Owner: Italy and its undiscovered treasures in Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio - Finding the Real Tuscan Sun URL:http://www.discoversoriano.com/tuscany-umbria-lazio-italy/ Join Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2007 06:33:37 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Description: A place to learn about traveling to central Italy (Tuscany, Umria and Rome / Lazio), written from the perspective of an American with 24 years of experience in the area... as a tourist, a person living there, and as a tour organizer. Site statistics:Click here
Soriano nel Cimino - Palio delle Contrade 0000-00-00 00:00:00 This year wasn't my first time seeing the Chestnut Festival, but through the years, I have never made it to the Palio. First things first, What on earth is a ‘Palio' ? Those who have heard the term generally know of it it in connection with the famous ‘Palio di Siena', which is a horse race. But Palio is really a term that can be used for any kind of competition in Italy. The word Palio itself refers to a large bann [...]
The hidden ruins of a 13th century Olive Mill 0000-00-00 00:00:00 Ask around Soriano about ‘Fosso Mulino’ (River Mill) and you will get mostly blank stares. So it is no surprise that after all of these years I had no idea that it existed. Very few people do.One day I was out with my friend (and our contractor) Andrea D’Alessio. He asked me if I had ever been to the waterfalls. My immediate answer was YES! There is a place in Soriano with some beautiful waterfalls that few know about, and I had be [...] Read more:Olive
The Flag Throwers ( Sbandieratori ) of Soriano nel Cimino 0000-00-00 00:00:00 Things got quite busy since my last post. We had a wave of guests come to Soriano, and the annual chestnut festival ( Sagra delle Castagne ) began, which really kept me running, camera in hand.The folks in Soriano's tourism office were kind enough to issue me an all-access press pass for all of the events, so I have tons of content (both video and photo) from the last few weeks that will take form in blog articles over the next few weeks.So now that I am back in the US [...]
The Wine Harvest - Making wine in Italy 0000-00-00 00:00:00 I remember my mother telling me about her move to Southern California, and how excited she was the first time she picked an orange off a tree and ate it right there. I was thinking, like... ok, big deal... you need to get out more! But then again, she was from New York, and I had been born and raised in L.A. After all, I had never seen an apple tree... In fact, at 42 years, I still have never seen an apple tree. Maybe I'm the one that needs to get out [...] Read more:Harvest
, Italy
You can travel to Italy without worrying about the weak Dollar 0000-00-00 00:00:00 In the past year, the value of the dollar has fallen 10% against the Euro. That means if the price of something in Europe has not changed, it costs you 10% more if you earn your money in US Dollar
s. In other words, a hotel rate of E.200 per night a year ago translated into $242, and today it translates into $282. OK, that's bad. But if you are considering a vacation in Italy
, there is a way to be almost completely unaffected by this with DiscoverSoriano.com. Discov [...]
Soccer Fanaticism in Italy Because they cant feed Christians to the lions anymore 0000-00-00 00:00:00 I love Football (Go USC!) & Baseball (Go Dodgers!).. I'm an American after all. But I have never been able to sink my heart into Soccer
. So having spent all of these years in Italy
, I've never been to a serious professional Soccer match. I've been to the small ones, but never ‘Stadium Sized' games. That changed yesterday.I'll write this article aimed at people that are not up to speed in the world of European Soccer, so I [...] Read more:Christians
Would you have a second home in Italy? 0000-00-00 00:00:00 It used to be that when I would come to Italy
, for the first few days, people would see me and give me a huge ‘welcome back’. That was then. I would come here once a year in the summer and spend a month to six weeks here. Michael and Paola are here… it must be summer, right? Big hugs, dinner invites, the whole nine yards.But now things are different. I got here yesterday and there was no fanfare. Not a single dinner invite, not eve [...]
The Medieval Swordsmen of Soriano nel Cimino 0000-00-00 00:00:00 For those of you that will be coming to Soriano for the Chestnut Festival, I thought I would post a video that shows a few of the highlights. This video is a promotional piece by Soriano nel Cimino's Medieval Swordsmen. While they perform at many festivals all over the world, being from Soriano, they perform at each and every festival in the town.This video concentrates on them, but many of the video clips are taken during the Chestnut Festival (Sagra delle Ca [...]
40th Annual Chestnut Festival (Sagra delle Castagne) Schedule - 2007 0000-00-00 00:00:00 40th AnnualChestnutFestival
(Sagra delle Castagne) Schedule
- 2007 Every year, during the first two weeks of October, Soriano nel Cimino hosts a festival that surrounds the chestnut harvest. This festival is done on a large scale, and attracts thousands of people from surrounding areas, including Rome. The two main events of the Sagra are the Palio and the Corteo Storico. Unfortunately, we don't know which days these will be held until shortly before the festival. That said, the [...]
