DiscoverSoriano.com Blog http://www.discoversoriano.com Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:41:54 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.discoversoriano.com/images/M_images/joomla_rss.png http://www.discoversoriano.com DiscoverSoriano.com Blog http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=316&Itemid=133 Calcata is an ancient hilltop village that is about 45 minutes from Soriano, near Rome. What makes this village so special is that in the 1930's, it was condemned, and became a ghost town. However, in the 60's hippies and artists began to squat here, and over time it developed into a thriving artist colony of sorts. There are currently about 60 local residents of the village, who have restored it over the years and opened restaurants, cafes, and art galleries.The town swtill carries with it the vibe that set it on its current path. The art galleries are very non-traditional, the cafes serve mostly vegetarian fare, and the people are without question the modern version of the hippies of the 60's. In fact, the vive is very similar to that of Sedona, Arizona, except that it has an Italian flavor to it.As though all of this were not strange enough, Calcata has one more odd claim to fame: The Holy Prepuce of Calcata. That's right, this is where what the Catholic church believes to have been Jesus' foreskin reseided for hundreds of years until it was mysteriously stolen in 1983.Related Links:New York Times article about Calcata (http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/travel/28dayout.html)Slate Magazine Artile Fore Shame (http://www.slate.com/id/2155745/#sb2155752)Link to the book: An Irreverent Curiosity: In Search of the Church's Strangest Relic in Italy's Oddest Town (http://www.amazon.com/Irreverent-Curiosity-Search-Churchs-Strangest/dp/1592404545) Mon, 18 May 2009 23:00:00 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=314&Itemid=132 I’m a city boy. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, sheltered from certain realities of life. So when I ate that bacon, I never really considered that a pig grew up, got slaughtered, was cut up and shipped to my local supermarket. To me, the bacon was just bacon. It comes from the supermarket, wrapped in plastic. Of course I knew the process, but I never really had to think of it. In 1984 I visited Soriano and met Paola. Her parents were ‘play farmers’, meaning they lived in town, dad had a normal job, but since they had this old family farm, they would go down in the afternoon and take care of the garden. One day I visited the ‘old family farm’. It consisted of a bunch of land, an 18th century farmhouse that was in practical ruin (now our restored villa), a garden, a fenced off area with chickens running around, and a pig-pen with one very big pig named “Giorgina”. I honestly think that may have been the first time I had seen a pig in real life. She was both cute and disgusting. I stayed for a bit to take it all in, then left. That was that. Fast forward a year later. I had gone back to the states and had returned to Soriano. Paola and I were now engaged to be married. I was at the house one night for dinner, and Paola’s mom had cut some prosciutto. It was unusually good. I mean it, it was truly amazing. I ate it and asked for more, then more again. I raved about how good it was. Then someone told me I was eating Giorgina. At first I just stopped eating. I had trouble processing it. Yeah, Prosciutto is pig… I know. But how do I eat a pig that I had been introduced to? I mean really! She had a name! This was a first for me. It was a defining moment in my life… One that lasted about 30 seconds before I decided that she just tasted too good for me to care. From that day forward, no other prosciutto ever tasted quite as good as Giorgina. Her memory is honored. We never named a pig again. It was really all left to that until last year. Paola’s parents had both passed away, we restored the villa, and we don’t keep any animals there. But there is a family of farmers across from our house, and they do. One day a guest of ours and I were walking around and spotted their pig. He jokingly decided to call the pig ‘Ramon Jamon’, and I got the naming on video. From that day forward, the name stuck, and with each group of guests we would take that walk, and they would invariably meet Ramon. He became a star of sorts. Everyone knew that he was sitting there on death row, so they would visit him, feed him, etc. I got quite a bit of that on camera. As I write this, our 2009 season is just starting up. We will have many guests back at the villa for the cooking classes, and they will all find a prosciutto on the counter... They will find Ramon in the form of his destiny. So in Ramon’s honor, I