December | 2023 | Un po' di pepe

Tags

Blog year in review, Blogging, Italia, Top 10 blog list, U2

As we prepare to ring in 2024, here is a look back at 2023 on Un po’ di pepe. More posts were published than last year (yeah!) although still not as many as I was hoping for. The post pandemic creative slump is still lingering, but things are slowly improving. There are many half written things in progress!

I did manage to participate in a Countering Isolation with Creativity project for seniors. Click on the link to view the 1.5 hour mixed media selfie collage workshop on Youtube. Early in the year, post #200 was published, and I had an ‘Espresso per uno‘ print giveaway for 3 readers.

During my yearly trips to Italia, I try to visit 1 or 2 new places. In 2023, I went to Procida for the first time-definitely not the last time. I also took an unexpected short trip to Costa Rica and saw lots of monkeys! It is probably news to most of you that I am a huge U2 fan. In October, I went to see them in Las Vegas at the Sphere! It was amazing, and we even had surprise guest Lady Gaga for 3 songs! The visuals and acoustics at the Sphere are so good it has ruined me for any future concerts. Have a look at my 2 minute video-make sure to watch it till the end:

To celebrate Week of the Italian language in the World, I published a post to liven up your language skills ‘Che Cavolo! Non rompere le Scatole!‘.

WordPress sends me end of year stats which I love to share because they are so interesting.* In 2023, Un po’ di pepe had over 14,000 views from 112 different countries! I wish I could visit them all! The top 10 posts (11 actually because of a tie) of 2023 are listed below, with links included in red, in case you missed any of them. 7 of the top posts of the year appear on the first page of a google search. This is fantastic! Granted, they are not commonly searched topics but I am still impressed. The art history related posts seem to do well-I will have to write more of them in future!

Based on the number of views, the top posts of 2023 are:

#10a In my kitchen in Puglia 2023 Once again, my summer cucina with its amazing barrel-vaulted stone ceiling was well read. This post was written as part of the ‘In my kitchen’ worldwide blog linkup hosted monthly by Sherry of Sherry’s Pickings

#10b tied with #10a Appuntamento con la Daunia. Every October I receive an invitation to this event and I was finally in Italy at the right time! Hosted by my amico Peppe Zullo at Villa Jamele, this event features local food and wine, focusing on the biodiversity of the Monti Dauni area of Foggia.

#9 Tutti i Santi This 2018 post was written after I attended the annual November 1 festa in Orsara di Puglia to honour the departed with bonfires and carved pumpkins. I previously wrote about this event in Fucacoste e Cocce Priatorje, but at the time I had not attended in person yet.

#8 Grano Arso A Pugliese gastronomic tradition that honours the resilience of our contadini ancestors. There is not a lot written in English about grano arso, which explains why this 2015 post is in my top 10 every year and comes up 5th on the first page of Google.

#7 L’Arte sa Nuotare made the top list again! During a 2019 trip to Firenze with my nipotina Viaggio con Isabella we were on constant lookout for street art by Blub, the talented artist who plunges famous works of art underwater. This post also comes up 2nd on the first page of a Google search! Spread the Blub love- read about more Blub in Blub a Napoli.#6 The Last Medici As an art history nerd, this 2020 post was my personal thanks to Anna Maria Luisa De’ Medici (AMLDM) the last of the Medici family, for leaving Firenze and the world her family’s legacy of art treasures. If you have been to the Uffizi or Palazzo Pitti, you will know what I mean. I was thrilled to see it on the list again! It comes up #4 in google search both for the topic and for her name!

#5 Bialetti Moka A 2023 post about the history and invention of the beloved Moka caffettiera which revolutionized caffè for Italian households around the world. The best invention to come out of observing laundry!

#4 Italiano per Ristoranti-How to Pronounce your Restaurant Menu, this handy Italian menu pronunciation guide is usually #1. In a google search for ‘Italian menu pronunciation’ it comes out as the top suggestion! Molto cool! A 6 page downloadable PDF is available via a link at the end of the post. I would still like to expand and turn it into an ebook someday. Speriamo! If any of you have experience or advice on this, let me know!

