Why do we choose to return to Italy? Is it the food, the wine, the scenery, the rich history? Yes, all these things are indeed fabulous. But no, it’s more than that. What draws us back each year? Why, it’s … Read more

  As if to match the event’s somber mood, a light misting rain fell on Montepulciano’s annual Armistice Day ceremony and parade, marking the end of the Great War exactly 100 years ago today which claimed the lives of an … Read more

    Just outside Montepulciano, on the quarter mile drive down the Viale della Remembranza to the elegant Temple of San Biagio, one can’t help but be impressed by the 98 tall and elegant cypress trees, pointing straight to heaven … Read more

Tuscany is not only known for its amazing wines, but also for its world-class olive oil. On retreat in the XII century hilltop town of Montepulciano, we were welcomed by local olive farmers into their green groves and then into … Read more

    Dear Reader, permit me a brief introduction, I am not a travel writer. But I am a writer. And I am traveling. Since a writer is compelled by internal hard wiring to record what he or she sees … Read more

Reflections on community — and community journalism from afar Or…In which the ol’ perfesser finds that journalism in Italy is alive and well… Isabella’s news stand sells 19 separate newspapers, not including — she is quick to tell us — … Read more