[slideshow=53] The text is edited from an article in the New York Times, written by Michael Frank in 1990.   The photographs are mine. It is a place that whispers history in the way ruins must have a century ago, before armies of tourists arrived in stone-splitting buses and archeologists had to guard their treasures […]

[slideshow=52] Behind the quiet facade of Pontelandolfo and its beautiful countryside lies a tumultous history of natural disasters, feudal rivalry, savage brigandry and military misjudgement. According to historians, the name Pontelandolfo was derived from Pontis Landulphi, a bridge that was built in 1138 by the Longobard prince Landolf.  The village which sprouted nearby suffered many […]

[slideshow=51] When asked, “Which archaeological site should I visit, Pompeii or Herculaneum?” I will inevitably answer, “Go to Oplontis!” The patrician villa excavated under the modern town of Torre Annunziata, belonged to the Emperor Nero, famous for his appreciation of music and the arts, but more so for his cruelty. The villa was home to […]

[slideshow=48] While on a heritage tour with an Italo-American family who had come to meet their Italian relatives, we spent some time with their family near the tiny hilltop village of S. Giorgio la Molara in the province of Benevento. This is a vast farming region of rolling hills and an immense checker-board effect is […]

[slideshow=49] Read published article at Italian Notebook I wound my way up the narrow road towards the tiny, secluded sanctuary of S. Lucia in Sassinoro. I was on my way to meet Giovanna, a volunteer in the shrine’s wee gift shop.  She and her husband Giorgio were part of the family I was researching for […]