Rome and Pittsburgh. These were the places where the men in my family—Alfredo and Frank Mastrovincenzo— practiced their craft, sculpting gold by hand into rings, brooches, necklaces, and bracelets to sell in their jewelry shops. My baby ring and later my wedding rings were made by Bucci’s Jewelry Company on Liberty Avenue in Pittsburgh where my great uncle Frank had once been a co-owner. … Continue Reading
Take me home, country roads… to a place, where I belong. However, not West Virginia, but a small hilltop town in the Teramo region of Abruzzo, Italy.
For Mary Smith of Sheperdstown, West Virginia, USA, a collection of old crinkled sepia photographs, a few letters and a copy of her grandfather’s passport were the only remnants of a past largely unknown to her and her extensive American-Italian family. … Continue Reading
Almond’22 is a small micro brewery in Spoltore located on the lush green countryside in the province of Pescara. The Almond’22 building is from the late 19th century. In 1922 a group of elderly women worked here pealing almonds to produce the world wide famous confetti of Sulmona. This gave the proprietor the idea of [...]
Italian Wine Tourism is popular as never before as announced on February 19 at the BIT (Borsa Internazionale del Turismo) in Milan. 2009 saw a 20% rise compared to 2008, which translates to € 3 Billion spent in this sector! Stats go on to show that it’s imperative that wineries and wine regions build a [...]
The charm of Abruzzo lies very much on the geographical variety the region offers and not to mention, the fact that it is still basically “untouched”. A place where Italy is still… well, I will go as far as saying, “still Italy”.
In the Fall of 2009, Abruzzo was the shooting backdrop for the film “The American” starring George Clooney, directed by Anton Corbijn. The film is set to be released in September 2010.
The Gambero Rosso “Tre Bicchieri” (3 Glasses) is probably one of Italy’s leading wine guides and influences the consumer market immensly.