Buon Anno 2021

07 Thursday Jan 2021

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Blogging, Inspiration

Tags

2020 year in review, Blog year in review, Blogging, Italia

Buon Anno a tutti i lettori di ‘Un po’ di pepe’, vicini e lontani! Spero che 2021 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 2021 brings good health and joy to you and your loved ones!

I usually write a Buon Anno post on New Year’s Day, looking back at the blog year. I am late in writing this one, since I wrote an end of year post Reflecting on 2020, summing up and bidding good riddance to 2020-although I was not that polite in my sendoff!

WordPress keeps end of year stats which I love to share because they are so interesting.* In 2020, Un po’ di pepe had over 14,000 views from over 100 different countries! I wish I could visit all of of them! The top posts of 2020 are listed here, in case you missed any of them. Lots of links included! Based on the number of views, the top posts of 2020 are:

#10 Viaggio con Isabella A summary of a trip to Italia with my super-photogenic energetic travel buddy, my nipotina* Isabella. Since travel is still not possible, enjoy a virtual trip with us!
#9 Limoncello Because the pandemic caused a hand-sanitizer shortage, I was able to get some grain alcohol. When life gives you lemons……This post includes instructions and photos of the process to make limoncello at home.

#8 Cinquecento Love In May I published an article/photo essay about my lifelong obsession with the huggable Fiat 500 in a special print edition of Accenti Magazine. This post links to the full online article.

#7 The recipe for Olive oil Limoncello Cake was inspired by an art retreat at Casa Berti near Lucca, surrounded by 900 olive trees, freshly pressed olive oil and limoncello.

#6 Napoli Street Art I just love Napoli a perfect place for self-expression for the last few thousand years. Join me on a graffiti/street art tour in the Centro Storico. volto di Sophia Loren Napoli street art

#5 I was happy to see La Trinità di Masaccio on this list yet again! When I first published this art history lesson, it had about 30 views, but I discovered that it comes up as the 1st listing in a google search! This explains the steady trickle of views. I also suspect that it is on some sort of a reading list for art history classes in the US, because I have noticed a lot of views referred from the course websites of Santa Monica College and a high school in Pittsburgh! How cool is that? Didn’t I say the stats were fascinating?

#4 I am so super thrilled that L’Arte sa Nuotare made my top list again! During my trip with my nipotina** 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 4th on a google search. Spread the Blub love- read about more Blub in Blub a Napoli.

#3 The Last Medici As an art history nerd, this post was my personal thanks to Anna Maria Luisa De’ Medici (AMLDM) the last of the Medici family, for leaving the world her family’s legacy of art treasures. I was thrilled to see it get some love!

#2 Italiano per Ristoranti-How to Pronounce your Restaurant Menu, this handy Italian menu pronunciation guide has been #1 every year until now. In a google search for ‘Italian pronunciation guide restaurant’ and ‘Italian menu pronunciation’ it comes out as the top suggestion! Molto cool! This post is available as a 6 page downloadable PDF via a link on the post. Someday, I plan to expand and turn it into an ebook. Speriamo!

#1 For the first time ever a different post is #1. I wish I had not had to write this post, but I am glad I did. COVID 19-Andra tutto bene was my top post for 2020. A lot has been written since, but I wrote this early into the pandemic, after overhearing too many people saying that it was all a hoax and more people die from the seasonal flu. As a health professional, I felt I needed to provide some education as a public service. I followed it with another post COVID 19-Insieme ce la faremo.

For 2021 my goals are simple….lots of travel-if we are able, 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 2021 on Un po’ di pepe? Let me know in the comments. Looking forward to writing more cose interresanti /interesting stuff in 2021.

Vi auguro un 2021 piena di gioia e buona salute! Ciao, Cristina

*Note…WordPress’ method of collecting stats is odd. The newest post counts as a ‘Home page’ view until the next one is published and I am not sure how much this changes the results.

**Nipote or nipotina means both niece and granddaughter in Italiano. In this case, it means niece.

Reflecting on 2020

30 Wednesday Dec 2020

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Blogging, Inspiration

≈ 24 Comments

Tags

Coronavirus, COVID19, COVID19 pandemic, Sottosopra, Street art

Addio 2020! Is that too polite? How about vai via 2020? Via al inferno 2020? Vaffanculo 2020 may be the most appropriate send off to this year that most of us would like to forget. COVID 19 has affected life for everyone. Even in my weirdest dreams, I never imagined plague and pestilence in the form of a planetary health crisis during my lifetime…..yet here we are.