#3 Sanremo 2023 For the second year in a row, I wrote a handy viewing guide to the 5 day Festival di Sanremo Italian song contest held the first week of February and it was well received, so I plan to keep doing it every year.

#2 Napoli Street Art I absolutely love Napoli a perfect place for self-expression since the last few thousand years. Join me on a graffiti/street art tour in the Centro Storico. This 2020 post comes up 3rd in Google search .I have been to Napoli a few times since and probably have enough new street art photos to make a 2.0 version.#1 Hairstyling in Ancient Roma This 2017 post was on the top 10 list last year for the first time, but I am sooooo beyond thrilled to see it is in first place for 2023! I am not sure why? I know some views have been referred via Pinterest and it now ranks 3rd in Google search. Another art history post of mine that suddenly had lots of views was because it was being used for a class by a college in California. It is hard to know for sure why? Join me as I study ancient hairstyling practices by looking at Classical sculptures and paintings. Most of the research was done at Palazzo Massimo. Yeah for archeology nerds!

For 2024 my goals are simple and the same as usual…. travel, less stress, more exercise, more art and writing!

I would love to hear which post you liked best, and what you would like to read more about in 2024 on Un po’ di pepe? Let me know in the comments. Looking forward to writing more cose interresanti /interesting stuff in 2024. In April, Un po’ di pepe celebrates 10 years of blogging, so I will have to plan something special!

To find out what I’m up to, check out the Un po’ di pepe Facebook page and Instagram (@unpodipepe). I know many of you read new posts when they are posted on Facebook, but with the new algorithms, you are likely to miss them most of the time. To get notified of new posts, it is best to sign up with your email in the top right hand corner of the home page.

Buon Anno a tutti i lettori di ‘Un po’ di pepe’, vicini e lontani! Spero che 2024 porta buona salute e gioia a voi e ai vostri cari. Happy New Year readers of ‘Un po’ di pepe’, near and far. I hope 2024 brings good health and joy to you and your loved ones!

Vi auguro un 2024 piena di gioia e buona salute! Ciao, Cristina

Check out Italian Christmas Vocabulary for help understanding my seasonal greetings,

*Note…WordPress’ method of collecting stats is odd. The newest post counts as a ‘Home page’ view until the next one is published and this definitely does affect the results, especially for those of us that do not post often.

Tags

Albero di Natale, Christmas in New York, Italians in America, Natale, Rockefeller Center

December 8^th is a national holiday in Italia and the official start of le feste Natalizie-the Christmas season. It is also the day most Italiani put up and decorate their Christmas tree, l’ albero di Natale.

The most well-known albero di Natale is probably the one in Rockefeller Plaza in New York. It is known around the world and visited by 125 million people each year. Usually, the tree is a giant Norway Spruce from upstate NY, sometimes it is even from Canada. The tree goes up on the Wednesday evening after American Thanksgiving* and is lit from 5 am to midnight until after the epiphany.

The tree may not go up on December 8^th, but I recently found out that this famous tree tradition was started by Italian immigrant excavation workers. On December 24^th 1931 work had just begun on the future site of Rockefeller Center. The first tree, a ‘small’ 6.1 m (20 ft) Balsam fir was brought to the site by Cesidio Perruzza. Originally from Frosinone, he was one of a group of Italian excavation workers who built a lot of Manhattan. They pooled their money to buy the tree, wanting to bring Christmas cheer and to be thankful for being employed during economic depression. The tree was decorated with paper garlands made by their families, gum wrappers, and the foil wrappers from blasting caps-since their job was blowing things up!

The photo from the Rockefeller Centre’s website shows workers lining up to collect their wages on Christmas Eve 1931 beside the tree.

By Christmas 1933, the job was completed and 30 Rockefeller Plaza opened. The first ‘official’ tree was lit in the plaza and it was made an annual tradition. It was a 15 m (50 ft) tree and according the Rockefeller Centre’s website, was intended as ‘a holiday beacon for New Yorkers and visitors alike’. The skating rink was added below the tree in 1936. This is how a group of Italian excavation workers with hope and Christmas spirit started a beloved tradition.