2024~Un po’ di pepe Year in Review

31 Tuesday Dec 2024

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Blogging, Inspiration

Tags

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

As we prepare to ring in 2025, here is a look back at 2024 on Un po’ di pepe. Same amount of posts were published as last year, but with a lot more views. I am still hoping to write more post-there are many partially written ones in progress!

In April Un po’ di pepe celebrated 10 years of blogging, and I had a ‘Vespa’ hand printed linocut card giveaway for 10 readers. I still have to find 2 of you-Frank and Kathryn!

During my annual trips to Italia, I always try to visit 1 or 2 new places. In 2024 I went to Calabria for the first time-definitely not the last time. Read about it in the post Catanzaro, Calabria.

In September I attended the AICW Biennial Conference in Toronto, reading a humorous, updated version of Aria Pericolosa.

WordPress sends me end of year stats which I love to share because they are so interesting.* In 2024, Un po’ di pepe had a huge increase in viewers-over 21,500 views from 131 different countries! I know you are wondering, so I looked it up and there are 195 countries in the world! There were also over 12,000 google searches.

The top 10 posts (11 actually because of a tie) of 2024 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! Most are not commonly searched topics but I am still impressed.

Based on the number of views, the top posts of 2024 are:

#10 Che Cavolo-Non Rompere le Scatole! To celebrate Week of the Italian language in the World 2023, I published a post to liven up your language skills, using euphemisms to swear ‘politely’. Why is there a photo of flying genitalia? Read the post to find out!

Flying cazzi amulet mobile at the Napoli Airport gift shop

#9 Artemisia Gentileschi I have wanted to write this 2024 post on one of my favourite artists since starting the blog, so I am thrilled it got some love. Art history rocks!

Self-portrait as the Allegory of Painting 1638-39 Royal Collection, Windsor Castle

#8 Espresso Cookies My 2016 espresso cookie recipe is consistently viewed, but it has only appeared in the top 10 once before this year.

#7 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 another post Fucacoste e Cocce Priatorje, but at the time had not attended in person yet.

#6 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. I was in Polignano again this year, so need to write a Polignano a Mare 2.0 post.

#5b La Madonna della Neve August 5th is the feast day of la Madonna della Neve, one of Orsara di Puglia‘s patron saints. This is the first time this 2016 post has been in the top 10, and it is fitting, because in 2024, the statue celebrated its 400th anniversary. Orsara’s beloved Madonna della Neve statue was carved out of a single piece of quercia (oak) by Napoletano sculptor Aniello Stallato in 1624. #5a Internment of Italian Canadians This 2021 post was written on the 81st anniversary of the internment if Italian Canadians during World War 2, to coincide with a formal apology from the Canadian government. It always amazes me how little is known about this subject. This is the first time this post appears in the top 10 list.

#4 Italiano per Ristoranti-How to Pronounce your Restaurant Menu, this 2014 handy Italian menu pronunciation guide was #1 for many years, and has always been in the top 4. 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. It was downloaded 94 times in 2024! I would 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 Napoli Street Art I absolutely love Napoli, a perfect place for self-expression since only the last few thousand years. Join me on a graffiti/street art tour in the Centro Storico. This 2020 post comes up 3rd in a Google search .I have been to Napoli several times since writing this, and have enough new street art photos for a 2.0 version.#2 Sanremo 2024 For the third year in a row, I wrote a handy viewing guide to the 5 day Festival di Sanremo Italian song contest held in February, and it was well received, so I plan to keep doing it every year. In 2025 the festival is February 11-15.

#1 Hairstyling in Ancient Roma This 2017 post was on the top 10 list last year for the second time, and I am sooooo thrilled to see it is in first place again this year-by a landslide! I am not sure why? I know some views have been referred via Pinterest and it now ranks 2nd in Google search, after Wikipedia. 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. 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 2025 my goals are simple and the same as usual….less stress, more exercise, more art, travel and writing!

I was just recently published in an Anthology along with 41 other writers. You will be hearing about A Literary Harvest soon!

In July I will be attending a family wedding in Roma! Yipee!!!

To find out what I am up to, check out the Un po’ di pepe Facebook page and Instagram (@unpodipepe). I know many of you read new posts only 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. You will only receive an email when I publish a new post.

I would love to hear which post you liked best, and what you would like to read more about in 2025 on Un po’ di pepe? Let me know in the comments. Looking forward to writing more cose interresanti /interesting stuff in 2025.