My word of the year is sottosopra (sot•toh•SOH•prah)…..upside down. I doubt I am alone feeling like an extra in a bad science fiction movie, where everything in the world is upside down. Kisses and hugs spread disease, lounging on the couch binge watching Netflix is responsible adult behaviour, NOT visiting family is a sign of love, and losers are the ones who DO go out on New Year’s Eve!

The loss of life, paralysis of the world economy, and mental health effects of this pandemic have been devastating. It has been more stressful than most of us are willing to admit. Each of us copes differently with the confusion, fear and stress of quarantine, distancing, and finding distraction from all things 2020. Some of us are madly productive, and others slow right down. As long as our activities help us cope and we follow local guidelines to help everyone stay safe, it does not really matter.

This has been a time for many of us to reflect about what is important, especially so in this quieter of Christmas seasons. There are not many positive things to discuss during a global pandemic. Even so, I have felt humbled by the outpouring of kindness, humanity and creativity that has come out of this terrible situation and speak to the resilience of the human spirit. Just a few of my favourite examples include:

The adaptability and creativity of businesses, workplaces, schools and social groups, offering their services differently and online. I have been doing zoom yoga 3-4 times a week! Many of these practices will likely continue in some form when the world is no longer sottosopra!
The world becoming emotional watching videos of neighbourhoods throughout Italia singing in solidarity from their balconies and windows. This uplifting show of unity and community support spread positivity around the world.
Collective rounds of applause and banging of pots for frontline health care workers. As a healthcare worker, I thank you all for your enthusiasm! This video ‘A Violin flies over Cremona’ of Lena Yokoyama playing Ennio Morricone for health care workers on the roof of the hospital in Cremona makes me cry. The full 15 minute documentary, with English voice over by my amica Anna Ambrosini is available here

Pandemic street art! A creative response to the pandemic, often with a dose of humour. I wrote about street art for International Nurses Day and have another post planned soon.
Volunteers helping the elderly with groceries and errands, sewing masks, donating blood and many other wonderful things.
Nerdy science geeks are finally cool!
The elementary school near home had to cancel their Christmas concert. They walked around and sang in front of the homes of the older and housebound neighbours instead. Singing with their antlers and little masks on-they were adorable. My parents were so thrilled, as was 98 year old Pasquale across the street.
The extra effort to spread Christmas cheer this year with outdoor decorations and lights. Tree lots here sold out the in first week and many stores almost sold out of seasonal stuff by mid-December. My lights and decorations always help me get through the cold, wet, dark, depressing days of winter, so I have really appreciated this.

2020 was consistent…ha fatto schifo dall’inizio fino alla fine! It sucked from beginning to end!

Please remember the global Christmas message of goodwill towards everyone. We are all facing challenges that are not visible. Do not assume you know what others are going through. As our Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says ‘Be safe, be calm, be kind’.

Wishing all readers of Un po’ di pepe a safe, healthy, happy, better New Year, where the world is not upside down!

Tanti auguri a tutti i lettori di Un po’ di pepe per un migliore Anno Nuovo piena di gioia, salute e sicurezza, dove il mondo non è sottosopra

Forza! Hang in there everyone!

Virtual baci e abbracci, Cristina

Street art images from the artist’s instagram:
No need to shit yourself @johndohart
Trust Science, not Morons, Mike Dellaria @dellarious
Il Bacio @TVBoy

Street Art for International Nurses Day

12 Tuesday May 2020

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Inspiration

≈ 19 Comments

Tags

Banksy, COVID19 pandemic, Essential service workers, FAKE, International Nurses Day, Street art, TVBoy

May 12th is International Nurses Day. Since 1965, it has been a day to mark the contributions that nurses make to society. May 12th was chosen because it is the anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale.

The theme for International Nurses Day 2020 is A voice to lead: Nursing the world to heal. A fitting theme for this (so far) sucky pandemic year.

I would like to take this opportunity to recognize my fellow nurses and also doctors, first responders, lab and radiology techs, respiratory techs (Yes, especially the RT’s!), housekeeping staff, delivery drivers, mail carriers, everyone in the food distribution chain, and all other essential workers. Sending much love and gratitude to you all!

