Issue #1 "Italy Fever E-Notes" by Darlene Marwitz 11.15.00

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ITALYFEVER.COM: The Italy Lover's Pre- and Post-Travel Online Companion
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IN THIS ISSUE:

- - - LIVING LA DOLCE VITA
- - - FOOD AND DRINK
- - - HOME AND GARDEN
- - - BOOKS AND MOVIES
- - - MUSIC AND OPERA
- - - TRAVEL AND TIDBITS
- - - ITALYFEVER.COM UPDATES

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LIVING LA DOLCE VITA: "It's Never Boring"

Mid-life passion creates strange bedfellows. My husband and I both turned 45 this year, and suddenly we're acting weird, according to family and friends, "You're going to do what?"

After twenty-plus years of longing, David is finally getting a dog, the first one he's had since grade school. And for the first time in my life, I'm shopping for earrings-after piercing my virgin ears! (See ITALYFEVER.COM UPDATES for jewelry information.)

For those of you who don't know me, Italy Fever has changed my life-forever. When I had first conjured the idea of writing a book, I held a pure, albeit naive, vision: a simpler life, more time with my husband, ongoing pursuit of mid-life passions (writing, art, architecture, and gardening). Today however, post-publication and in the middle of marketing, I realize more than ever, the difficulty of doing what I thought I could do with ease. "Living la dolce vita"-is part oxymoron.

Since my background is in architecture and historic preservation, I learned long ago that simplicity in the built world is a beautiful thing. Mies van der Rohe's "less is more" is a perfect example. Most architects agree that it's easy to allow details to overwhelm a design and that it's difficult to create form and space that appears to be simple. The same idea is true with the concept of simple living. As with architecture, eloquence and simplicity doesn't happen without conscientious design. Passion doesn't fall in one's lap; it must be pursued!

Via "Italy Fever E-Notes," my goal is to share gathered information, personal experiences, and offer simple and creative ways to help Italy lovers everywhere-enjoy "pieces" of Italy at home.

Along the way, I'll also keep you posted with puppy progress (a female yellow Labrador) and a few anecdotes from the home front. Our new family member (due to join us a few weeks after Thanksgiving) will be a radical change for my husband and me, childless couple that we are for twenty-three years now. Already, we are: building a backyard fence, reading The Art of Raising a Puppy by The Monks of New Skete (plus a dozen other titles!), contemplating the prospect of suspicious stains on Oriental rugs, and trying to figure out how to clear the upstairs back door for bladder-relief exiting with the puppy at night (our laundry now blocks this door!). We're also looking forward, however, to evening passeggiata- strolling Italian-style with a four-legged pal!

FOOD AND DRINK:

It is easy to predict that this section will routinely suggest a few new, or old, cookbooks to try. The Latin saying, "eat to live, not live to eat," is poorly bolstered by my sagging cucina bookshelves!

Tip: Buying Italian cookbooks for wedding gifts is a wonderful way to turn a task into something pleasurable. I typically despise shopping, but browsing for a couple of cookbooks for friends is a treat. One beautifully illustrated selection is Pino Luongo's Simply Tuscan: Recipes for a Well-Lived Life (2000). The pages are filled with watercolor sketches and charming photography. While I've dined at two of Luongo's restaurants (Coco Pazzo in New York and in Chicago) and visited his Manhattan Tuscan Square, I confess to having tried but one of his new recipes, "Dried Fruit Filled with Cheese" (Simply Tuscan, pg. 240). Even though I substituted fresh goat cheese for the Gorgonzola, I'll always remember how well this recipe was received by guests. His previous cookbooks are Fish Talking (1994) and A Tuscan in the Kitchen (1988).

As a vegetable lover, I also must tell you about a delightful softcover cookbook festively illustrated by a friend of mine, Caterina Linnarelli (from the Washington, D. C. area). Festa del Giardino is a Sicilian-inspired collection of 125 Italian vegetable recipes by Sally Maraventano. Sally also conducts culinary tours in Italy (http://www.cucinacasalinga.com).

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Hot dogs in Italy? Unfortunately, it's true! The first time I read about the insidious reality of $2.50 Italian hot dogs was a few months ago in The New York Times. Since then I keep reading and hearing more: the buns are baked in Spain, the spices are shipped from the U.S., and the all-beef frankfurters are produced in Italy. And especially to youthful Italians it seems, they're selling like . . . uh, uh, hot dogs. But, like the first time I saw a McDonald's in Venice, . . . I'm depressed!

HOME AND GARDEN:

Tip: Use Italian ceramics for design inspiration when decorating (the same way you would choose an Oriental rug or a painting for the same purpose). In anticipation of taking paying design clients again next year, I've been experimenting with the decor of our 1920s home this fall. Recently purchased was a molded ceramic medallion that will be used as a new focal point in our living room. It's a della Robbia-esque piece that I'll hang above the fireplace mantel. The glazed fruit colors will be used to coordinate upholstery fabrics and fresh faux plaster on interior walls will suggest an aged, or vintage, background.

In a kitchen and eating area, it often works well to display one or more large serving pieces on a prominent wall. Or you can feature a collection of favorite pitchers on a high shelf or other raised surface (such as the top of a antique cupboard). My friend, Beth, happens to love the colorful "rooster" pitchers, the ones from the Deruta factories in Umbria.

Tip: Use an odd piece of statuary, architectural concrete piece, or other garden ornament to create whimsy in your yard (or on your deck or porch). Choose something that reminds you of Italy. A St. Francis of Assisi figure? A Corinthian capital? A sunflower?

