que se llaman Rocio, Francisco, Rubi, Claudia y Irene. Mi esposa Estela Gomez C. y Armando Ruiz Tovar y Famila.”
“With much affection, I write these few words for my wife and kids telling them the best of the world. I’ve been married 16 years and I think of that August like it was yesterday that I got married.
“With much affection for my children named Rocio, Francisco, Rubi, Claudia and Irene. My wife Estela Gomez C. Armando Ruiz Tovar Y Familia”
Donato Campos Cisneros
18 Years Old.
Born in El Tibor, Guerrero, Mexico.
1 Year in the United States.
“Quiero mandarles un mensaje a mi familiares especialmente a mi mama y a mis hermanos. Les quiere decir que no me he olvidado de ustedes que aunque este muy lejos, yo aqui los recuerdo todos los dias, y que yo aqui me encuentro muy bien echandole muchas ganas al trabajo y a la Escuela que me enscibi para aprender Ingles para cuanda vaya yo para alla para que digan que si lleve algode aqui.
“Y para todos mis amigos muchos saludos, y tambien le doy las gracias a la persona que me dio la oportunidad de poner este mensaje. No les digo Adios si no hasta pronto. Gracias.”
“I want to send a message to my family, especially to my mom and my brothers and sisters. I want to tell them that I haven’t forgotten them even though I’m far away, and I remember them every day while I’m here, and I’m doing well here and putting aside a lot of fun for work and school where I’m learning English.
“Greetings to all my friends, and also thank you to the person that gave me the opportunity to write this message. I’m not saying ‘goodbye’ to everyone but very soon ‘thank you’.”
Isidoro Sanchez Oregon
52 Years Old.
Born in Guerrero, Mexico.
3 Years in the United States.
“De parte de Isidoro Sanchez y de sus hijos que se encuentran alla en Washington, les mandan saludos a la Senora Alejandrina Vivera que se encuentra en Zihuatanejo, Guerrero y sus hijas y familia. Esperamos que se encuentren bien.
“Bueno, nosotros estamos aca echandoles ganas a la chamba y esperamos ir pronto para alla si dios quiere.
“Bueno, nos despedimos de ustedes y portense bien. Saludos a toda la familia Sanchez Rivera.”
“From Isidoro Sanchez and his sons here in Washington, we send greetings to Mrs. Alejandrina Vivera who is in Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, and her daughters and family. We hope you’re well.
“We’re here putting aside our pleasures, and we hope to go (home) soon if God is willing.
“Well, we bid you farewell and be well. Greetings to all the Sanchez Rivera Family.”
Francisco Gomez Castillo
22 Years Old.
Born in Agililla, Michoacan, Mexico.
“Este es un mensaje de Francisco, i dino alas drogas por que el que anda en las drogas anda en mal camino i todo el tiempo va a vivir escondido de los demas. Este es un caso de la vida real atontamente el charro.”
“This is a message from Francisco against drugs because he who is on drugs is on a bad path and all the time he will live hidden from others. This is a case of the foolishly lived life.”
Abraham Moreno
42 Years Old.
Born in Guerrero, Mexico.
3 Years in the United States.
“Que todas las familias del mundo permanescan siempre unidos y en especial las familias mexicanas y se acabe la violensia. Familiar saludos a la familia Barrios Calderon, a la familia Onofre Garcia, Bridgeport, WA.”
“That all the families of the world remain forever united and especially Mexican families, and that violence would end. Greetings to the Barrios Calderon Family and to the Onofre Garcia family in Bridgeport, WA.”
Ernesto Proa
26 Years Old.
Born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.
2 Years in the United States.
“Hola. La vida es bonita aunque hay momentos en que nos sentimos que no nos comprende nadien. Siempre hay solucion. Nunca busque la puerta falsa. Sigue adelante y lucha por alcansar tus metos. Sonrie y se felix.”
“Hi. Life is beautiful even though there are moments when we feel we don’t understand anyone. There’s always a solution. Never look for the false door. Continue ahead and struggle to overcome your diffuculties. Smile and be happy.”
Anastacio Nuñez Rosales
21 Years Old.
Born in Zacateca, Mexico.
3 Years in the United States.
“A toda mi familia, mis amigos, mis abuelitas, a mis primos, saludo desde aqui para todos desde aqui miren como esta aqui trabajando en las peras.”
“To all my family, my friends, to my grandmothers, my cousins, greetings from here. To all, from here, see how it is here working in the pears.”
Manuel Olivares Gonzalez
24 Years Old.
Armando Rodriguez Castillo
28 Years Old.
Born in Salamanca, Guanajuato, Mexico.
7 Years in the United States.
“No hay peor soledad que aquella donde Dios no esta.”
“There is no greater loneliness than that in which there is no God.”
Eligio Torres Blanco
17 Years Old
Baldomero “Baldo” Valdovinos
59 Years Old.
Born in El Tibor, Mexico.
10 Years in the United States.
“Un mensaje a todos mis amigos que me vean piscando pera en la huerta de mi patrona Maria y el patron Arturo y principalmente a todos mis amigos de mi rancho, El Tibor y a toda mi familia que me vea.
“Y es todo lo que les dice, su amigo, Baldomero.”
“A message to all my friends that see me picking pears in the orchard of my bosses ‘Maria’ and ‘Arturo’ and principally to all my friends at home in El Tibor and to all my family that sees me.
“And that’s all I say to you, your friend, Baldomero.”
Luis Alonso Barrera
43 Years Old.
Born in El Salvador.