decided put together a tribute to him. A video about the life of a pig we called Ramon. Sun, 10 May 2009 23:00:00 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=306&Itemid=136 Our future guests often ask me what our tours are going to be like, and I try to explain the feeling of ‘family’, and how it is so different than anything else out there. Oddly, it is a difficult thing to explain, especially since our future guests are little more than strangers on a phone line at first. But it is without question the number one reason for our success. After all, we get countless of word of mouth bookings. With all that is going on in the current economic meltdown and the fact that the travel industry is suffering so terribly, we aren't feeling it at all. In fact, we are showing a 56% INCREASE over last year because of it. So today I think I managed to find the best way to explain that sense of family. Not by explaining what it is like during the tour, but how it has changed our lives after tours. Here it is: I came back to the US after the 2008 season last October. Four and a half months have passed since. In that time, we have not only stayed in contact with many of our past guests, but have seen them, stayed with them, and partied with them. Here is a rundown: In late summer, while still in Italy, we went on a cruise (we get vacations, too) with past guests. In November, a couple of past guests came to Florida. We had a wonderful dinner together. In December we visited some past guests in Arizona. We stayed at their home for a few days and they had a wonderful party. Attending the party were 2 other past guests of ours, as well as a couple future guests of ours. While we were in Arizona, we also spent a wonderful evening with yet another 2 past guests. After the time in Arizona, I went to Los Angeles for some business, and wound up having dinner with yet two more past guests. We spent New Year’s Eve with past guests (for the second year in a row). In early January, we spent a week down in Cancun with past guests (the same that we had just spent New Years Eve with in Florida) Later in January, some past guests came to Orlando and we had a wonderful dinner out with them. In February I spent a few days up in New York for business. I stayed with past guests. While there, I spent a day with another past guest, and met another two past guests for dinner. All in all, guests from the separate past tours all met one another that day :-). I even just went to a baseball game a few days back with some past guests! To add to all of that, more than 100 of my Facebook friends are past guests, and both Paola and I are constantly e-mailing and talking to past guests. The reason? So many of our past guests are difficult to see as ‘past guests’. They just become friends and family. That’s why we do what we do the way we do it. It doesn’t feel like work for us. It just feels like we are vacationing with friends… so it turns out that way. Fri, 13 Mar 2009 23:00:00 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=273&Itemid=135 I tried to shoot a good amount of video this year to give me a bunch of material for the blog, so I will have quite a few of the various cities we visited on our tours. Spoleto was a place that we visited fairly often, but I only shot video once while there for a few hours. Unfortunately, it was very early in the season, and I was still getting used to the new camera, so the shaking in this video is pretty obvious. Additionally, they were setting up for their world-famous jazz festival. That being the case, there is so much I didn't catch on camera. Spoleto is one of the more beautiful cities in Umbria, but it is best known for its Jazz festival. The city dates back to the fifth century BC, and its vast history can still be seen at every corner. Some of the more interesting sights in Spoleto are the massive 14th century Rocca Albornoziana (The Albornozian Castle), which is full of beautiful frescoes and the 12th century cathedral (Duomo), both of which are shown in the video. Interesting sights in Spoleto that are not shown in the video include: The Ancient Roman theater, the 1st century Ponte Sanguinario (The bloody bridge), Ponte delle Torri (the 13th century aqueduct), the 16th century Palazzo Racani-Anoni, the 14th century Palazzo della Signoria, and much more. Many of our DiscoverSoriano.com itineraries feature a visit to this magnificent town, but for those that wish to go on their own, it can be found in the Perugia Province of Umbria, Italy; about 15 miles north of Terni, or about 75 miles north of Rome. It is about 30 miles north of our home base, Soriano nel Cimino. Tue, 25 Nov 2008 23:00:00 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=271&Itemid=137 7 months, 17 tours, 