Street artists have also been showing the love. ‘Super Nurse’ is a stencil art mural by Dutch urban artist FAKE. The artist is offering the image as a free downloadable PDF with a customizable background from his website Highonspraypaint to share with healthcare professionals, give as a gift, or put up in the workplace.

‘We can do it/ce la faremo‘ is Sicilian street artist TVBoy’s health care professional image released for italian labour day, May 1 as a ‘tribute to all health workers who have not spared themselves in these months and worked with courage and dedication, as always, even if we have only realized now the importance they have in our lives’. I like to call her Rosie because she is posing like the WWII poster of Rosie the Riveter!

The cover image Guardian Angels/Angeli Custodi, is also by TV Boy, aka Salvatore Benintende. TVBoy and Banksy were also featured in the post Napoli Street Art.

Banksy’s newest work ‘Game Changer’ is a beautiful image. A child ditches his makebelieve superhero action figures to play with a real one….Sock Monkey Super Nurse to the rescue! He has donated the work to Southhampton Hospital to be auctioned off to raise funds for health services.

Happy Nurses Day everyone! Please share the love and kindness.

Images from the artists’ instagram accounts @iamfake, @banksy, @tvboy.

Ciao, Cristina

Buon Anno 2020

01 Wednesday Jan 2020

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Blogging, Inspiration

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

2020 year in review, Blog year in review, Blogging, Italia

Buon Anno a tutti i lettori di ‘Un po’ di pepe’, vicini e lontani! Spero che 2020 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 2020 brings good health and joy to you and your loved ones!

It is the end of another decade! WordPress keeps end of year stats which I love to share because they are so interesting.* In 2019, Un po’ di pepe had over 12,000 views from 112 different countries! I wish I could visit all of of them! The top posts of 2019 are listed here, in case you missed any of them. 4 of the most viewed posts were published in 2019, and 4 were written as part of blogging linkups. I also discovered that the 5 most viewed posts all come out as top suggestions in google searches. Molto cool! Several book reviews post were published, and they can be found under the category ‘Libri’.

Based on the number of views, the top posts of 2019 are:

#9 Cristo si è fermato a Eboli. This post from January is a book review of an Italian classic-one of my favourite books, Christ Stopped at Eboli. I recommend everyone read it before visiting I Sassi di Matera.

#8 My recipe for Olive Oil Limoncello Cake was inspired by an art retreat at Casa Berti near Lucca, while surrounded by olive trees, freshly pressed olive oil and limoncello. It received increase exposure as a link on a new post Olio d’oliva in November and on Mamma Prada’s newsletter.

#7 I have been to 14 out of the 20 regioni-regions of Italia, and love them all, but my favourite, of course is Puglia. Puglia-La Mia Regione Preferita lists my top reasons to love Puglia.

#6 Palazzo Massimo alle Terme is one of my favourite museums in Roma. This 2017 post comes up 10th in a google search and was the inspiration for another posts that hardly anyone read- Hairstyling in Ancient Roma. Have you been to Palazzo Massimo?

#5 In My Kitchen in Puglia This post about my summer cucina and the amazing barrel-vaulted stone ceiling was written as part of the ‘In my kitchen’ worldwide blog linkup hosted monthly by Sherry’s Pickings.

#4 I was surprised to see La Trinità di Masaccio on this list again! Yipee! When I first published this art history lesson, it had about 30 views, but I just discovered that it comes up as the 4th listing in a google search! This explains the small but steady trickle of views.

#3 Polignano a Mare In this 2016 post about the stunning clifftop town on the coast of Puglia, read about my probable encounter with the mysterious ‘stair poet’ and learn what infraditi are.

#2-The number 2 spot is a tie! In second spot once again is 2015’s Grano Arso about a Pugliese gastronomic tradition that honours the resilience of our contadini ancestors. In 2017 I did a reading on grano arso at the Association of Italian Canadian Writers Conference, which was published- Grano Arso in print. My first publication that is not about diabetes! There is not a lot written on grano arso in English, which explains why the post comes up 5th on google search.

