Welcome and Benvenuti to all my Lovely Followers around the World,
As you know, my man and I go out every morning for coffee and pastry before the start of the working day. It’s a great way to catch up with the local people, activities and to read the national newspapers. In my blogs I attempt to share what I think are things that will interest you, wherever you are on this beautiful planet and preferably fun things.
Sometimes a little sadness cannot be avoided, but at the same time a smile can come out of such occasions. On October 12 we said addio to that very funny Italian actor from Naples, Carlo Croccolo, a face never to be forgotten. He was 92. Carlo worked alongside the likes of Toto and many other famous Italian actors. What most of us did not realise was that he was a prolific Interpreter and dubber. He actually interpreted 118 films and was the dubbed voice behind some very famous people including Laurel and Hardy! He also wrote and directed three films of his own! He also worked in the theatre and on TV most recently playing the fisherman Totonno in the series ‘Capri’ as recent as 2010. I loved his character and it’s worth revisiting some of his old comedy films from the 50’s like ’47 dead talking’ with Toto.
Meanwhile, if you are walking through Piazza Santa Croce in Florence, staring down at your phone, you might bump into a Very Big Book. Yes, that’s what I said, a very big book! It is actually an instillation celebrating Zanichelli’s new amazing updated ‘Vocabularly of the Italian Language.’ A must for every Italian speaker or student of the language. Well that’s started my Christmas present list off then! website
Then, if you keep walking, and it also happens to be the evening, you can follow the smell of roasting Italian chestnuts. By this time I hope your phone will be put back in your pocket! There are lots of opportunities to join organised trips to find your own chestnuts in the Tuscan countryside. And, organised is better as there are a lot of hunters about carrying guns; at least one local hunter gets killed or badly injured every season! Foto BeautifulItaly.
But enough of that, back to my adored world of Italian fashion! Hand made Italian shoes and boots. Just that sentence alone makes one drool. My man has hand made shoes with his name inscribed inside. He once had to take a shoe off in a UK bank to prove who he was, as he had left his identification behind! It worked! Anyway, his first shoes he bought in Arezzo, but they were made in Florence. However, there is a factory near Arezzo called Soldini Scarpe, which you may like to visit if you are in the area. This advert reminded me. Don’t you just love the woman’s hair colour in the picture? Website
What else did I want to tell you? Oh yes, how could I forget, Italian made Pasta of course! In the paper the other day, was a very revealing article on the making and exporting of Italian pasta. I knew that a lot of the stuff was made, but was amazed to find that 58% of production of spaghetti and macaroni is exported and worth 2.4 billion euros a year! Mind you, I know from experience that the quality here is the highest in the world. Even we gluten free diners can enjoy delicous Italian made pastas at home and in the ristorante. My last pasta dish was tagliatelle with fresh porcini; just wonderful. Porcini is being collected locally in the woods, I just adore this time of year. Not long before White Truffles (tartufo bianco) will be served at ‘C’era una Volta’, our favourite ristorante in Lucardo.
Well, I guess I had better get this off to you and return to the day job. Places to go, people to see!
Have a great week and do drop me a line. I love to hear from my readers.
Salute June x
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