Slow down and let your vacation happen 0000-00-00 00:00:00 Have you ever been on a vacation and come home having the feeling that you need a vacation from your vacation? Have you ever phoned home and said something to the effect of ‘We’re exhausted, but we’ve seen this, and that, and that, and that, and that’? When you plan trips, do you juggle your itinerary to try to fit things in?If the answer to any of those is YES, read on.Growing up, my family traveled quite a bit, and in my adult life I have c [...]
Your second trip to Italy may be your first 0000-00-00 00:00:00 We’ve been renting homes to travelers for over a year now, and I’ve noticed two distinct groups of people: ‘Italy
first-timers’ and ‘Italian culture chasers’. In all honesty, some, albeit very few, of the first-timers truly resemble the culture chasers. The ‘first-timers’ are the people that have finally made it to Italy forthe first time. They have been dreaming about it for years, and have seen ‘Under the T [...]
The Tuscia in Jazz Festival 0000-00-00 00:00:00 For the first time, Soriano hosted the Tuscia in Jazz Festival
. This international festival had been held in nearby Ronciglione for the past five years, but apparently that town had complained about the noise and decided they didn’t want it anymore. The festival promoter, Italo Leali, was faced with the chore of finding a new host last year. According to Italo, he chose Soriano for several reasons: It has very good access to Rome, Florence and Italy’s mai [...]
Another summer in Soriano ends 0000-00-00 00:00:00 This has perhaps been my busiest summer ever here in Soriano. So much so, that I have had no time to blog… how typical of me! That said, I’ll try to do a series of posts over the next few weeks to recap the highlights of this awesome ‘Summer Sorianese’-
Olive Garden cooking school in Tuscany? 0000-00-00 00:00:00 Olive Garden
is one of those places that really sets my blood to boil. Every time I hear the word 'Hospitaliano' I begin to cringe and twitch. When I hear them say 'When you're here, you're family', I can't help but visualize the corporate offices of a chain with nearly 700 cookie-cutter restaurants. I'd just love to show up there one day waving my hands saying 'Ciao!!! It's cousin Michael'. I wonder what kind of Hospitaliano I will receive when I h [...] Read more:Olive
, cooking
, Tuscany
Finding Italy through London Fog this XMas 0000-00-00 00:00:00 On Tuesday, December 19th at around 4:30 PM we sat at the departure gate in Los Angeles waiting to board our flight. It had already been a very long day for us, and we were looking forward to a 10 hour flight to London with a connection that would take us to Rome. It was me, Paola, our 17 year old daughter, and our 7 year old son.I remember thinking and commenting at that time that if all went well, we would be getting in our rental car at Rome in about 16 hours, then make [...] Read more:Italy
Living Mangers in Italy 0000-00-00 00:00:00 A tradition in Italy
during christmas time is the living manger. Many towns go way beyond a simple manger scene, and produce a full scale reproduction of Bethlehem. What makes it so special in many cases, is that they have the landscape and existing structures to really make it look and feel real.Some towns do a better job, and others fa [...] Read more:Living
Heading back to Italy for the holidays 0000-00-00 00:00:00 As if I haven’t been there enough this year, I am on my way back. I’ve barely been back a month, and now we have yet another trip planned for December 19th. This will be the first time we have been there for the holidays in 12 years. On this trip, Paola and the kids will be coming, and this will be Andrei’s first Christmas in Italy
. Besides spending Christmas wtith Paola’s family, we will be having a New Years Eve party at the villa with a bunch [...] Read more:Heading
How do they get the flavor out of the food in the states? 0000-00-00 00:00:00 I’ve been back in Los Angeles for a week now, and last night we went to an Italian restaurant for dinner for the first time since I got back. This may not seem like a big deal, but for us it is always a tragedy.The restaurant was Pomodoro in Woodland Hills. I don’t want to say it is a bad place by American standards. Actually, it is one of the better chains. It is just that I was in Italy having the real thing a week ago, and by those standards, even [...]