BOOKS AND MOVIES:

Fiction: In search of a lightweight read not long ago, I picked up a tiny used paperback titled, The Evening of the Holiday (1966). The author, Shirley Hazzard, had intrigued me once before in another of her books, The Bay of Noon (1970). The Evening of the Holiday is slightly reminiscent of the movie, Summertime (1955), with Katherine Hepburn: holiday romance with married man. It's a quiet story of forbidden love, a perfect little novel for a rainy weekend.

Non-fiction: This book is still hot in my hands, a new purchase less than five days old! Purchasing Ross King's Brunelleschi's Dome (2000) was easy. I hardly read the jacket; the title was enough. King's layered historical account chronicles in detail the most famous dome in Italian architectural history, the dome atop Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. For history buffs, the story will fascinate. Other readers will be less enchanted.

Movie: My version of movie going is a television and remote control, so finally I've been able to view Up at the Villa (2000), the film based on W. Somerset Maugham's novella of the same name. Set in the late 1930s, this Fascist era movie is reminiscent of Tea with Mussolini (1999)-Florence and the expatriate community. Actors Kristin Scott Thomas and Sean Penn were less than convincing in their roles, but watching Anne Bancroft perform is always entertaining. Because I watch movies for the scenery as much as for the acting, it was nice to witness numerous Florence locations. Plus, I've since read that the primary villa setting was at the Villa Cetinale near Siena, known by photographers for its splendid lemon groves and cypress trees.

MUSIC AND OPERA:

My spouse often helps me with research, by calling out my name when something "Italian" is on TV, as he's flipping though channels and such. It's the television version of how David spots Italian news articles for me in newspapers! Most recently, he called my attention to Kathy Mattea's new music video, filmed on location in Italy. While it's nearly impossible to catch the video on TV, her Web site (http://www.mattea.com) at least reveals that Mattea loves to cook Italian. Lately, the site has been sponsoring a contest for an Italian gift basket of goods and posting favorite recipes.

Tip: Frame an old piece of sheet music as art. The best example I have is a vintage piece by Giacomo Puccini, Madame Butterfly (sic), copyright 1904 by G. Ricordi & Co. of New York. A handsome Madama is depicted on the cover wearing a blue kimono. I don't remember where I bought this item (probably at one of those traveling book and paper shows), but I know it was inexpensive.

TRAVEL AND TIDBITS:

Tip: My top suggestion to travelers: "Don't try to do too much. Tell yourself you'll go back to Italy again."

Tip: Because I travel lightly, I focus on one unusual gift for myself with each trip: a special linen cloth or a handsome leather-bound book-one memorable item. Since the proliferation of shopping in Italy can make you crazy (so much to see!) searching for something unique helps me control the frustration.

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Last year, I visited The Christmas Store in Fredericksburg, Texas (1-800-944-1882) where I noticed for the first time the amazing glass ornaments by Christopher Radko. I'm typically a Scrooge regarding Christmas, but these fanciful trinkets caught my eye. So when I recently saw Radko's Web site (http://www.christopherradko.com) mentioned in the December issue of House & Garden, I searched it using a word that takes me of Italy-"grapes." Being the grape lover that I am, I quickly honed in on two items: a beautiful cluster (available in three colors) called "Grape Bounty" and an ornament called "Grape Stomping Lucy" (inspired by Lucille Ball's 4/16/56 grape stomping episode on TV). I also was intrigued to read that Radko has factories in various countries, including Italy!

More recently, I've confirmed that two of Radko's sources are located in the Lake Como area, primarily used to produce free-form, not molded, ornaments. Unfortunately, the molded grape ornaments (mentioned above) are from Poland-not Italy.

Tip: Italian-made or not, can you imagine how much fun it would be to have a cluster of glass grapes hanging in your kitchen window-all year long? Or hanging from a bookshelf at your office? Who says Christmas ornaments have to dangle on Christmas trees!

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Italian motorini. Newly engineered to meet federal emission standards in the U. S., Vespas (http://www.vespa.com) are hot right now-soon to be available at trendy new Vespa boutiques. It's time to rent Roman Holiday again!

ITALYFEVER.COM UPDATES:

New Gift Shop Items: Influenced by my fascination with grapes and vineyards in Umbria and Tuscany, my festive collection of "Italy-Inspired" jewelry is now available online at http://www.italyfever.com. Two earring designs (one with, and one without, dangling wine-glass charms) incorporate small peridot and dark amethyst beads-green and purple grape colors. Ongoing with the grape theme, a composite charm necklace also includes a small "drop" with the peridot and amethyst beads, paired with sterling-silver grape clusters and a wine bottle. Two additional necklace designs spell "Italy" and "Tuscany." Please take a look for holiday gift giving!

Special Event: On November 18 in Chicago, I'll be debuting with a jewelry showing at the Tutti Italia gift store (http://www.tuttiitalia.com), at Chicago Place Shopping Center, 700 N. Michigan Avenue, in conjunction with an Italy Fever book signing. Should be lots of fun! (See http://www.italyfever.com for additional details.)

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Parting Words: Following one's passion IS possible, even at home, one tiny "Italianized" step every day.

Ciao,
Darlene Marwitz

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Questions, comments, suggestions, or corrections?
Please send e-mail to darlene@italyfever.com. I welcome ideas for making this a better newsletter for Italy lovers seeking la dolce vita all year long!
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ITALY FEVER E-NOTES
Copyright 2000, Darlene Marwitz. All rights reserved worldwide.
http://www.italyfever.com
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