"La bella stagione" (as Italians call it) is well and truly here, so it's time to indulge in that delightful rite of Italian summer, the aperitivo. When the sun starts to lower in the Roman sky and the city lights up with that afternoon glow that has seduced so many poets, Italians snag tables at sidewalk bars and rooftop cafés to take part in an outdoor aperitivo. With a wealth of appetizers and finger foods provided complimentary with the price of a single drink, Italian aperitivo gives “happy hour” a whole new meaning.
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Here's a question for you: What happens when you resist your destiny, only to accept it at last, and discover that it brings you more joy than you could have imagined? I suppose first you have to believe in destiny, which is certainly not a given. This week, Katy interviews Antonio Sersale, son of one of the four founding siblings of the legendary Le Sirenuse Hotel in Postiano on the Amalfi Coast.
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This week's episode {CORRESPONDENT} does not feature yours truly. Instead, my trusty co-host Katy Sewall, a deft interviewer after her many years experience at NPR, found herself in Positano on the Amalfi Coast a couple of months ago. At the Sirenland writers' workshop that is held at the legendary La Sirenuse Hotel every year, she met writer, filmmaker, and former war correspondent, Micheal Maren. Since being a war correspondent is hands-down the most extreme version of being an expat, Katy didn't miss a beat and set up an interview with him on the spot in which he shares his experiences covering conflict across the African continent.
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We’re coming up on the last official weekend of spring and some of the very longest days of the year. Otherwise known as my absolute favorite time of year. One that I savor and that passes too quickly. (It’s also my Maritino’s birthday this weekend, which makes it extra special.) rIn case you’re thinking of hopping off to some nearby beach this weekend, keep in mind, there are a slew of interesting things to do in the city this weekend. Here are my top picks:
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As anyone who has ever been on a tour with me—or any of the many friends who have come to visit and whom I have enthusiastically and indefatigably dragged around the city—knows, I am passionate about Rome's layers of history. (I like them even more then Rome's distinctive street names.) What gets me most excited is when I can see the archaic rubbing shoulders with the modern, when I spot ancient ruins that served as the shell of a medieval building that was in turn transformed into a Renaissance palace that is still in use today. It sends chills down my spine. In no other place in the world can you see the progression of time so clearly in the very stones and mortar that built the city.
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Rome is crumbling, just as it has been for centuries. But what does it say about us adopted Romans that we choose to live in a city's whose glory days are all in the past? Can Rome's magnificent past really make up for the inconveniences and frustrations of daily life in modern Rome? How long can a city live off the interest of its history? For Rome, maybe the answer is forever.
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