The forest was deep, dark, almost mystical – ancient trees, mossy tussocks, rare glimpses of blue sky through the dense canopy. The afternoon air was cool and scented, and had we not been pedalling hard, I’d have needed the jacket from my pannier. Yet just that morning we’d been kayaking off a hot, sunny beach a few miles away. That’s the beauty of...

The "karstic lands" that baptise the winery are the famous ones of Castellana Grotte, the beating heart of the Murgia Barese, the limestone plateau of tectonic origin located between central Puglia and the north-eastern part of Basilicata. It is a different Puglia to the one we are accustomed to: here the vast plains give way to medium hills and lo...

Olive trees in Apulia cover more than 370,000 hectares of cultivated land with 60 million plants. It is the largest crop in the region (64% of the utilized agricultural area) and involves as many as 148,127 farms (43% of the total), also accounting for 40% of the area planted with olive trees in the South, almost 32% nationally and 8% in the Europe...

Ever since it was unified in 1861, Italy has remained a country of two halves. The north: traditionally affluent and commerce-focused. Southern Italy: often seen as poor, lacking infrastructure and looked down on by their richer northern neighbours. Cliche or not, these stereotypes also pervade Italy’s wine. All of the country’s blue-chip regions –...

Famiglia is everything! Like so many other Italian American descendants’ it was time to gather, reminisce, and celebrate our Italian roots. The opportunity to gather, reconnect, share and pass along family history is what a reunion is all about and to do so across multiple generations/family lines makes for a memorable event. On April 29, 2023 a “B...

Burrata di Andria PGI is one of Italy’s oldest Geographical Indications and one of the most important dairy products, in terms of notoriety and numbers, from its region of origin: Apulia. “Progetto Burrata” is a very innovative research project carried out in collaboration with the Universities of Foggia and Bari. It aims to extend the shelf life o...

If you’re a loyal listener to the Italian American Podcast, you’ll know that technology isn’t exactly an area we focus on week in and week out.  Artificial intelligence and chat-bots and whatnots might not exactly be our expertise, but for this week’s guest, the rapidly unfolding revolution in artificial intelligence has become a valuable tool in h...

It turns out you don’t need to go to the tropics to find soft sandy beaches and crystal clear waters. Salento, on the very heel of Italy, has it all. Salento has earned the name 'the Maldives of Italy' thanks to its paradise coasts. Part of the administrative region of Apulia, it also boasts a rich cultural heritage, influenced by a blend of cultur...

Italy holds claim to 58 UNESCO sites (the most of any nation), with 31 additional sites on the tentative list right now. It’s incredible; all that history and enlightenment from a country slightly larger than the state of Arizona. And it means that no matter how many times you’ve been to Italy, there’s always so much more to see, and do. While I do...

“Sentiti a casa. Make yourself at home,” said Beppe, one of the owners of Panificio Di Gesù, as I stepped behind the counter and through the clear plastic curtains into the back of the bakery with my camera.  I was back in Altamura, a small inland city in Puglia, where I had lived for a winter as an au pair almost five years before. The southern It...