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Cantine Aperte – Italy’s Wine-Tasting Tradition

Take a tour of a winer's cellars during Cantine Aperte

On the last weekend of every May, wineries in Abruzzo, (and to a greater/lesser extent in all of Italy’s other major wine producing areas too), throw open their doors for open house tasting sessions. Cantine Aperte. Open wineries. Yes, that’s right. Free wine tasting! And not just, “Here’s a plastic mug containing a drop of […]

Supping with the devil…from Ammaniti to Abruzzo

It’s that time of year,  we’re all partied out, we’ve eaten and drunk our way through the festive season and are starting to think that maybe it’s payback time for all those excesses. If struggling with the constant temptations of the Christmas holidays was tough, then the time has come to fight them. If you’re […]

Lords of London – A Gritty Gangster Movie Shot in Italy

Glen Murphy - Star of Lords of London

Lords of London is a gangster thriller partly set in Abruzzo in Italy. Italy Chronicles’ writer, Denise Muir who drew the film to my attention, tells me that some of the scenes were shot in the tiny Abruzzo town of Palombaro. The film, originally entitled Lost in Italy, stars Ray Winstone, Glen Murphy and Italian […]

Changing the world..on a Saturday night

Browsing the internet as you do of an afternoon, reading some tweets, scrolling Facebook, (wasting time), I came across an interesting quote: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” (Margaret Mead). If you’ve read my previous posts, you can […]

Italy. Abruzzo. Love it or leave it.

Meet Italy Chronicles’ newest contributor, Denise Muir. Denise is going to tell you a little about herself and her sometimes rather strained on-off relationship with captivating but contradictory Italy. Over to you, Denise: Crazy contradictions. One thing’s for sure, if you’re an expat living in Italy like me, at one point or another you’ll have said […]

Discover the Christmas Cake of Abruzzo – Parrozzo

Italy’s cuisine never ceases to amaze me!  Christmas, as you will know and if you celebrate it, is coming.  This means that out come all the Christmas favorites, and in Italy just about every single one of Italy’s twenty regions has its favorites. Take, for example, Abruzzo which has its very own Christmas cake.  The […]

Sentencing Earthquake Scientists: An Unjust and Unjustified Court Decision in Italy

Damage Caused by the Modena Area Earthquakes

A court in L’Aquila, a town in Italy’s Abruzzo region badly hit by an earthquake in April 2009, found Italy’s Serious Risks Commission guilty of providing “inaccurate, incomplete and contradictory” information on the risk of a major earthquake occurring.  In other words, the commission did not cry wolf. The commission, made up of some of Italy’s most respected […]

L’Arrosticino – The King of the Abruzzo Cuisine

Delicious Arrosticini from Abruzzo

While the Italian region of Abruzzo is well known for its culinary specialties: pecorino (sheep cheese), pasta alla chitarra, brodetto (fish stew), the undisputed King of all gastronomic delights is, without a shadow of doubt, l’arrosticino: small barbecued pieces of mutton (castrated sheep’s meat) on a wooden skewer. Arrosticini are sold in packs in all local […]

Italy’s Wine Cellars Open Their Doors – Cantine Aperte 2012

Next weekend over 1000 wine producers in Italy will open their cellars for visitors during Cantine Aperte.  Organized by Italy’s wine tourism association the Movimento Turismo del Vino, the event attracted about one million tourists and wine enthusiasts last year.  According to the organizers, that number is growing every year. ’See What You Drink’ Cantine […]