#2a I am so super thrilled that L’Arte sa Nuotare not only made my top list but tied for #2! In May I was in Firenze with my nipotina** Isabella. We had a fabulous time and were on constant lookout for street art by Blub, the talented artist who plunges famous works of art underwater. This post also comes up as the 3rd listing on a google search. Spread the Blub love- more Blub in Blub a Napoli.

#1 Italiano per Ristoranti-How to Pronounce your Restaurant Menu, this handy Italian menu pronunciation guide is once again the top post, by a longshot. If you google ‘Italian pronunciation guide restaurant’ it comes out as the top suggestion! “Italian menu pronunciation’ comes in at #6 on the google listing. This 2014 post was updated in 2016 and is available as a 6 page downloadable PDF via a link on the post. Someday, I plan to expand and turn it into an ebook. Speriamo!

For 2020 my goals are simple….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 2020 on Un po’ di pepe? Let me know in the comments. Looking forward to writing more cose interresanti /interesting stuff in 2020.

Vi auguro un 2020 piena di gioia e buona salute! Ciao, Cristina

*Note…WordPress’ method of collecting stats is odd. The newest post counts as a ‘Home page’ view until the next one is published and I am not sure how much this changes the results.

**Nipote or nipotina means both niece and granddaughter in Italiano. In this case, it means niece.

-detail of Lucania ’61 mural by Carlo Levi in Palazzo Lanfranchi, Matera from Wikimedia Commons

Bloghiversario #5!

25 Thursday Apr 2019

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Blogging, Inspiration

≈ 16 Comments

Caspita, il tempo volo! Oggi Un po’ di pepe compie 5 anni/Today Un po’ di pepe turns 5! It is hard to believe it has already been 5 years since starting this blog. Where did the time go? If feels like just yesterday I had trouble coming up with a blog name. This has been an amazing, rewarding experience and I have ‘met’ so many virtual friends and even reconnected with old ones.

There have been some big life changes recently. The biggest one is that I left my permanent job and switched to working freelance. Now I can say I am una libera professionista. That has a nice ring to it. I will be working less and my schedule will be much more flexible. No longer will I have to request time off one year in advance! In theory, this means more time for writing and making art. So far, all I have done is housecleaning, gardenwork and powerwashing, but those need to be done too!

Posts have increased from an average of 2 per month to 3 lately. Hopefully this will continue! A change in layout and a gallery page will be coming soon. Hopefully you are Caravaggio fans, because I wrote 4 posts recently and there will be more! A few blog collaborations are in the works too.

In other news… I will be going on a short trip to Firenze with my nipotina soon. We will do a lot of research for future posts. My first non work related publication came out recently. Read about it here. There are 2 more publications coming out soon; a contribution to the Canadian Wine Anthology and a short story in the AICW Padula 2016 Conference Anthology.

La Terrazza degli Uffizi

In the last year, I have participated in 2 blogging linkup groups. ‘In my kitchen’ (IMK) hosted by Sherry posted in September and April. My next one will be from my Pugliese kitchen this summer. 7 post were linked to the monthly ‘Dolce Vita Bloggers’ (DVB) group hosted by Jasmine, Kelly and Kristie . These have been some of my most viewed posts, especially Aria Pericolosa. In May, the DVB theme is ‘Favourite region of Italy’. Although I have been to 14 out of the 20 regions it should not be too difficult to guess which one I will write about!

This month’s DVB theme is ‘Favourite season in Italy’ but the timing was too close to Easter and this bloghiversary post for me to participate. I definitely have a favourite season, and will write about it in the future. A question I am often asked is ‘When is the best time to visit Italia?’. Well, the answer is …anytime you are able to go! There is no time that is not good to visit, you just need to know that each season will give a very different travel experience and even a different selection of food. It’s all good!

Today is also La Festa della Liberazione d’Italia, the anniversary of the liberation of Italia from Fascist occupation in 1945. It has been a national holiday since 1946. Viva la libertà!

Grazie to all of you for taking the time to read, comment, send messages and especially for giving me an excuse to research and write about things that interest me! If you have any suggestions for posts or just want to say ‘ciao‘, leave me a comment.

