Simple Italy

Celebrating Your Inner Italian

Renewing Wedding Vows Italian-Style

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By Walter

When Sharon and I married in 1978, we had to jump through secular and ecclesiastical hoops to get to the altar in Santa Croce’s Medici Chapel in Florence.

Forty years later, all we had to do was cross a small piazza to the parish church of San Michele Vetere in Cremona.

As we planned our May 2018 trip to Italy, we intended to renew our marriage vows but, unlike four decades ago, we had no formal plans.

Sharon was looking to sharpen her Italian language skills and found an immersion program through La Studentessa Matta. Sharon reserved back-to-back sessions with Elena and Gianna in Bergamo. She lived with the teachers in their homes and did EVERYTHING in Italian.

I planned to meet Sharon after her programs and we would spend a couple of weeks savoring life in a small city Italy. I flew on mileage reward tickets (thank you, United and Lufthansa) and had to travel around available dates.

That led me to spend some time in Milano then in the Lunigiana of Tuscany with old pals James and Martha of Wandering Italy and Martha’s Italy.

My Wife Has AirBnB Radar

Sharon has the knack for finding stellar AirBnB accommodations hosted by spectacular people. She has consistently demonstrated that talent on four continents and counting.

Once we chose Cremona (grazie Fred Plotkin for the recommendation in Italy for the Gourmet Traveler) as our base in northern Italy, she worked her magic once again.

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Naples Alive

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P1120291Mt. Vesuvius looms only a few miles east of Naples. It casts its shadow of destruction down the centuries so that when you are in Naples, you can never forget that life is fragile.

Maybe that’s why the people of Naples are so alive and fiercely proud of their city, a city that’s a survivor. Every Neapolitan we encountered was quick to point out the treasures of their place.

The Chapel of San Severo with Giuseppe Sanmartino’s gossamer sculpture of the Veiled Christ.

The Archeological Museum laden with decorative treasures from Pompeii.

The pizza at L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michele.

The incomparable bay and lungomare.

Caravaggio’s The Seven Works of Mercy in Pio Monte della Misericordia.

Seafood seafood seafood!

The presepe (intricate nativity scenes) artisans on the street of San Gregorio Armeno.

Flaky sfolliatelle pastries filled with sweetened ricotta.

The incomparable vista from Castel Sant’Elmo Castle, and easy walk from the Montesanto Funicular stop.

Coral and cameo artisans. I succumbed at Cameo Factory De Paola on Via A. Caccavello.

Spaccanapoli, the long wide street that from an aerial view “splits” the city in two parts.

During two August visits, one at the beginning of the month and the other one at the end of the month, to the city by the bay, we experienced these places and tastes. We stayed first at the excellent Palazzo Decumani hotel in the historic center. The property is top notch and the staff wonderful. For the second visit, we booked Soffitta dell’Artista in Mezzanine, through airbandb.com, a guest house and art gallery combined on thriving Via Tribunali. It was fun breakfasting with fellow guests: a family of six from France and a couple from Austria.

Of course, there are gems we didn’t have time for but you need a reason to return to the life of Naples. Click here for more experiences.

Have you been to Naples? What is your most vivid memory?

My Dolce Vita

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This article first appeared in the award-winning
subscription newsletter Dream of Italy

Jean Salvadore (left) with SimpleItaly's Sharon Sanders.

Jean Salvadore (left) with SimpleItaly’s Sharon Sanders in the lobby of Villa D’Este.

How does one train to be the international ambassador for Villa d’Este, one of the grandest hotels on earth?

The legacy is daunting. Villa d’Este was built in 1568 on Lago di Como as a Cardinal’s summer palace. In 1873, it was transformed into a luxury hotel that has pampered and protected its guests. Many, certainly not all, are celebrated: musicians from Giuseppe Verdi to Bruce Springsteen. . . statesmen Jawaharlal Nehru of India to Prince Ranier of Monaco. . . writers Mark Twain to Joseph Heller. . . film directors Alfred Hitchcock to Woody Allen. . . fashion designers Bill Blass to Donna Karan. . . and on and on.