12 Years in the United States.
Sergio Rodriguez Mendoza
24 Years Old.
Efrain Mendoza Romero
32 Years Old.
Born in Michoacan, Mexico.
15 Years in the United States.
“Saludos a todos.”
“Greetings to everyone.”
by Maureen | Oct 9, 2019 | Blog, Featured Articles, Incredible Locations, Italy, Sanremo
Sanremo. In the far, far northwest along the Italian Riviera, in the region of Liguria, roughly a 20 km stone’s throw from the border with France. Only about 42 km from Monaco. There are palm trees, blue skies, a beachside promenade and bike path, a large casino, a Saturday market that draws foreigners, and traffic that would make anyone swear off driving.
There’s also Sandra, my landlady when I lived here from 2009 – 2010… and our friendship. When I first met her, I had been here in Italy only a couple of months and could speak very little Italian. But I’m sure she was thrilled to be renting to a “mature woman” instead of rowdy students. She invited me to visit them at their home… and I’ve returned every year since then. I travel there with my apron, and we chat while we scrub mussels and clams for spaghetti, or she makes Sardenara—typical Ligurian focaccia topped with tomato sauce, anchovies, taggiasche olives and garlic cloves.
A few years ago, Sandra told me about “La Pigna”–PEEN-yuh–and dropped me off there to shoot photos while she went to an appointment. Wow. I wandered and gladly crisscrossed the rabbit warren maze of narrow passageways, tunnels, arches and tiny courtyards. I was amused and pleased to see elders as they scaled the upward sloping, irregular, stepped paths. They must know every path’s intersection. The place was fascinating.
Founded around the year one thousand,
Sanremo Vecchia is called
La Pigna due to its characteristic massed streets and its medieval fortifications in the image of a pine cone. The village was continuously expanded and reinforced until the sixteenth century to defend it from pirate attacks.
La Pigna starts from the 14th century
Porta di Santo Stefano, an arch of stone in Gothic style that constitutes a sort of connection between the modern city and the ancient one.
The inhabited core is completely clinging to the hill in concentric rings with covered passages, small courtyards, arches, fountains and stairways, in a succession of bold architecture. (Read more)
I generally seek out the the historic center—“centro storico”—of any town or city I’m visiting. Rarely am I seeking out the bright lights and polish. A place like “La Pigna” continues to fascinate me with its history, its wandering passages, its rough texture and intrigue.
by Maureen | Oct 8, 2019 | Blog, Design, Featured Articles, Graphics, Incredible Locations, Italy, Torino - Turin
Torino. Turin. A lovely city in the far northwest of Italy, in the Piedmont region—Piemonte—an hour’s ride on the fast train, west of Milano. I had been there 10 years ago for a short afternoon and saw so little of it then that I wanted to go back. Lovers of letters swoon over the historic and vintage signage there, so I went specifically to shoot letterforms… and a few city sights as well.
The city used to be a major European political centre. From 1563, it was the capital of the Duchy of Savoy, then of the Kingdom of Sardinia ruled by the Royal House of Savoy, and the first capital of the unified Italy (the Kingdom of Italy) from 1861 to 1865.[7][8] Even though much of its political significance and importance had been lost by World War II, Turin became a major European crossroad for industry, commerce and trade, and is part of the famous “industrial triangle” along with Milan and Genoa. Turin is ranked third in Italy, after Milan and Rome, for economic strength. With a GDP of $58 billion, Turin is the world’s 78th richest city by purchasing power.
The city has a rich culture and history, being known for its numerous art galleries, restaurants, churches, palaces, opera houses, piazzas, parks, gardens, theatres, libraries, museums and other venues. Turin is well known for its Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neo-classical, and Art Nouveau architecture. Many of Turin’s public squares, castles, gardens and elegant palazzi such as the Palazzo Madama, were built between the 16th and 18th centuries. Turin’s attractions make it one of the world’s top 250 tourist destinations and the tenth most visited city in Italy in 2008.
I didn’t go to any of the museums or exhibits, though there were, and always are, many. Instead, I wandered 20,000 steps, following my whims and my nose, until a blister formed on one toe. There really are some gem signs in Torino, and if that’s not what you’re into, there are plenty of other beautiful marvels to make you swoon.
by Maureen | Sep 29, 2019 | Blog, Canals, Featured Articles, Italy, Milano - Milan, Shopping & Markets
The day of the Mercatone Antiquariato—big, antiquarian market—here in Milano, stretching out along both sides and the length of the Naviglio Grande—the Grand Canal. Always the last Sunday of the month, and always attended by hordes, both Italian and foreign. It’s fascinating just to LOOK, whether you find anything to cart home with you or not.
I also go to the other, smaller markets with painter Loredano on Sunday mornings, bright and early. Vendors are out there setting up by flashlight, and buyers/browsers also come with flashlights, hoping to catch sight of some treasure before someone else snatches it.
Antiques are older here in Italy. I overhear “the regulars” discussing items: “Oh, it’s not very old. It’s only from the 1800s.” It’s very funny to me. In the U.S., if it’s 50 years old, it’s an “antique”, or thereabouts.
Another curious thing is how they note the centuries. They say “Ottocento“—800—rather than 1800. The same with 700, 600, etc. They drop the 1000.
At the flea markets, I find things that are centuries old, that have traded hands who knows how many times, have ended up bouncing around in an old cardboard box in the back of some vendor’s van, and then displayed on the pavement. A select few of those things have ended up back in Burien with me. One notable treasure is the Big Old Book I brought home a couple of years ago that is a collection of documents with the earliest date of 1576. What a history these things have! If only I knew all the places they’ve been.
