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!

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.

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); 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.

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 more.

That said, if you are reading this from Napa Valley (Hi Jac and Ami), this post might have you thinking I've been locked in a cage most of my life.  Well, that cage was walled by the confines of the 101, 405 and 118 freeways in the San Fernando Valley, and I can't stop saying to myself: ‘Dude!  I, like, fully made WINE yesterday'. 

OK, I'm going to admit that it wasn't my first time.  The first time was about 13 years ago when I happened to be here in Soriano nel Cimino during the harvest, and I helped my father in law with his private yield. 

At the time, my only point of reference in making wine was the image of Lucy rolling her pants up, stomping grapes, and screaming ‘Ohhhh Ricky'!  I quickly learned that grape stomping was actually a practice that ended about a thousand years ago when the first mechanized wine press was invented. Some towns still practiced stomping (of a small portion of their grapes) for fun and entertainment during their wine festivals, and of course THAT made far better entertainment for the ‘I Love Lucy' fans.

The ‘basket press' (Torchio in Italian), which was invented about 1,000 years ago has remained largely unchanged through the years.  Farmers throughout Italy that have their own private vineyards for personal use still use this press every year to make their wine.

Yesterday marked my second time. I went to visit Leo, Santino and Andrea.  They are actually the contractors that restored our villa, but they also have a farm with their own two acre vineyard, plus more acreage of an olive orchard, hazelnut orchard, etc.  They harvest their grapes each year, which produces an average of 1,300 liters of an excellent red.  Believe it or not, that is hardly enough to get them through the year for their own personal use!  Does that thought just drive your mind away from Lucy, and on to Otis from The Andy Griffith Show, or what?

We spent the afternoon in their cantina filling the press with the separated grapes, and watching the must (basically grape juice that will grow up to become wine) pour out.  As I watched and helped, I listened to them tell me what a true labor of love it is.  Every so often, it was time to assemble the press and start cranking away, squeezing every little bit possible out of those pesky grapes!  After all, we couldn't have a year with only 1,299 liters, could we?

In between, we would rest, eat pecorino cheese, salami and mortadella with freshly baked bread.  Of course, all the while we are either drinking the remains of last year's wine, or drinking the must straight from the press ( YUM!!! ).

It was a wonderful afternoon that I will never forget.  So much so, that we discussed expanding the vineyard for next year and dedicating a section to DiscoverSoriano's own private reserve.  We'll be planning days with our guests to share in this wonderful experience, and will set aside enough to produce roughly 300 liters of our own reserve for our guests.

Today I am off to Maurizio's farm, where he is just starting to pick his grapes.  More to come!

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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 ask those of you that are in the know to be patient with me.

I was invited to go to a match between AS Roma (Rome) and Juventus (Turin).  They are the Italian Soccer equivalent of the Yankees vs. the Red Sox, with Juventus being the Yankees.  You know, the team that has a huge following all over the country (and the world), not just mainly in their home town.  It was held at Rome's Olympic Stadium.

I was far more focused on the experience than the game itself.  After all, I could care less if ‘Totti must die' or not.  Still, I was there with a group of six die hard Juventus fans, who graciously shared a ‘nearly impossible to procure' ticket to the game.  Many envious people felt the ‘golden ticket' had been wasted on me.  That said, for my own personal safety I was a Juventus fan yesterday.

 

The experience began with the walk up to the stadium.  Vendors abound were selling flags, shirts, banners, towels, etc. proclaiming that ‘Juve must die' and ‘Juve I hate you', etc.  Juve is short for Juventus, in the same way that we say ‘SC' for ‘USC'.  There was no pro-Juventus paraphernalia to be found.  In fact, I noted that none of the fans wore anything pro-Juventus.  Odd, considering what a huge following they had all over the country.

After a bit, we arrived at security check #1.  Then #2, then #3.  Then a caged fortress-like area where we inserted our tickets.  Then yet another security check.  Each person was individually patted down, made to empty their pockets and bags, then checked again, and again at a series of checkpoints.  Nothing was allowed in.  There were literally thousands of police in full riot gear everywhere you looked, forming lines, ready for the worst.  I think I would have an easier time getting into the White House than the Soccer game yesterday.