56 cooking classes, 144 guests and over 35,000 miles of Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio are behind us. That was the 2008 season for us at DiscoverSoriano. As with last year, after coming back to the US, I have gone into video mode. Here is the first video I have made since coming back, which essentially sums up the season: What a wild ride it was. It was a lot of fun, and a lot of work…. but always very rewarding. Most of all, we made a ton of new friends and had the opportunity to share something we love with so many new people. Some new stuff in 2008… We started the year unexpectedly using our ‘old’ kitchen down at the villa. We had started construction in September 2007 on a new 700 square foot kitchen, where the barn had once stood. Our old kitchen was too small for us to comfortably do classes for more than 6 people at a time, so the new kitchen was a matter of urgency. The new kitchen was supposed to be finished in April, but of course, we are in Italy. So in April we had a structure and nothing more. It wasn’t finished until late July, so we had quite a few groups crowd into the old kitchen for a while. The new kitchen, which Paola and I designed ourselves, came out even more beautiful than we imagined. All of the counters are travertine marble, the sink is a solid carved block of travertine, all of the tiles are hand-painted, and the masonry for the separating wall and fireplace came out breathtakingly beautiful. The large lighting fixtures and our 90-bottle wine rack (which we found ourselves restocking every 2 weeks) were all hand-crafted in iron; and everything was finished by local artisans. What a pleasure it was to begin using it! Besides the kitchen, this year we got sick of renting vans, and decided to buy a new one. We headed to Germany and got a perfect 9-pasenger Opel Vivaro that soon became lovingly known as ‘Shultz’. When we have 8 or fewer people in a week, Shultz is always there to take care of us. We started the season with five homes for our guests: La Campana, Vecchio Forno, Ponticello, Chiosco, and Trinita. By the end of the year, we added two new places, called ‘Caminetto’ and ‘Santa Maria’. Santa Maria is perfect for our guests that don’t do well with hills, as it is just a few steps from Soriano’s Piazza. It just went through a complete remodel, and makes for a beautiful place for up to four people. Caminetto became available in August, so a good number of our 2008 guests had the opportunity to stay here. It is the largest of the homes we offer, and boasts the largest terrace we have, with an amazing view out toward the Tiber Valley. 2008 also fostered some new relationships in Italy for our future guests. During the season we began to take guests to a winery and olive mill near Orvieto called Madonna delle Macchie, which has proven to be so popular that we have built it into every week we offer in the future. Moving into 2009, we will be offering our future guests the ability to actually rent part of the vineyard or olive orchard for their own personal wine and olive oil! In April we met the incredibly gracious Prince Riccardo Nobile-Vitteleschi in the town of Labro, Umbria. He lives in the 1,000 year old castle of his ancestors, and has personally taken our guests on tours of his ‘home’. This has been so popular, that it is a staple for our 2009 itineraries now. During the year, our travels through Tuscany and Umbria have brought us to new wineries, new monasteries, new restaurants, new towns… all of the more popular ones are in for next year, while the less popular are out. So as I look at the 2009 calendar, I can honestly say I am VERY excited! So to those of you reading this that were with us this season: Thank you so much, it was a blast! To those of you reading this that are still looking forward to your time with us, know this: I’m looking forward to it as much as you are! We’re going to have a fantastic time. Tue, 25 Nov 2008 23:00:00 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=261&Itemid=137 With so much uncertainty ahead with the economy, skyrocketing fuel prices, and the drastic drop of the Dollar against the Euro over the past couple years; many people have been concerned about planning travel. In fact, during the 2008 season, most of Europe has seen a sharp drop in tourism for these very reasons. We at DiscoverSoriano haven’t felt the negative impact. To the contrary, while many in the industry have reported a 60% or more decline in business, we sold out our entire 2008 season. As the dollar weakened and the economy in the states became less certain, our bookings sharply increased. Our guests repeatedly tell us that they chose us because we offer so much at such a fair price, because our pricing is all-inclusive, and