Buon Anno a tutti i lettori di ‘Un po’ di pepe’, vicini e lontani! Spero che 2025 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 2025 brings good health and joy to you and your loved ones!

Vi auguro un 2025 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.

2023~Un po’ di pepe Year in Review

31 Sunday Dec 2023

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Blogging, Inspiration

≈ 13 Comments

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,

Buon Anno 2023

05 Thursday Jan 2023

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Blogging, Inspiration

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

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

Buon Anno a tutti i lettori di ‘Un po’ di pepe’, vicini e lontani! Spero che 2023 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 2023 brings good health and joy to you and your loved ones!

I usually write a Buon Anno / year in review post on New Year’s Eve , looking back at the blog year. I am late in writing this one, since we celebrated my parents’ 60th wedding anniversary on Dec 27th and I posted some of their wedding photos in Diamond Anniversary. I also slipped and took a tumble down the stairs 3 weeks ago and have been moving at a slow pace. Guess I should stop practicing the Wednesday/Mercoledi dance!

2022 was the year I wrote the least amount of posts. Mannaggia! Post pandemic creative block was partly responsible, and I was also away a lot. I attempted to make up for 3 years of not travelling, and did quite an epic job of it. Read all about my travels in Post Pandemic Travel Postcard.

WordPress keeps end of year stats which I love to share because they are so interesting.* In 2022, Un po’ di pepe had almost 14,000 views from over 100 different countries! I wish I could visit all of of them! The top posts of 2022 are listed here, in case you missed any of them. All of the links included in red! Based on the number of views, the top posts of 2020 are:

#10 Beat the heat-Surviving Summer in Roma This post is based on my many years of travelling to Roma in the heat of summer. It was published while I was in Santorini in June. 6 weeks later, I was in Roma, having to take all of my own advice! The recommendations are specific to Roma, but the information is useful for travel anywhere in Mediterranean Europe during the summer.

#9is a tie 9a Hairstyling in Ancient Roma I am sooooo beyond thrilled to see this 2017 post on the top 10 list for the first time! It needed some love. 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!

Exquisite mummy portrait in encaustic wax on wood panel, Hawara, Middle Egypt, 120 AD. Photo National Museum of Scotland

#9b 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. In June I was back in Polignano!

#8 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 #5 in google search for the topic!

#7 Grano Arso a Pugliese gastronomic tradition that honours the resilience of our contadini ancestors. Grano arso is also the subject of my first non- diabetes related publication! There is not a lot written in English on grano arso, which explains why this 2015 post comes up 6th on Google search and this post is in my top 10 every year.

#6 La Grande Cacata Wow-or should I say merda! I couldn’t believe this 2018 post where I attempt to be an art critic was one of my top 10. If you need a good laugh, my scathing review of a bruttissima monumental excremental sculpture in Piazza della Signoria in Firenze should do the job. #5 In my kitchen in Puglia 2022 My summer cucina and the amazing barrel-vaulted stone ceiling were sorely missed during the pandemic! Check out the photo of Mamma cleaning octopi at the kitchen sink. This post was written as part of the ‘In my kitchen’ worldwide blog linkup hosted monthly by Sherry’s Pickings.

#4 Matrimonio in Puglia In June I went to a wonderful family wedding in Puglia, which included an 1100 year old church, a dress made by a 91 year old Nonna and dancing under the olive trees. Auguri Federica e Antonio!

#3 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 5^th in Google search. I went to Napoli again, so stay tuned for more posts and even more street art.

#2 L’Arte sa Nuotare made my 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 Google search! Spread the Blub love- read about more Blub in Blub a Napoli.#1 Italiano per Ristoranti-How to Pronounce your Restaurant Menu, this handy Italian menu pronunciation guide has been #1 every year except one. 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 at the end of the post and. I would still like to expand and turn it into an ebook someday. Speriamo! If any of you have experience publishing ebooks and can give me some advice, let me know!

For 2023 my goals are simple….lots of travel-although not as much as last year- 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 2023 on Un po’ di pepe? Let me know in the comments. Looking forward to writing more cose interresanti /interesting stuff in 2023. I have a long list of posts to write based on 2022 travels. Next month, I also plan to do a writeup on this year’s Festival di Sanremo as I did last year.

Vi auguro un 2023 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 does affect the results, especially for those of us that do not post often.