Grazie mille a tutti i lettori di ‘Un po’ di pepe’ per leggere e darmi una scusa per scrivere di cose che mi piacciono. Lasciami un messaggio se hai un idea per un post o semplicemente per dire ‘ciao’. Un abbraccio, Cristina

Giornata della Donna~Franca Viola

08 Friday Mar 2019

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Inspiration

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Franca Viola, Giornata Internazionale della Donna, International Womens Day, Matrimonio riparatore

Auguri per la Festa della Donna! Today is la Giornata Internazionale della Donna or International Women’s Day-originally known as International Working Women’s Day. There is no one specific organization or event behind International Women’s Day, but it is celebrated in many countries around the world. It is a day to recognize the achievements of women and a call to action towards gender equality. More about la festa della donna is in this post.

I thought today would be appropriate to write about an outstanding, courageous woman, and I have chosen Franca Viola. In 1965 Franca was the first Italian woman to refuse to accept un matrimonio riparatore – a rehabilitating or reparative marriage. This was a situation where all charges of rape, sexual assault and/or abduction were dropped if the offender married his victim. This was legal! The assumption was that no one else would want the woman anyways, thus ‘restoring’ the family. Mannaggia! ‘Marry the rapist’ laws and practices were common in many parts of the world until the 1970s and unfortunately still exist in too many countries.

Franca was the daughter of contadini in Alcamo, Sicilia. In 1963, she was 15 and had a 23 year old boyfriend Filippo Melodia, the nephew a local mafioso. She broke off the relationship when he was arrested for theft. He left the country and returned in 1965, thinking he could just resume their relationship. Franca refused, in fact she had a new boyfriend, her future husband Giuseppe Ruisi.

Melodia was furious and threatened Franca, her family and Giuseppe. The evening of December 26 1965, he and a dozen others invaded the Viola house. They beat her mother and dragged Franca away. She was taken to a farmhouse and for 8 days Melodia repeatedly raped her, telling her she would have to marry him to avoid dishonouring her family and becoming una donna svergognata –a shameless woman. Her father worked with the carabinieri to organize a rescue. On January 2 1966, Franca was released and the kidnappers arrested.

As expected, Melodia offered un matrimonio riparatore, expecting the law support him. Contrary to Sicilian custom at the time, Franca publicly refused. With the support of her father, she took Melodia to court for kidnapping, rape and intimidation. Her family received threats and their barn and vineyard were burned down. The December 1966 trial received worldwide attention, including coverage by the New York Times.

Melodia’s defence claimed he was love sick and the feeling was mutual. He claimed that Franca’s family did not approve of their marriage and that the kidnapping was a consentual elopement. Franca denied the claim, stating:

Io non sono proprietà di nessuno, nessuno può costringermi ad amare una persona che non rispetto, l’onore lo perde chi le fa certe cose, non chi le subisce”. (I am the property of no one, no one can force me to love a person I do not respect. Honour is lost by the one who does certain things, not the one who is subjected to them).

Melodia was found guilty and sentenced to 11 years in prison. He was murdered in Modena 2 years after his release. 7 of his accomplices also received 4 year prison sentences.

Franca Viola became a symbol of freedom and dignity for all women who endured violence, and her example provided others with the courage to say ‘NO’. Her case led to the abolishment of Articolo 544, the article of law where a rapist/kidnapper avoided prosecution by marrying the victim. In December 1968, Franca married Giuseppe who supported her through the trial. They still live in Alcamo with their family.

On International Women’s Day 2014, Franca received the honour of ‘Grande Ufficiale dell’Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana’. President Giorgio Napolitano awarded her with this for her courageous gesture in refusing the matrimonio riparatore, which signalled a fundamental change in the history of the emancipation of women in Italia.

Ciao, Cristina

Photo credits-Cover photo and portrait of Franca Viola-Wikimedia Commons, second photo of Franca from archivo.corriere.it with graphics added by Cristina.

Grano Arso in print!

28 Thursday Feb 2019

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Inspiration

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

AICW, Association of Italian Canadian Writers, C, Gastronomic history, Grano Arso, Italian Canadiana, Laurentian University

My presentation from the September 2017 ‘Italians in Canada: 150+ years’ 31st anniversary AICW conference at Laurentian University in Sudbury Ontario has been published! The proceeds of the Association of Italian Canadian Writers Conference is a special edition of the University of Toronto journal Italian Canadiana (Vol 32 2018). This is not my first publication, but it is the first one that is not about diabetes!