because we protect our guests from currency fluctuations. In a nutshell, while travel-related costs have been skyrocketing and the world economies have slowed, we have found a working formula to keep the prices low compared to others and guarantee that our guests will pay the price they are quoted, no matter what. With that in mind, as our guests experience our little slice of life in Italy, they very often ask us both why and how we are able to afford to do it. Well, here’s how: 1. All-Inclusive Travel means you can completely budget your vacation This addresses the WHY question. We want you to feel comfortable before you come. When our guests book with us, they know that it is all covered. When you look at our prices, at first glance they may seem higher than travel on your own or the traditional budget big bus tours, but all of the hidden costs with those are what really get you in the end. With the big budget bus tours and travel on your own, your initial costs can easily double or triple once you start factoring in food that is not included (our single greatest cost), additional transportation costs, entry fees, ‘optional’ guided tours, etc. To the contrary, we include everything to the point that you could conceivably spend a week in Italy with DiscoverSoriano and never pull your wallet out of your pocket. All the while, you will have an amazing first-class experience in Italy like no other. 2. Location, ownership and direct sales can mean huge savings This addresses the HOW question. Once our guests have spent a week with us, they really get a sense of everything we offer for the price, and many ask us how we are not losing money at our prices. It all comes down to our location, ownership and direct sales. Location is a huge factor. We are in a border area between Rome, Tuscany and Umbria… extremely close to all of it, but not specifically in any of those places. Our area is not as touristy as many of the places we go to on excursions, so our home base costs are much lower than they would be if we were based in one of the tourist traps. The benefits of this are twofold. This allows us to offer our guests more of a real Italian cultural experience, and we have lower costs that we can pass on to our guests in the form of offering more for less money. Ownership is another big factor. We own most of what we offer. We do not operate as agents for a series of tourism service providers, so we don’t have to tack on profit for the providers. This allows us to keep costs down and pass it along in the form of lower prices and better service. The vast majority of our marketing is internet-based, direct to our guest. We don’t have the massive overhead associated with printing and distributing brochures to travel agents, taking ads out in countless travel magazines, etc. Furthermore, while we do work with agents, 90% of our guests book directly through us, so commissions are a very small part of our overhead. Again, this allows us to keep prices much lower while offering much more. 3. Our prices are fixed in your currency. Suppose you are an American, and last October you had planned a trip to Italy for August on your own or with a company that charges Euros, and you had to pay 90 days before your arrival. Assume the budget for your trip will have been 2,100 Euros per person. In October, you will have figured that the trip would cost around US$2900. But when May came around and it was time to pay, the dollar had dropped against the Euro, and those 2,100 Euros actually cost you US$3,360. If you were travelling as a couple, nothing about your trip would have changed and no prices would have necessarily increased, but the cost of your trip just went up almost a thousand dollars. DiscoverSoriano.com protects you against this by offering all-inclusive packages at a fixed price, in your currency. The price you are quoted the day you book is the price you will pay, period. If you want to pay in US Dollars, once you have booked and made your deposit, you are locked in at that price in US Dollars, no matter what happens in the currency markets in the following months. If you prefer to pay in Australian Dollars, the price remains as such. British Pounds are guaranteed in British Pounds, and Euros are guaranteed in Euros. We’re able to do this because we have operating costs in both Euros and Dollars, plus we have some guests that pay in US dollars, others in Australian dollars, others in Euros, etc. Doing so causes us to make more money one week and less another, but in the end, it all balances out for us and our guests get greater peace of mind. Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:00:00 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=256&Itemid=136 Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:00:00 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=257&Itemid=132 For my first video post in a while, I thought I would start with a cool little video compilation made of some of the video I shot during some of the cooking classes we had earlier in the season. This video concentrates on 3 groups we had in May and June of 2008 -- I’m not sure why I didn’t break out the video camera for more groups. Featured in this video are:Mary, Erica, Maka, Sue, Terry, Katie, Mary, Mark, Dave, Cindy, Mike, Peggy, Teresa, Anita, Steve, Jessica, Arlene, Gail, Marisa, Tiziana, Paola, Rita, Carla, and a few more. The reason for the title (Dances with Mozzarella) will become evident at the end. Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:00:00 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=246&Itemid=132 16 days to go before I make my trek to Italy for 5 months this year, but our tours have started. Fortunately, so that I could get some last minute work done and finish coaching our son's baseball team, Paola went over ahead of me for our first tour of the year. Scott Michelle (from Texas), and Don MaryAnn (from Washington) are our guests for this week that ends tomorrow. They have chosen to do a somewhat custom itinerary that more or less mixes some of the highlights from other itineraries we offer... making it somewhat intense: Rome, Florence, Cortona, up into Umbria, etc. etc. To my utter pleasure, Michelle has a Blog where she has been posting daily trip reports. It's a great read! Have a look. (http://caverfamily.blogspot.com/2008_04_01_archive.html) Sat, 26 Apr 2008 01:00:00 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=247&Itemid=133 DiscoverSoriano.com is a proud sponsor of this year's Jazz Festival in Soriano. We hope you will come and see us! We'll be filming a great deal of the festival this year in High Definition, as well as conducting numerous interviews.This is the preliminary schedule for the 2008 Jazz festival in Soriano. Most performances begin around 9:00 PM in Soriano's main Piazza. Some performances will take place in the City Hall Courtyard. Keep in mind that more events are likely to be added to the schedule as time drawn near. Additionally, performances end at midnight as the Rotezzia Pub in Soriano (Located in Catacombs below the main Piazza) opens up for all-night Jam Sessions.2008 Jazz Festival ScheduleJuly 19Gege Telesforo Jazz All StarsJuly 21Jimmy Woode Award 2008 - Contestant PerformancesJuly 22Jimmy Woode Award 2008 - Contestant PerformancesJuly 23Jimmy Woode Award 2008 - Contestant PerformancesJuly 24Jimmy Woode Award 2008 - Contestant PerformancesJuly 25Jimmy Woode Award 2008 - Contestant PerformancesJuly 26Jimmy Woode Award 2008 - Contestant PerformancesJuly 27Jimmy Woode Award 2008 - Contestant PerformancesJuly 28Rosciglione and Munari present the Tuscia in Jazz Master 2008 ClassJuly 29Jimmy Woode Award 2008 - FinalsJuly 30Rick MargitzaJuly 31Flavio Boltro Francisco MelaAug 1Kenny Barron TrioAug 2Jazz All Night (White Night)An all-night festival scheduled to last until 5AM -- Stages are erected all over town for multiple simultaneus performances throughout the night. Town stores, bars and restaurants remain open all night.Aug 2Tony Monaco, Ray Mantilla, Flavio BoltroAug 3Tuscia in Jazz Masters/Teachers JamAug 6Fabrizio Bosso DEA TrioAug 7Shawnn Monriera Italian QuartetAug 8Tuscia in Jazz Band play Formichella SoundAug 9Sould New Sound Fri, 25 Apr 2008 18:00:00 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=244&Itemid=132 Let's face it... when I am in the US, this blog runs pretty dry. After all, a blog about Italy doesn't do too well when you are sitting at a computer in Florida. Well, that is soon to change. On May 12, I'll be heading over again, and this time I will be there for 5 months straight. No back and forth this year like I have done the last few years. But the news gets a little better... I'm heading over there with some new high-tech toys for the blog (and the rest of the site). I'll be bringing a new Canon Vixia HF-10 High Definition camera, as well as a new Gateway P-171XL FX with a full compliment of video editing software. My intention is to get pretty serious with the videos this summer. I'll be doing very in depth video blogs for all of the towns we visit on tours, as well as all of the festivals and events. Considering that we already have 14 tours booked, there will be a great deal of material, so stay tuned. See you soon! Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=242&Itemid=136 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 filmed her. While it all went quite well, she failed to consider a few potential pitfalls. For one, at our house here in Florida, we have a flat electric stove. Finding the buttons was an exercise of trial and error. Additionally, she had some trouble finding rosemary, and finally learned that Paprika and Marjoram smell more or less the same. In the end, with almost no help at all, Paola pulls it off. More importantly, we had a week’s worth of laughter in an evening… and some great Ceci soup! Those of you that know us from our cooking classes and tours in Italy will get a chance to see Paola do her thing at our winter home in the States. I only hope you have as much fun watching this as we did making it. We’re even talking about make this a regular thing, turning it into a video cooking class. Sun, 09 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=241&Itemid=136 “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 past few years. They would come into the shop, looking for a haircut, but he had difficulty communicating with them. After all, he doesn’t speak a word of English, and it certainly helps to know what kind of cut your customer desires.I certainly understood, and promptly offered to help him. I explained that I would create a list of common (and not so common) terms that a barber would need to use, along with their Italian translations. He could simply give the sheet of paper to customers and solve most of his problems. I had done similar things for local restaurants, an ice cream stand, etc.Imagine my surprise when he declined the offer. He explained that he had been asking his daughter to do such a list for him, but she lives far away, is busy, and has had no time. He explained that his daughter had studied English in school, and was therefore fluent in English. I explained to him that while she may have excellent English skills, it was highly unlikely that she would have many barber shop terms in her vocabulary. After all, what are the chances that she learned ‘buzz cut’ or ‘mullet’ in her studies? I continued to explain that he had an American sitting in the chair, and while his daughter may be fluent in English, it could never be at my level, since it is my mother tongue. Additionally, I was there, ready to help, and he had said that she had no time to help him.That is when he delivered the line. His daughter speaks perfect English because she spent a month in England. At that point, it becomes clear that there is no sense in continuing, but it illustrates a reality in Italian culture.As visitors travel Italy, they invariably notice that signs, menus, notices, etc. are translated so poorly that they are all but incomprehensible. This isn’t limited to barber shops and little local businesses. The problem exists in government, major corporations; just about anywhere you see English translations. You see it in airports, major hotels, government websites… everywhere!It’s the pride. Why have a non-Italian do a translation when we have a daughter, or a cousin, or a friend who claims to speak perfect English? It may spill over into the belief that the native-English speaking person can’t possibly do as good a job because they may not understand the nuances of Italian. I really don’t know.Here is another great example: Soriano nel Cimino’s tourist board has a website, of course. Have a look at their home page (http://www.prolocosoriano.it/En) . If that isn’t enough, keep digging on the site and try to read it. The kicker here is that for two years I have been offering to fix it for them… for free. I even went so far as to re-translate the site for them, and e-mail them a list of the mistakes with the changes they need to make. That was more than a year ago. I have explained to them in person why “The lucky hilly position” makes no sense in English. I explained how “the ideal place where to spend” is grammatically offensive. Did they change it? Why not? Nobody will tell, but I think it might hurt someone’s pride, so it is better to live in denial.OK, I just felt like venting. I’m done for now. Fri, 29 Feb 2008 01:00:00 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=235&Itemid= 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 converse on a very popular message forum called ‘SlowTrav’, a website dedicated to travelers that understand and appreciate the concept of soaking in a culture when you visit, rather than racing by monuments to get it all in. On this forum, Italy is by far the most popular destination and subject of discussion.The group included people from all over Florida. We started the evening in Winter Park (Orlando’s version of Rodeo Drive) at a wine bar where we all got to know one another, then proceeded to Rocco’s Grille, and Italian restaurant run by a couple from Sicily, with Northern Italian accents (I never got the story behind that one). The food was fantastic, the people were even more fantastic, and we