So, does one train to be the public face of such a legendary property? No, one simply has to be Giovanna “Jean” Govoni Salvadore.

I met Jean on a tour of Villa d’Este as she greeted our Central Holidays-sponsored group of journalists and travel counselors. She seemed so down to earth, putting us at ease with warm words and cool Prosecco. Simply chic in black trousers accessorized with a lipstick red walking stick and knit top, I sensed that at age 85, she is cooler than I’ll ever be if I live to be 185.

Her latest achievement is My Dolce Vita: A Memoir which is as irresistible as it is inspiring. As for so many of her generation, WW II shaped her life in ways she could probably not have imagined as a child.

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Palazzo Donati Italian Holiday Tours

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At Palazzo Donati, you'll experience the gracious architecture of a seventeenth-century palazzo with modern amenities.

At Palazzo Donati, you’ll experience the gracious architecture of a seventeenth-century palazzo with modern amenities.

By Walter Sanders

My friend Luisa Donati emailed the other day with delightful stories about a group of Texans whom she’d hosted at Palazzo Donati. I envy those Lone Star ladies.

Last autumn, I stayed at the seventeenth-century Palazzo Donati and felt instantly at home. Not because of any noble lineage but because the town of Mercatello sul Metauro, where the Palazzo anchors part of the main piazza, welcomes visitors while maintaining its own rich authenticity.  The town serves a thriving agricultural area in the off-the-beaten-tourist-track region of Le Marche east of Tuscany.  From Lina, the pasta queen who took down British TV chef Jamie Oliver, to the (not-so) amateur chefs who comprise the cooking club Academia del Padlot, good food and good times thrive in Mercatello sul Metauro.

Luisa works with small groups to create customized itineraries. No two groups have the exact same experience. Here’s a sampling of what she can create for you. Contact Lusia and tell her SimpleItaly sent you!

MIT to Tuscany

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 By Walter Sanders

John and Peggy Heywood take a break from hiking in the hills surrounding Montestigliano.

John and Peggy Heywood take a break from hiking in the hills surrounding Montestigliano.

There are magical places on earth. Places that revive happy memories and help you create new ones. Places that inspire great activity and make you feel productive, welcome, and alive.

For John B. Heywood, Sun Jae Professor of Mechanical Engineering Emeritus at MIT, Tuscany is that magical place. More specifically, it’s a hilltop agriturismo hamlet just south of Siena called Montestigliano.

“This whole Italy thing began about 20 years ago, when my wife Peggy and I saw a film called Enchanted April,” John says.

“We were captivated by the movie. It portrayed how a group of British visitors were transformed during a trip to Italy,” Peggy says. “We tried to figure out how we could incorporate Italy into John’s work as well as our personal lives.”

The answer turned out to be a sabbatical.

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Palazzo Donati in Mercatello sul Metauro, Le Marche

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A version of this article first appeared in the October 2012 issue
 of the award-winning subscription travel newsletter Dream of Italy

By Walter Sanders

The giardino behind Palazzo Donati.

The giardino behind Palazzo Donati.

After we left Villa Pipistrelli, our small group journeyed to Le Marche, a region in east-central Italy nestled between Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, and Umbria.

Our destination was the bustling village of Mercatello sul Metauro, located at the foot of the Tuscan-Umbrian Apennine mountains, only a couple of hours by car east of Siena.

The morning mists lifted to reveal soaring hills and sweeping views of verdant valleys. Downhill we passed towns that marked the progress of 15th Century artist Piero della Francesca who had literally painted his way to Urbino, the famed “Ideal City” of the Renaissance.

Mercatello sul Metauro is inviting. The gray paver-bricked main square is bisected by white paver stones that form lines converging from the far corners of the square straight to the center. “Follow the white stone roads,” to adapt the effect into Wizard of Oz parlance.

The square bustles. Much of the buzz is fueled by frothing cappuccino and steaming espresso provided by Franchino from his nearby bar, Caffe Rinaldi. Franchino knows everyone.

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