As we prepare to say ‘Buon Anno‘ and ring in 2026, here is a look back at 2025 on Un po’ di pepe. I wrote less posts than last year, but with almost the same amount of views. I am still hoping to write more-I have  many partially written ones in progress!

In 2025, to make up for writing less, I had writing published in 3 different anthologies!  ‘In Vino there are Memories‘ was published in ‘A Literary Harvest:  Canadian Writing about Wine and other Libations’, and my poem ‘Vorrei essere una poetessa‘ was published in the AICW 40th anniversary anthology ‘The Nuances of Love‘.  The poem is included in the post.  Information on where and how to order copies is also in the posts. ‘A Nzalat d’Purtuall‘ based on this post, was published this month in the bilingual anthology ‘La letteratura Italo-canadese: una storia che continua‘.  I have not received my copy yet, but as soon as I do, you will hear about it.

I spent a week in Roma for my nipotina (niece) Isabella’s beautiful wedding at Santa Maria in Aracoeli. Photos of the gorgeous bride and groom look like Dolce & Gabbana ads!  I wrote several posts about Roma this year, most of them about water, including Acqua Vergine, Fontana di Trevi and I Nasoni di Roma.  The Caravaggio 2025 exhibit coinciding with the Giubileo was extended for 2 extra weeks and I was lucky to manage to see it, as well as the Caravaggio ceiling fresco at Villa Boncompagni Ludovisi.

Then I was in Orsara di Puglia for 6 weeks with my parents.  Everyone keeps asking me what I did in a mountain village for 6 weeks, so I will be writing about that soon!  I always try to visit 1 or 2 new places during my annual trips to Italia, which this year included Castel del Monte, Monopoli, and Fregene.  

WordPress sends me end of year stats which I love to share because they are so interesting.* In 2025, Un po’ di pepe had over 21,000 views from 133 different countries!  I know you are all 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 2025 are listed below, with links included in red, in case you missed any of them.  Only one post was new from 2025. 7 of the top posts of the year appear on the first page of a google search.  Most of them are not commonly searched topics but I still think it is molto cool!

Based on the number of views, the top posts of 2025 are:

 #10b 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 109 times in 2025! I am still planning to expand and turn it into an ebook someday. Speriamo! If any of you have experience or advice on this, let me know!

#10a I was happy 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 1st listing in a google search! This explains the small but steady trickle of views.

#9 La Madonna della Neve August 5th is the feast day of la Madonna della Neve, one of the patron saints of Orsara di Puglia.  This is the second time the 2016 post has been in the top 10.  In 2024, Orsara’s beloved statue celebrated its 400th anniversary.  It was carved out of a single piece of quercia (oak) by Napoletano sculptor Aniello Stallato in 1624. 

#8 Caffè con Caravaggio a Roma is one of my favourite posts ever, and I think this is the first time it has been on the top 10 list! Join me on a walk to see Caravaggio paintings in 3 churches in Roma,  stopping for caffè along the way.

#7 Polpo e patate -My love of polpo and the many photos I have taken inspired this 2023 recipe post.

#6 Artemisia Gentileschi I wanted to write this 2024 post about one of my favourite artists since starting the blog, so I am thrilled it is getting some love again this year. Art history rocks!

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

#5 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 many more times since writing this, and probably have enough new street art photos for a 2.0 version.

#4 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 second time this post appears in the top 10 list.

#3  Polignano a Mare In this 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. Since writing this post in 2016, I have been to Polignano quite a few times, even staying overnight-so I have lots of new photos and will be publishing a Polignano a Mare 2.0 post.

#2 Sanremo 2025 For the fourth year in a row, I compiled a handy viewing guide to the 5 day Festival di Sanremo Italian song contest held in February, ad it was well received, so I plan to keep doing it every year. In 2026 the festival is later than usual February24-28 due to the Winter Olympics in early February.

#1 Hairstyling in Ancient Roma This 2017 post was on the top 10 list last year for the third time, it is in first place again this year-by a landslide!  I am still not sure why? I know some views have been referred via Pinterest and it now ranks 2nd in Google search, after Wikipedia. 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 2026 my goals are simple and the same as usual….less stress, more exercise, more art, travel and writing! I will be attending the AICW Conference in Viterbo, Italy and reading ‘In Vino there are Memories’ May 28-30. 

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 new algorithms, you are likely to miss most of them.  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 2026.  Let me know in the comments.  Looking forward to writing more cose interresanti /interesting stuff in 2026. 

Buon Anno a tutti i lettori di ‘Un po’ di pepe’, vicini e lontani!  Spero che 2026 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 2026 brings good health and joy to you and your loved ones!

Vi auguro un 2026 piena di gioia e buona salute!  I will be eating lenticche and wearing red mutande for good luck tonight! Ciao, Cristina

For help understanding my seasonal greetings, check out Italian Christmas Vocabulary 

*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.