Heading back to Hell-A (LA) 0000-00-00 00:00:00 This is my last day in Soriano for this trip. Things didn’t happen as quickly as I had hoped, so I extended my stay 3 days. In about an hour I will close up the house one more time and say goodbye until my next trip (which is looking like Christmas).In these two weeks, much has been accomplished, however. The homes are fully outfitted, with the exception of a few small things that can be done while I am away. The satellite service is up and running, but the [...] Read more:Heading
Cattle Call in Rome versus an Italian country sunrise 0000-00-00 00:00:00 I’ve been here for 5 days now and have had no time to write as I have been so busy working on our apartments. However, yesterday I took my cousin to see Rome. After all, she has never been to Italy and it is less than an hour away from our house. It’s late october… we are pressing hard on low season here, but Ro [...] Read more:versus
, Italian
Protected by the POWEHRRR RAYNGERRRZ 0000-00-00 00:00:00 All I have to say can be said by this video. I'm feeling safe now thanks to the POWEHRRR RAYNGERRRZ!--
The Blindfolded Chef - Ceci Soup Challenge 2008-03-08 17:00:00 Last week Paola wanted to teach Alyssa, our 18 year old daughter, how to make Ceci Soup. She was saying it was so easy that she could do it blindfolded. As we laughed at her, she insisted that she could, so I ended up betting her $100 that she couldn’t. What started out as a stupid little bet turned into an evening of intense laughter and family fun. We found a sock, blindfolded Paola and she went to task as I film [...] Read more:Challenge
Italian... So lost in translation 2008-02-28 18:00:00 “My daughter speaks perfect English. After all, she spent a month in England with a native family”. That was the quote that caused me to simply give up, and it speaks volumes about Italian
culture and the denial so many of them live in.It happened this past October. I was in a local barber shop in Soriano nel Cimino. The barber was telling me of the frustrations he had been experiencing as he tried to communicate with the American tourists that t=started coming over the p [...]
Florida Italophiles Unite! 2008-01-28 02:47:31 Wow… I’ve been away from Italy now for a total of 3 and a half months. That is the longest stretch in more than 2 years. When I am in the states, I’m not immersed in the wonders of Italian culture, so material for the blog is hard to come by.Anyhow, the other day Paola and I had the great pleasure of meeting a group of Floridians with whom I [...] Read more:Florida
Why Italy is not known for modern music 2007-12-10 14:08:21 You know, there is a really, really good reason that you don't see any Italian groups on the International rap scene. What could that reason be, you may ask... just click below and remember that Italians make great food and wine, ok?Oh yeah, and promise you will keep watching it at least until you see the Michael-Jackson-esque moonwalk. Trust me, it is worth the wait. Technorati Profile Read more:Italy
A little more Olive Gardening Laughter... 2007-12-03 05:41:15 Face it, I'm back in the states for a few months, so I just don't have much material for the blog these days. I mean, when I am in Italy, I could write several posts a day, but I am sitting here in Florida, what to contribute to THIS blog?That said, little
things catch my attention here and there, and while I was clicking away on Youtube, I stumbled across another one that had me rolling on the floor.If you have read deeper into my blog, you certainly know the disd [...] Read more:Olive
Protected by the POWEHRRR RAYNGERRRZ 2007-11-03 10:47:30 All I have to say can be said by this video. I'm feeling safe now thanks to the POWEHRRR RAYNGERRRZ!--
Soriano nel Cimino - Palio delle Contrade 2007-10-27 17:38:13 This year wasn't my first time seeing the Chestnut Festival, but through the years, I have never made it to the Palio. First things first, What on earth is a ‘Palio' ? Those who have heard the term generally know of it it in connection with the famous ‘Palio di Siena', which is a horse race. But Palio is really a term that can be used for any kind of competition in Italy. The word Palio itself refers to a large bann [...]
The hidden ruins of a 13th century Olive Mill 2007-10-20 03:32:47 Ask around Soriano about ‘Fosso Mulino’ (River Mill) and you will get mostly blank stares. So it is no surprise that after all of these years I had no idea that it existed. Very few people do.One day I was out with my friend (and our contractor) Andrea D’Alessio. He asked me if I had ever been to the waterfalls. My immediate answer was YES! There is a place in Soriano with some beautiful waterfalls that few know about, and I had be [...] Read more:Olive
The Flag Throwers ( Sbandieratori ) of Soriano nel Cimino 2007-10-15 02:29:52 Things got quite busy since my last post. We had a wave of guests come to Soriano, and the annual chestnut festival ( Sagra delle Castagne ) began, which really kept me running, camera in hand.The folks in Soriano's tourism office were kind enough to issue me an all-access press pass for all of the events, so I have tons of content (both video and photo) from the last few weeks that will take form in blog articles over the next few weeks.So now that I am back in the US [...]
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