Grano Arso is about a Pugliese gastronomic tradition that honours the resilience of our contadini ancestors. The conference proceedings are not available online, but if you have not already done so, read my 2015 post Grano Arso . It is not exactly the same as the publication, but contains similar information and photos. There has been an increase in views of my post. This may be due to the publication, or because there is not much written in English on the topic. I made some taralli di grano arso for my presentation and carried them with me on the plane to Ontario. Other conference presentations included The evolution of the Italian grocery store, Representations of Italian Canadian Internment during WWII, Italianismi e pseudoitalianismi, and Documenting Italiese, which I will write more about in another post. Creative writing readings by Italocanadese authors included short stories, poetry and excerpts from books and a graphic novel. I reviewed one of the books here.

I don’t know if they have many copies left, but they can be ordered by contacting the Frank Iacobucci Center for Italian Canadian Studies c/o Dept of Italian Studies, University of Toronto 100 St. Joseph St. Toronto, Ontario M5S 1J4 or contact salvatore.bancheri@utoronto.ca.

The next AICW conference will be in Italia in 2020. Details will be available soon!

Ciao, Cristina

Cristo si è Fermato a Eboli

20 Sunday Jan 2019

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Inspiration, Italia, Libri

≈ 32 Comments

Tags

Aliano, Basilicata, Carlo Levi, Dolcevitabloggers, Italian literature, Matera, Southern Italy

‘Cristo si è Fermato a Eboli’ /Christ Stopped at Eboli is Carlo Levi’s memoir about his year as a political prisoner in Basilicata in 1935-36. Levi (pronounced LEV∙ee) was a doctor, writer and artist from a wealthy Jewish family in Torino. He was exiled to Aliano*, a small village in Basilicata for his Anti-fascist views and writing. Eboli is south of Napoli, where the road forks inland and the railway does not. The title is a local expression suggesting that even Christ didn’t make it as far as Basilicata so they are a God forsaken land beyond civilization and beyond hope. Obviously the Mussolini government agreed, since their strategy to silence outspoken critics was house arrest in the south! Levi comes into contact with profound poverty, distrust, class differences, spells and superstition in a remote, neglected part of Italia.

Levi graduated from medical school in 1924 and did 4 years of lab research, but had not actually practiced medicine on humans. He was not keen on practicing, but reluctantly did so, since the 2 doctors in Aliano were incompetent and lacked any compassion. The people did not fully understand him or why he was there, often commenting ‘someone in Rome must have it in for you’. Levi comes to empathize with the peasants, becoming a much loved member of the community.

Published in 1945 after the liberation of Italia, Cristo si è Fermato a Eboli was an immediate hit with both the public and critics. It gave the people a voice and brought attention to the region, including the socioeconomic problems and political neglect.

Cristo si è Fermato a Eboli /Christ Stopped at Eboli is required reading before visiting Matera, the 2019 European Capital of Culture. Near the beginning of the book, Carlo’s sister Luisa, a practicing doctor, visits and brings medical supplies. She needs a form stamped at the police station in Matera before she is allowed to see him. Luisa describes the Sassi as:

‘a schoolboy’s idea of Dante’s Inferno’…….‘I felt, under the blinding sun as if I were in a city stricken by the plague. I have never in all my life seen such a picture of poverty. ..This is how 20,000 people live!’

There was a 50% infant mortality rate, malaria, dysentery and trachoma. Carlo spends a few hours in Matera near the end of the book and says:

‘I had time to see the town and then I understood my sister’s horror, although at the same time I was struck by it’s tragic beauty’.

Matera’s situation continued on unnoticed- until the 1945 release of this book. If you have not read my Matera post, please click on ‘I Sassi di Matera’.

I have read this book in both english and italian. If I had to pick a favourite Italian book or book about Italy, this is it. It is very philosophical and it is obvious from Levi’s writing and paintings that this experience affected him profoundly. He writes with great sensitivity and his paintings from Basilicata show an unbelievable amount of emotion and humanity. The paintings are on permanent display in the Museo di Arte Medievale e Moderna in Palazzo Lanfranchi, Matera and in the Museo della Civiltà Contadina in Aliano. Levi fought for social justice and went on to become a Senator of the Italian Republic. He is buried in Aliano, where he had requested to be ‘between the peasants’ whose endurance he so greatly admired.