2021~ Un po’ di pepe year in review

31 Friday Dec 2021

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Blogging

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

Blogging, COVID19 pandemic, Top 10 blog list

As we prepare to say Addio 2021, we continue to face uncertainty and frustration with constantly changing recommendations and regulations. In my last end of year post Reflecting on 2020, I wrote about examples of kindness and human resilience despite the global pandemic. A lot of the things I wrote about in that post have not changed…but there is one huge difference since 1 year ago. Now we have vaccines! There are still COVID cases, but they are fewer and those who are vaccinated are not getting as sick. Things are slowly improving, even if it sometimes does not feel like it. I no longer feel like an extra in a bad science fiction movie, where everything in the world is upside down…well, not often anyways.

One of my friends gives me a figurine for my Christmas village every year. Last year was the masked toasting couple, shown in the photo between Tiny Tim and Eliza Doolittle. She added the little latex masks. They are cute, but I did not plan to have them in my village again. If all goes well, they will be unmasked next year! This year’s figurine is a snowboarder, so that is already progress.

Starting in May, I took on extra work as a COVID immunizer. It has definitely been a positive, rewarding experience. You can read about my experiences in post #4 below. As a result, the # of blog posts I wrote this year decreased. I average 2 posts per month, occasionally 3. May 2021 is the only month since starting this blog in April 2014 that I published 0 posts. Several other months I only published once, so I need to get writing next year! The good news is that 5 posts from 2021 are on my top list, so at least someone was reading the ones I did write!

WordPress keeps end of year stats which I love to share because they are so interesting*. In 2021, Un po’ di pepe had over 13,000 views from almost 100 different countries! I would love to visit all of of them! The top posts of 2021 based on the number of views are listed here, in case you missed any of them. Lots of links are included!

#10 Tiramisù The history of Tiramisù and my recipe, published for Giornata Mondiale del Tiramisù-World Tiramisù Day.

#9 La Trinità di Masaccio is on this list again! When I first published this art history lesson in 2018, it did not get much love. Last year, I discovered that it comes up as the 1st listing after Wikipedia in a Google search! This explains the steady trickle of views over the last few years. I also suspect it is on some reading lists for art history classes in the US, because a lot of views were 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?

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

#8 In My Kitchen, Summer 2021 ‘In My Kitchen’ is a monthly blogging group hosted by Sherry in Australia. Check the post for the link. I join in a few times a year. For the second year in a row, I missed my kitchen in Puglia due to the plague and pestilence of the global pandemic. This post documents my summer kitchen adventures at home.

#7 100 years of Insulin During my career as a Diabetes Educator, I have taught thousands of families how to give insulin. This life-saving therapy was discovered in Canada 100 years ago, and I happily share the story of its discovery with all of you. Canada Post stamp from April 2021.

#6a 6th place is a tie. Grano Arso a Pugliese gastronomic tradition that honours the resilience of our contadini ancestors. Grano arso is also the subject of my first non- diabetes related publication! There is not a lot written in English on grano arso, which explains why this 2015 post comes up 5th on Google search.

#6b Internment of Italian Canadians I am always amazed at how little is known about this time in history when it was a crime to be Italian.

#5 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 4^th in Google search.

#4 Reflections from a COVID Immunizer This post is based on notes I kept about what people said to me while working as a COVID immunizer.

#3 Limoncello Ricotta Cookies This 2018 post is on this list for the first time, and a lot of the views were referred from Pinterest!

#2 L’Arte sa Nuotare made my top list again! During my 2019 trip to Firenze with 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 a google search, after the artist’s own Instagram page. Spread the Blub love- read more about Blub in Blub a Napoli.

#1 Italiano per Ristoranti-How to Pronounce your Restaurant Menu, this handy Italian menu pronunciation guide has been #1 every year except last year. 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 at the end of the post and was downloaded 44 times this year. Someday, I will expand and turn it into an ebook. Speriamo! If any of you have experience publishing ebooks and can give me some advice, please contact me!

Bruschetta (broo.SKET.tah)

I also published my first ‘interview’ post this year. I interviewed Diana Iuele about her study of Italiese, our italocanadese hybrid language.

Grazie mille to all of you for continuing to read and follow Un po’ di pepe. I would love to hear which post/s you liked best, and what you would like to read more about in 2022 on Un po’ di pepe. Let me know in the comments. Looking forward to writing more cose interresanti /interesting stuff in 2022.

Tanti auguri a tutti i lettori di Un po’ di pepe per un 2022 piena di, pace, gioia, buona salute e sicurezza Wishing all readers of Un po’ di pepe a 2022 full of peace, joy, good health and safety!

Virtual baci e abbracci, Cristina

Refer to Italian Christmas Vocabulary to make sense of 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 I am not sure how much this changes the results.