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Fior di Latte Cheese

Posted October 2, 2019 by Sharon Leave a Comment

During our stay in Campobasso, the capital of Molise, our B&B host Luciano Viola treated us to some local food specialties, including a fresh cheese ball that resembled mozzarella di bufala but was called fior di latte (flower of milk). It tasted sweet and pure — like gently solidified fresh milk.

We were intrigued, so Luciano offered to take us to the cheese producer the following morning.

Walter (right) with our host Luciano Viola of Bed & Breakfast Luciano and Son in Campobasso.

It’s a good thing Luciano guided us. Although the shop was close to the B&B, it was located in a courtyard with no business signage whatsoever. Guess if you don’t know where Zio Pasquale cheese shop is located, you’re out of luck.

Luciano introduced us to owner Antonio Tromba who has worked in dairy and cheese production since the age of 10. At the age of 81, he had arisen that morning at 5 a.m.

One half of the operation was devoted to production space; the other half to retail.

As Tromba and his two assistants worked the cheese vats, he explained fior di latte.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Artisans, Culture, Food, Italy Artisans, Miscellany, Molise, Travel Tagged With: Campobasso, fior di latte cheese, Italy cheese, Italy travel, mozzarella di bufala, transumanza

Silk from the Sea in Sardinia

Posted August 6, 2019 by Sharon Leave a Comment

Sant’Antioco beach.
The port in the town of Sant’Antioco.

Saturday morning on the island of Sant’Antioco, off the southwest coast of the island of Sardinia. Walter and I are in the breakfast room at Bed and Breakfast Le Terrazze in the main port town of Sant’Antioco. The group of taciturn Italian surfers have cleared out to hit their boards.

What shall we do today?

We scan a tourist brochure in Italian and find a listing for the Museo del Bisso (Bisso Museum). “What’s bisso?” we ask simultaneously.

Our host, the mellow Nello, clearing plates and cappuccino cups, offers an explanation in Italian. We don’t quite grasp what bisso (byssus) is even though we’ve had no problem understanding Nello up until now. (Our here-to-fore comprehension is almost entirely due to Nello’s patient and measured delivery.)

He says the proprietor of the museum, Chiara Vigo, is an old friend and that she’s famous for her work. He thinks we’ll find it interesting and offers to phone Vigo to check if the museum is open. He reaches Chiara and she gives us the green light.

The “Museo” is not even a five-minute walk and turns out to be a storefront workshop just a bit down the hill from the Basilica of Sant’Antioco.

A flyer inside the front window announces a crowdsourced fundraiser to finance a new space for the Museo del Bisso. A hand-lettered notice states La Fretta Non Abita Qui (in-a-hurry doesn’t live here); another announces Qui Non Si Vende Niente (here, we don’t sell anything).

We walk past a loom, displays of needlework crafted with golden thread, framed memorabilia, and press clips of Vigo. Seated toward the back of the room at her worktable, Vigo greets us warmly in her husky voice. It’s as if she’s been waiting her entire life for us to show up. Her comfy attire is gray sweats and knit sweater adorned with a jaunty lacquered fruit pin. Her pepper-and-salt hair is pulled back from her striking face.

A Sea Witch’s Tale

Vigo spins the yarn of her life-long vocation to bisso, the brown filament excretions of the Mediterranean bivalve Pinna nobilis — known as noble pen shell or fan mussel — as she holds up a translucent half shell on which her nonno had painted a scene. Accustomed to diminutive bivalves like edible mussels, we gape at the length of the Pinna nobilis shell. It is at least 2-feet tall. Some grow as long as 4 feet.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Art, Artisans, Culture, Italy Artisans, Miscellany, Sardinia, Travel Tagged With: bisso, Italian islands, Mediterranean Sea, Sardegna, Sardinia, sea silk

Marionette Museum in Palermo

Posted May 23, 2019 by Sharon Leave a Comment

By Walter Sanders

At first I balked at paying 5 Euro for a ticket to see what … a marionette museum? But Sharon said, “We have to experience this. UNESCO lists the Sicilian puppet theater on its Intangible Heritage site.”

Now I think that the ticket is a bargain.

Located in the ancient Moorish La Kalsa district of Palermo, the Museum is housed on a narrow side street between Piazza Marina and Via Butera. If you miss the modest signage, you may very well miss the museum.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Art, Artisans, Culture, History, Italy Artisans, Miscellany, Palermo, Sicily, Travel Tagged With: children and puppets, italian culture, Italy, Italy travel, marionette images, marionettes, puppet shows, puppets, Sicilia, Sicilian marionettes, Sicilian puppet opera, Sicily, UNESCO

Dream Weaver in Lucca

Posted April 12, 2019 by Sharon Leave a Comment

By Sharon Sanders

Weaver Genni Tommasi was profiled in a recent Dream of Italy newsletter article about artisans in Lucca. I bookmarked the piece and this morning made the pilgrimage to Tommasi Loomworks at Via Sant’Andrea 28 to meet the tanto talented Signora Tommasi and her gentle assistant, the collie Lady Hawke.

As promised in the DOI article by Mary Ann Hemphill, the space was graced by Tommasi loom- woven creations in natural fabrics: tops, scarves, neck ornaments, chandelier coverings, tote bags, even aprons. Tommasi, a former harpist, has two looms set up in the back of the showroom. She says her son is now weaving with her.


Tommasi was chatting with friends — an American family who live in Belgium –who had stopped by to visit. Also in the showroom was an associate from Norway who represents Tommasi’s creations in Scandinavia.

Lady Hawke brings a gentle vibe to the Tommasi showroom.

It was a thrill to meet the artist and acquire (grazie, Walter) a silk shawl of exceptional beauty.

Filed Under: Artisans, Culture, dreamofitaly, Lifestyle, Lucca, Travel, Tuscany

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