Have you read Cristo si è Fermato a Eboli? Let me know your thoughts in the comments. Buona lettura, Cristina

This post is written as part of the dolcevitabloggers linkup, hosted by Jasmine, Kelly and Kristie the 3rd Sunday of every month. Click #dolcevitabloggers to read blog posts by other participants

Images:

-my 1996 English edition nonna cover

-detail from Lucania ’61 mural by Carlo Levi in Palazzo Lanfranchi, Matera, Wikimedia Commons

-my 1978 Italian edition book cover with the painting ‘Il figlio della parroccola’ Pricetag says £ 1.800!

*Note-Aliano is called Gagliano in the book, although no explanation is given

Buon Anno 2019

01 Tuesday Jan 2019

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Blogging, Inspiration

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

2018 in review, Blog year in review, Blogging

Buon Anno a tutti i lettori di ‘Un po’ di pepe’, vicini e lontani! Spero che 2019 porta buona salute e gioia a voi e ai vostri cari.

Happy New Year ‘Un po’ di pepe’ readers near and far. I hope 2019 brings you and your loved ones good health and joy!

WordPress keeps end of year stats which I find so interesting I need to share them. In 2018, Un po’ di pepe had almost 10,000 views from 97 different countries! I wish I could visit even a few of them! WordPress’ method of collecting stats is odd and I am not sure how much this changes the results. For example, the newest post counts as a ‘Home page’ view until the next one is published, making it difficult for a post from the second half of the year to make the top posts. We will have to work with that.

Something very different about the list this year….7 out of 10 were written in 2018. In other years, only 2-3 were new posts. I think this means more of you are reading the newer posts! Based on the number of views, the most read posts of 2018 are:

#9 A Perfect Day in Italia, describing my typical day in Orsara di Puglia. This April post was my first time joining the Dolce Vita Bloggers monthly linkup group.#8 In My Kitchen, September 2018 was my first time joining the ‘In My Kitchen’ (IMK) monthly blog linkup. It was fun, and I wanted to participate in December, but the deadline was too early in the month and all of the kitchen action started Dec 12th! #7 I was so surprised and super excited to see La Trinità di Masaccio on this list! Yipee! When I first published this art history lesson, it did not get much love, but I guess there was a steady trickle of readers throughout the year!

My quick sketches of the vanishing point, perspective lines and triangular composition. The colour image is my entry ticket from 2004!

#6 is a tie. #6a is the 2017 post Palazzo Massimo alle Terme one of my favourite museums in Roma. It was the inspiration for Hairstyling in Ancient Roma. Have you been to Palazzo Massimo?#6b is Your Favourite Recipe. In September, for the second time, I prepared the wrong month’s topic for the Dolce Vita Bloggers linkup. The topic was supposed to be my favourite recipe, but since I was short on time, I wrote about the most popular of my recipe posts- Torta Caprese all’Arancia.#5 Uffa, allora, purtroppo, magari……mannaggia! This was a fun post to write, another Dolce Vita Bloggers monthly roundup on the topic ‘5 Words/Cinque Parole’. #4 Aria Pericolosa. I absolutely loved writing this post while I was in Italia, and plan to write more on this topic or do something else with it. I won’t say any more, but if you have not read it, click on the link! Read the comments too, and metti la giacca!#3 A recipe for the Olive Oil Limoncello Cake I was inspired to bake at Casa Berti in Lucca, while surrounded by olive trees, freshly pressed olive oil and limoncello.#2 is the same as last year. Grano Arso from April 2015 is about a Pugliese gastronomic tradition that honours the resilience of our contadini ancestors. In September 2017, I did a reading about grano arso at the Association of Italian Canadian Writers Conference in Sudbury, Ontario. This may be the reason for the increased views -or the fact there is not much written in English on the topic.

I received an early Christmas present. The AICW conference presentations were recently published in a special issue of the University of Toronto Dept of Italian Studies journal- Italian Canadiana Volume 32. This is my first piece of published writing that is not about diabetes! Yipee!

#1 by a long shot once again is Italiano per Ristoranti my handy Italian menu pronunciation guide. If you google ‘Italian menu or food pronunciation’ it comes out as the 8th suggestion! This post is from 2014, updated in 2016 and is available on the post as a downloadable PDF. I am still planning to expand on this post and make it into an ebook. Will I finally figure out how in 2019? Speriamo!