had some great laughs as we all got to know one another. Among the people in the group were Cecilia, who had stayed with us in Soriano just a few months ago; Jan, who we will be seeing this summer in Italy; Doug and Judith who put it all together; Gail Howard, who have one leg in Umbria, and one leg in the US (but I’m not allowed to tell you where in Umbria); Tom Judy (who live everyone’s dream of spending six months a year motor-homing through Europe – Check out the blog here (http://www.papillontravels.net/)); Ann Pat from Jax, ‘Cracker’ Tommy, Jim Wendy, Lou Kathy, and oh boy… too many names for one evening, so if I didn’t mention you, please leave a comment on this post and yell at me! We had a great time, and I am most certain that it the first of many gatherings of its kind. Mon, 28 Jan 2008 09:47:31 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=218&Itemid= 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. Mon, 10 Dec 2007 21:08:21 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=217&Itemid= 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 disdain I have for Olive Garden -- actually, any massive chain restaurant, but I am about Italy, so Olive Garden really hits a nerve.So you will certainly appreciate why I love this video.... Mon, 03 Dec 2007 12:41:15 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=212&Itemid= All I have to say can be said by this video. I'm feeling safe now thanks to the POWEHRRR RAYNGERRRZ! Sat, 03 Nov 2007 16:47:30 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=209&Itemid= 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 banner that acts as a trophy for the winner of whatever competion is being held. In other words, the Palio is the prize, not the contest.Soriano's Palio, unlike that of Siena, is not a horse race. Instead it is a half-day event that is made up of an archery competition and a jousting competition. It is one of the main events in Soriano nel Cimino's Sagra delle Castagne (Chestnut Festival).During the festival, the twon divides into 4 ‘contrade' districts, each with their cavalier and archer that will compete in the Palio. The contradas are ‘San Giorgio', ‘Rocca', ‘Trinita' and ‘Papacqua'. This year, San Giorgio swept the competition. Luckily, Paola's family belongs to San Giorgio. Actually, Paola's father was one of the founders for the festival, and he was the president of the San Giorgio contrada for years. Still, I lived in the Papacqua district when I lived in Soriano, and our rentals are all in the Rocca district. That said, I had a 75% chance shot at being connected to victory! The openening event of the festival is the ‘Blessing of the Cavaliers and Archers', during which the cavaliers ride (and archers walk) into the main square in a grand procession, accomanied by their districts trumpeteers and drummers, all followed by a magnificent parade of villagers in medieval dress. They take formation in front of the catheral as a priest blesses the competitors and the opening ceremonies commence.On the day of the Palio competition itself, thousands of people march down to the fields where the event will be held to cheer for their their respective contradas.The even begins with a round of archery, followed by a round of jousting for rings. Naturally, this is 2007, so the cavaliers are not jousting one on one. Instead, they ride a course that is marked with a series of poles. Each pole has three rings of different size. They are scored based on how many rings they get, how big those rings are, and the speed at which they maneuvered the course.With the second round, the archers take more distance and the cavaliers get a second shot at their remaining rings, again judged by ring count, ring size and speed.A third and final round puts the archers at a greatly increased distance, and the cavaliers that their last run around the track in an effort for the perfect score.When it is all done (It lasted about 5 hours), all of the scores are tallied and the contrada with the highest combined score wins this year's Palio. From that point forward, the losers go home deflated, while the winners parade all the way back to town for an evening of extreme celebration.The event is strongly felt in the town. Emotions run deep. I watched losers in tears and winners rejoice at their sumpremacy. I have to admit, I started out really not caring, but with all of the tension in the air leading up to the event, I found myself really excited, too. It was truly a blast! Sat, 27 Oct 2007 23:38:13 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=208&Itemid= 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 been there. In fact, years ago I was telling Paola about them, and she didn’t believe me until I showed her.Anyhow, Andrea didn’t