 

The moment we walked through the gates, I witnessed people opening their bags and getting shirts, hats, flags, etc. out.  All Black and White... Juventus colors.  They had been afraid to wear their gear outside of the protection of the ‘Juventus Section' of the stadium.

As we walked into the stadium, I quickly learned that all of the security was outside.  It was pure chaos as we attempted to find our seats... until I learned that seat assignments have no meaning.  Everyone just crowded in wherever they could.  Aisles, stairs, etc. were all fair play for seats.

As we tried to make our way to a place where we could see the game, I suddenly heard a roar of screaming and felt the pressure of thousands of people pouncing around me, pushing me (and everyone) violently to one direction.  As I looked up, completely confused, I saw a chair flying over the big fence into the stands where I was. Thousands of people were rushing away from the area... into me.  Then another... and another.... Bottles, small objects, etc.  It was mayhem.  I noted that everyone on the other side of the fence was wearing Red and Yellow, while those on my side were wearing black and white.  I was within 20 feet of the giant divider between Juventus fans and Roma fans.  THANK GOD FOR THE MASSIVE BARRIER!

 

Riot Police stormed the area and calmed things down, after a fashion.  We continued to slowly make our way to a better place in the stadium.  Pushing and shoving to move foot by foot was the order of the day.

Once we were settled in our chosen location, one thing became utterly clear.  I was in that spot for the duration.  The stairway was completely blocked by fans and there was no way to move away from my two square feet of stadium floor.  I had skipped lunch earlier, thinking I would get a bite at the game.  HA!  A couple hours earlier I passed up an opportunity to go to th

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 even an excited greeting.  Instead, most people never even realized I had been away.

Who can blame them?  They saw me 3 ½ weeks ago, after all.  I was here with the family all summer.  Before that, I was here for Christmas…  and in October before that… all summer before that… April before that… January before that… etc.  In between my solo trips and family trips, Paola always peppers a trip or two per year on her own, so to the untrained eye, it seems that there is always a Kovnick in Soriano.

When I tell them I have been in the states, I get that shocked look, accompanied with something on the order of ‘But didn’t I just see you???’.  In fact, I would argue that many people think we live here now.

Such is now my life with DiscoverSoriano.com. 

So why do I blog this?  Last night I met a couple of our guests from Arizona who are leaving today.  (Hi Lynda and Christine).  They told me about how much they loved it here.  They felt so at home,  and Lynda was really interested in purchasing a place here as a vacation home.  It really occurred to me how doable something like that really is.  If you sit down and do the math, it isn’t really more difficult or costly than having your second home in the mountains or at the beach in the U.S.  It just seems that way.
To start, purchasing a place here is far less costly that it would be in the states.  One could easily get a beautiful place here for less than $75,000.  Property taxes here are extremely low.  Ongoing expenses such as heating, electricity, phone, internet, etc. are all relative, of course.  So what makes owning a vacation home here seem so far out is that it is a world away.

But if you consider that someone from the east coast only has an 8 hour flight, then a one-hour drive to get here, is it really that far?  Even from the west coast, it isn’t that bad.  Essentially, you give up coming for the weekends in favor of spending weeks, but the payoff is that you are in ITALY.    When you look at the cost of ownership here, it covers the airfare many, many times over.
Then it is worth considering what one would do with a second home in Italy.   The first and obvious answer is to see Italy.  After all, after 23 years, I am still discovering this wonderful country every time I come.  I’ve never seen such an amazing place.  But then consider the rest of Europe.  After all, in Soriano, we are about an hour from the Rome airport, and there are airlines that now sell tickets to just about anywhere in Europe for insane prices.  Think about spending the weekend in London, Berlin, Paris, etc. for around $40 each way.

Add all of that to the fact that Viterbo (the provincial capitol) is only 10 miles from us, and their airport is gearing up for commercial international air service.  All of Europe is literally at your doorstep.

