C’era una volta. . . once upon a time. . . Max (Massimo Melani) met Wally (Walter Sanders) in Firenze. Here’s the story in their own words.

The Basilica of Santa Croce holds priceless artistic and historic treasures.

Massimo
First, a few words about the Leather School: Workshop, Laboratory and Show Room of the finest leather goods situated in the old Franciscan monastery of the Santa Croce Basilica in Florence. It was a marvelous place, as were the splendid people working there.

It all started with the Patron Marcello Gori, the owner and director of the Leather School.

Those years in the early 1970s were characterized by a kind of elite tourism. And the Leather School attracted many of these well-traveled, wealthy tourists from around the world. Marcello Gori ensured that his sales and service personnel were first class as well. The staff was multilingual, elegantly dressed, rather good looking and with long experience abroad. I was one of those.

One day in 1972, the owner presented us a colleague, an American boy from Chicago—a certain Wally Sanders, very smiling person, who looked like a survivor from Woodstock or San Francisco–absolutely the first foreigner who was going to work with us.

More about Max, Wally and Lampredotto

Primavera on a plate. The spring green ortica (nettle) colors hand-made noodles.

I arrived at a Theatre District hotel a day early for the recent International Association of Culinary Professionals conference in NYC but the anticipated tour of the Italian stores on Arthur Avenue was cancelled. My Inner Italian was primed for action, however. Since I wasn’t up for navigating public trans to the Bronx, I consulted The Platt 101 in New York magazine, a list of the top eateries in town. more about A Voce

Congratulations to Lorrie, our randomly chosen winner of a signed copy of “Up at the Villa: Travels with My Husband,” by Linda Dini Jenkins.

Thanks to all who commented
on Linda’s Inner Italian Q & A.

One in an occasional series of conversations with those who try to “live Italian” wherever they are.

"La Principessa" in Perugia

Linda Dini Jenkins is a freelance travel writer and photographer and the author of Up at the Villa: Travels with my Husband (more later on how to win a free copy!). She also blogs regularly about travel and travel writing at Travel the Write Way and teaches creative writing and journaling. She enjoys taking small groups of friends, to explore what Italy has to offer beyond the Florence-Venice-Rome triumvirate, and she can pack her suitcase in 15 minutes.

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Q: Living “Italian”. . . Is it a great way to live or the greatest way to live?
A: Well, I think it’s the greatest way to live. When you take into account the slower pace of life (outside the big cities!), the immersion in history and art, the fantastic cuisine, the love of design and music, the respect for taking time out to enjoy the simple things . . . whether it’s Italian or Mediterranean or European, it’s how I want to live.

Q: Why?
A: Are you kidding? Start with the food, the design sensibilities, the language, the arts, the vino, the pausa, the passeggiata . . . need I go on?

Q: When did you discover your Inner Italian? What is your Inner Italian named?
A: I always knew about my Inner Italian but, like other children of first-generation Italian-Americans who desperately wanted to assimilate, “being Italian” was something that just happened and was never really encouraged. In fact, I’d heard stories growing up of how hard it was for my father to be Italian in a New York suburb in the 1930s and ‘40s; even being Italian in my first job in New York in the 1970s was something of a liability. And I was always a little ashamed after that of being part Italian (my mother’s side of the family was English/Irish/German) until I met my husband and he took me to Italy in 2000. Since then, I have been a proud and vocal Italian-American. If my Inner Italian has a name and it needs to be something other than Linda, I suppose it’s Principessa . . .

Q: What does “living Italian” mean to you?
A: My grandparents came over from Italy in the late 1890s and they were anything but rich. So for me, living Italian has to do with cooking and eating together, always having crusty bread and wrinkled olives and green olive oil on the flowered oilcloth-covered table. It means not being afraid to be emotional—even if that involves fists and things flying when you’re angry. It means loving music and feeling the arts very deeply. It means trying to have a sense of style—of la bella figura—even if the clothes or table settings come from Target. And it means being a storyteller and a traveler and something of an adventurer.

Legge piu qui

Auguri to Mary Ann Holm, who won the random drawing for a digital copy of SimpleItaly Loves Chicken.

Grazie to all who commented on the post to enter the sweepstakes. To thank you, here’s a recipe from the e-book.

Chicken Rigatoni all'Amatriciana is slightly spicy and totally satisfying. You'll find the recipe in "SimpleItaly Loves Chicken."

Rigatoni and Chicken all’Amatriciana

Serves 4 to 6

2          tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2          ounces thinly sliced pancetta or bacon, cut in slivers

1          onion, halved and thinly sliced

3/4       pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced

1          can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes

1/2       teaspoon crushed red pepper + extra for garnish

Salt

1          pound dried rigatoni

Grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Set a covered large pot of water over high heat.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the pancetta. Cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes or until the pancetta starts to crisp. Add the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes until golden.

Scrape the pancetta and onion to one side. Add the chicken in a single layer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 4 minutes, or until no longer pink.

Add the tomatoes, pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and more pepper if needed.

When the water boils, add 1 tablespoon salt and the rigatoni. Stir. Cover and return to the boil. Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Drain the rigatoni.

Add the rigatoni to the skillet. Toss to coat. Add a bit of cooking water, if needed, to

loosen the sauce. Garnish with cheese and more crushed red pepper at the table.