Bruschetta (broo.SKET.tah)

For 2019 my goals are simple….less stress, more exercise, more art and writing! Soon I will be making a big change to my work life so that I can have more flexibility. In the spring I will be a ‘libero professionista’-a freelancer!

On the blog, I plan to write more on Caravaggio. My 3 recent posts are not enough! I may be doing some type of collaborative post with Luca from Luca’s Italy. We don’t know what this will look like yet, but it should be fun. The Dolce Vita bloggers group is on a break but should resume soon. I also have several book reviews to post and more published writing coming up in 2019.

I would love to hear which post was your favourite. What would you like to read more about in 2019 on Un po’ di pepe? Looking forward to writing more cose interresanti /interesting stuff in 2019.

Vi auguro un 2019 piena di gioia e buona salute! Ciao, Cristina

Bloghiversario & Book Review

25 Wednesday Apr 2018

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Blogging, Inspiration, Libri

≈ 17 Comments

Tags

Blogging, Bridge of Sighs and Dreams, Inspiration

Caspita, il tempo vola! Non ci credo che oggi è bloghiversario numero 4 per Un po’ di pepe! How time flies. I can’t believe it is already 4 years since publishing my first post on Un po’ di pepe.

This was another exciting blogging year. I wish I could post more often, but until I can manage to get 27 hours out of a day, twice a month will continue to be the average. Here are some highlights of the year…

Blog love! In June I met photographer Flynn at my mercato bancarella. He bought a tiny print and wrote a very nice and well-timed post on his blog about inspiration and art.
I was interviewed by Silvia for her blog in October. It was amazing that someone actually wanted to interview me. Now I actually have the ability to quote myself-as I did in my last post, and will continue to do so as often as I can! Just because I can. Link to the bilingual post here.
In February, honorary Calabrese Karen of the blog and book Calabria: The Other Italy nominated me for the Unique Blogger Award. This is a pay-it-forward, share-the-love blog vehicle. Nominees answer a set of questions, then nominate others. I have not found the time to respond yet, but Karen did say there was no pressure, no time limit.
To celebrate follower#250, Mlle Cher was sent one of my ‘Espresso per Uno’ linocut prints! Hopefully it arrived before she left NY for Pietrasanta.
I managed to squeeze in a spontaneous ‘extra’ trip to Italia in November to attend an art retreat and Fucacoste e Cocce Priatorje!
Many of you enjoyed my attempt at contemporary art criticism in La Grande Cacata. The title says it all!
I joined the #DolceVitaBloggers linkup for my last post. The group posts on a selected topic from the 7th to the 14th of every month. I hope to participate again!
You may have noticed those pesky ads for things like toenail fungus removal have disappeared from the bottom of the posts! Yipee! I upgraded my wordpress plan. Now I can use videos, once I learn how to load them.
My pronunciation guide Italiano per Ristoranti continues to be the most viewed post. I am still planning to turn the downloadable PDF into an e-book once I figure out how to do that. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
Bruschetta (broo.SKET.tah)

Today is also La Festa della Liberazione d’Italia, the anniversary of the liberation of Italia from Fascist occupation in 1945. Viva la libertà! Last year, I said I was going to write about Le Donne Partigiane-women who were partisans in the Italian Resistance. Well… that post is not written yet, so instead, I will include a book review of a book with una donna partigiana as the main character.

Bridge of Sighs and Dreams is written by fellow blogger Pamela Allegretto. I loved it and here is my Goodreads/Amazon 5/5 star review:

Grazie a tutti per leggere e darmi una scusa per scrivere di cose che mi piacciono. Lasciami un messaggio se hai un idee per un post o se vuoi dice ‘ciao’. Un abbraccio, Cristina

Un po' di pepe

~ …… (oon∙poh∙dee∙PEH∙peh) Cristina writes about interesting stuff /Cristina scrive di cose interessanti

Category Archives: Inspiration

Buon Anno 2021

Reflecting on 2020

Street Art for International Nurses Day

Buon Anno 2020

Bloghiversario #5!

Giornata della Donna~Franca Viola

Grano Arso in print!

Cristo si è Fermato a Eboli

Buon Anno 2019

Bloghiversario & Book Review

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