Thinking about it, it really does add up.  The cost of having that cabin (and using it) in the mountains is really on par with the cost of having (and using) that medieval retreat in the heart of Italy.  Hmmmm.

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 Castagne) over the years.   Enjoy!

 

40th Annual Chestnut Festival (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

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 main freeway, it has enough restaurants and hotels to support such a large festival, it has the character and ambiance essential to such a festival, and it has appropriate venues (large piazza, etc) for such a festival.  For all intents and purposes, his reasons are in sync with my own reasons for promoting Soriano: Character, Beauty, Proximity and Infrastructure.

The festival was not at all what I had expected.  I honestly thought that it would be a cute little festival with a few nights of music, headed by some local Italian jazz musicians.  Instead, it turned out to be a major International event. 

Roughly 1,400 musicians from across the globe appeared in a series of concerts every night for nearly a full month.  Some were young musicians that came to learn in the workshops or participate in competition for the Jimmy Woode prize, and some were seasoned jazz musicians that saw this as a truly international event.  Some of the bigger names included Jimmy Woode's daughter, Shawnn Monteiro, Benny Golson, Joey De Francesco, Jimmy Cobb, Buster Williams, George Cables, Bobby Durham, Jesse Davis, Giorgio Rosciglione, Gegè Munari, Eddy Palermo, Piero Odorici, Massimo Faraò and John Kinnison.
Aside from the nightly concerts, every night after midnight, Soriano’s Rotezzia Pub, a large pub that is made from a series of connecting grottos and caverns, would host the nightly jam sessions.  Here, artists would get up and perform at random until daybreak every night.

In all, it is said that 70,000 spectators came to Soriano for the concerts.  In fact, Soriano reached critical mass by the second week, when there were no more rooms available and people were renting spare bedrooms out of desperation.  Word to the wise:  Reserve early if you plan to attend in 2008.

The festival built up to a single ‘main event’ night one Saturday, when Soriano hosted its ‘Notte Bianca’  (White Night).  On this night, all stores were open until 5:00 AM, street vendors were out all night, several outdoor taverns were erected to serve grilled sausages, pasta, etc., and six stages were setup all over town to host an all-night event with 40 concerts.

All in all, this was by far the most impressive event I have ever seen in Soriano.  I’m already counting the days till next year’s festival….  It was a huge success, and will be here for at least the next five years.

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 help myself (as family would) in their executive lunchroom at the corporate HQ. Better yet, after you leave an Olive Garden, how many people that work there know your name, let alone consider you family? Do we actually buy into this stuff?

OK, marketing marketing marketing. But now their commercials focus on their 'Culinary Institute' in Tuscany? They imply that their chefs all go there to learn how to make true Italian food with the freshest of ingredients. They learn from a local grandmother, then come back to their local Olive Garden and you get the benefit of their newfound talents. Yeah, Right! This is just over the top. Is Olive Garden actually trying to imply now that they serve authentic Italian food? Do they really want us to believe that it is the real thing? Fresh? We are talking about a Boil-a-meal-in-a-bag-then-serve chain here, people. Their recipes are at best 'Italian Inspired', but by no means Italian. It would be like having someone serve you a sausage and call it a hot dog.

Their latest commercial talked about how their chefs came back from Italy with their new recipe, 'Chicken Crostina' . Ummm... sorry folks, no such thing, and I can most certainly guarantee that the grandmother shown teaching the chefs in the commercial wouldn't put an Olive Garden Chicken Crostina in her mouth to save her life, let alone teach anyone to make it.

So what is this 'Cooking Institute' all about? I did a little research, and I put some two and two together. It appears that someone in corporate found an independent cooking school in Tuscany and made a deal with them. Olive Garden ranks all of their chefs and managers (as any corporation would), and the top 100 win a one-week trip to Italy the following year. It appears that they send 10 of their people at a time. It sounds like a great performance perk, and they are certainly getting a ton of marketing mileage out of it. However, I can pretty much guarantee that they come home and look at the food they make at their local Olive Garden and simply shake their heads, having finally experienced the real thing. In any case, they then go back to their 'line chef' system and feed you the same junk they always have. Sigh.