believe that I had been to ‘The waterfalls’, so he asked me to describe them. As I did, he laughed and simply explained that there were other, more breathtaking, waterfalls in Soriano. So he took me. He explained that not only was this a beautiful fork of the Tiber with awesome waterfalls, but there were the ruins of a 13th century Olive Mill. Cool!We drove just past the Viterbo-Orte Superstrada, right at the Soriano-Bomarzo exit, and hung a left. We drove down a road which is well known as a hangout for some extremely vile looking prostitutes (another story there) and parked along a little dirt road. After exiting the car, we went down a small trail into what appeared to be complete nothingness.At one point, I noticed beneath my feet there was some ancient concrete road, which was ribbed. Andrea explained that this was the path the mules used to cart the olives down, and the oil up.Next I found myself in a tunnel of sorts, created by massive rocks around me, and extending about 200 feet down the hill. All the while, this ancient road ran beneath my feet.After exiting the tunnel, immediately to my right was the river. As I walked toward it, I was struck by an absolutely beautiful set of waterfalls as I saw the water that had literally carved its passage through this ancient volcanic rock over millions of years. To say it was stunning would be an understatement.We walked around as I cursed my lack of a spare battery for my camera. It had a little juice left in it, so I took what video I could. How could I never have known about this place?As we crossed back to our entry point, there was an old structure in ruin. Andrea told me to look to my feet. There, sitting in the middle of this little forest was an ancient olive mill wheel. We then entered the structure, and a few more wheels were just lying there haphazardly. Wow! What a great experience to see all of this in such an untouched state.Such was my morning visit to what I now know of as ‘Fosso Mulino’. You won’t find it in any tour books, and you won’t find any ‘professional’ guides that can show it to you. It is just one of those hidden treasures, like Corviano, that you just have to be with the right person to see.I’m pretty sure I will make this a tour stop with my groups that are into nature and hiking. Sat, 20 Oct 2007 09:32:47 +0100 http://www.discoversoriano.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=207&Itemid= 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 and getting over my jet lag, I'll begin... The Flag Throwers ( Sbandieratori ) of Soriano nel CiminoSoriano is, for the most part, divided into four districts (Contrade). When the chestnut festival begins, these districts compete in many events (Archers, Cavaliers, Parades, Medieval dinners, etc.). Additionally, each district brings a distinct group with a specific talent. For example, Soriano's swordsmen are from the ‘Rocca' district. The ‘Trinita' district brings a group of heavily trained Flag Throwers.To be completely honest, they never impressed me in the past. I always thought it was a total non-event. I mean, big deal, right? But I hadn't seen the Flag Throwers from Soriano in years, and I was covering the festival, so I really should check it out. In fact, I actually considered if I wanted to waste my camera's battery life on the event for fear that I might end up missing something interesting later into the evening.The event was about to begin, and I took my place in the Piazza... thinking there must be something better to do. Then I heard the drums coming from Via Santa Maria (Trinita's home street). Suddenly I saw a massive group of drummers, trumpeters, and flag throwers march into Piazza behind the Trinita Flag Carrier. Their costumes were breathtaking! Their choreography was mesmerizing! Even the drums were absolutely stunning! When the row of trumpets began to play, my jaw dropped in utter awe.This was not the Flag Throwing group I remembered. In the past it was a small group of guys that put on a nice, but largely unspectacular performance. Wow, have they changed. Someone with great skill and vision has clearly taken over in this group. I would argue that it was the most spectacular event I saw during the festival. Maybe because my expectations were so low going in, or maybe they are just that great now.Unfortunately, the video that accompanies this article doesn't do them justice. It doesn't even come close to capturing the grandeur of the group, nor does it reproduce even a fraction of the awesome sound they produce. Not knowing what to expect, my camera missed many of the best moments of the performance. Next time I have an opportunity to film them, I will try to better convey how truly awesome this group was. Mon, 15 Oct 2007 08:29:52 +0100