Italy

(Venice, Italy) Today is Vogalongo here in Venice, and every year it reminds us how peaceful and serene the city is without motors, an ambiance that gave Venice her name, La Serenissima Repubblica, or The Most Serene Republic. What is Vogalongo? From Wikipedia: "Vogalonga is a rowing "competition" in the Italian city of Venice. On November 11, 1974 a group of Venetians, both amateur and professional rowers, had a race in the island of Burano. They came up with an idea of non-competitive "race" in which any kind of rowing boat could participate, in the spirit of historical festivities. The first Vogalonga began the next year with the message to protest against the growing use of powerboats in Venice and the swell damage they do to the historic city. Participants gather in St Marks Basin in front of the ducal palace. They sing hymns to San Marco (Saint Mark) and begin the "race". The racecourse is scenic route 30 kilometers long along the various Venetian canals and historical buildings.... ...The numbers of participants has swelled to thousands over the years from all over the world. Some locals have founded new rowing clubs and build their own boats based on real, historical watercraft. Some participants have brought their own kind of boats like the Chinese dragon boats. Some have also chosen to swim through the route instead of rowing...." To me, Venice would be the perfect city to go "green," with hybrid boats that operated on solar/electric energy while inside the lagoon that could switch over to gas when more power is needed. And the roofs of the vaporetti, or water buses, seem like they are begging for solar panels! For more images and information, please visit the Vogalongo Official Site, which you can switch over to English by clicking on the right. The silence is... awesome. Ciao from La Serenissima, Cat Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog

Sickness and death possess "virtues" of their own, which "previval" can't nurse away.

We are now well into the XXI century, but as a Livornese you may still end up without running water for several days. It happened last March and small army of technicians wasn't able to fix a broken main for the best part of a week.If you are an academic researching potholes, our town would be the perfect destination for your sabbatical year, but the task is going to be huge nonetheless. For your dissertation keep an eye on Viale Marconi: it is our crown jewel, with more holes than asphalt and a funny speed limit of 10 kilometers (6 miles) per hour.Everywhere generators are used in emergencies or to supply power to faraway places, but in Livorno a huge diesel model can materialize itself at your doorstep, in a central street, where it is kept running for days and nights, with a complete disregard for the quiet and the sleep of the people living nearby, left to cope with an ugly synergy of noise and exhaust pollution.As a form of protest, our blog will stop posting until this monster is turned down. But who will care?See also: Without Water - Dried Up - Third Day without Water - Habemus aquam! - Viale MarconiVersione italiana

I remember that day as if it were yesterday. A visit with Roberto Di Meo at his winery, Cantine Di Meo last June. I remember every detail; from the wines tasted to the music played during the tasting. I learned a great deal about wine tasting that afternoon. A great deal about taking my time and enjoying the aromas in a wine...and in everything for that matter.I remember the little spray bottles that appeared out of nowhere. Di Meo presented one of them as campione #6321. And on a small white napkin, he lightly spayed a bit. Fiano...he told me. profumo di fiano. Un esperimento. An experiment...stay tuned.Well, I stayed tuned. Di Meo and I crossed paths several times over the past several months. and would ask from time to time. He would answer with a smile, and a little chuckle.Non c'e' fretta...no hurry.So the experiment stayed just that- an experiment. Or so I thought. Campione #6321 has grown up - grown up and evolved into Profumo DiVino. A bottle full of the aromas of Irpinia. Fiano di Avellino... Di Meo's Fiano Di Avelino. Not a perfume or cologne for your body...but a perfume for your environment...your home... your space. I pushed the spray nozzle once, twice three times...then closed my eyes. Floral aromas...definitely fresh floral aromas floated through the air. Aromas, though intense, were also relaxing. And as the aromas dispersed, so did the intensity...though that relaxing feeling remained. A feeling that brought me back to my first visit to Di Meo's vineyard. The aromas of Irpinia. Memories that were now in a bottle. That I could have whenever I wanted. Whenever I wanted to take my time and enjoy.

