Here is another reason to visit Abruzzo: the contemporary paintings in L'Aquila by Giovanni Gasparro permanently displayed in S. Giuseppe di Artigiano.

I promised myself that I would not take any more photos of earthquake damage in L’Aquila.  I’m not going to complain about slow recovery efforts either. This year, in marking…

The fascist architectural style that dots the city is certainly a jolt from the Medieval and Baroque structures that seem more in tune with L’Aquila’s culture, yet its…

Inspiration to write a post this Christmas season comes from a traditional pilgrimage that I took part in for the first time last June. The custom belongs to two small Abruzzo…

August 28 & 29- I love everything about L’Aquila’s celebration of the ancient la perdonanza, a two day window of opportunity to atone and renew.  To read more about the…

I originally published this post in November 2011. It took me over a year to find a satisfactory way to tell this story because it is, in fact, many stories linked together. I am…

Estella Canziani’s Through the Apennines and the Lands of the Abruzzi (1928) is the Bible for poking around into the world of our parente. Her drawings and watercolors and study…

June 17th marks the feast day of S. Giuseppe da Copertino. Though not an Abruzzo saint, he came from humble origins in Lecce which made his story appealing to Ignazio Silone who…

I was 13 years old on November 4th 1966 when the Arno crested dumping water, the heating oil naptha, and an estimated half a million tons of mud into homes, businesses, churches…

I won’t be able to visit L’Aquila this year until June to visually measure the recovery efforts from the earthquake which tore the heart out of central L’Aquila and left…

Giro’s shop was exactly opposite our house. Giro used to stand in the doorway like an old owl, gazing at the street with his round, indifferent eyes. He sold a bit of…

Several flocks of sheep are on the move near L’Aquila, roaming hills recently released from the grip of snow. Colorfully wrapped chocolate Easter eggs brighten the window of…

Oropuro- Pure Gold. This simple label identifies the bottles of Francesca Di Nisio’s artisanal olive oil. Observing her as she guides and engages visitors through her Museum of…

March 29, 2010 I stood in front of a parchimetro at a small park along Viale Luigi Rendina in centro L’Aquila intent on abiding by municipal regulations in the distressed city…

Zinc coated couplers and clamps connect handsome, shiny black scaffolding tubes which surreally decorate the standing walls of nearly every building. Centro deceives the visitor.…

Sets of house keys have been fastened to a wire fence by residents at the corner of Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Corso Umberto I in protest to the government ban on independent…

On December 8, 2009 Bar Fratelli Nurzia, the lovely dark wood and marble retail home of  Sorelle Nurzia torrone,  reopened its doors. It is one of three business open on Piazza…

Imagine news headlines in Europe these days: “Americans Dumbfounded, Some Irked By Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize” and “US Lawmakers Oppose Health Insurance For Its…

Here's how to cook the perfect slice of pan-fried pecorino which is sweetly crispy on one side as shared by Mascioni's Locanda Mausonium