What's up with WTI: Editorial # 102
Ciao from Rome, welcome to the #102 magazine of We the Italians! First of all we want to thank all of you, recipients of our newsletter: we reached 80,000 subscribers! It's just the beginning, we have to do much better than that, but it's worth celebrating. So, once again: THANKS!! Please spread the word and have your friends who love Italy to subs...
Italian culture and history: Turin
When in the city of Turin, what immediately strikes the eye are its surroundings, with imposing Alpine peaks that encircle its skyline. The Piedmontese Capital presents itself as a city with a singular charm: emperors traversed it, kingdoms arose in it, and it was thus that power left its indelible marks on it. Turin today is a metropolis that rega...
Italian cuisine: Neapolitan Savory Pastiera
You certainly you might have tried or heard about sweet pastiera but today I would like to introduce my recipe for savory pastiera to you. The Neapolitan pastiera was originally a typical pie for the Easter Sunday in Campania, but nowadays it is prepared all year long. My savory pastiera is a delicious pie prepared with pasta frolla (Italian pie do...
Italian handcrafts: The Wood of Cuneo
The greatest concentration of wood companies in the province of Cuneo is located in Valle Varaita, a valley that is home to around 90 firms actively producing furniture and fixtures, as well as toys and musical instruments. Furniture manufacturing, which was strengthened between the 1950s and 1970s with the rustic “Valle Varaita” style, experienced...
Italian little Italies: Sepino, at the crossroads of the sheep tracks
Sepino was born as a place where flocks and shepherds who travelled could stop and rest. Because of the Samnite wars, the inhabitants escaped on the mountain Terravecchia, where they built a city said by Livio to be “very strong and very powerful”; however, it was soon conquered by the Romans. They built the new city by adapting the cardo and decum...
Italian art: Nemi
Nemi is a small volcanic lake in the surroundings of Rome, with a small village that climbs the slopes of Mount Artemisio which takes its name from the Temple of Diana, whose remains are right behind the village. It is not surprising that the ancient Romans wanted to build a temple in this site rich in centuries-old forests, lakes and delightful na...
Italian flavors: Rotonda White Beans
Always present in the rural tradition of the Mercure Valley, white beans have played a major role in the agricultural history of the local populations. An 1852 publication by the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies speaks of the cultivation in the area of “graminaceous, leguminous and filierous plants” and specifically mentions the "bean, and this is sever...
Great Italians of the Past: Sandro Pertini
Statesman among the most beloved in Italy, admired by the people beyond the personal political faith, Sandro Pertini has remained over the years the symbol of the proximity of political power to ordinary citizens. In the month of April 25, a date that commemorates the liberation of Italy from the Nazi-fascist yoke thanks to the intervention of the...
Italian land and nature: Cinque Terre and Porto Venere
A trip from Levanto to Lerici in the magnificent and intact Ligurian scenario of the Cinque Terre is truly a special experience. It’s an authentic venture into the magic of multicoloured historic villages situated in a spectacular vertical position overlooking the seaside, on steep land where vineyards reign. This is a marvelous trip to the towns i...
Italian report: Design Economy 2018
On March 2, at the age of 107, Gillo Dorfles left us, an exemplary witness of the events of Italian design, art and culture. This extraordinary observer of our times supported the need for design to be studied outside the specialist schools as well, because it is the basis of our way of life. Design pervades all areas of our lives and, like a seism...
Italian traditions: Traditional Festivals in Abruzzo, precious land
Abruzzo is a precious land for its position in our peninsula, a region that collects ancient traditions that draw the sense of identity and pride of its people. Today, more than ever, a sense of belonging has been re-evaluated in the light of what has happened in the territory due to the earthquakes that, after the earthquake that struck L'Aquila i...
The Italian American stars in US sports: Women 2 of 2
Rowing Erin Cafaro (1983, Modesto, CA), NCAA rowing champion in 2005 and 2006. Gold medal with the 4 without (4-) of the U.S. team at the Under 23 World Championships in Amsterdam 2005. Always with the national team but 4 light, Erin won a gold at the 2006 World Cup in Munich. Cafaro also boasts 2 gold medals at the 2008 Beijing and 2004 London...