Good luck to Italy's Marco Mengoni, who returns to the stage with his winning Sanremo song, L'Essenziale, in the Eurovision Song Contest tonight:Marco Mengoni - L'Essenziale And, because the UK will be represented by a Welshwoman, I have to root for Bonnie Tyler as well!Bonnie Tyler - Believe in Me

Is there anything that says Italy more than pizza? Biting into the perfect pizza is just heaven! While you’ll find excellent pizza all over Italy, there’s one place that’s absolutely the top – Naples. This is where pizza was born and where it’s still king. Come along as we take a look at the history of the Neapolitan pizza, from it’s humble beginnings to an international favorite! Naples is proud of its heritage as the place where pizza was born. However, precisely when pizza as we know it today was invented has been lost in a cloud of flour dust. Even the pizza historians don’t all agree on exactly when tomatoes met bread and were later joined by cheese, a drizzle of olive oil and a few leaves of basil. (Yes, there are pizza historians. And, yes, we’re jealous of their job!) The beginning of pizza, just as when you make one, is with the crust. Flat breads have been eaten in Naples since ancient times and were likely brought to the area from the Middle East. There are ovens that have been uncovered at the ruins of Roman Pompeii that look strikingly similar to wood fired pizza ovens today. However, it wasn’t until much later, the 1760s to be more accurate, that tomatoes baked atop flat bread became the thing to eat in Naples. For that we can thank Ferdinand, King of Naples, who rather liked cavorting with, well, let’s just say not the nicest class of people. For a king he was known for his vulgar tastes, and one of them was this dish of flat bread baked with tomatoes, olive oil, oregano and garlic. This was the very beginning of what is now called pizza alla marinara, the most basic pizza. (Imagine a world where this was considered vulgar … unthinkable!) What worked for the King worked for the King, but it didn’t necessarily fly with the Queen. That would be Maria Carolina of Austria, the sister of Marie Antoinette. Would Marie Antoinette get her pretty gloves messy eating pizza? I think not. So you can imagine her sister’s response to King Ferdinand’s fancies. While she refused to have pizza at her table, she did allow her husband to install a pizza oven outdoors at the Capodimonte Palace. What happened next was the first pizza party. Quite literally! With the King and Queen hosting lavish parties with pizza it quickly became a court fashion. By 1830, when the first pizzeria opened in Naples near Port’Alba not far from Piazza Dante, pizza was the rage for all levels of society. The Port’Alba Restaurant and Pizzeria still stands and is quite busy! Now we’re approaching the all-important moment when mozzarella cheese arrived on the pizza. By all accounts this happened sometime before 1889, but there are no good stories before that date. And everyone likes a good story. So here it is! In 1889, Queen Margherita, wife of Umberto I the King of Italy, expressed some interest in trying the famous Neapolitan pizza she had heard so much about. So on her visit to the city she summoned one of the best pizza makers of the day, one Raffaele Esposito from what is now called Pizzeria Brandi, to make her the local specialty. Keep in mind that Italy had only been unified for 28 years at this point and enthusiasm for the new country and its tri color flag were all the rage. The story goes that in order to honor the Queen with something extra special and to show his support for the new country, Raffaele added some mozzarella cheese and basil leaves to make the pizza green, white and red. A little messier than a flag, but much tastier! Naturally, the Queen was impressed and when word got out about the success it became a smash hit and is still called pizza Margherita in her honor. Now that’s a story! When you pass by Pizzeria Brandi not far from Galleria Umberto I, you’ll see a marble plaque celebrating the spot where the world’s most famous pizza was created. You don’t have to go far to find a pizzeria in Naples and anyone you ask will have their favorite spot that makes the best pizza in the city. There are subtle variations, but to be con

Homophobic slurs always risk transforming hateful thought into hateful action.

Thanks to a ruthless intermediary, a fragmented Eliot poem became a masterpiece.

De Palma's Cannes heist flick -- helped by Rebecca Romijn -- remains a stylish joy.

What they won't do to get a picture of me, sunbathing on my terrace...External links: NHIndustries NH90 (Wikipedia)Versione italiana